FDA & Prescription Drugs | InjuryBoard Atlanta

Trasylol (aprotinin), manufactured by Bayer, is a medication used to treat excessive bleeding and inflammation in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG). Due to nature of CABG procedures, most people do not realize they received the drug until after the surgery is over, if ever. That practice however is slowly changing as the FDA and the New England Journal of...

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Osteonecrosis of the Jaw, also known as Phossy Jaw or Dead Jaw, is a very serious condition caused by the blockbuster osteoporosis drug Fosamax. Manufactured by Merck & Co., Fosamax is a nitrogenous bisphonate that has been linked to jaw death in many unwary consumers. As of 2004 the FDA asked Merck & Co. to add a suitable warning to its Fosamax label but Merck failed to do so for fear of losing...

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Ortho Evra, a widely prescribed birth-control patch manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, recently changed its warning label to reflect an increased risk of blood clots in women's legs and lungs as opposed to those who use the pill. According to ABCNEWS.com:The investigation by The Associated Press found that patch users die and suffer blood clots at a rate three times higher than women taking the...

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Ten new personal injury lawsuits were recently filed against Pfizer Inc., charging the drug manufacturer with concealing health risks associated with its widely prescribed drug Lipitor. Lipitor, mainly used by those who desire to lower their cholesterol, has been linked to serious side effects which include among others nerve damage, memory loss, and other cognitive impairments.According to...

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Fellow InjuryBoard blogger Bob Carroll of Tampa Bay, Florida brought my attention to a rising number of concerns relating to certain antibiotics like Cipro that are in need of stronger warnings on its prescribing labels. Cipro and other similar antibiotics from the fluoroquinolone class have been linked to tendon injuries in the past but now as the use of these drugs grow in popularity, so do...

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U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon has declared a new trial is warranted on the issues of damages in a federal case where the jury awarded Gerald Barnett $50 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages. In his ruling, Judge Fallon said the award was "grossly excessive". A new trial date has not yet been set but it is important to note that the same jury will re-hear the...

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Bextra, released by Pfizer in 2001, is a cox-2 painkiller that was promoted as a miracle drug for many arthritis sufferers. However the promises provided by Pfizer did not deliver as expected for hundreds of thousands of unwary consumers. After being linked to heart attacks, strokes and the potentially deadly allergic reaction Stevens Johnson syndrome, Bextra was pulled from the market on April...

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The Food and Drug Administration has ordered stimulants like Ritalin to now use a stronger warning to advise doctors, pharmacists and patients of the associaed risks of heart problems in children and adults alike. It is also supposed to alert doctors that one child in a thousand experience hallucinations according to recent findings. The new warnings are not as strong as the one the FDA advisory...

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Did you know that adverse drug reactions are the 4th leading cause of death in the United States? If not, you do now. One such allergic reaction is called Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS). Another is its more severe form called Toxic Epidermal Necrosis (TEN). These deadly reactions are caused by a number of drugs including but not limited to Bextra, Daypro and Feldene. If you or a loved one have...

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The Food and Drug Administration and GlaxoSmithKline recently sent notice to healthcare professionals and pharmacists about a new black box warning on Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine sulfate). The drug, typically prescribed to treat Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and narcolepsy, has been shown to cause sudden death in association with CNS stimulant treatment in children and adolescents...

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Accutane, the powerful prescription medication for acne, which has already been linked to birth defects, has recently been shown to increase health risks associated with the heart and liver. According to the study, most researchers already knew the drug could increase levels of cholesterol, liver enzymes and blood fats called triglycerides that can raise the risk of heart disease. But the new...

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The first of over 4,500 Prempro lawsuits is set to go to trial before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Little Rock, Arkansas with jury selection slated to begin first thing tomorrow morning. Benton Arkansas resident, Linda Reeves, is suing the drug manufacturer Wyeth after alleging she developed breast cancer after taking Prempro, a hormone-replacement therapy, for the last eight years. Prempro is a...

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As an attorney, I always find myself looking for ways to help out a client in terms of the law. Sometimes however that is just not enough. Sometimes clients need their attorneys to help them find answers to everyday questions concerning their current injuries including suggestions on treatment and support. One main area that I have encountered this situation is in my dealing with those who have...

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Over the last few years there have been seemingly well justified concerns into the role of the Food and Drug Administration and the decisions its ultimately makes on any given medication before allowing dispersement to patients all over the United States. A recent survey published on July 20, 2006 by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows the depth of political influence and interference that...

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Judge Carol Higbee, a state judge in New Jersey, who presided over the first Vioxx trial in the state, threw out a defense verdict that had favored Merck in a case brought by 60-year-old postal worker Frederick Humeston, who claimed Vioxx caused his heart attack. That jury ruled that Merck & Co., had provided adequate warnings to doctors about the risks of Vioxx and suggested that Merck & Co.,...

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