LawSquawker • Thomas & Wan's Blawg

What is the sixth biggest killer in America? Car wrecks? Cancer? Heart attacks? No, it's medical errors... Preventable medical errors kill and seriously injure hundreds of thousands of Americans every year. Any discussion of medical negligence that does not involve preventable medical errors ignores this fundamental problem. And while some interested parties would prefer to focus on doctors’ insurance premiums, health care costs, or alternative compensation systems—anything other than the negligence itself—reducing medical errors is the best way to address all the related problems. Preventing medical errors will lower health care costs, reduce doctors’ insurance premiums, and protect the health and well-being of patients. Justice.org has the full story .

Zimmer NexGen CR-Flex Porous Femoral components and Zimmer NexGen LPS-Flex artificial knee replacements have been associated with high incidences of significant pain and loosening of the replacement knee, leading to the failure of the knee replacement, revision knee surgery or other knee surgery complications. In March 2010, data was presented by a group of prominent knee surgeons indicating nearly 9% of patients examined after two years required revision knee surgery and 36% showed signs of loosening of the cement-less CR Flex artificial knee. These failure rates are higher than expected and are believed to be due to design defects. Based on the high number of calls we have received, we believe other models of the Zimmer NexGen artificial knee may also be defective and will ultimately be recalled. On July 29, 2010 Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) issued a letter to Zimmer Holdings regarding problems with certain models of the Zimmer NexGen knee replacement system, in...

According to an FDA Safety Announcement, the potential side effects of Multaq, a prescription drug used to treat abnormal heart rhythm, may be linked to an increased risk of acute liver failure or other liver problems. See the FDA WARNING: Severe Liver Injury with Multaq Multaq (dronedaron) is a new medication that was just approved in July 2009. It is used to treat patients who have had an abnormal heart rhythm during the past six months, such as atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter. Although it has only been on the market for a short period of time, nearly 150,000 people in the United States filled a prescription for the heart drug as of October 2010. The FDA has received a number of reports of heptocellular liver injury and hepatic failure among users of Multaq, including at least two cases of acute liver failure from Multaq that resulted in the need for a liver transplant. The two cases of Multaq liver failure occurred within the first six mon...

A sad and chilling example of why tort reform hurts those that are the most injured. Seriously, any refinery worker in Texas needs to know that they really have no recourse if they are burned, maimed, killed, etc. by the negligence of the refinery. Because of tort reform, we have to turn these potential clients away all the time. People seem to have a mistaken belief that you can sue when you are injured by the negligence of others--well, thanks to "tort reformers," you really can't do that in Texas. Sad, but true. Next time you are injured from negligence, don't call a lawyer, call Rick Perry and your Congressman/woman and tell them that insurance and corporate greed is literally killing good, decent workers.

Why is Congress tearing apart the 7th Amendment and striking down State's Rights with H.B. 5? House Bill 5 is the so-called tort reform bill that barely made it out of the Judiciary Committee to limit meritorious lawsuits against health providers. Maybe it's because the sponsor of the bill has been sued multiple times himself for medical malpractice...the NY Times and Mother Jones has the full story: Case in point is one of the very congressmen sponsoring the bill, Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.). In 2007, the New York Times reports, Gingrey, who is a doctor, settled a lawsuit for $500,000 in a case involving a pregnant woman whose appendicitis Gingrey and others failed to diagnose. Her appendix burst, causing a massive infection that left her unborn child dead and the woman partially disabled after she suffered a stroke as a result. That wasn't the only time Gingrey has been sued. The Times writes: In a pretrial deposition, Dr. Gingrey testified that he had been sued...

Just another example that confirms all our suspicions about insurance companies... During intermission at a recent game, the USHL's Indiana Ice held a contest where a fan tries to score a length-of-the-ice goal for $50,000. One man, who said if he won would give the money to charity, succeeded, but was told him his goal didn't count because he was over some line and the insurance company who sponsored this challenge didn't pay out the prize. The Indiana Ice, however, did make a donation to charity. The full story is below...even more telling is that Allstate apparently turned around and blamed a third-party insurance company for being the bad guy. I mean, the name of the contest was Allstate Good Hands Shootout--yet Allstate claims it was someone else that should have paid--sound familiar? That happens all the time in lawsuits--it's called "subrogation" (really, passing-the-buck). Here's the full blow by blow: On Saturday night at the Pepsi ...

