April 12, 2007

Table of Contents

HEALTH CARE ROUNDUP

• Jury Awards $7.6M for Playground Seizure
* The Family's Lawyer
• Katrina Kept La. Man From Getting New Heart Device, Suit Says
* Guidant Defribrillator Risks and Recalls
• Pfizer Drug for Diabetes Is Lagging
* Known and Potential Exubera Safety Risks
• Ohio Prosecutor Sues Lead-Paint Makers for Public Nuisance
• Lawsuits Filed Involving Florida Priest Accused Of Child Molestation
* The Plaintiffs' Lawyer
• NYC Health Inspector Quits Over City's Rat Droppings Probe
• Lawsuit: Body Found in Jet Bathroom

FDA ACTIONS

• Parkinson's Drug Pulled From Market at FDA's Request
• FDA Plans More Peanut Butter Inspections
* Food Poisoning: Your Legal Rights
• FDA Scientist: Merck's Proposed Vioxx Successor A Potential "Disaster"
* Learn About Vioxx Dangers and Risks
• FDA: "Cocaine" Drink Marketed Unlawfully

RECENT CASE SUMMARIES

• Stilwel v. Smith & Nephew, Inc.
• U.S. v. Sriram
• Feilden v. CSX Transp., Inc.

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HEALTH CARE ROUNDUP:

JURY AWARDS $7.6M FOR PLAYGROUND SEIZURE
(AP) - A jury ordered the Los Angeles Unified School District to pay $7.6 million to the family of an epileptic boy who suffered a seizure at school and is now paralyzed in a minimally conscious state. Steve Martinez's family claimed the district was liable for the boy's injuries, saying the response to his April 18, 2005, seizure was inadequate. Read more...

Related Resources
• The Family's Lawyer

KATRINA KEPT LA. MAN FROM GETTING NEW HEART DEVICE, SUIT SAYS
(Andrews) - The widow of a New Orleans man who died after Hurricane Katrina disrupted hospital services, preventing him from getting a replacement for his recalled defibrillator, has filed suit against the device's manufacturer. Read more...

Related Resources
• Guidant Defribrillator Risks and Recalls

PFIZER DRUG FOR DIABETES IS LAGGING
(Then New York Times) - Exubera, the first and so far only commercially available inhaled-insulin diabetes treatment, is on the verge of turning into an expensive failure for its maker, Pfizer....But Pfizer’s marketing may not be enough to overcome the medical, economic, practical and legal concerns that have hurt Exubera....[one] concern for doctors about Exubera is that long-term use of inhaled insulin can damage the lungs. Pfizer’s clinical trials show that the drug causes lung function to drop in some patients. Read more...

Related Resources
• Known and Potential Exubera Safety Risks

OHIO PROSECUTOR SUES LEAD-PAINT MAKERS FOR PUBLIC NUISANCE
(Andrews) - The state of Ohio filed a public nuisance suit April 2 against 10 former manufacturers of lead paint for allegedly creating a public health crisis. Read more...

LAWSUITS FILED INVOLVING FLORIDA PRIEST ACCUSED OF CHILD MOLESTATION
(AP) - Three men who say a former Roman Catholic priest sexually abused them sued the Archdiocese of Miami in separate lawsuits for at least $25 million each, raising the number of lawsuits involving the ex-cleric to at least nine. Read more...

Related Resources
•The Plaintiffs' Lawyer

NYC HEALTH INSPECTOR QUITS OVER CITY'S RAT DROPPINGS PROBE
(AP) - A health department worker who gave a passing grade to a fast-food restaurant crawling with rats resigned before she could be fired Monday as the health commissioner acknowledged systemic flaws in the city's inspection system. Read more...

LAWSUIT: BODY FOUND IN JET BATHROOM
(AP) - An airline passenger died in the restroom during a flight and wasn't found until the cleaning crew boarded the plane after it landed, a federal lawsuit contends. Read more...

FDA ACTIONS:

PARKINSON'S DRUG PULLED FROM MARKET AT FDA'S REQUEST
(Andrews) - Pergolide, a drug used by more than 12,000 patients nationwide to treat Parkinson's disease, has been voluntarily removed from the market by its makers at the request of the Food and Drug Administration. Read more...


FDA PLANS MORE PEANUT BUTTER INSPECTIONS
(AP) - The Food and Drug Administration said Friday it will increase the frequency of investigations at plants that make peanut butter and similar products, saying this year's salmonella outbreak showed peanut butter is riskier than health officials had thought. Read more...

Related Resources
• Food Poisoning: Your Legal Rights


FDA SCIENTIST: MERCK'S PROPOSED VIOXX SUCCESSOR A POTENTIAL "DISASTER"
(AP) - WASHINGTON-A painkiller proposed as a successor to Vioxx may substantially increase the risk of stroke and heart attack and is no more effective for pain relief than other drugs of the same class, a U.S. drug safety expert said Thursday. Read more...

Related Resources
• Learn About Vioxx Dangers and Risks


FDA: "COCAINE" DRINK MARKETED UNLAWFULLY
(AP) - Cocaine is a drug, federal health officials say. So what's the news? This Cocaine is an energy drink produced by a Las Vegas company. It contains no actual cocaine, but is being marketed as "The Legal Alternative" to the illegal drug, according to its Web site. Its logo appears to be spelled out in a white powder that resembles the drug. Read more...


RECENT CASE SUMMARIES:

STILWEL V. SMITH & NEPHEW, INC.
(U.S. 9th Circuit) - In an action setting forth claims based on strict liability, negligence, and breach of warranty against a manufacturer of certain nails used to stabilize a fracture of plaintiff's leg, summary judgment for the manufacturer is affirmed where, although the district court erred in excluding certain expert testimony of a metallurgist, even including such testimony in the record, plaintiff failed to show that any alleged defects in the nails were a cause of the delayed healing of her leg. Read more...


U.S. V. SRIRAM
(U.S. 7th Circuit) - Sentence for Medicare and tax fraud is reversed and remanded where the sentencing judge erred in: 1) calculating the loss estimate and restitution amount; 2) ruling that one of the victims of the fraud was not a health insurer; and 3) sentencing the defendant to mere probation. Read more...


FEILDEN V. CSX TRANSP., INC.
(U.S. 6th Circuit) - In a suit brought under the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA), summary judgment for defendant-employer is reversed as Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2)(B) did not require an expert report from a treating physician where the proposed testimony was that a patient's extensive use of a "plate jack" at work caused his carpal tunnel syndrome. Read more...