Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

As a Dallas-Fort Worth pharmaceutical lawyer, I know that birth control pills pose a documented risk to the health of women across North Texas. The hazards associated with medication designed to prevent unwanted pregnancies has been known for some time. One of the major concerns is the risk of suffering a blood clot caused by the estrogen in the pills. While blood clots are common among patients taking such medicines, it is when the blood clot travels to the heart, lungs or brain that it poses a very real threat to the safety of the individual.

According to Dr. Darren Tate of Texas Health Fort Worth, the risk of a woman suffering a blood clot is approximately 6 in 10,000 when on birth. While Dr. Tate claims that all birth control medicines pose similar risks, he said that pills containing the smaller amounts of estrogen pose a lesser risk. As a DFW personal injury lawyer, I know that one of the most dangerous birth control pills currently on the market is Yasmin (also sold as Yaz, and in generic form as Ocella).

The reasons that Yasmin is so particularly dangerous is that it contains a fourth-generation progestin called drospiernone which is thought to elevate the level of potassium in the patient’s blood stream. The health risks associated with Yasmin include deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, stroke, heart attack and gallbladder disease.

If you or someone you love has suffered any life-threatening injuries which you believe to be a result of taking Yasmin or any other birth control medication, it is wise to discuss your case with a board certified dangerous drug attorney to make sure you are fully aware of your legal rights. You may be entitled to compensation.

Please call us toll free at 800-354-6275 or call locally in Ft. Worth at 817-294-1900 for a free, no obligation case review.

In the last few years, more and more serious side effects and medical conditions have been linked to the hair loss drug Propecia. Although most prescription medications come with a list of potential side effects, some of the side effects associated with Propecia can be permanent and life-changing. It’s become quite common to hear about Propecia causing permanent sexual dysfunction and several lawsuits throughout the country have been filed against the maker of Propecia for just that.

What’s even more alarming is the news that the hair loss drug Propecia could be linked to one of the most deadly diseases around – prostate cancer. In June of 2011, the FDA informed the public of new safety information for drugs called 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs), like Propecia. According to the FDA, men who take these drugs may have an increased risk of being diagnosed with a more serious form of prostate cancer (high-grade prostate cancer).

Since June, the Warnings and Precautions labels for all FDA-approved 5-ARIs have been revised to include information about this prostate cancer risk. The Anderson Law Firm is reviewing Propecia prostate cancer cases at this time. Contact us today to explore your legal options, or read more about Propecia prostate cancer lawsuits on our website.

If you have taken the popular diabetes drug Actos and have since been diagnosed with bladder cancer, you may be eligible to recover compensation for your injuries. This summer, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about Actos and its link to bladder cancer in long-time users.

At the Anderson Law Firm, our Texas Actos lawyers are currently reviewing Actos claims. If you have developed bladder cancer because of Actos, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. As with all of our legal services, we work on what is called a contingency fee scale. That means our lawyers are only paid out of the amount of money recovered through your claim. Basically, we don’t get paid unless we win.
To find out more about Actos and bladder cancer, or to learn more about what you can recover from your Actos claim, contact the pharmaceutical lawyers at the Anderson Law Firm today.

As a Fort Worth personal injury lawyer, I am acutely aware of the high number of traffic accident fatalities throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. The large numbers of 18 wheelers which pass through the region and frequent drunk driving wrecks are perhaps the most significant contributors to DFW’s high death rate in auto collisions. However, a new study by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention has shown that for the first time ever, car crash death are outnumbered by drug-related fatalities based on nationwide figures.

This is not entirely surprising. Over just the past few months, there are several drugs whose hazardous side-effects have become public knowledge. For example: the popular diabetes medication Actos has recently been linked to increased likelihood of bladder cancer; Propecia, designed to reduce hairloss has the rather undesired side-effects of impotence, infertility and erectile dysfunction; and the birth control pill Yaz has been found to cause blood clots, strokes and heart attacks.

Aside from these very dangerous drugs, while other preventable illnesses have decreased, so prescription drug addiction has been on the rise. Some of the more potent and dangerous medications often abused by patients which the CDC singled out include Fentanyl, OxyContin, Vicodin, Soma and Xanax.