From Texas Watch : Washington lawmakers who advocate for medical malpractice reform assume they know what goes on in doctors’ offices. They say physicians order unnecessary tests because they fear being sued. So-called “defensive medicine” drives up health spending, the argument goes. They don’t acknowledge many doctors order tests because they’re trying to do a thorough job with patients. They rarely mention too much testing is a result of this country’s “fee for service” system of paying doctors. The more care they provide, the more they bill. Yet proponents of tort reform continue to call for changes in the law – usually caps on the amount of money in non-economic damages patients can collect in a malpractice lawsuits. Even if that did drive down the price of insurance for doctors, that doesn’t mean the savings would be passed on to consumers. It wouldn’t automatically lead to reduced health costs. Read More: Des Moines Register

Yes, yes, we all know about the hot coffee case. But do you really know the truth? A documentary is in the running at Sundance Film Festival called Hot Coffee , and it explores not only that case but three other lawsuits in which seriously injured people are denied their rights under the current legal system. Many people have no idea how we as Americans are being manipulated by powerful interests, and we are losing our rights to fairness and justice under so-called "tort reform." We are giving away our 7th Amendment rights and we don't even know it. I haven't seen the movie yet, but here's a trailer and discussion: The civil justice system has been under heavy attack for over 25 years. Despite the fact that federal legislation has never been successful, big business interests have won in the hearts and minds of average people. They launched a public relations campaign starting in the mid-80’s and continuing over the last two decades to convince the...

This is a brilliant blog entry from 7th Amendment Advocate Blog about the absurd idea of federal tort reform mentioned by President Obama in his State of the Union: I'm disapppointed that the President and the sponsors of H.R. 5 have targeted this sector of the Constitutionally protected civil justice system for a federal takeover. When Pres. Obama raised it during the SOTU, conservative commentator Ramesh Ponnuru immediately called it "one of the Republicans' crummiest ideas" and added, "There's no need for a federal takeover of medical-malpractice rules." EXACTLY. But apparently the President and senior members of the GOP (the party of "limited government") now aim to limit your 7th Amendment right by using a government mandate, exactly what the GOP opposes in ObamaCare. Bizarre. ... Here are a set of reasons why Tea Partiers, Constitutional conservatives, Main Street Republicans and Blue Collars should vigorously oppose H.R. 5 ...

GlaxoSmithKline is taking a huge hit in the amount of $3.4 billion that it is charging off due to the litigation and settlement involving its diabetes drug Avandia. The drug is known to cause heart attacks and apparently GSK's former CEO knew about it way back when. When will companies learn that it is cheaper to do the right thing that get slapped for doing the wrong thing? Bnet has more: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)’s $3.4 billion legal charge on the diabetes drug Avandia probably isn’t the last of the costs the company will record against this drug. That means Avandia will probably be a loss maker for GSK, proving that former CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier’s 1999 failure to follow up on worries about heart attack deaths associated with Avandia was a strategic disaster for the company, costing it billions in actual dollars and billions more in lost-opportunity dollars. When the dust has settled, GSK would probably have been better off stashing its development and marketing costs in a saving...

This is just a funny video...and true...I feel for my colleagues on the insurance defense side...

Interesting oral argument yesterday in the Zicam litigation brought by its shareholders relating to corporate disclosures. Satan, Scalia and anosmia...quite a lively discussion. The New York Times has more: What do you think about Satan?” Justice Scalia asked a lawyer for the government, who was just starting his argument. The case, Matrixx Initiatives v. Siracusano, No. 09-1156, was a class action against Matrixx Initiatives, an Arizona company accused of committing securities fraud by failing to tell investors of reports that its main product, a nasal spray and gel called Zicam, might have caused some users to lose their sense of smell. The condition is known as anosmia . After a link between Zicam and anosmia was reported on “Good Morning America” in 2004, the company’s stock dropped 24 percent. In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers not to use the products, which had been sold as over-the-counter homeopathic medicines, and Matrixx ...

Matrixx Initiatives, the makers of Zicam, will argue today before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding what drugmakers, medical companies and other businesses tell investors about their products. The issue involves whether Matrixx Initiatives violated securities laws when it didn't tell investors that some consumers complained that they lost their sense of smell after using Zicam Cold Remedy nasal spray and gel swabs. The case is Matrixx Initiatives v. Siracusano, and the SCOTUS info and briefing is here . The Arizona Republic has more: Drugmakers, biotechnology groups and other business interests have lined up behind Matrixx Initiatives, arguing that widespread disclosure of medical complaints from people who take drugs or use medical devices would confuse investors and consumers. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, AARP and others have sided with a Decatur, Ill.-based pension fund that sued the company. The nation's high court will hear oral arguments toda...

