Product Liability Lawyer Blog

March 21, 2015

Class Action Lawsuit: Many California Wines Contain Arsenic

California is well known for its burgeoning wine industry. Many enjoy drinking California wines at home and in local restaurants, while others travel to the region’s Napa Valley for vineyard tours.

While all wine may contain trace amounts of hazardous chemicals, a recent class action lawsuit alleges many California wines contain levels of arsenic hundreds of times over the legal limits.

According to a recent news article from The Independent, more than 1,300 bottles of wine were sent for testing at independent labs, and it was determined more than 25 percent of the bottles contained higher arsenic levels than legally allowed in water. The reason water was used as a baseline is because water is the only liquid U. S. law requires to be tested for arsenic. Some of these wine bottles reportedly contained five times the legal limit of arsenic in water.
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March 17, 2015

New FDA Warnings About Testosterone Replacement Drugs

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from Fox, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued new warnings about the dangers of testosterone replacement therapy drugs.

These testosterone replacement therapy drugs, which now come in the form of injections, oral tablets, creams, gels, and even a deodorant stick, have been marketed as a treatment for male weight gain, muscle loss, fatigue, mild depression, erectile dysfunction, loss of libido, and other symptoms of normal male aging. One doctor featured in this news story said there has been essentially “knee jerk” reaction to these signs of aging to prescribe testosterone replacement therapy drugs.

This recent push for TRT is not supported by scientific research and seems to be completely driven by marketing claims of large drug companies. Some in the medical profession believe that even if testosterone replacement therapy doesn’t work, it won’t harm anyone who takes it. According to the FDA, this is not necessarily true.
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March 15, 2015

Robotic Hip Replacement Assistance May Help Patients

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Hip replacement surgery is a major operation, despite how common it has become for orthopedic surgeons. When a patient decides to undergo implantation of artificial hip, he or she can expect a lot of pain following the surgery, a lengthy recovery time, and must be careful not to disturb the healing process. This is true when everything goes correctly.

One of the problems surgeons face is an artificial hip must be implanted in a very precise location. If it is off even by a few millimeters, the device may fail, and patient will need another operation to correct the problem. To aid in the implantation process, surgeons are now testing a new robotic surgery system that allows them to implant the device in the exact location and know if their placement is off by even the slightest degree. According to a recent article from TribLive, these new surgical robots, which cost $800,000 each, will first generate a map calculating the best location for proper alignment.

After the system creates a placement map, it assists surgeons during implantation, as it gives off an audible alarm is placement is off by even half a millimeter. This will greatly increase the chances of the hip being anchored properly, which in turn will decrease pain and suffering and recovery time.
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March 14, 2015

Pradaxa Makers Banking on New Antidote to Win Sales War with Warfarin

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Patients who have a serious health condition known as atrial fibrillation (Afib) are required to take blood-thinning medications to prevent stroke, heart disease, pulmonary embolism (PE) and other serious clotting disorders. Traditionally, this means taking Warfarin. Warfarin is a long existing blood thinning medication now available in generic form.

While Warfarin is known to be effective, it does require frequent monitoring of a patient’s blood, so doctors can make dosage changes when necessary. If the dosage is not monitored constantly, they may suffer serious and potentially fatal adverse reactions. Patients must also closely monitor their diets, because certain foods can affect how Warfarin is absorbed in the body, which in turn can affect dosage rates.
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March 14, 2015

Lawsuits for Transvaginal Mesh Injuries Move Forward

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In the greater Boston area and across the United States, women have been filing lawsuits against makers of defective transvaginal mesh (TVM) medical devices in large numbers.

According to a recent news article from WBUR, there has been no slowdown of victims coming forward to file cases. Transvaginal mesh implants are used to support sagging pelvic organs and hold them in place. They have been market as a way for women with bladder control issues and other pelvic issues to lead a normal life again, but this is not how it worked out for many victims.

Defectively designed tranvaginal mesh implants have led to serious, painful and often embarrassing medical conditions known as pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence. To make matters worse, doctors have found removing a defective transvaginal mesh implant may not help to fix the damage, because much of it was due to erosion of the vaginal wall while the device was implanted.
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March 13, 2015

RomneyCare Increases Hip and Knee Replacements in Massachusetts

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent report from the Boston Business Journal, total knee replacement and hip replacement numbers are on the rise across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts due in large part to the government health program better known as “RomneyCare.”

