Product Liability Lawyer Blog

November 1, 2014

Amid Xarelto and Pradaxa Woes, FDA Approves New Oral Anticoagulant

Pradaxa, Xarelto and Eliquis are drugs that fall under a new class of medications known as “new oral anticoagulants” or NOACs. Patients who suffer from atrial fibrillation require an anticoagulant to reduce the risk of strokes and serious blood clot disorders that can be fatal.

For many years, Warfarin has been the industry standard anticoagulant prescribed to these patients. Recently, NOACs have hit the market with FDA approval and are earning record profits for their respective manufacturers (Boehringer Ingelheim, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer/Bristol Myers Squibb).
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October 29, 2014

Boston Holds Summit to Address Lead Paint Hazard

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Lead paint poses significant hazards to young children, due to the lead pigment being sweet to the taste and the likeliness that old paint will flake or easily peel off walls. When young children eat lead paint chips, the increased lead levels in their systems can cause serious developmental disorders, including a permanent loss of IQ points, behavioral problems, learning disabilities, loss of cognitive abilities and other harmful conditions.

According to a recent article in the Bay State Banner, a Massachusetts summit was hosted to address the dangers posed by lead paint in buildings across the Commonwealth.
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October 26, 2014

A Look at Testosterone Therapy and Hypogonadism

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

“Low T” clinics are popping up all across the nation to provide a quick and convenient place to get a testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) injection. Interestingly, the vast increase of Low-T clinics and the amount of TRT drugs being administered is not due to the very low rates of hypogonadism, which is the rare disorder TRT is approved to treat.

According to a recent news feature from Worldcrunch, one TRT patient interviewed said, at age 25, he went to his doctor and had a blood test. His doctor told him that his testosterone level was in the bottom five percent for a man of his age but refused prescribe TRT treatment.

A few years later, he was talking to a friend who told him how testosterone injections had changed his life. Armed with this new knowledge, he went to a Low-T clinic that recommended TRT. He goes to the clinic every two months and self-injects every ten days. He pays about $300 a month for TRT.
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October 23, 2014

Contaminated Xarelto is Recalled by Drug Company

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Xarelto is a member of a new class of anticoagulant drugs that has been approved to reduce the risk of stroke and other blood-clotting disorders in patients with atrial fibrillation.

The new drug, manufactured by Janssen, has been linked to cases of serious internal bleeding disorders, including hemorrhaging and intracranial bleeding. If a patient takes Xarelto and begins to bleed internally, there is no approved treatment or way to reverse the serious and potentially fatal side effect of the drug.
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October 20, 2014

Pradaxa Manufacturer Tests Antidote to Severe Internal Bleeding Caused by the Drug

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A Canadian hospital has been chosen to participate in human clinical trials for an experimental antidote to serious internal bleeding caused by Pradaxa. According to a recent news feature from Our Windsor, Pradaxa, like Xarelto, is in a new class of anticoagulant drugs that have been making drug companies a windfall in sales.

However, Pradaxa, manufactured by Boehringer Ingelheim, has been the subject of numerous dangerous drug lawsuits due to the fact that patients taking the drug may develop dangerous and irreversible internal bleeding disorders, including intracranial bleeding.

In response to many complaints made by plaintiffs, the drug company has been working to create an antidote to the dangerous side effects of Pradaxa. The new drug, called idarucizumab, is hoped to rapidly reverse the anticlotting effects of Pradaxa, thus stopping the serious internal bleeding disorder caused by the dangerous drug.
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October 13, 2014

Jury Awards 17-Year-Old Boy $2 Million in Lead Paint Lawsuit

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Boston is filled with old buildings built at time when asbestos and lead paint were commonly used, despite the fact that manufacturers knew these substances were toxic defective products and likely to cause serious injuries. It is only years later that people realize just how much damage was done.

According to a recent article from WBAL TV, a jury has just awarded a 17-year-old boy $2 million in a lead paint case. The victim was living in his grandmother’s home from the time he was born until he was five years old.

Court records and trial testimony show the boy suffered serious brain damage as result of his exposure to lead-based paint. This brain damage has caused the victim to lose four to five IQ points, suffer various cognitive defects, problems with his focus and attention span, behavior problems, and other learning disabilities.
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October 10, 2014

Hospitals Offering Bundled Deal for Knee and Hip Replacement Surgery

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Americans love a good deal. Whether buying a car or going to a fast food restaurant, we constantly see advertisements that purport an offer of more for less money. One surgical center is offering a total knee and a total hip replacement surgery bundle to patients.

According to a recent article in the Charlotte Observer, hospital officials, who say they are trying to focus healthcare from volume to value, believe that patients will benefit from the new bundled approach to joint replacement surgery.

A patient can receive both a hip and knee replacement with a single bill that will cover preoperative visits, surgery, three months of physical therapy, and a “navigator” to guide the patient through the process. Hospital administrators see this as a future of healthcare in the United States.
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October 6, 2014

Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle to Undergo Hip Replacement

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Standing on the top step of the dugout of a major league baseball stadium for hours a day is tougher than it looks. Especially for managers who have already endured a lifetime of sports related-injuries. According to a recent news article from CBS, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle is going to have a long overdue total hip replacement this offseason.

Hurdle had spoken with his team’s medical staff and his own doctors to delay the procedure as long as possible, and, with the tremendous pain caused by bone on bone arthritis, and team’s postseason run coming to an early end, he is electing to have the procedure done as soon as possible.
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October 3, 2014

Hospitals Offering Warranty to Knee Replacement Patients

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from My Northwest, some hospitals are now offering warranties to patients who undergo total knee replacement surgery.

As the article discussed, and Boston knee replacement attorneys are aware, many hospitals make more from procedures that go wrong than those done without incident. The hospital, doctors, and medical device manufacturers make money every time a procedure is performed. If the artificial knee needs to be removed and replaced, the cost of that second surgery and all related diagnostic procedures are typically charged to the patient.

Hospital administrators are claiming that they are able to offer this warranty because are they are confident in the work provided by their practitioners, and they also hope that the program will alleviate concerns from many prospective patients who are considering whether or not to have the surgery.
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September 30, 2014

Endangered Salamander May End Need for Hip Replacement Surgeries

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According a recent news article from the Telegraph, researchers in England believe one day, hip replacement operations may no longer be necessary, as a result of studies involving an endangered Mexican salamander called an axoloti. The axoloti is an amphibian but lives its life under water and has been called a walking fish.

While these salamanders have been described as fish-like lizards are endangered because they are traditionally killed and eaten in Mexico, they have the remarkable ability to be able to regenerate parts of their own bodies if injured, including their brains and legs. While it is not the only organism that is capable of regenerating limbs, it is a rare ability for a vertebrate and, in addition, the axoloti also has the ability to easily accept tissues and even appendages from other organisms. It does this because its tissue merges with the donor material through the regeneration process.

Researchers are not necessarily interested in using the axoloti, but rather are seeking to learn how it is able to regenerate itself, so that human tissue could also be stimulated to regrow. It is believed that this would eventually replace the need for foreign material such as artificial hips from being implanted into the human body.
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