The argument for the commoditization, commercialization and privatization of everything in America – including health care and medical services – that has been shoved down our collective throats for the past generation goes something like this: “free market competition forces providers of goods and services to offer the best products at the lowest prices.”
News
Tue, 06/04/2013 - 10:44
Founded in 1871 – before which it was a loose confederation of duchies and principalities – the modern nation of Germany was the first to guarantee all its citizens the right to low-cost or free medical care. This has been a constant from the time the country was an empire ruled by the Kaiser, during the Weimar period, under Hitler and the Nazis, and in the decades following the Second World War as Germany transitioned into a modern, progressive democracy.
Tue, 05/28/2013 - 14:16
Consider some of the pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers currently at the center of litigation over injuries and liability related to negligence and (allegedly) failure to warn patients about potential side effects caused by those products. There is DePuy Orthopaedics, manufacturer of metal-on-metal replacement hips, known to shed particles of toxic metal into patients' tissues and bloodstream. They're not the only ones selling medical implants, of course: this particular lineup also includes Stryker Medical, C.R.
Thu, 05/23/2013 - 11:23
Article by guest commentator K.J. Bard
In recent news, the DePuy Orthopaedics division of Johnson & Johnson will be abandoning the manufacture and marketing of its metal-on-metal (MoM) hip replacements. In addition, DePuy will be discontinuing its Ceramic-on-Metal Acetabular Hip System. Both product lines will be unavailable after August of 2013; “related products” will be phased out over next year.
Fri, 05/17/2013 - 10:26
Earlier this year, the first of 3000 injury cases against Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda was heard in a Los Angeles court. The allegation: their flagship product, Actos, had caused plaintiff Jack Cooper to develop bladder cancer. Although Mr.
Wed, 05/15/2013 - 17:28
News Inferno has reported that another lawsuit against Takeda Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of the Type-2 incretin mimetic diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone), has been filed in the alleged wrongful death of an Ohio man who possibly suffered bladder cancer from the drug.
Tue, 05/14/2013 - 11:27
Recently, the FDA issued a report, based in part on data from the questionable RE-LY study, stating that adverse events involving serious and fatal hemorrhaging caused by the anti-coagulant drug Pradaxa may have been somewhat exaggerated. The three authors of the report – none of whom have ties to the manufacturer – suggest that much of the bad news surrounding Pradaxa is due to the fact that it is a relatively new drug and therefore subject to more media scrutiny.
Mon, 05/13/2013 - 10:22
At the end of March 2013, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (USJPML) consolidated all pending cases against Granuflo manufacturer Fresenius before the U.S. Federal Court for the District of Massachusetts. This accomplishes two things: it eliminates all duplication of efforts when it comes to the discovery process, and it moves the trial to a venue near Fresenius' U.S.
Wed, 05/08/2013 - 14:54
It's already widely-known that Boehringer-Ingelheim's anti-coagulant drug, Pradaxa, carries a high risk of patients bleeding to death – and, to add insult to injury, costs that are fifteen times those of warfarin (Pradaxa and its new competitor, Xarelto, run $3,000 a year compared to $200 for warfarin). Doctors nonetheless like Pradaxa (dabigatran) because it's relatively trouble-free; there are few interactions with other drugs and the dosage requires far less adjustments over time than warfarin – meaning less in the way of costly patient monitoring.
Fri, 05/03/2013 - 14:48
The most recent Chicago DePuy ASR trial has ended with a favorable verdict for the defense. In contrast with the recent $8.3 million California verdict for plaintiff Loren Kransky in California this March, the Chicago jury ruled against Carol Strum, whose attorneys asked for damages upwards of $5 million. Jurors heard the final arguments on April 15 and recessed for a day before returning to deliver the verdict the next evening.
Wed, 05/01/2013 - 18:22
CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO NEWS STORY
A jury in Montgomery, Alabama returned a $3.3 million verdict against Yamaha for its wanton conduct in the design, marketing, manufacture and sale of the Yamaha Rhino Model 660 UTV vehicle. A finding of wantonness means that Yamaha acted or failed to act with a conscious and reckless disregard for the safety of its consumers, knowing that grievous injury was likely to result.