If you suspect either yourself or someone you care about is struggling with prescription drug addiction, you should contact your family doctor immediately to discuss your options. If you or a loved one has suffered illness or injury due to a known dangerous drug, please contact the board certified medical malpractice and wrongful death attorneys at the Anderson Law Firm for a free no obligation consultation on your personal situation. We can be reached toll free at 800-354-6275.

If you’ve watched TV recently, there’s a good chance you’ve seen the Actos drug lawsuit commercials. Actos became the most popular choice of drug for treating Type 2 diabetes after Avandia, a prescription similar to Actos, was found to sharply increase the risk of heart attacks in its users. But in June, the FDA released a statement that said patients who have taken Actos (pioglitazone) for more than a year have a high risk to develop bladder cancer, which is why you are seeing all those Actos lawsuit commercials on TV. For the millions of people who take Actos, these commercials can be frightening and probably make users wonder if they should continue taking the drug.

Although Actos is known to increase risk of bladder cancer in some patients, for others the drug works fine. For the most common signs of Actos complications, read the list below.

Symptoms of Actos Bladder Cancer
• Sharp pain in lower abdomen or back
• Urgent need to urinate
• Pain while urinating
• Blood or red color in urine

In the Actos warning issued by the FDA, they encourage patients taking Actos to tell their doctor if they are experiencing any of the above symptoms.

Should you stop taking Actos? That’s only a question you and your doctor can conclude together. Bring your concerns to them and get their professional opinion. If Actos has already caused your bladder cancer and you are interested in receiving compensation for your injuries, give one of the Actos attorneys at the Anderson Law Firm a call at 817-294-1900. Our injury lawyers have more than 40 years of combined experience in dangerous and defective drug and medical device litigation.

The FDA’s investigation into the complications caused by transvaginal mesh have concluded that women who have received the treatment may suffer far greater complications that those who receive alternative treatments for their pelvic organ prolapse. Common symptoms associated with vaginal mesh implants include chronic discomfort, pain during sex, infection, bleeding and vaginal scarring among others. The non-profit organization Public Citizen has strongly urged the FDA to recall all transvaginal mesh devices.

Have you been effected by this defective medical device?

Pelvic organ prolapse typically occurs in women soon after childbirth or a hysterectomy. It can also occur following the onset of menopause. Experts estimated that thousands of women throughout Dallas-Fort Worth and across America have received the transvaginal mesh implant. Due to lack of sufficient testing, the very real danger that the device poses to women’s health was not known until recently.

If you believe your doctor treated your pelvic organ prolapse with vaginal mesh surgery, it’s important that you do have legal rights. Contact the personal injury attorneys at the Anderson Law Firm for a no fee, no obligation consultation. Our lawyers are experienced in medical malpractice cases and defective products cases.

Call us toll free from anywhere in Texas at 800-354-6275, or call locally at 817-294-1900.

Now days, it seems like all prescription medications have a huge list of side effects, just listen to the drug commercials on TV. But when do the possible side effects or consequences of taking a drug outweigh the medicine’s benefits? This summer, the FDA made a warning about the nation’s most popular diabetes pill, Actos and its ability to increase the risk of bladder cancer in long-time users.

This warning was based on research found in a five year study conducted by the drug’s manufacturer, Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Actos has already been banned in France and Germany and in America; lawsuits are piling up against the manufacturer of the drug for failure to warn its takers of the risk of cancer.

In my 20+ year’s experience practicing personal injury law in Fort Worth, I’ve learned that it can take years before people realize that their physical ailments, like cancer or heart disease, have been caused by dangerous drugs. I urge you, if you are taking Actos talk to your doctor, especially if you have been taking it for a number of years or have a history of cancer. If you have bladder cancer and think it could be related to the drug Actos, call myself and the other pharmaceutical attorneys at the Anderson Law Firm in Fort Worth. We are currently reviewing Actos bladder cancer cases and may be able to help you recover compensation for your injuries.

Ever heard of the “July Effect”? I hadn’t either until just a few days ago. Apparently, the July Effect refers to the spike of deaths in teaching hospitals in July and according to a recent study by the Journal of General Internal Medicine, it’s actually true. In the report, they recorded a 10 percent spike in teaching hospital deaths during the month of July due to medical errors. They call this spike “The July Effect” and they attribute it to the influx of new interns and residents in teaching hospitals.

