Deadly Medicine, Even More Deadly Oversight…by the FDA

January 26th, 2011. By Hunter West

Anyone with any misgivings about the state of the Drug Union in this country and the role the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays—or doesn’t—would not want to pick up a copy of the January issue of Vanity Fair in their doctor’s office.

Especially if their doctor is about to prescribe yet another drug…

In ‘Deadly Medicine,’ writers Donald Barlett and James Steele reveal troubling aspects of the prescription drug culture in America.

In sum, it is estimated that prescription drugs kill more than 200,000 Americans each year. That figure is based on information from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices that identified 19,551 people who died as a direct result from a prescription medication.

That, in itself is a huge number. However, according to Vanity Fair that figure is low, given the widely held belief that only about 10 percent of such deaths are ever reported. Thus, a ‘conservative’ estimate would be 200,000 deaths a year from drugs that the FDA considers, according to its mandate, as safe and effective and whose benefits outweigh the risks.

When compared against other maladies and behaviors that are known to have life-ending outcomes, that’s three times the number of people who die from diabetes, and four times the number who succumb to kidney disease. Prescription drugs claim more lives than heroin and cocaine. Fewer people die each year in car accidents in America, than those whose lives are cut short from a drug written to their care by a physician.

It gets better…

Clinical trials are moving offshore, where regulatory authority is lax and drug companies have greater control over the outcomes than they otherwise might on US soil.

By the numbers, the Department of Health and Human Services reported 271 clinical trials Read the rest of this entry »

Idiots Give New Meaning to Snow Job and Get Caught

January 25th, 2011. By LucyC

Here’s a short list of some of the dumber things would-be crooks got up to around the country recently.

Can you name 10 things you shouldn’t do in a snow storm? I’ll bet you can—but I’ll also bet that robbery wouldn’t be one of the items that made your list. But there are three hapless teenagers who now know first-hand that it ain’t a bright idea.

An 18-year old youth, referred to as Darian O, and his two buddies aged 17 and 16, used their initiative to rob motorists stranded in the snow in Kansas City, MO. Nope. Not kidding.

Imagine—you’re stuck in your car in the snow—or trying to dig it out—when these three kids come up to—you would think to offer their assistance. But no—it’s ‘give me your money! and possible watch, credit cards, CDs, iPod—whatever you got.’

As fate would have it, Darian O. and friends also got stuck in the snow—their car wasn’t going anywhere—as if in some kind of inspired protest. The police caught up with them and charged them with robbery. I hope they have to shovel the jailhouse exercise yard for the rest of the winter!

PS—this is something one likely shouldn’t do at all—regardless of the weather.

Well, those cop cars do have red lights on top… Here’s another 911 story—this one about a man in North Carolina man who was arrested after he phoned 911 while trying to find a prostitute. Apparently, he asked the Lexington Police Department for “a non-emergency domestic escort.”

Ok—I don’t even want to imagine what an emergency domestic escort scenario would involve…

As it turns out, the fellow did get an escort—in a black and white car—the kind with flashing lights on top—all the way to the jail. Charges? Misusing 911. What is it about 911?

To press “TALK”, or not to press “TALK”? And another skill-testing question—if you’ve stolen a cell phone should you answer it—if it rings?

A couple of would be purse-snatchers didn’t know the answer to that question, as they sat, phone ringing on the car seat next to them, providing information to the police officer who had just pulled them over.

One of the officers—the one in the squad car—called the cell phone—and it started ringing while the suspects sat next to it in their vehicle. Cute.

Nassau County Detective Sgt. John Giambrone said that when the officer made the call, the stolen phone was “on the front seat of the car, in plain view, inside a white paper bag from an Italian restaurant.” I guess that sealed the deal.

So you can buy the beer or go to jail… the police officer said to a 30-year old man who had just stolen a 30-can pack of Budweiser. Well, maybe not exactly those words, but ‘Bud Man’, of Tulsa, OK, was offered a choice. And he chose—to take off in his car.

Don’t know if he was caught. But I would imagine he did need a drink after that little altercation. 

Least they waited for the Rose Parade to be over…And finally, a couple of bright fellows in California hatched a plot to steal a brass lamp that sat atop a historic light pole in Pasadena. Who knows.

Frank Bise, 44, and Steven Dickinson, 52, were caught—my guess would be because the job couldn’t be done quickly, quietly or without involving some heavy equipment. Apparently, recycling centers and scrap yards pay a pretty penny for brass lamps. I’m guessing these two are not career criminals…

Brooklyn Lawyer Jaime Lathrop Pitches In to Help Foreclosure Victims

January 25th, 2011. By BrendaC

Lawyers Giving Back looks at a side of lawyers you don’t hear too much about—the side that gives back…pays it forward..and shares the love. We’ve found quite a number of attorneys who log non-billable hours helping others—simply because they believe it’s the right thing to do. Their stories are inspiring, and hey, who knew lawyers were so…good? If you’ve got a story to share about an attorney who’s doing the right thing, let us know—we’d love to let others know, too. Today, we’re talking with “The Park Slope Attorney”, Jaime Lathrop…

Attorney Jaime Lathrop: “…left unchecked [the legal system] will always favor the interests of the few over the many.”

