Is there an Actos Class Action Lawsuit?

February 25th, 2011. By admin

That’s the question someone posted over at Answers.com—aka, wikianswers. And there it sits with zero answers—which should pretty much state the obvious, that, no, there is not an Actos class action lawsuit*. There may well be Actos lawsuits, however.

And therein lies the crux of what many type-2 Diabetes patients who are currently taking Actos are finding themselves asking. After all, Actos became to go-to drug—starting back in 2007–when drug-of-the-same-class Avandia started to come under fire. Doctors began switching patients, many of whom probably asked for the switch themselves, over to Actos. Needless to say, as more and more information became available regarding Avandia adverse events, Actos became the favored child of the family, so to speak—the lesser of two evils.

Even with the halting of the TIDE study—which compared Avandia vs Actos—over ethical concerns about continuing a study that involved a drug, Avandia, with potentially very serious side effects—the default takeaway message appeared to be, “switch to Actos”. It was only after the dust began to settle and the FDA had chimed in on Avandia’s fate that attention began to drift back over to Actos.

Recently, an article in Cardiovascular Business showed just how great the switchover to Actos has been:

“Even after the class-wide FDA black box warning for congestive heart failure was added in 2007, pioglitazone [Actos] use was largely unchanged and it was prescribed Read the rest of this entry »

Asbestos News Roundup: 2.24.11

February 24th, 2011. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of asbestos hot spots from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Asbestos Lawsuits

St. Clair County, IL: Four new asbestos lawsuits have been filed in St. Clair County by Mark Nuzzo, Gloria Hale, Marilyn Grapperhaus and Joseph and Mary Bayer.

Mark Nuzzo has named 55 defendant companies in his asbestos claim, alleging they caused his recently deceased wife, Robin Nuzzo, to develop mesothelioma. Robin Nuzzo, the suit claims, was exposed to asbestos-containing products through her father, who worked as an insulator, plant worker, home renovator and shade tree mechanic at various locations from 1968 until 1992, according to the complaint. After his work, Robin Nuzzo’s father would carry asbestos particles home on his clothing, thereby exposing his daughter to the toxic substance. The suit further claims that the defendants should have known of the harmful effects of asbestos, but failed to exercise reasonable care and caution for Robin Nuzzo’s safety.

Because of Robin Nuzzo’s death on July 22, 2009, her family incurred substantial funeral and burial expenses, according to the complaint. In his 16-count complaint, Mark Nuzzo is seeking a judgment in excess of the minimum jurisdictional amount, plus costs.

Gloria Hale, who also filed an asbestos lawsuit in St. Clair County, alleges the death of her husband, Franklin Hale, from lung cancer, resulted from his exposure to asbestos containing products. Mrs. Hale has named 45 defendant companies in her suit. Because of Franklin Hale’s Read the rest of this entry »

Research Links Tetracycline to IBD – and to Lawsuits, too?

February 24th, 2011. By Hunter West

A recent study on UK patients conducted by the researchers at the University of Pennsylvania* could have an impact on Accutane lawsuits. As most know, class actions as well as individual lawsuits have attempted to hold the manufacturer of Accutane, Hoffman-LaRoche, accountable. The Vitamin-A drug has been linked to inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD. 

But wait a minute—so too are tetracycline drugs, say the U of P researchers. 

So how does that impact an Accutane lawsuit? 

Accutane (isotretinoin) has always been considered a last resort for problematic acne, which is the scourge of adolescents and, if left untreated, could scar the face for life.

Dermatologists will almost always start with more natural ways in which to control acne, such as diet and hygiene—or perhaps an OTC benzoyl peroxide or salicyclic acid solution. 

If that doesn’t work, then they turn to tetracycline, which is an antibiotic and thought to carry minimal risk. How can you go wrong with an antibiotic, a microbial? Are they not the magic bullets of our society? 

