Washington Injury Attorney Blog

The Seattle Times reports that Public Citizen, a national non-profit public interest organization, is circulating a petition asking the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to remove the Ortho Evra birth control patch from the market within six months citing risks of blood clots, stroke and death to users. Ortho Evra birth control patches are manufactured by Ortho-McNeil, a division of Johnson&Johnson.

Public Citizen's petition drive is called "Not My Patch" and is based on research which compares the contraceptive patch to standard oral contraceptives and says the patch is a dangerous product that needs to be recalled. The study found that women using the patch have 60% higher estrogen levels than standard oral contraceptives. Higher estrogen levels puts them at a much higher risk of blood clots which can lead to stroke and death. The study also cites an increase in other side effects including painful periods, nausea, breast discomfort and vomiting.

The Ortho Evra web-site markets the patch as "convenient birth control" and targets it to young women. However, more than a few young women have experienced serious side effects including death. One young woman collapsed on the subway and died at the age of 18 when a blood clot formed and went into her lung. Other young women as young as 18, 19 and 20 years of age suffered strokes while using the medication.

The patch was first sold in 2002. In January of 2008, the FDA approved a third update to Ortho Evra's label to warn of potential blood clots. Since the FDAs warnings, the use of the patch has dropped from 9.9 million prescriptions in 2004 to 2.7 million in 2007.

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious side effect due to the Ortho Evra birth control patch, you need to contact an experienced personal injury attorney. At The Farber Law Group we are experienced in representing the victims of defective or dangerous products and in helping victims recover compensation for their injuries. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.

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The Seattle Times reports that a Food and Drug Administration study raises concerns about adolescent diabetics using insulin pumps. While The FDA supports the use of insulin pumps in teenagers who have diabetes, they want consumers, their physicians and hospitals to be aware of potential complications due to the use of the medical devices including 13 patient deaths and 1,500 injuries.

Infusion pumps are becoming more common in the treatment of Type I diabetes in adolescents and are used by tens of thousands teenage patients.

In the study Adolescent Use of Insulin and Patient-Controlled Analgesia Technology published in the May issue of Pediatrics, the study looks at problems related to use of the pump by adolescents:

• Incorrect use of the pump, sometimes due to inadequate instruction
  
• Alarm problems
  
• Catheters that loosened or occluded
  
• Bent cannula
  
• Screen display problems
  
• Device malfunction which caused over delivery of medication or failure to deliver medication
  
• Patients disconnecting the pump for exercise
  
• Carelessness

The study highlights the special issues of using the pump with teenage patients and urges proper education and parental oversight. The FDA urges consumers and practitioners to device-related problems through the FDA Medwatch program: www.fda.gov/medwatch

If you or a loved one has been injured or a loved one died due to the malfunction of a medical device, you need to contact a personal injury attorney to insure your rights are protected. At The Farber Law Group, we have more than 30 years experience in representing victims of malpractice and defective or dangerous products. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.

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Posted In: Dangerous Products , Medical Malpractice , Wrongful Death

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KOMOTV.com in Seattle, Washington reports that a test by Consumer Reports finds that the Broil King Signet 90 BBQ grill, manufactured by Onward Manufacturing Company Ltd. of Canada is an unsafe product.

Consumer Reports purchased several of the King Signet grills and found that "the firebox on the grill melted." KOMOTV.com reports that the editors of Consumer Reports declare that, "Broil King Signet 90 is a dangerous product and you should not buy or use [one]."

Onward Manufacturing Company has placed a recall on the product and provides consumers with a replacement baffle that they can install which should keep the firebox from melting. View the recall notice here: http://www.broilkingbbq.com/notice_us.html

Thousands of consumers are seriously injured every year by dangerous products. In Washington State, a statute called "Washington Products Liability Act" or WPLA. RCW 7.72 sets forth the legal rules concerning a manufacturers' responsibility for manufacture and sale of defective or dangerous products. These rules sometimes make it easier for an injured person to recover damages. The statue of limitations on liability cases can be up to 12 years.

This information has been brought to you as a service of Washington Personal Injury, a service of The Farber Law Group. If you or a loved one was injured as a result of a defective or dangerous product, contact The Farber Law Group. At The Farber Law Group, we are experienced in representing the victims of defective or dangerous products and in helping victims recover compensation for their injuries.