Even though I’ve been a Fort Worth personal injury and medical malpractice attorney for the last 20 years, this was news to me.

Why do so many more medical errors happen in July? The answer is quite simple: medical students graduate in June, start their residency or internship at the hospital in July and make mistakes because---they don’t know what they’re doing!

No matter what you do, when you start a new job you are bound to make mistakes. The only difference is that when you are responsible for the medical care of a patient those mistakes can be deadly.

It’s good to know this information, especially if you have to be admitted to a teaching hospital in July.

The laws concerning medical malpractice and error are extremely complicated and different in every state, but if you think you’ve been a victim of medical malpractice or error in Dallas or Fort Worth, give my law firm a call at 817-294-1900. At the Anderson Law Firm, we can explore your legal options during our free, no obligation case review and see if we can help you in your injury claim.

The following is a guest blog from the Los Angeles personal injury lawyers at Bisnar | Chase:

Avandia, an oral medication prescribed to treat Type II diabetes, has recently been linked to dangerous side effects, and those who have developed life-threatening side-effects or have lost a loved one due to this drug should contact an Avandia attorney in Los Angeles.

Scott, a forum user on the popular site drugs.com which provides a community of resources for pharmaceutical patients, stated: “I was taking the drug Avandia for about 4 years. I developed a blockage of AOD artery in my heart. The blockage is about 70-90%... My condition is a split of the inner lining in the artery and is not treatable by stents or bypass surgery.” Many users like these have commented on the increase in arterial blockages and other severe side-effects after using Avandia for a significant period of time.

A study that came out March 17th reported that those who took the prescription drug Avandia have a considerably raised risk of heart problems and death than patients taking other similar brands of diabetes prescriptions. Another study involving 810,000 consumers of Avandia and other diabetes medications found a “statistically significant increase” in side effects and mortality rates. The mortality toll rose 14% and the risk of heart attack rose 16%. In fact, in July of 2009, the FDA stated that Avandia users had a 40% increase in bone fractures. .

There are several reported severe side effects which include:

-Bone Fractures
-Heart Attack
-Stroke
-Congestive Heart Failure

How to Get Help

Avandia (rosiglitazone) is intended to control blood sugar levels but has resulted in serious side effects and death. If you feel like you have a case against Avandia, it’s important to file as soon as possible because the short statute of limitations may bar your claim from being presented after a certain time from the date of the incident.

A knowledgeable and experienced Los Angeles attorney experienced in Avandia cases will be able to successfully help you with claims such as loss of earning ability or wages, medical expenses, and emotional anguish.

If you have taken Avandia and are experiencing serious side effects, contact an Avandia Attorney in Los Angeles now.

The defective medical devices and medical malpractice lawyers at the Anderson Law Firm are currently accepting clients for a potential claim against DePuy Orthopaedics, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson Services, Inc. Between 2005 and 2010, approximately 93,000 patients received defective hip replacements which were later recalled by DePuy. Close to 49% of the people who received the artificial hips reported chronic pain and other symptoms to their doctors. In most cases, further surgical revision was required, and in some cases a second hip replacement operation was necessary.

The affected prostheses are the DePuy Orthapaedics ASR XL Acetabular Hip Replacement System or ASR Hip Resurfacing System.

If you believe you received either of these devices, you should contact the hospital where you received your surgery to find out. Testing is available to patients to help determine wither you may also experience problems with the devices. Please also contact the Anderson Law Firm as soon as possible for a free, no obligation consultation on your case. Companies that manufacture medical prosthetics make a lot of money from their products, and the fact that these hips have caused so many people so many problems is simply inexcusable. Call us now, toll free at 800-354-6275. There is no obligation, and unless we win a settlement for you, you won’t owe us a penny.

For more information on the DePuy artificial hip recall, click here.

Ft. Worth - Dallas Board Certified Injury Lawyer Mark Anderson is now representing those who have been suffering problems with their DePuy Hip Replacement System. This hip replacement was first made available by the manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, in July 2003. Since that time, many people have experienced problems with these hip replacements, such as pain, swelling and problems walking, loosening of the device, fracture of the bones around the implant, hip dislocation, and even another hip replacement when the system entirely failed. The hip replacement systems which are the most problematic are the DePuy ASR system.

