Appetizing Alli: Gas, Oily Spotting and Possible Liver Damage?

August 25th, 2009. By AbiK

Whoo-boy! There’s a successful date night waiting to happen. Slim down with Alli, fit into that outfit and oh, by the way, can we stop at Rite Aid for some Gas-X?

Back in 2007 when Alli was approved for OTC use for weight loss, anyone and everyone who was looking to lose a few pounds was all over it. What wasn’t to latch onto and love? Pop a pill, and let the pill block about 25% of the fat your body would absorb during a given meal.

Ah, but as with all weight loss plans, there were a few catches. Yes, exercise is advised. And yes, diet modification is not only advised, but necessary. See, that excess fat (the 25% mentioned above) that isn’t absorbed needs to go somewhere—somewhere out of your body. And that can mean gas, “oily spotting” (that’s how Glaxo’s site describes it), or loose or more frequent stools that may be hard to control.

I love this line from Glaxo—while truthful and transparent, which you have to give them credit for, I challenge anyone to read it and not go “ewww!“: Read the rest of this entry »

How an MDL Class Action is like Super Target

August 25th, 2009. By AbiK

There’s been a lot of talk about multi-district litigation, or MDL, lately. Thanks to the coverage of the Chinese drywall situation, the term “MDL” has shown up more in the news. But what is an MDL? Pleading Ignorance takes a look at MDL, with some insight from attorney Gary Mason—one of 50 lawyers who’s been assigned to work on the Chinese drywall case. So…

What is Multi-District Litigation (MDL)?

I like to think of it as going to a ramped up big-box retailer (like Super Target) vs. hitting a drug store, bakery, deli, grocery store and say, Old Navy, in separate trips. The consolidated Super Target just makes it easier to get what I want and need—that’s kind of the point behind an MDL.

MDL, or mulit-district litigation, allows for common issues that are part of many claims across multiple districts in a class action to be consolidated in one court for pre-trial proceedings. A judicial panel decides whether a case can be consolidated—so a group of lawyers can’t just decide on their own to consolidate things—it needs to be approved. Read the rest of this entry »

Chinese Drywall not radioactive after all

August 24th, 2009. By AbiK

We recently posted about some early news reports that indicated Chinese drywall could potentially be radioactive—luckily for folks who’ve been suffering through the defective drywall debacle, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Florida State Department of Health—both of whom were asked to test the drywall by the US Consumer Safety Commission—found no unusual levels of radioactivity in the drywall.

According to The Miami Herald (8/22/09), traces of radioactive material were found, but they were not at levels that would be any higher “than found in the natural environment”.

Good news, but perhaps a moot point anyway if you’ve already been forced out of your home.

PAGCL – Man-Made or Man Induced?

August 24th, 2009. By LucyC

Post arthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (PAGCL)—ever heard of it? Chances are probably not—unless you have it. 

PAGCL is a painful and debilitating condition characterized by the deterioration of cartilage between bones—cartilage is the stuff that prevents bone from grinding on bone. The problem with cartilage is that it doesn’t renew itself when it becomes damaged. There’s no blood flow to cartilage—so it can’t renew itself. So, once damaged, forever damaged. 

It turns out that some types of pain medication delivered via a shoulder pain pump for example, are toxic to cartilage, and can cause PAGCL. So the very thing that’s meant to help in fact harms, permanently. Some reports suggest that just a few days worth of exposure can harm the cartilage. Read the rest of this entry »

Expedia Service Fees Settlement – you in?

August 24th, 2009. By AbiK

Darn right I’m in. Not because there’s potentially $123.4 million on the table. Not because I’m really, really ticked off about paying those bundled “tax recovery charge” and “service fees”. Not because I have any bone to pick with the travel industry or Expedia itself. What gives? The folks managing the Expedia class action settlement election form process have made it EASY to play.

Just the other day there was a little email in my inbox (truthfully, I get a lot of emails that start out: “Notice of Settlement” or some other legalese—so it didn’t exactly stand out at first). When I opened it, I dreaded the never-ending diarrhea of legal verbiage that so often accompanies these “notices”. Not gonna lie, this one’s got it, too.

But if you take the time to click thru to the election form pages, you’ll see that your options are simple: Read the rest of this entry »