Massachusetts Injury Lawyer Blog

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now weighing whether to ban the diet pill Meridia following a split vote by its advisory panel.

The panel voted 8-8 on Sept. 15. Half the members voted to continue marketing the drug, which a study has shown increases risk for heart attacks and strokes. Half the panel voted to remove it from the shelves. European regulators banned the drug in January, but the FDA had wanted input from its advisory panel before acting.

Meridia is produced by Abbott Laboratories and has been on the market since 1997. Data released in November 2009 shows that when patients with heart disease took Meridia, they had a more than 11 percent risk of cardiovascular risks, compared with 10 percent taking a placebo. The study included 10,000 patients.

Meridia is one of only three prescription pills currently approved for weight loss. Many say the marginal benefits are not worth the risk. Among study participants, the average patient lost five pounds and 30 percent kept the weight off.

"We do make the assumption that weight loss is beneficial and that translates into clinical benefits, but we're not presented with those here," said Dr. Katherine Flegal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "On the whole, there are not the benefits that justify the risks."

Prescriptions of Meridia have declined in recent years. About 283,000 Meridia prescriptions were filled in the U.S. last year, just more than half the number in 2005.

To read more about the Meridia product ban discussion, click here.

Continue reading "FDA Considers Banning Diet Pill Meridia" »

Many Massachusetts residents use propane to cook, and to heat their homes and hot water. Many more use propane in outdoor barbeques and other appliances. While usually safe, the safety of some propane deliveries has been a recent subject of concern in Massachusetts. Earlier this month, state officials reported the company DCP Midstream of Westfield, Massachusetts, a major propane company, had distributed odorless propane to residential and commercial customers.

Without the required additive known as mercaptan, which emits a strong odor, there is no way to detect the odorless propane gas which may have leaked into the environment. The risk to consumers arises from the possibility of an explosion or fire from leaking propane gas.

In July, a 48-year-old electrician was killed in an explosion in a Norfolk, Massachusetts condominium. According to other workers at the site, there was no detectable odor of propane gas prior to the deadly explosion. The electrician was severely burned and trapped under heavy debris for over 90 minutes before he was rescued and taken to the hospital. He died the following day.

An investigation has found an undetected propane leak caused the blast. DCP Midstream was the distributor of the propane for the condominium development. It was later learned other propane supplies at the development were missing the required odorant.

In addition to faulty gas supplied by DCP Midstream, state Attorney General Martha Coakley has said her office has a "sense" some of the odorless propane in Massachusetts originated with Aux Sable Liquid Products of Illinois. That company has now warned officials there may be odorless gas in 12 states.

Breakstone, White & Gluck represents the family of the late electrician and continues to investigate. As a service to our clients, Breakstone, White & Gluck offers the following safety tips for the use of propane.

1. Contact your propane supplier if you have had a propane delivery since May 2010. State officials have announced that the deliveries of the dangerous propane from DCP Midstream began on May 1, 2010.

2. Ask your propane supplier where it obtains its propane - for work and for your home. The DCP Midstream facility had 100 local suppliers that deliver to residential and commercial customers. In the Norfolk case, EnergyUSA was the local supplier.

3. Do not attempt to inspect your system yourself. This could have the adverse effect of creating a leak. Contact your local supplier.

4. Purchase a Gas Detector. They are available for approximately $60 at your local hardware store or online.

5. Check propane valves to ensure they are in the off positions when not in use. Propane tanks on barbeques and other appliances should always be shut off after use.

6. Take immediate action if you smell gas. Mercaptan emits a strong sulfur smell. It is what you smell if your stove does not light properly. If you believe that there is a gas leak in your home, immediately evacuate and call 911. Do not turn any switches on or off before your leave the premises since even a small spark can ignite leaking gas.

Breakstone, White & Gluck remains committed to promoting safety and to the representation of individuals who may have been injured due to the negligence of others.

Continue reading "Propane Safety for You and Your Family" »

Weeks after GlaxoSmithKline (Glaxo) agreed to pay a large settlement to resolve claims alleging its Paxil antidepressant caused birth defects, hundreds of families nationwide are coming forward with new claims.

In July, Glaxo agreed to pay more than $1 billion to resolve 800 cases in which women who took Paxil during pregnancy had children with birth defects, including heart defects, head and brain injuries, abdominal complications and Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn. The women were never warned not to take the drug while pregnant.

"GlaxoSmithKline knew that when Paxil was taken during pregnancy it created a risk of birth defects," said Ronald Gluck, a Boston product liability lawyer at Breakstone, White & Gluck who is handling Paxil cases.

"Yet, they failed to warn of this fact until it was too late for many mothers. It is important for women who were taking Paxil during pregnancy and whose children suffered birth defects to act now."

Glaxo has set aside $2.4 billion to resolve new claims involving Paxil and its Avandia diabetes drug.

The recent Paxil birth defects settlement followed a Philadelphia case that was tried in fall 2009. In that case, a jury ordered Glaxo to pay $2.5 million in damages to the family of Lyam Kilker, a 3-year-old boy born with a heart defect after his mother took Paxil during pregnancy.

The jury concluded Glaxo, "negligently failed to warn," the doctor treating the boy's mother about Paxil's risks and that the medicine was a, "factual cause" of the child's heart defect.

Paxil has had a widespread impact on families. Some 600 families are waiting to try Paxil birth defect cases in Pennsylvania. There are at least 500 cases in Texas and California attorneys are gathering cases as well.

Paxil has not been the subject of a product recall, but the Food and Drug Administration required Glaxo to add a warning to the antidepressant's label in 2005 following studies linking the drug to birth defects. Specifically, the studies found that women who took Paxil during the first three months of pregnancy were one-and-a-half to two times more likely to have a baby with a birth defect than other women.