If you have one of the DePuy ASR hip systems, you have the potential of a legal claim. Potential recoveries include compensation for your medical bills, lost wages and your pain and suffering. For more information, click here for DePuy Hip Recall Legal Rights.
Mark Anderson has represented many victims of defective drugs and devices in the past and has successfully recovered compensation for over a thousand dangerous drug and device victims. To find out more about your legal options, contact the Anderson Law Firm at (817) 294 1900 in Ft. Worth, at (214) 327 8000 in Dallas or across Texas at (877) 294 1115.

Here in the Dallas Fort Worth area, you hear about it in the news every now and then: a drug is recalled because of potentially dangerous or fatal side effects. What they typically don’t tell you about is how the FDA comes to the conclusion that a drug is dangerous enough to call for it to be “pulled off of the shelves.” It usually isn’t because of theoretical case studies. Drug recalls are usually a result of a pattern of injuries, sometimes fatalities, which are reported to the federal database. Unfortunately, those people who suffered the consequences wrongly, but justifiably, believed they were taking a safe drug.

Legal remedies for drug-related injuries
If you follow my blog, you’ll notice that I’ve posted a couple of articles about the Vermont woman who sued Wyeth over a drug injected for anti-nausea that ultimately led to losing her arm. Wyeth appealed her lawsuit all the way to the United States Supreme Court, citing a federal preemption that could potentially ban patients from suing pharmaceutical companies at all. Fortunately, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the patient’s right to sue, overturning the ban and making it possible for patients to seek legal remedies in the event of a drug injury.

Thanks in part to that federal ruling, patients have the right to pursue legal remedies in the event of a botched or dangerous drug case. As information about dangerous drugs becomes more publicly available, patients may find that even though they didn’t think they had a case, they can pursue legal action against a drug company for their injuries.

Don’t let a drug company get away with putting potentially dangerous drugs on the market. If you’ve suffered a drug-related injury, contact a personal injury attorney to find out whether you’re eligible to pursue a legal case against the drug company. You’re not only advocating for yourself; you’re potentially protecting anyone else who might ever use the drug and find themselves injured or killed.

Currently, the Anderson Law Firm is reviewing cases involving the dangerous drugs Reglan (or Metoclopramide), Avandia and Chantix. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of taking these drugs, contact us online or at 877-294-1115.

If you have been injured in an automobile wreck, truck collision, motorcycle crash, or any other type of accident which causes personal injuries in Texas, you must be aware of the relevant law called the Statute of Limitations. This law requires you to file a lawsuit at a local Texas Courthouse within two years of the date of the accident. If you have not resolved your injury case before then, it is absolutely imperative that this very strict two-year deadline is complied with. Failing to file a lawsuit within the two-year time frame eliminates your right to pursue a claim forever.

And it's imporatant not to wait until the eve of your two years to think about purusing an injury claim. If you've been injured as the result of another person's negligence, you should consider hiring a Board Certified Injury Attorney as soon as possible after your accident. Sooner is better because crucial evidence must be collected before it disappears. Plus, it's very common for injured parties to make mistakes on their claims if they don't have the guidance of an experienced personal injury lawyer.

The common mistakes injury victims make are discussed in detail in the newly released book by Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson. It's appropriately titled, 15 Mistakes That Will Wreck Your Texas Accident Case. This informative book is available for FREE to Texas residents who may order it by calling 817-294-1900 or by visiting: www.DontWreckYourCase.com.

If you have been injured in an auto accident, or any other type of accident for that matter, you have a ton of options when it comes down to hiring a lawyer for your Texas accident claim. Hiring an attorney is a very important decision and it's sometimes very difficult to try and weed through all of the attorneys out there who hold themselves out as being “injury attorneys.” So how do you know you're making the right decision? The best thing to do is to limit your search to only attorneys who are Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. This is a designation held by only 2% of the roughly 80,000 lawyers who practice law in Texas.

