Our News Library

Scouts Dishonor: 7,800 Predators Abused 12,000 Boy Scouts According to “Perversion Files”

A professor of psychiatry who has worked with the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) since 2014 recently testified that she and her colleagues have identified more than 7,800 former scout leaders and volunteers whom they say “were involved in sexually abusing a child” over the past 75 years. The information comes from the BSA's “Ineligible Volunteer Files,” which some now call the “Perversion Files.” Dr. Janet Warren, who teaches at the University of Virginia, also says, “From reviewing all these files, we identified 12,254 victims.”

Xeljanz: an Arthritis Treatment That Can be Fatal

Xeljanz (tofacitinib) is a prescription drug first approved by the FDA in 2012 for patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A number of side effects have been known for some time: diarrhea, headaches, and minor sinus and upper respiratory tract infections similar to bronchitis and the common cold are among the more common ones.

The Potential Dangers of Treating Gout with Uloric

Uloric is prescribed for the treatment of gout, a type of arthritis afflicting more than 8 million Americans. The cause is elevated uric acid levels in the blood, which can be due to impaired kidney function, genetic factors, and/or diet. It is most common in those who primarily eat too much fatty meat, consume large amounts of alcohol, and/or are obese (historians suggest that Henry VIII of England had suffered from the condition, and it has been known since ancient times as “the disease of kings”).

Monsanto/Bayer Loses Round Two, Ordered to Pay Plaintiff $80 Million

For the second time in less than a year, a federal jury has awarded a multi-million judgment to a plaintiff who claimed his lymphoma was caused by exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup^TM.

ITC Fire Poisons Local Air and Water, Sickening

The massive chemical fire that broke out on Saint Patrick's Day at the Intercontinental Terminals Company site near Houston, Texas was finally contained on Friday evening.

Gadolinium Not Necessary for Monitoring MS Patients

A study published this month in the journal Radiology finds that gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) are not necessary when monitoring patients with multiple sclerosis.

Scientists Discover Traces of Glyphosate in Common Brands of Beer and Wine

Last year information began coming out about amounts of glyphosate being found in many common foods that people eat on a daily basis. Scientific studies released throughout 2018 discovered traces of the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup in almost every food product tested.

States Make it Easier for Childhood Molestation Survivors to Hold Their Abusers Accountable

The New York State Assembly recently made it easier for adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse to seek justice.

Taxotere Trials Scheduled to Begin in the Spring

Unless the defendant Sanofi-Aventis reaches a global settlement, the first “bellwether” cases in current mass litigation over the chemotherapy drug Taxotere (docetaxel) will go before a jury starting in May 2019.

Pope Francis Finally Acknowledges The Problem of Sexual Abuse – of Nuns

His Holiness Pope Francis has drawn some criticism in recent months for his failure to speak out more forcefully on the issue of child sexual abuse by clergy or take meaningful action. This week, however, he did publicly announce that the Chuch is “working on” the sexual abuse and exploitation of nuns by male clergy.

Hurricane Michael, Three Months Later: 40 Percent of Insurance Claims Have Yet to be Settled

A recent article appearing in the Panama City News Herald reports that out of 80,000 insureds who filed claims in the wake of Hurricane Michael last October less than 47,000 have reached settlements.

California Wildfires Appear to be a Year-Round Danger. Meanwhile, PG&E Seeks Bankruptcy “Protection”

Global climate change has begun a vicious cycle in California. What was once a seasonal hazard is now 12 months a year, according to a report published earlier this month in Bloomberg. Because of warming, large areas of the Golden State have been “riddled with pockets of dry bush” and nearly 130 million trees have died. As a result, wildfire danger is now constant, not just during summer and early fall.

Defrauding Taxpayers and Injuring Military Personnel for Profit: 3M's Defective Earplugs

In August of 2018, the 3M Corporation entered into a $9.1 million settlement with the U.S. government over allegations that it had deliberately sold defective equipment to the Department of Defense. The equipment in question was the Combat Arms Earplugs Version 2, or CAEv2.

National Safety Council: Opioid Overdose Deaths Now Exceed Traffic Fatalities

For the first time in U.S. history, the risk of dying from an opioid overdose is greater than that of being killed in a traffic accident. Opioids also exceed slip and fall incidents, drowning, and fire as causes of unintentional deaths. Furthermore, only 13 states (including the District of Columbia) are making any progress in dealing with the crisis.

Yet Another Sartan Drug Recalled Due to Carcinogens

Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc. has issued a voluntary recall of three of its sartan-based prescription medications after discovering trace amounts of a carcinogenic substance known as N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA). The recall, which the FDA announced on Dec. 31^st, affects a total of 80 lots of Valsartan, Amlodipine Valsartan, and Valsartan HCTZ pills with expiration dates between May 2019 and March 2021.

Another Fail for the Roman Catholic Church: 500 Cases of Abuse Were Covered Up

This week, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan reported that more than 500 cases of child sexual abuse were swept under the rug by the six Roman Catholic dioceses across the state. Earlier, the Church reported 185 members of the clergy who had “credible allegations” leveled against them. However, according to AG Madigan's report, the real number is 690.

Roman Catholic Sex Abuse Scandal Hits the Pope's Inner Circle

With all eyes on Pennsylvania and the shocking grand jury report that was released earlier this fall, it is easy to forget that cases of pedophile priests in the Roman Catholic Church is a worldwide scandal.

The Psychological Impacts of Taxotere Hair Loss

One of the challenges when it comes to determining damages in injury lawsuits is putting a monetary value on intangible losses, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and anxiety. These are considered to be “non-economic damages,” and fall under the category of “mental anguish.” Putting a dollar figure on emotional pain is difficult, but it is nonetheless a factor that can diminish the quality of life as surely as a crippling injury.

A New IVC Filter is Successfully Implanted in Patients: Will it be an Improvement?

After two years of clinical trials, a new type of IVC filter was recently implanted in a number of patients under “real world” conditions in an Arizona hospital. The product is called the “Sentry” and is produced by BTG Interventional Medicine, a company based in the UK.

Introduced this month at Vascular Interventional Advances Conference in Las Vegas, the new IVC filter has what the manufacturer describes as a “unique bioconversion feature”, making retrieval of the device unnecessary.

Despite Losses in Face of Lawsuits, Bayer “Doubles Down” on Roundup

On November 13^th, a report in Fortune magazine stated that Bayer, Monsanto's new parent company, was “doubling down” on the herbicide Roundup, despite a huge verdict against the company earlier this year.

Pages