Antibiotic resistance notwithstanding, there’s now a fly in the ointment, if you will. That’s because Read the rest of this entry »

Insecurities: Securities Fraud Roundup 2.23.11

February 23rd, 2011. By LucyC

Top Securities Fraud Stories

Tired of losing money? WFC (NYSE)—also known as Wells Fargo—was known as Wachovia—is being sued. Hard to believe, I know—especially in these times. But it seems that a retired woman in Florida has had enough of losing money with her IRA investments, and figures the odds of actually recovering her money—never mind making any—are better with seeking a Wells Fargo class action lawsuit. So she’s filed a claim. 

The back story: The plaintiff gave her Wachovia broker a ‘second chance” (why?) to “do a better job” (read ‘make money not lose it’) with her IRA investments—but apparently, that didn’t work out so well. 

In fact, the securities fraud case claims that WFC “breached its duty to make suitable recommendations; mis-marked her investment objective and risk tolerance; and engaged in short term trading and speculating on Latin America and China mutual funds, and on ‘ultra bull’ leveraged exchange traded funds.” That doesn’t exactly read like the manifesto for conservative value investing. 

The WFC broker also stands accused of “excessive trading”: the claim contends that the broker “generated an annual turnover rate of more than 17 times the average monthly equity in Claimant’s IRA.” 

And “Wells Fargo “needed an accurate customer profile to make suitable recommendations in Claimants IRA—including her investment objectives and risk tolerance, time frame, withdrawals, annual income, net worth, investment experience and her employment. Instead, the broker’s key forms included both contradictory and untrue information about Claimant,” the claim alleges. 

And then there’s a raft of securities fraud class actions stemming from unbridled optimism—also known as concealing the facts or ‘failure to disclose’…

Failure to Disclose Club

Where members vie for position on the Madoff meter.

Company:          Bank of America Corporation (BofA)

Ticker:               BAC

Class Period:    Jan-20-10 to Oct-19-10

Court:               Southern District of New York

Madoff Meter Rank:    

Let’s start with BofA (BAC:NYSE), the largest bank in the US. Just how many class actions have they faced in the past 12 months? This latest was filed by an institutional investor on behalf of purchasers of BofA common stock during the period between January 20, 2010 and October Read the rest of this entry »

Bare-Naked Bingo Weiner Bandit Video Released

February 22nd, 2011. By LucyC

Can’t hide that sausage! A man in Florida—34-year old Joshua Ryan Abernathy—decided to liberate some wieners and himself simultaneously. Freed of all encumbrances, specifically his clothing (and any limiting attitudes—or good taste) he walked, naked, into the Mariner’s Cove Club House in Estero, FL, on January 7, 2011. He apparently grabbed some napkins, a first aid kit and some wieners (thank God he remembered the napkins) and proceeded to walk around the clubhouse. Of course the whole thing (pardon the pun) was caught on surveillance video. But it wasn’t until the following day when an employee at the club noticed the sausages were missing—they were meant for Bingo Night (oh boy!) that the police were called.

The employee had watched the video and recognized the man…hmm…saying that he “possibly stays in a wooded area located west of Mariner’s Cove.” It just gets better.

Abernathy’s been charged with burglary and petty theft. This week, authorities released a censored version of that video (above), which has been posted on The News-Press website. I wonder if he could sue for the unauthorized use of his image…the payout might keep him in wieners for a while.

Dying wish? Sadly, this tale really does bring home the old adage, ‘be careful what you wish for’…Once again, we find ourselves in Florida where a man met his end while teasing his girlfriend to “go ahead and shoot me.” 

The couple was having a fight (no kidding) when 57-year old Robert Lee Gilbert dared his girlfriend to pull the trigger on her antique gun. Antique? Fully loaded and ready to go? Ah—maybe not. 

Poor old Robert—he must have been very persuasive because his girlfriend did what he asked—she pulled the trigger and blew his face off. He’s dead, and she’s facing manslaughter charges. Why does this stuff never happen on “The Antiques Road Show”? 

Is your dog your best friend? I’m betting this guy is rethinking the whole relationship thing with his dog right now. The man, who is nameless, apparently, was pulled over in his pickup with Read the rest of this entry »