What does it mean to be Board Certified? It means that the attorney has passed a rigorous test on injury topics, has tried a certain number of cases to a jury, has been recommended by local attorneys and judges and has been practicing a certain number of years. There are plenty of qualified attorneys in Texas who are Board Certified, so there's no reason that an injury victim should settle for a lawyer who is not Board Certified.

The importance of hiring a Board Certified Injury Attorney is discussed in Mark A. Anderson’s new book, 15 Mistakes That Will Wreck your Texas Accident Case. This book is full of information which is helpful to accident victims. The Anderson Law Firm is offering a copy of the book FREE to Texas residents. To order your free copy, please call the firm at 817-294-1900. The book can also be ordered online at www.DontWreckYourCase.com.

It seems that I am always reporting about bad news. But today, I have incredibly good news to report about a decision issued by the U.S. Supreme Court. Back in September, I wrote about the Levine vs. Wyeth lawsuit. In that case, a Vermont lady had sued Wyeth and won a $6.7 million jury award based upon her losing her arm because of a botched injection of an anti-nausea medication. The manufacturer of the drug, Wyeth, appealed the jury’s award all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and relied on a federal governmental ruling which essentially barred any lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company as long as the drug was approved by the Food & Drug Administration. This was just one of the many anti-consumer rulings set forth during the Bush administration.

The U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 ruling rejected Wyeth’s interpretation of the Bush administration’s ruling and said that the federal law did not prevent Ms. Levine from suing Wyeth. This is great news for Ms. Levine who has to live with one arm for the rest of her life due to the defective drug manufactured by Wyeth. I am very happy for her. I am also happy for all of America as the threat of litigation keeps these pharmaceutical companies somewhat honest. When they do not have the fear of lawsuits, they are truly able to disregard patient safety and focus only on profit.

See a full copy of the opinion here.

Information provided by Fort Worth Injury Lawyer, Mark Anderson.

Contact number: 817-294-1900

Yesterday, Senator Grassley issues a letter to Wyeth, the large pharmaceutical company, requesting information on its role in ghostwriting articles later published in medical journals supporting the safety of one of its drugs. One of the articles in issue was published in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and supported the safety of the best selling drug Prempro. Through litigation, Plaintiffs’ lawyers had discovered the trail of the long suspected ghostwriting theory. What they had found were documents which showed that Wyeth came up with the ideas for the medical articles, drafted outlines (even came up with the titles), recruited authors, picked the eventual publications to use---all without ever disclosing to the public that they had a role in the articles.

Sure does make you wonder about the accuracy of the articles. Clearly the drug companies want favorable articles published so they can sell their drugs. The worst part is the articles are relied on by the prescribing doctors in making their decisions.

I wrote a few months ago about the “seeding” or marketing studies done by Merck with regards to Vioxx. Yesterday’s news is just another example of what can happen when companies put profits first above safety. Stay tuned as for the result of this Congressional inquiry.

If you have a question regarding a dangerous prescription drug, please call Fort Worth, Texas Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson. His firm is currently accepting cases regarding Heparin, Avandia and Chantix and reviewing the safety of other prescription drugs. Please call the Firm at 817-294-1900 or Contact Mark A. Anderson Online.

The Levine v. Wyeth case before the United States Supreme Court could effectively end the chance to litigate against a pharmaceutical drug company if that company produces a harmful drug when it had previous knowledge that the drug was dangerous. These types of cases are called “product liability” lawsuits and the general theory asserted is that the drug manufacturer “failed to warn” about the drug’s dangerous (and oftentimes fatal) side effects. Over the years, these types of cases have helped flush out many dangerous drugs, and thousands of victims of these drugs have been able to recover compensation for their injuries.

The drug manufacturers have complained that the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval process is strict enough, and if the warning label meets the FDA’s approval, then the drug is good enough to market. These drug companies have been arguing that federal law “preempts” a person’s right to sue in a state court action. Stated another way, the drug companies say you can’t sue them if they have obtained FDA approval. Since no drug can be sold without FDA approval, this means there would not be any way to sue a drug company if it put out a dangerous drug. Besides the drug companies, this position of “federal preemption” is supported by the Bush Administration (no surprise there—he hates plaintiff lawyers) and by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (which lobbies hard against all types of lawsuits).