With more people having access to better healthcare coverage, researchers have found almost a 5 percent increase in total joint replacement procedures throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since 2006, when the state legislature enacted the healthcare reform program.

Among ethnic demographics, the greatest increase was seen in black and Hispanic patients, who historically had the least access to healthcare in the greater Boston area. Researchers believe there was always a demand for total joint replacement procedures among these patients, but they lacked access to health insurance necessary to the cover the high costs of surgery and recovery.
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March 11, 2015

Total Knee Replacement Alternatives: Artificial Cartilage

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Total knee replacement surgery involves a surgeon removing a patient’s deteriorating natural knee, cutting bone and tissues, and implanting an artificial knee. This is a highly invasive surgery with a considerably lengthy and painful recovery, even if everything goes according to plan.

Traditionally, total knee replacement was largely reserved for the elderly and those suffering a serious, debilitating knee injury. One of the reasons for avoiding total knee replacement on younger patients is most artificial knees have a useful life of around 10 years. When an artificial knee is implanted into a person who is expected to far outlive the artificial knee, the new knee will eventually break down, cause a patient pain, and require a second surgery to replace it with a newer model artificial knee. Again, this is when everything goes correctly.
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March 10, 2015

Boehringer Ingelheim Files for FDA Approval for Pradaxa Antidote

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Pradaxa is an oral anticoagulant similar to Xarelto and Eliquis, which has been prescribed to patients with a serious medical condition known as atrial fibrillation (Afib) as an alternative to Warfarin and other traditional blood thinning agents. Afib patients are higher risk for serious clotting disorders that can lead to stroke, heart disease, pulmonary embolism (PE), and other serious medical conditions.

Traditionally, doctors prescribed these patients Warfarin or even aspirin to thin the blood and help prevent issues. One major concern for Warfarin patients is that it requires constant monitoring and dosage changes to make sure a patient is taking the correct amount. There are also foods that can affect Warfarin absorption rates. Patients on Warfarin must have frequent blood tests, follow-up visits, and watch their diets closely to prevent problems, including serious bleeding disorders.

Drug companies marketed Pradaxa and its fellow class members as a safe and effective alternative that did not require constant monitoring. The problem, as we now know, is taking Pradaxa can lead to serious interal bleeding disorders, including intracranial bleeding. If a patient presents at the emergency room with an internal bleeding disorder due to a new oral anticoagulant (NAOC) such as Pradaxa, there is no FDA approved treatment, and many patients have died as a result.
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March 8, 2015

Testosterone Replacement Therapy: Risks and Benefits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Anyone who has ever watched a football game or a NASCAR race has probably seen his share of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) advertisements. This is not an accident. Drug makers are spending millions of dollars on advertising testosterone hormone therapy (HRT) supplements to men of all ages.

Drug companies are working to convince men that weight gain, erectile dysfunction (ED), muscle fatigue, mild depression, tiredness and loss of sex drive are not just signs of getting older, as we all once believed. Rather these are all “symptoms” of having a low testosterone (low T) count.

Marketing divisions of drug companies want us to believe the lower your testosterone levels become, the more of these symptoms you will suffer, and, more importantly, taking hormone replacement therapy drugs will not only increase your testosterone level, but will reverse these negative effects, so you can feel and act younger again.
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March 5, 2015

Xarelto Makers Set Sights on Warfarin Despite Bleeding Risk

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Xarelto, like Eliquis and Pradaxa, is a blood thinner known as a New Oral Anticoagulant (NOAC) or Factor Xa Inhibitor. Patients at risk for heart disease or with clotting disorders are often required to take an anticoagulant to prevent stroke and other serious medical conditions.

The traditional therapy used by millions of Americans is aspirin or Warfarin. While Warfarin is generally effective, patients must have frequent blood tests, so their doctors can closely monitor their dose. They must also watch their diets carefully and avoid foods that can change the rate of Warfarin absorption. If the dose if off even slightly, patients can have serious adverse events (side effects), and this is a problem on which Xarelto makers are trying to capitalize.
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