Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog

A vitamin maker is facing potential products liability lawsuits following the negative effects of its Total Body Formula. At least 197 people in a dozen states have had frightening symptoms after taking the liquid supplement of Total Body Formula. Their hair fell out in clumps and fingernails fell off. They also suffered nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and disabling joint pain.

Several batches of Total Body Formula contained hazardous amounts of the mineral selenium. In March, the FDA issued the first of three warnings, advising consumers not to use Total Body Formula in tropical orange and peach nectar flavors. Tests found that the supplement contained amounts of selenium and chromium that were seventeen times higher than recommended.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Products liability , pharmaceuticals

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One of the most used drugs in America, the blood thinner Heparin, opened the eyes of our nation last winter when a catastrophe illuminated severe problems regarding the fact that most ingredients in American pharmaceuticals now come from foreign sources. These sources are not closely monitored by the FDA and are not monitored by the pharmaceutical companies. Heparin used to be produced by a pharmaceutical company giant, but the company recalled its stock after the deaths from contaminated pharmaceuticals.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Products liability , pharmaceuticals

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Johnson & Johnson recently said that it has received a subpoena by the Justice Department in connection with its sales of bile duct stents. This subpoena was part of an investigation about potential product liability of the stents. The Justice Department is investigating whether manufacturers had been promoting the devices for unapproved uses, among them the repair of weakened blood vessels. The bile duct stents are plastic or metal tubes intended to treat obstructions to the liver.

For the full information.

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Posted In: Current Issues , Machinery , Products liability , pharmaceuticals

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A nationwide product recall is in place after Abbott Nutrition pulled infant formulas that may have been oxidized. The nationwide product recall may help to prevent infants from suffering personal injuries and medical symptoms such as GI problems, vomiting and diarrhea. Consumers who purchased the recalled food product for their children should contact authorizes immediately. The FDA has come under scrutiny lately as advances in mass consumerism often lead to nationwide personal injuries and sometimes product liability related deaths. To see which products were recalled click here.

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Posted In: pharmaceuticals

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Trasylol medical product recall is another announcement its manufacturer Bayer made earlier this month. Trasylol used during heart surgery was recalled after findings that the drug relates to surgical personal injuries. The drug product recall may be too late as many patients already suffered kidney problems, stroke brain injuries and even personal injury deaths. Although medical drugs like Trasylol may have been FDA approved a FDA recall of Trasylol leaves many seeking redress. Trasylol lawsuits will no doubt appear throughout the nation, and in Chicago, Illinois just as those for many other FDA recalled drugs. To see the full story of future wrongful death lawsuits in the making click here.

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Posted In: Brain Injury , Products liability , Wrongful Death , pharmaceuticals

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Merck Pharmaceuticals will pay out a $58 million settlement to 29 states for their expenditures on Vioxx for state medical care programs. According to documents filed with the court, Merck failed to disclose the heath risks with Vioxx which was used to treat heart problems. Merck has also set aside a massive $4.5 billion settlement fund for private pharmaceutical liability lawsuits that individual people may have filed for their Vioxx injuries.

Read more here.

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The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing entitled, “Should FDA Drug and Medical Device Regulation Bar State Liability Claims?” on Wednesday, May 14, 2008, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building. At the hearing, Heparin deaths and heparin overdose injuries featured front and center. Notably, Dennis Quaid and his wife testified about their experience when their children were overdosed with heparin while in hospital. The Quaids have filed a heparin lawsuit in Cook County against the Chicago-based Baxter Healthcare which produces the drug.

Read the Quaids' testimony here and read more about the hearing here.

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Posted In: Products liability , Wrongful Death , pharmaceuticals

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The historic Fen-Phen settlement is now valued at $7.5 billion according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys managing the settlement payout. Fen-Phen was a popular diet drug and is the most notable of any prescription drug liability and injury suit. Fen-Phen is actually a combination of two drugs, fenfluramine (Pondimin) and Phentermine. Phentermine is still available today and is sold under several different brand names.

The Fen-Phen class action is unique because it offered a three-tiered system of initial opt-outs, intermediate opt-outs, and preserved a back-end option for injured plaintiffs to sue if they develop heart valve disease by as late as 2015, among other new ideas. This new system was designed to avoid the pitfalls seen in previous asbestos and GM Truck class action suits.

For the full article, click here.

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Posted In: Asbestos and Mesothelioma , Products liability , Toxic Torts , pharmaceuticals

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USA Today recently found a number of products liability lawsuits that alleged corporate malfeasance in cases of pharmacy errors at Walgreens and CVS. Many were settled out of court and nearly all of the products liability lawsuit settlements included confidentiality agreements.

One products liability attorneys opined that attorneys have an ethical dilemma in these situations – a duty to their client and a duty to the public good. But their first duty is to their client so if their client is going to get paid, the pharmacies insist on silence.

For the full article.

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Posted In: Products liability , pharmaceuticals

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The FDA has proposed a rule in direct contradiction to a law passed by Congress that helps hold negligent drug companies accountable for injuries to consumers caused by prescription drugs. Congress passed the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act (FDAAA) recently which holds drug companies responsible for promptly updating drug labels when they become aware of new safety information. The new rule being proposed by the FDA will relax labeling requirements so that drug companies can use it to claim immunity for failures to warn patients and consumers of drug hazards. This is a form of bureaucratic activism, where unelected agencies like the FDA ignore the will of Congress. If the drug companies are not held accountable for failure to warn, unnecessarily injured consumers will not be able to win compensation from them and the burden will be transmitted to taxpayers.

CONTACT YOUR CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES TODAY and urge them to investigate the FDA's attempt to upsurp Congress's authority to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of their constituents.

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Posted In: Products liability , Tort Reform , pharmaceuticals

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2,682 product liability lawsuits were filed against Medtronic Inc. due to failures in their Marquis line of implanted cardiac defibrillators. The company has recently reached a $114.1 million settlement agreement in response to the legal cases.

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Posted In: Products liability , pharmaceuticals

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