Dangerous Products Internet Resources

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Both The Seattle Times and The Seattle Post Intelligencer report today that Fosamax©, a medication to treat osteoporosis, appears to double a woman's chance of having atrial fibrillation, a sometimes serious heart condition.

Fosamax© is manufactured by Merck & Co. A generic version, alendronate, was approved by the Federal Drug Administration in 2008. Fosamax© has also been linked to another serious condition, osteoncrosis of the jaw, also known as jaw necrosis or jaw death. Osteonecrosis can cause parts of the jawbone to deteriorate, causing an extremely painful condition that can lead to jaw removal.

The Seattle, Washington study which was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine was done by Group Health in Seattle and the University of Washington. The study, which followed 719 women with atrial fibrillation, compared them with 966 women who did not have the condition. The study found that the women who had taken Fosamax©, had an 86% higher incidence of the condition.

Atrial fibrillation can result in irregular heartbeats (heart palpitations), shortness of breath, fatigue, blood clots which can cause strokes, and congestive heart failure.

Dr. Philip Mease, an osteoporosis expert at Swedish Medical Center who was not involved in the study, cautions women not to suddenly discontinue the medication. The Group Health study said, "it is important to carefully weigh the benefits against the possible risk of atrial fibrillation in women who have only modestly increased fracture risk and in women who have risk factors for atrial fibrillation, such as diabetes, mellitus, coronary disease or heart failure."

Osteoporosis is a condition that strikes women far more often than men, affecting 25 million Americans a year. It causes bone loss and when the bones become weak and thin they can easily break.

If you or a loved one has experienced any serious side effects after using Fosamax© such as atrial fibrillation or osteonocrosis, you need to contact a personal injury attorney to ensure that your rights are protected. The Farber Law Group has more than 30 years experience of representing people with serious personal injury and malpractice. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.

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Washington D.C. -- Two senators have introduced a bill to congress which would require that all stoves sold in the United States be sold with brackets which would prevent them from tipping over. In addition the bill requires that the devices be installed. Over the past twenty years, a hundred people have been seriously injured or killed because a stove tipped over on them. Some stove tipping victims were severely burned due to hot foods and liquids spilling onto them and a few people have been crushed to death by a stove.

U.S. Congressmen Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Vito Fossella (R-NY) presented H.R. 5753 to Congress in April.

In a $546 million class action settlement agreement, Sears has agreed to provide anti-tip devices for free for 4 million stoves that they sold.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured because of a stove tipping, contact The Farber Law Group. We have more than 30 years experience in representing the victims of a serious personal injuries due to defective products. Contact us today for a free case consultation.

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Posted In: Burn Injuries , Dangerous Products

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A jury in Snohomish Superior Court awarded Paramjit Singh of Mount Vernon, Washington a $40.1 million settlement after a defective medical device burned his heart during surgery. Singh then had to undergo a heart transplant and is forced to take anti-rejection medication for the rest of his life and has other serious health complications including facing a kidney transplant.

Singh underwent a cardiac bypass surgery at Everett Medical Center in 2004 when a device manufactured by Edwards Lifesciences overheated, burning his heart. Singh's heart stopped and could not be restarted. He had to be kept on a medical heart device for weeks until a heart could be found for a transplant.

Singh's lawyers presented evidence to the jury that Edwards Lifescience was aware that the of a potential problem with the device since 1998 but did not recall the device or warn hospitals and patients. Of the damages, $8.35 were punitive. Punitive damages are not generally allowed in Washington Court but the allowed them because Edwards Lifescience is located in California where punitive damages are allowed.

If you or a loved one is seriously injured or killed because of medical malpractice or a defective product, contact The Farber Law Group immediately. We have more than 30 years experience in representing victims of serious personal injury. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.

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Posted In: Burn Injuries , Dangerous Products , Medical Malpractice

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Two recent medical studies found that Bayer’s anti-bleeding product, Trasylol, generically known as Asprotinin, is dangerous. Trasylol or Asprotinin, given to heart bypass surgery patients by their physicians to stop bleeding and reduce blood transfusions, was found to cause patients to die at a much higher rate than patients given other anti-bleeding drugs. The drug also caused a higher rate of kidney failure requiring patients to go on dialysis.

