Asbestos News Roundup: 7.28.11

July 28th, 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: Marcie Armstrong has filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 16 defendant companies as being responsible for her developing lung cancer.

Armstrong, who lives in South Carolina, alleges that throughout her career as a laborer at Presto Manufacturing Company in Jackson, Mississippi, she was exposed to products that contained asbestos. And, she also claims she was exposed to asbestos fibers by way of her father, who worked as a laborer and molder at Presto from 1953 through the early 1980s.

Armstrong alleges that the defendants should have known of the harmful effects of asbestos, but failed to exercise reasonable care and caution for the plaintiff’s safety.

As a result of her asbestos-related diseases, Armstrong says she became disabled and disfigured, incurred medical costs and suffered great physical pain and mental anguish. In addition, she claims she became prevented from pursuing her normal course of employment and, as a result, lost large sums of money that would have accrued to her. (madisonrecord.com)

Asbestos Settlements

Los Angeles, CA: A painter who was recently diagnosed with terminal asbestos mesothelioma caused by his exposure to asbestos-laiden products, has been awarded $8.5 million in settlement of his asbestos lawsuit.

Bernard Steffen alleged that while working as a commercial painter and handyman he was exposed to products including stucco, molding and construction materials that contain Read the rest of this entry »

Why Didn’t a Lawyer take my Drug Lawsuit?

July 27th, 2011. By AbiK

It’s a frequently asked question: Why didn’t a lawyer contact me about my drug complaint?

While, sadly, there have been many instances where someone has been badly harmed by a drug—or has even died—proving that the drug has been the direct cause of injury or harm can be tricky in a court of law. For starters, if the pharmaceutical company has provided a warning on the product, packaging, package insert or advertising about the side effect that caused the harm, chances are a lawsuit about it will be decided in favor of the defendant (i.e., the drug company).

We recently responded to a reader at LawyersandSettlements.com who asked this very question after a loved one who had been taking Enbrel sadly developed a brain tumor and died. The following is how we responded, and we thought we’d share our response as there may be other readers who are interested in it as well. This was the response:

“Let me provide you with some insight as to how these more major drug lawsuits work.

Unfortunately, when it comes to drug litigation and person injury, it is very difficult to prove that a victim was indeed harmed by a specific drug without a direct causal relationship being established between the drug and the injury involved. Typically, a court will not rule in favor of the plaintiff unless there have been major studies done that have been widely accepted by the medical and scientific communities—including such bodies as the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). Many times, the courts look to the existence of a drug recall, or a ‘black box’ warning on a drug’s label, or new warnings issued by the FDA in order to establish beyond a doubt that such a causal relationship exists between the drug in question and the specific injury of the plaintiff.
 
With Enbrel, the adverse events noted on the prescribing information involve the risk of lymphoma, particularly in children and adolescents, and the risk of fungal infections and tuberculosis. To date, there is not an ‘official’ warning or peer-reviewed, widely accepted study regarding Enbrel and brain tumors—though there is some anecdotal discussion online about it. In a court of law, however, stories and experiences such as those online—regardless of their real merit—are not seen as a concrete basis for finding in favor of a victim.
 
Having said that, a victim or their loved ones should not refrain from at least filing a complaint with an attorney for review if there has been an injury or death that may be related to a drug. The laws regarding pharmaceutical litigation are complex—and many times there may be other factors involved, such as medical malpractice or negligence, that may present a viable case. It is also in everyone’s best interest to pursue all their legal options, as one attorney may interpret the details of a complaint differently than another. We aim to mitigate that by having more than one attorney review a complaint–but it can be of benefit to explore several legal service providers.”

The bottom line is that while defective drug lawsuits can be challenging to fight in a court of law, victims have every right to pursue them and should do so–it’s often sadly the only means we as individuals have in order to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable once a drug is on the market. It’s also, sadly, often the only way a victim can afford to pay for medical costs incurred as a result of a drug injury. So should you think you might be the victim of a drug injury, have a lawyer review your complaint.

Government Audit of FDA Food Oversight Not Pretty

July 26th, 2011. By Hunter West

The Obama Administration has tried to beef up the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration). Give it more authority, and more autonomy.

But it’s too little, too late. And the law that the President signed in January, giving the FDA the power to mandate food recalls (it didn’t in the past???) has yet to be implemented and can’t be enforced until they figure out how.

Sorry, but I always thought the FDA was the prescription drug police, the overseer of our food chain and the watchdog over medical devices. Cross that watchdog and look out. Pushing the envelope and dissing the regulator might get you a warning if you’re lucky. Chances are, if you’re a pharmaceutical company, or a food supplier and you screw up—you WILL find yourself in the FDA slammer.