Following the deaths of at least 32 babies since 2000 from falls or strangulation, the Federal Product Safety Commission recently adopted new crib-safety specifications that one observer called the "strongest crib standard in the word." The new rules ban all drop-side cribs and impose tougher rules for crib slats and mattress supports, with the goal of eliminating gaps in which babies can become trapped and suffocate or strangle to death. The new rules, which take effect in about six months, will make it illegal to resell almost all current cribs, because they won't meet the new standard, the Tribune says. They will require hotels and child care centers to replace their current cribs within two years. If your baby has been injured by a drop-side crib, contact us at 713-529-1177 to learn your legal options against the manufacturers of these dangerous products.

Happy New Year--we've started the new year off in a very busy way--Matrixx Initiatives offered a settlement to our Zicam clients right before Christmas. Matrixx is offering a $15.5 million to settle the lawsuits who allege that they lost their sense of taste and smell due to the company’s recalled line of nasal sprays and gels. Zinc gluconate-containing Zicam products were recalled in 2009 after the FDA identified at least 120 adverse event reports involving loss of smell with Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs Kids Size. In the aftermath of the recall, FDA inspectors discovered 800 reports of Zicam problems that Matrixx Initiatives failed to forward to the agency, in violation of federal regulations.

Good news. The Texas Department of Insurance is raising the minimum coverage for auto liability in Texas to $30,000 up from $25,000. It is effective January 1, 2011. Yes, it's a small step, but at least it is moving in the right direction. We meet with potential clients frequently who were in accidents in which the medical bills are tens of thousands of dollars. However, as you've read in my previous posts, why depend on a bad driver's insurance or the lack thereof? Count on yourself and buy uninsured/underinsured coverage on your own policy. It's cheap and it could save your life or your family member's life when it comes to paying for damages. Most of the time, the bad driver that hits you isn't going to be the responsible millionaire--it's going to the be irresponsible driver who let his or her policy lapse.

A victory for common sense and justice...for the millions who have a home office comes this recognition of the realities of the 21st century workplace. From the Austin American-Statesman : The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that an insurance company improperly denied workers' compensation coverage to a traveling saleswoman injured while driving her company car toward her company-furnished office. Liana Leordeanu was denied coverage for the 2003 accident because her office was also her home in a Northwest Austin apartment complex. Driving home is a personal reason for travel that left her ineligible for insurance meant to cover employees injured on the job, American Protection Insurance Co. determined. But the Supreme Court, ruling 8-1, said Leordeanu was injured while on a work-related mission, driving from an employer-sponsored dinner in South Austin to an employer-provided storage facility and then on to her home office to finish some paperwork. "Generally, tra...

Hmm...I'm going to stick with Folger's. Marketers must have done studies that people will buy anythings labeled "all-natural." At least the FDA is being tough. From law360.com : The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued a warning letter to a company for marketing an "all-natural" virility-boosting coffee that the agency found to contain an active ingredient similar to one in Viagra. The letter is the latest step in the FDA's decade-long crackdown on so-called dietary supplements designed and marketed to treat erectile dysfunction and enhance sexual performance... Just remember, arsenic is "all-natural" too.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. is on the hook for nearly $1.2 million in damages after a federal jury in North Carolina found that the company failed to warn a woman's doctor that its Aredia and Zometa drugs could cause a disfiguring bone condition. The actual verdict was $12.8 million but is being reduced to $1.2 million due to North Carolina tort reform laws. The woman's family’s lawsuit was the third product-liability case to go to trial over the bone-strengthening treatments. Last month, a New Jersey jury rejected a woman’s claims that Aredia and Zometa caused her jaw deterioration. In October 2009, a Montana jury ordered Novartis to pay $3.2 million in damages to a cancer patient who made the same claims over the medicines. Novartis is facing about 700 suits over the bone-strengthening medicines, according to court filings. Some of the cases have been consolidated before a federal judge in Tennessee . Others have been sent back to their home courts for t...

We are currently reviewing cases of Hyland Teething Tablet poisoning. Please STOP using this product immediately and keep the product in a safe place in a waterproof container as evidence. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns that the recalled tablets may pose a risk to children due to inconsistent amounts of belladonna , a substance that can cause serious harm at larger doses. The FDA has received reports of seizures, difficulty breathing, and muscle weakness in children using the tablets. There have also been reports of overdose; the containers do not have child safety caps.