Although it is not clear why patients who took Trasylol died at a higher rate than patients given other medications, two recent medical studies reached that conclusion. They found that 6.4 percent of patients who were given Trasylol died within 30 days of the surgery, a rate nearly 2½ times higher than patients who got another drug or who received no treatment for excessive bleeding. At one year after surgery, almost 16 percent of Trasylol patients had died, approximately 2½ times higher than patients using an alternative medication.

According to the Associated Press, Bayer, who was aware of the this information, including the preliminary results from their own study, failed to present this evidence to the Food and Drug Administration, claiming the medical studies were flawed. But according to Dr. Sidney Wolfe of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, it is Bayer’s reasoning that is flawed, “I just don’t know how much further evidence you need.” Wolfe also said that federal health officials should pursue criminal charges against Bayer for withholding information from FDA.

Trasylol has been on the market for 14 years and was used by doctors to treat hundreds of thousands of heart bypass patients each year. Bayer stopped selling the drug last fall, after a study was halted because of deaths among patients taking Trasylol.

Injuries or death resulting from dangerous drugs are often quite complex, and establishing legal fault requires the assistance of an attorney knowledgeable in this area of the law.

At The Farber Law Group, we are experienced in representing the victims of dangerous drugs and in helping victims or their families recover compensation for those injuries. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.

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A blood thinner – Heparin – which contained ingredients from a manufacturing plant in China has been recalled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after it was linked to 19 deaths and 800 serious drug reactions The Seattle Times reported today. The contaminated medication is manufactured by Illinois-based Baxter Healthcare who recalled the product last month. Heparin is a drug thinner which is given to patients who are undergoing heart surgery or kidney dialysis to prevent blood clots. Heparin was recently in the news when an over-dosage amount was given to the twin infants of actor Dennis Quaid. In Quaid’s case, his twins were given 1,000 times the amount of recommended dose of the drug; Quaid has filed suit against the hospital and manufacturer in his case.

The severe reactions to the tainted medication include a large drop in blood pressure and difficult breathing. The FDA is currently investigating the plant in China that manufactures the ingredients for the drug and it appears that the Chinese plant was never inspected due to confusion with the plant’s name.

Washington state law allows for personal injury claims for persons who have been seriously injured or killed by defective prescription medications. Compensation can include:

• Wrongful death
• Loss of wages
• Pain and suffering
• Punitive damages

If a loved one died after they were given heparin or if you had a serious complication after you received heparin, you may deserve compensation for damages. The Farber Law Group is a personal injury firm with 30 years experience. Call us today to discuss your claim.

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Two Bellevue, Washington construction workers were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after being struck by construction equipment. The workers were installing guy wires on 118th Av SE when the accident occurred. According to KOMO news, “The hydraulic equipment that they were using to dig the hole malfunctioned, swung around and struck two of the five workers, seriously injuring them.” Construction accidents occur far too frequently and if they are the results of negligence, the injured person should contact an attorney who is experienced in construction accidents and worker's compensation laws.

Construction accidents resulted in 87 deaths in Washington State alone in 2006 according to U.S. Department of Labor Statistics. In 13 of those 87 deaths, the workers were hit by a piece of equipment as in this Bellevue case. Worker’s compensation covers most injuries that occur at the work place. However, in the case of faulty equipment, the equipment manufacturer, installer or owner could also be liable for damages.

A worker in who has been hurt while at work should seek the counsel of a construction lawyer. Accidents like the one that happened in Bellevue can be very serious and debilitating. The cost of rehabilitation, loss of wages and the inability to work for a long period of time can have serious financial consequences to a family.

The Farber Law Group specializes in the field of construction site accidents in the Pacific Northwest. They are familiar with all areas of construction site law and can utilize their knowledge to help prove negligence or blame from third parties. Often a work place injury goes beyond the scope of worker compensation laws. They can insure that all OSHA workplace rules and regulations had been followed properly. If you or a loved one has been hurt or killed in a construction site accident, contact The Farber Law Group, a firm that specializes in personal injury claims, who can help you receive all the compensation you deserve.

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Posted In: Construction Accident , Dangerous Products

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