Wed, 05/01/2013 - 14:38
Late last month, a Los Angeles jury decided that Takeda executives were in fact aware of the cancer risk from its flagship product, Actos – and ordered the Japanese pharmaceutical giant to pay $6.5 million to plaintiff Jack Cooper and his wife. Cooper's lawyers presented the court with evidence demonstrating that Takeda executives were aware of the risks associated with Actos as far back as 2004 – yet spent the next seven years hiding this information from regulators.
Thu, 04/25/2013 - 16:15
"DePuy Orthopaedics Hips. Real Life Tested"
Those words still appear on a website maintained by the company (play the videos at the bottom or click on “read transcript”). Of course, these are about the newer Pinnacle hip device, not the ASR that so far has cost the company $8.3 million in a single lawsuit – with approximately 10,000 more cases lined up right behind it.
Tue, 04/23/2013 - 14:17
Those are the words of one Dr. David Grimes, who in July 2011, speaking to an NBC news reporter about the problems with pelvic meshes, added that “...we have a long history of accepting things without critical appraisal.”
Mon, 04/22/2013 - 11:04
Although safety groups universally recommend booster seats, Florida parents and caregivers can legally allow children over four years old to use a standard seatbelt. That’s because Florida is one of two states without a child booster seat law.
Children through age 3 must be secured in a separate carrier (child safety seat) or in a vehicle manufacturer's integrated child safety seat. For children ages 4 - 5, a separate carrier, an integrated child safety seat, or simply a safety belt may be used.
Wed, 04/10/2013 - 17:39
For a long time, the four manufacturers of hip and joint replacements that controlled 75% of the market were laughing all the way to the bank. These four companies – Stryker, Biomet, Du Puy and Zimmer – have been beneficiaries of a dysfunctional health care “system” that has no financial interest in healing patients.
Mon, 04/08/2013 - 13:44
“The evil men do lives after them...the good is oft interred with their bones.”
-William Shakespeare in Julius Caesar, Act 3 Scene II
This is an unfortunate fact of life for most of us natural humans. We may do great and wonderful things for others that are soon forgotten – but society hangs our mistakes around our necks like mill stones for the rest of our lives. This raises a question: how come this doesn't hold true for “corporate” people? Why are their mistakes and crimes so quickly forgotten?
Wed, 04/03/2013 - 15:01
In a recent news article, Gregory Demske, assistant inspector general for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, reported that the four largest manufacturers of hip replacements – all of which are facing legal action – paid “physician consultants” $800 million between 2002 and 2006. As defects in these designs became apparent and evidence surfaced to indicate that these companies were aware of the problems, these companies came under increasing scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ).
Mon, 04/01/2013 - 14:17
It's always about the money for these people.
Often, they will spend more to win a lawsuit than it would cost them to settle – because long-term profits are at stake, even if people could sicken and die.
Tue, 03/19/2013 - 11:09
These words, the first bit of advice given to space travelers in the late Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, were also issued to the medical community recently regarding the anti-coagulant medication Pradaxa (dabigatran).
In light of the number of serious and even fatal hemorrhaging allegedly caused by this medication, should patients panic?
Thu, 03/14/2013 - 14:09
LP attorney Ben Gordon quoted on the impact of the verdict for the plaintiff.
http://blogs.lawyers.com/2013/03/depuy-owes-8m-hip-replacement-trial/
Wed, 03/13/2013 - 13:21
Jack Cooper, a retired communications worker, states that at age sixty-four – prior to being prescribed the diabetic drug Actos – he was in good health and looking forward to many more years with his wife of nearly fifty years and his grandchildren.
Fri, 03/08/2013 - 13:21
A California Jury returned an $8.3 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson and DePuy in the first trial regarding a plaintiff who was implanted with the recalled DePuy ASR hip implant. Over 10,000 plaintiffs across the United States have filed similar lawsuits against DePuy, and many of those plaintiffs required a revision to remove the recalled DePuy ASR hip implant. Often times, these plaintiffs had elevated levels of cobalt and chromium ions d
