Saturday, May 17th, 2008
Deadly diet medication Fen-phen lawsuits have been ongoing for over 7 years was initially thought to have settled for 60 million USD. However, recent information shows that lawyers for the plantiffs in this legal action may have pocketed in excess of 150 million dollars.
A federal action has been filed against Melbourne Mills Jr., Shirley Allen Cunningham Jr. and William Gallion and the lawyers for those affected by Fen-Phen may be facing 20 years of federal prison time for fraud.
The original $50 million dollar settlement called for the 440 plantiffs to receive the following:
…about $500 in reimbursement for drug costs; a free echocardiogram; and either $6,000 in cash or $10,000 worth of medical follow-up…
However, according to court documents, one plantiff received over $600,000 in a cash settlement for opting out of the class-action case. The testifying of one of the under-attorneys in the case suggested that all plantiffs received considerably more than the original amount, but still far short of the $200 million that was given by the court-ordered class-action settlement.
This is the type of case that, unfortunately, leads to tort reform that hurts people involved in drug lawsuits. However, it will play out in the court system and the eventual findings and sentencing should set the record straight.
http://www.kentucky.com/779/story/407547.html
Source: Lexington Herald
Posted in Class Action Lawsuits, Fraud, Prescription Drug Lawsuits | No Comments »
Thursday, May 15th, 2008
Medical liability lawsuits are something that now hits closer to home for actor Dennis Quaid. Last year, Quaid almost lost his twin newborns when they were given a dose of blood thinner mistakenly since the bottles were stored close to the correct drugs. This was a problem previously noted by several others in civil lawsuits, but ignored by Baxter Labs and the labels remained unchanged.
Quaid testified in a congressional hearing to discuss product liability lawsuits against drug manufacturers and possible reforms in the area that could allow courts to step in and limit drug lawsuits. In his testimony, Quaid said:
“I believe if preemption of lawsuits is allowed to prevail, it will basically make all of us, the public, uninformed and uncompensated lab rats…”
Baxter maintained that what happened to the children, a dosage of Heparin that was 1000 times the normal recommended dose, was caused by human error. However, with previous complaints filed that the medication was packaged too closely to other drugs going unheard, the onus falls squarely on the manufacturer.
The drug manufacturer claims it did not recall older bottles because it would have caused a shortage of its blood thinning medication, which is a lame excuse at best. The fact that the FDA wants to step in and limit the potential liability of drug makers is preposterous. As Henry Waxman said in this hearing:
“One of the most powerful incentives for safety — the threat of liability — would vanish.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1453209520080514
Source: Reuters
Posted in Prescription Drug Lawsuits, Product Liability | No Comments »
Sunday, May 4th, 2008
Merck, maker of Vioxx and owner of a $4.5 Billion USD payout for the same medication’s class-action and private lawsuits is now facing greater scrutiny from the Food and Drug Administration at every turn. Within the past three weeks, Merck has had to deal with two of its experimental prescription drugs being rejected by the FDA at the hint of trouble, and now they are being ordered to complete significant cleanup at their plants.
Shares of Merck are down over 30% since last January when their cholesterol-fighting drug, set to be the next generation of Zocor, was deemed “unapprovable” by regulators. The medication, named Cordaptive, cleared trials but was rejected on the grounds that it was no better and more expensive than other medications. This has caused a financial ruckus that has caused Merck to cut over 7,000 jobs.
Not since Merck was forced to pull Vioxx has the market turned so sour for them. One can only point at their history and the egg-on-the-face look that the FDA got from passively approving so many other prescription medications from the company that have backfired and caused countless prescription Drug lawsuits.
http://finance.sympatico.msn.ca/investing/news/businessnews/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7121644
Source: MSN Canada
Posted in Prescription Drug Lawsuits | No Comments »
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