Is federal preemption a good thing? Absolutely not. There have been countless drugs sold in America which should not have been on the market. For example, American Home Products (now Wyeth) sold Fen-Phen and Redux despite having knowledge that the drugs caused valve problems and deadly primary pulmonary hypertension. Thousands of innocent people were hurt by those drugs and Wyeth did nothing but continue to rake in the profits until the FDA stepped in. Other drugs, like Vioxx, have similar stories. There are currently several other drugs in the early stages of litigation, building up to be more claims of profits over people. (Examples of such drugs include: Avandia, Chantix, Digitek and Heparin).

So, is it just the supposedly “greedy” plaintiffs lawyers who want to be able to continue bringing lawsuits? No. All consumer groups are strongly against federal preemption. Even the editors of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine realize the good that comes out of lawsuits against bad drugs, and they have filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court asking for the court to rule against federal preemption.

Oral arguments in the Levine v. Wyeth case are set for November 3, 2008. This case is extremely important to the safety of the American public. Last term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision finding federal preemption in cases of FDA approval of medical devices (Reigel v. Medtronic, 128 S. Ct. 999 (2008)). Let’s hope that the court departs from its inclination to help businesses at the cost of injured parties and rules that federal preemption does not apply. If the court rules in favor of Wyeth and applies federal preemption in all “failure to warn” drug caes, it will be a sad day for the safety of Americans.

For more information about federal preemption or your rights to bring a claim for a dangerous drug, please contact Board Certified Personal Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson at 817-294-1900 or Contact Me Online.

In an attempt to get information to the public at an earlier stage than ever before, the Federal Drug Administration (“FDA”) has announced that it will post a listing every three months of the prescription drugs which are being investigated by the FDA. The listing will be posted on the FDA’s Web site. The first list can be found below.

While inclusion on the listing will not mean that a drug is dangerous, it does mean it is under investigation and this step of informing the public is quite an improvement in open government. People should not panic if they are taking a drug that is on the list, but they should be aware of the reported side affects and talk to their doctor about it. Plus, each person should monitor their own health closely if they are taking a drug on this list or any future list published by the FDA.

I know all too well from representing many families where a loved one was injured or died from taking a dangerous drug that sometimes the risk benefit of taking these drugs is just not worth it. I don’t trust drug companies and I know first hand that they can sometimes put profits over people. Just recently I wrote in Dangerous Drug Vioxx Had Misleading Study about the initial Vioxx study that was for marketing purposes instead of safety reasons like Merck had reported.

Here is the first listing of drugs under investigation and the potential problems of the drugs:

Arginine Hydrochloride Injection (R-Gene 10)---Pediatric overdose due to labeling / packaging confusion
Desflurane (Suprane) Cardiac arrest
Duloxetine (Cymbalta) Urinary retention
Etravirine (Intelence) Hemarthrosis
Fluorouracil Cream (Carac) and Ketoconazole Cream (Kuric) Adverse events due to name confusion
Heparin---Anaphylactic-type reactions
Icodextrin (Extraneal)---Hypoglycemia
Insulin U-500 (Humulin R)---Dosing confusion
Ivermectin (Stromectol) and Warfarin---Drug interaction
Lapatinib (Tykerb)---Hepatotoxicity
Lenalidomide (Revlimid)---Stevens Johnson Syndrome
Natalizumab (Tysabri)---Skin melanomas
Nitroglycerin (Nitrostat)---Overdose due to labeling confusion
Octreotide Acetate Depot (Sandostatin LAR)---Ileus
Oxycodone Hydrochloride Controlled-Release (Oxycontin)---Drug misuse, abuse and overdose
Perflutren Lipid Microsphere (Definity)---Cardiopulmonary reactions
Phenytoin Injection (Dilantin)---Purple Glove Syndrome
Quetiapine (Seroquel)---Overdose due to sample pack labeling confusion
Telbivudine (Tyzeka)---Peripheral neuropathy
Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Blockers---Cancers in children and young adults

Last November, Merck reached a tentative settlement to resolve most of the outstanding claims it had against it due to the dangerous drug Vioxx. The settlement was contingent on the number of participants. Approximately 50,000 claimants registered for the settlement and earlier this month, Merck waived it right to walk away from the settlement. Today, the first payments are scheduled to be sent out by the administrator to the claimants’ lawyers. It should be about 40% of the total payout for those receiving these checks, but it is currently unclear how many of the claimants will actually be receiving these checks.