If you have a child who has suffered a birth defect as a result of Paxil, it is important to obtain legal advice. Contact Breakstone, White & Gluck today toll-free at 800-379-1244 or visit our website. We can advise you on your rights and options.

Continue reading "Glaxo Sets Aside Large Sum to Resolve Paxil Birth Defect Lawsuits" »

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) hosts Child Passenger Safety Week from Sept. 19 to Sept. 25, providing parents an opportunity to check the traveling accommodations for those they hold most dear: their children.

The NHTSA estimates three out of four parents are not properly restraining their children in the car. But car and booster seats provide your child the greatest amount of protection and are especially important in light of the fact that motor vehicle crashes are responsible for the majority of deaths among children ages four to eight years old. Child safety seats reduce injury rates by 58 percent.

Massachusetts law mandates use of child safety seats. The law, which was expanded in July 2008, now requires parents to restrain children five to seven years of age or up to 4' 9" tall. Previously, child safety seats were required for children under 5 years of age and under 40 pounds.

The new law also requires children ages eight to twelve to wear a safety belt.

Drivers who violate this law can be stopped by police and face a $25 fine, but the real price is far greater in respect to your child's safety.

One problem parents face in securing their children is the proper method changes with age. Click here to see a detailed chart on the best way to protect your child in the car depending on their age.

If you're a parent, make sure your child's safety seat is properly installed. On Sept. 25, police stations and other inspection sites across Massachusetts will be participating in National Seat Check Saturday. Visit this website and search for an inspection station near you.

Continue reading "Child Passenger Safety Week Time to Check Your Child's Car Seat" »

A recent study in the journal Health Affairs draws attention to the dollars medical malpractice lawsuits and defensive medicine are adding to America's health care bill. The study shows that medical liability has a far smaller cost on the system than previously believed.

The study, written by three Harvard professors and a colleague at the University of Melbourne in Australia, estimates that medical liability spending totaled $55.6 billion in 2008. This equates to 2.4 percent of total health care spending. Additionally, $8 out of every $10 dollars - or $45.6 billion - went directly to defensive medicine by physicians who ordered more comprehensive testing than in the past to avoid a misdiagnosis and potential lawsuit.

The study stands apart for its rigorous attempts to quantify individual costs of the medical liability system, including payments to medical malpractice plaintiffs, defensive medicine and administrative costs. Past studies have lacked this detail and without it, there can be no meaningful discussion.

The study shows the costs of medical malpractice and defensive medicine are not draining the health care system, especially given the majority of the money spent in these areas went directly to testing aimed at ensuring patients walked out of the hospital safe.

The study's authors made a similar comment, saying the dollar amount is "not trivial," but, "is less than some imaginative estimates put forward in the health reform debate."

The study gains relevance several months after President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. The comprehensive reform bill expands insurance coverage and awards state grants to investigate areas of the health care system, such as alternatives to medical malpractice lawsuits.

A Republican movement has sought to go further by restricting medical malpractice claims. But the study supports the opinion that restricting claims is not the answer. Providing patients who have been harmed the ability to file a lawsuit remains a critical check on the health care system.

Lawmakers would be best served to leave medical malpractice reform alone and focus on another area of the federal health care law: quality control and cost savings. The law's National Quality Strategy section calls on the country to develop a national strategy identifying priorities such as patient health outcomes and a measurement system.

While there are many areas to explore, quality can be improved and savings achieved by reducing use of the emergency room for non-critical needs. An ER visit is costly and doctors and staff have neither the time nor the resources to provide the care each patient needs. Most of the time, patients who are treated and sent home still need to follow up with their primary care doctor.

To read a New York Times article about the study, click here.

For more on the new federal health care reform law, click here.

Continue reading "Study: Medical Malpractice Claims Not As Costly As Believed" »

Heading back to school is always a big event, no matter how old a student is. Students look forward to meeting new teachers, starting new classes and being reunited with friends.

But all this activity brings safety concerns. Yet if parents, teachers and students recognize the risks and work together, the Back-to-School season can be an enriching time. Here are some tips to keep your children safe:

Playgrounds. Each year, more than 200,000 children are treated in U.S. emergency rooms for falls on the playground. The goal is to implement preventative measures in your playground and make it as safe as possible if falls do occur.

Start by inspecting playground equipment for any defective or broken parts.There should be a 12-inch depth of wood chips, mulch or sand. Mats should be made of safety-tested rubber or fiber material to prevent head injury if a child falls.

Drawstrings on Jackets and Sweatshirts. Many pieces of fall clothing come with drawstrings. Most people think nothing of these until a child endangers himself or a classmate, often unknowingly.

Prevent a dangerous situation where a child gets strangled. Remove drawstrings on hoods. Cut drawstrings from the waist or bottom of jackets, coats and sweatshirts to three inches.

Loops on Window Blind Cords. Visit your child's classroom to ensure it's a safe environment. Look at the windows to see if they have blinds with a long cord. If there are blinds with cords, this is a safety hazard. A child could strangle himself when the teacher's not looking or swallow the plastic piece at the end of the cord.

Bikes. Many students ride their bicycles to school. It's important for drivers to watch out for them, but parents also need to educate students on how to avoid bike accidents. The first rules is bike helmets. Massachusetts has a mandatory bike law for minors under 16. Beyond the law, bike helmets prevent and reduce head injuries should your child take a fall.

To learn more about school safety, visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission web page, "American Goes Back to School Program."

Continue reading "Time to Think Back to School Safety" »