On June 30, a new suit was filed against Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., a division of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), on behalf of a 46-year-old woman and her husband. The woman suffered a stroke while using the Ortho Evra(r) Birth Control Patch for only three months. The suit was filed in The Superior Court of New Jersey near Johnson and Johnson's world headquarters.
In its second Safety Information Alert in six months, the FDA announced it is mandating tougher warnings about liver toxicity and liver failure, after receiving reports of four deaths and one liver transplant, in patients who were taking the antibiotic Ketek. Ketek was approved in April, 2004, for upper respiratory infections in adults. The drug's maker, Aventis-Sanofi SA, had been testing the...
It may be time to check the filter on your hot tub. You may be soaking with Legionnaires' Disease. This Cruise Ship Report has the details.A federal court jury in New York on June 28th awarded Celebrity Cruise Lines, Inc. $193 million in damages in a suit stemming from a 1994 outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease on the cruise ship Horizon.At least 16 persons who had sailed on nine separate...
Newsweek is featuring an article by Barbara Stahura about her husband's traumatic brain injury (TBI) and his recovery. Her story expresses the suddenness of the injury, the loss of identity and the miracle of recovery. How My Husband Came Back has a happy ending, an almost complete return of brain function. But, the darkness Ken escaped is well described. A car accident and brain injury...
The FDA has approved new safety warnings for the label of the antibiotic Ketek (telithromycin). There have been several reports of serious liver injury and liver failure associated with Ketek. The FDA advises Ketek users and their doctors to watch for signs of liver problems, which include dark-colored urine, fatigue, yellow skin and malaise. However, "the agency has concluded that the...
If a young child drowns in a lake, is the owner of the body of water liable? The owner of a body of water is not liable merely because a child may be too young or of insufficient intelligence to understand the open and obvious danger of the water; the responsibility for the care of such children remains with their parents and caretakers. The body of water cases in the State of Florida are...
In a recent New York Times story, it was reported that drug companies are pouring large sums of money into medical research through non-profit groups directed by the doctors who are doing the research. In addition, the doctors actually doing the research are often paid consultants to the drug companies themselves. As a result, the risk that drug companies are influencing the direction and...
This is a first for me. I am going to highlight a major topic at Wikipedia. Actually, I will let excerpts from the Wikipedia article highlight itself. Tort ReformThe term tort reform is used by its advocates to describe a change in the United States civil justice system that they believe will improve its efficiency or reduce litigation's adverse effects on the economy.While the phrase "tort...