It is a big job, but somebody’s got to do it. Thousands and thousands of people in the New York area are facing foreclosure, many without the money to pay a lawyer to help them save their homes.

“We have no shortage of clients,” says attorney Jaime Lathrop, a private practice attorney from the Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn, NY, who is the Director of the Foreclosure Intervention Program.

Since March 2009, working with the Brooklyn Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) and a grant from City of New York’s housing division, Lathrop has gathered together a group of 80 lawyers to do pro bono work for homeowners who are staring down the barrel of foreclosure. “I recruit, train and assign volunteer lawyers who represent homeowners in settlement conferences, negotiate workouts and help with mortgage modifications for Brooklyn homeowners in foreclosure.”

About 80 lawyers are now working on foreclosure issues for homeowners.

Lathrop, who is a graduate of Brooklyn Law School, clearly feels for homeowners who were often steam-rolled into a precarious financial situation as a result of the subprime mortgage crisis.

And he also feels a true obligation to help. “We have a system of law in the United States that left unchecked will always favor the interests of the few over the interests of many,” says Lathrop. “It is important for attorneys to see that everyone gets equal protection under the law.”

The Huffington Post recently posted a story about the Brooklyn Volunteer Lawyers Project calling it a “lifeline for people trying to avoid foreclosure”.

In addition to its work for homeowners in foreclosure crisis, the Brooklyn Volunteer Lawyers Project has been providing pro bono civil legal assistance to Brooklyn residents who need it most since 1990. It matches up volunteer attorneys from private practice with people in need of critical legal services.

Its mission is to “help people regain dignity and control over their lives”.

VLP receives funding from the New York Bar Association as well as private donors.

Jaime Lathrop is in private practice in Brooklyn, NY. His practice is focused on real estate law, family law, criminal law, bankruptcy and elder law. He has also been selected as a featured speaker at today’s New York State Bar Association’s General Practice Section’s Annual Meeting at the Hilton New York. 

Office Faux Pas: Greg Invested in Carr-Miller, now what?

January 24th, 2011. By AbiK

It’s the end of a long day at the office and Greg has just been made aware that word of his investment in the alleged Carr-Miller Ponzi scheme is spreading through the office like wildfire…

Been Floxed by Levaquin or Cipro? Maybe Fleeced, too…

January 24th, 2011. By AbiK

Floxed. Sounds so innocuous—or at least like some casually tossed remark about the previous night’s escapades—as in “yeah, I got really floxed up last night”. But to the victims who have come to add the word “floxed” to their everyday vocabulary—and who are a part of the been-floxed wall of photos (aka, Wall of Pain, see pic) on the Facebook page, Fibroquins Levaquin—”floxed” is insiders’ jargon for having gone through serious adverse side effects from taking a fluoroquinolone drug. Getting floxed, therefore, isn’t like picking up a mayor badge over at foursquare—it’s more like a badge of camaraderie that ties fluoroquinolone victims together—better not to have it.

Fluoroquinolones are part of a class of antibiotic drugs—i.e., drugs typically prescribed to treat bacterial infections such as urinary tract infections (UTI), ear infections, bronchitis, inflammation of the prostate, typhoid fever, salmonella, chlamydia, pneumonia, etc…so chances are, either you or someone you know has been prescribed a fluoroquinolone at some point. Fluoroquinolones are more commonly known by some of the brand names that get prescribed: Levaquin, Cipro, Floxin, Avelox, Noroxin, Tequin.

So what is getting floxed all about? How do you know if you’ve been floxed?

In 2008, the FDA added a black box warning to Levaquin, Cipro, Avelox and all fluoroquinolone-class drugs. The black box warning is for risk of tendon rupture and tendinitis—the FDA alert (7/8/2008) stated:

Fluoroquinolones are associated with an increased risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture. This risk is further increased in those over age 60, in kidney, heart, and lung transplant recipients, and with use of concomitant steroid therapy. Physicians should advise patients, at the first sign of tendon pain, swelling, or inflammation, to stop taking the fluoroquinolone, to avoid exercise and use of the affected area, and to promptly contact their doctor about changing to a non-fluoroquinolone antimicrobial drug.

The Levaquin stories we hear at LawyersandSettlements.com are real and heart-breaking—and for those who have been floxed, they are life-altering—and not in a good way. The victims who’ve started to band together on Facebook share their stories of lives shattered and forever changed: cane-assisted walking, wheelchairs, numbness, burning sensations, cramps and worse.

And those who’ve been floxed are angry—at the FDA, at their doctors, at the pharmaceutical companies. Sure, they can try to file a lawsuit against Levaquin or Cipro—that’s what I’d be doing—but doing so won’t bring back their lives. And as such, one can only wonder if getting floxed is really akin to getting fleeced.