To get to this stage of actually distributing checks only eight months after the tentative agreement was reached is really impressive. I know that sounds like a long time, but there are millions of pages of documents to process. Let’s hope all continues to go “fast” and the victims are able to receive all of the money due them very soon. Of course, if these drug companies would put people over profits, instead of the other way around, we would not have to have any of these types of claims. But like I talked about last week when news came out about the real reason for an early Vioxx study (marketing driven), the safety of its customers is not always what these companies put as it tops priority.

Late this week, the Federal Drug Administration informed healthcare professionals that an ongoing study has uncovered a possible link between the cholesterol lowering drug Vytorin and various forms of cancer. The study, called Simvastatin and Ezetimibe in Aortic Stenosis (SEAS) trial, is designed to see if the drug will reduce the risk of heart problems in people with narrowing of the arteries. The results of the study will not be ready for 3 more months and it will take the FDA another 6 months to evaluate the results. In the meantime, there is no one calling for patients to stop taking the drug, but patients and doctors are encouraged to monitor and report any side effects.

In related news, other researchers who last year said there may be a link between statins (including Vytorin and Zocor) have now said additional work has shown that there is no such link. This report is found in the Journal of American College of Cardiology.

So what should you do if you are on Vytorin, Zocor (or its generic simvastatin) or another statin? I say keep an eye on your health and talk to your doctor if you are concerned. I am taking simvastatin and I plan on keeping track of the results of the study. I know from handling many cases involving dangerous drugs that you have to keep an eye on these things and don’t be afraid to ask questions. As I wrote about earlier this week, you can’t always trust what the pharmaceutical companies are telling you.

According to researchers, the main purpose behind a 1999 clinical study (called Advantage) done by Merck on Vioxx was not to test potential side effects, but instead, it was meant to support a marketing campaign before the launch of this once-popular pain killer. Merck sold about 2.5 billion dollars-worth of this dangerous drug annually before the Food & Drug Administration ("FDA") called for its withdrawl in September, 2004. That's when another study showed that long-term Vioxx users had twice the risk of strokes and heart attacks.

The researchers published their findings this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine Journal. The researchers said that "seeding" (or marketing) studies such as this had long been suspected, but there had not been a "smoking gun" like this before. The original Merck study was also published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The editor of this journal says Advantage's main purpose was not disclosed to it when the journal published the original article.

Frankly, I am not surprised by this news. Merck does put out some effective drugs, but efficacy is not the same as safety. Unfortunately, safety often gets in the way of making a profit.

It's no wonder that Merck agreed to pay 4.85 billion dollars in a massive settlement of claims last year. Considering this "smoking gun" evidence of greed, it was probably a wise move to enter into that settlement. This is just another unfortunate example of considering profits over the lives of consumers.

Yesterday, the Federal Drug Administration (“FDA”) issues a warning about the use of Simvastatin and Amiodarone together. The FD warned that these two drugs used together can cause a muscle injury called Rhabdomyolysis, which can lead to kidney failure of even death. This wrning, which is issued to healthcare professionals, says the risk is dose related and increases when the dose of Simvastatin is greater than 20 mg per day.

So who is taking these two drugs together? Simvastatin is used to lower cholesterol. It is marketed under the trade names Zocor, Simvastatin, Simlup and Simcard. It is designed to decrease the user’s LDL level. Amiodarone is a medication used to treat irregular heart beat.

So if you are being treated for high cholesterol and irregular heart beat, take a look in your medicine cabinet. If you are taking these two drugs, call your prescribing doctor and talk about this new warning. They should know about the new warning, but it is good to bring it to their attention. And don’t underestimate the problem of Rhabdomyolysis just because it is defined as muscle injury. It can indeed be minor soreness, but I know from first hand experience the dangers of “rhabdo.” A few years ago I represented many individuals (and their families) who had rhabdo which lead to kidney failure and death after they took the cholesterol lowering drug Baycol. That drug caused so many problems, it was taken off the market. So again, I stress, don’t be a victim, take matters in your own hands and talk to your doctor about your medication options.