In our dreams…

It comes as no surprise that a recent government review of serious food recalls reveals that the FDA is dropping the ball on its responsibility for protecting the nation’s food supply.

And in so doing, protecting us. 

According to a CNN report last week, the Department of Health and Human Safety Services (HHS) reviewed 17 Read the rest of this entry »

Should Surgeons be Trusted after All-Nighters?

July 25th, 2011. By Hunter West

Say your doctor was on call all night the night before your scheduled 6 a.m. surgery. Would you still want to go under the knife?

It has long been debated that the effects of sleep deprivation can be just as harmful—and just as much an impairment—as that delivered from alcohol, or drugs. Bottom line: when we’re tired, we screw up.

You run off the road while driving, your reflexes are slower. Worse, when you try to counter the fog in your brain and the yawn on your face with copious amounts of caffeine or other stimulants, you have reflexes unsupported by studied thought—a pure reactive state, with little depth or substance from a sleep-deprived brain straining to carry on with the aid of chemicals in the place of rest.

So why is there not more dialog on this with regard to the medical profession and medical errors?

Recently, the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) published an editorial on the sleepy doctor syndrome. Not only did the CMAJ target the problem at the doctor and hospital level, it also called upon legislators to develop national standards in the regulated health care industry to protect patients from sleepy docs.

There is valid reason for this concern.

Beyond the temptation for some doctors to wear sleep deprivation as a badge of honor—or hospitals having to make do with fewer staff amidst the realities of a health care system under siege and shrinking health care dollars—are studies that paint an alarming picture of both where we are, and where we’re headed.

According to a story in the Montreal Gazette (5/25/11), studies have shown a near doubling in the rate of complications when surgeons operate with fewer than six hours of sleep—usually following a night on call.

Those complications have been found to include injuries to organs (a slip of the scalpel), and massive hemorrhaging. Such events can put a patient’s life in immediate danger, or affect their health over the long term.

The doctor, in contrast, goes home to a pillow and beyond feeling regret for the error, is not required to live with the consequences of that error for a lifetime. Unless, of course, a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed.

Mistakes happen, and to err is human nature. But in publishing its editorial, the CMAJ suggested that an already serious problem is about to get worse given the increasing complexities of the health care field. “Unprecedented” demands are placed on a doctor’s physical and cognitive health, as a result.

“Those of us who remain overconfident that we can continue to perform our duties properly with inadequate sleep should imagine the reaction if we were made to seek informed consent from each of our patients to accept treatment under these conditions,” state the authors, adding that working while sleep deprived is neither “normal nor acceptable.”

The authors also point out that—in Canada at least—limits on how long a resident, intern or medical student can go without sleep are not extended to practicing doctors, who often work without supervision and are often older and thus even more susceptible to the effects of lack of sleep.

Such situations are ripe for malpractice lawsuits—and doctors, together with the hospitals that employ them, need to be cognizant of that fact. Errors are unavoidable—but they can me managed and mitigated.

There are already efforts underway in other areas of the health care system. Increasing the use of checks and balances—akin to the checklist in the airline cockpit—helps ensure that the surgeon is operating on the correct patient and is performing the correct procedure in, or on the requisite are of the patient’s body.

Similar-looking labels on drug containers are being changed to avoid confusion in the pharmacy. Lawsuits, together with media scrutiny and public outrage, have helped to motivate the powers that be into action.

What of sleepy docs? Will a spate of lawsuits prompt the health care industry to action beyond mere debate? Lawsuits might be business for the lawyers, and monetary settlements necessary for the affected plaintiffs. But most would prefer to have been spared amputation of the wrong leg, or a scalpel nick that brought on a lifetime of pain or complication, all because the doctor yawned at the wrong time, or wasn’t in total control of his movements just because he was so bloody tired.

Maybe you can collect garbage on a few hours sleep. But I, for one, don’t want anyone going near me with a knife if they might be tired and sleep deprived.

Don’t be a hero. Sign out, go to bed, and let someone else do it. And somebody, somewhere needs to come up with a system that guarantees that.

Infographic: 5 Hip Replacement Options, 1 with Lawsuits

July 24th, 2011. By AbiK

 

With the recent FDA approval of the DePuy Pinnacle CoMplete Acetabular Hip, we thought it might be helpful to put it all down on an infographic that shows the different types of hip implant components and which one has been the target of hip replacement lawsuits. Find more information on the metal-on-metal (MoM) DePuy ASR hip replacement here.