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Judge Denies Defendant’s Request for New Accutane Trial
Last week, Judge Carol Higbee denied a request by Hoffman-LaRoche, the makers of Accutane, regarding the suit won by Seeger Weiss client Andy McCarrell last year. Roche’s request would have reconsidered the groundbreaking decision that awarded Andy $25.16 million. In her statement upholding the original award, Judge Higbee wrote, “[McCarrell's] testimony and that of his wife and doctors presented a picture of probably the worst case of pain, suffering and loss of quality of life I ever heard described on my eighteen years on the bench.”
Learn More about our Accutane Investigation
FDA Panels Recommend Clearer Fosamax Labels
Fosamax, the subject of an ongoing Seeger Weiss investigation, is one of the four brands of bisphosphonates discussed in two advisory panels to the FDA on September 9. Bisphosphonates, drugs prescribed to women at risk of osteoporosis, have in recent years been demonstrated to cause fractures to the femur. Examining the mounting evidence, including the testimony of 18 victims who suffered atypical femoral fractures after taking the medication, the panels voted to recommend more specific instructions for how long Fosamax and other bisphosphonates should be used.
Learn More about our Fosamax Investigation
Marc Albert Featured on CBS New York
On July 8, CBS New York covered the tragic story of the Davila family. 5-month-old Jeremy Davila died while under the supervision of the Kiddie Academy in Staten Island under troubling circumstances. Seeger Weiss represents the Davila family, and Marc Albert talks about the case below.
Interview with Hot Coffee Director Susan Saladoff
Hot Coffee looks at the stories of four people whose lives were devastated when they were denied access to the courtroom after being injured. Democracy Now! interviews the film’s director Susan Saladoff.
HBO Documentary Hot Coffee – Official Trailer
This is a great documentary about how corporations spend millions to alter the U.S. Civil Justice System, and the uphill battle plaintiffs’ bar and consumers face to get their day in court.
Birth control pills under FDA review over risk of blood clot
Blood clots are a well-known risk of taking birth control pills. Now the FDA is investigating oral contraceptives that contain drospirenone, such as Yaz and Yasmin, after new research suggests that these pills increase the risk of blood clots above that of other oral contraceptives.
Most birth control pills combine estrogen with another female sex hormone, progestin. In two studies published in the British Medical Journal in April, pills containing drospirenone, a type of progestin, were found to carry a two- to three-fold higher risk of venous thromboembolism, or a blood clot in a deep vein, than pills containing a different progestin, levonorgestrel.
FDA investigates possible increased blood clot risk from some new birth control pills
The FDA said it was “aware of two newly published studies” that found what appeared to be an increased risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE)—blood clots— in women taking birth control pills containing the synthetic version of the hormone progestin called drospirenone. Older birth control pills tend to contain a version of progestin called levonorgestrel.
“This risk is reported to be up to two to three times greater than the risk of VTE associated with using levonorgestrel-containing pills,” the FDA said.
Among the pills containing drospirenone are Yaz, which is sold generically as Gianvi and Loryna; Yasmin, which is sold generically as Ocella, Syeda and Zarah; and Beyaz and Safyral.
Chris Seeger and Dave Buchanan to speak at Fosamax Femur Fractures Forum
Partners Chris Seeger and Dave Buchanan, along with Mike Papantonio of Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor, will be heading up a forum on Fosamax-induced femur fractures litigation in Miami on June 24, 2011. The details are below:
Fosamax-Induced Femur Fractures Litigation
presented by Mass Torts Made Perfect, a plaintiffs’
only forum on these two emerging mass torts
Friday, June 24, 2011
Loews Miami Beach Hotel – Miami, Florida
Topics to Include:
- The Science of Oversupression of Bone Turnover
- Epidemiology of Fosamax and Atypical Femur Fractures
- The Relationship Between ONJ and Atypical Fremur Fractures
- State of Litigation: New Jersey, Florida, California State Courts
- The Femur MDL Update
- Moving the Liability Case Forward: What Work Product Exists?
- Understanding Damages
- Case Selection Criteria
Presented by: Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor, PA, Pensacola, FL
Price: $795 for attorneys and $595 for paralegals.
To register, call Sharon Boothe at 610-644-3943, or email sboothe@levinlaw.com.
Sponsorship and exhibitor information available by contacting Sharon Boothe. A small block of rooms has been reserved at the hotel at the discounted room rate of $179.00. Call the hotel directly at 305-604-1601, or toll free at 1-877-563-9762. Refer to the “Mass Torts Made Perfect” program to get the discounted room rate. The room rate is available also three days prior and three days after the conference, if you decide to extend your stay. Please direct any questions to Sharon Boothe, at 610-644-3943.
Osteoperosis Drug Alarm: Docs Tell Patients to Take a Break From Bisphosphonates
Many doctors are changing the prescribing length of a class of osteoporosis medication known as bisphosphonates after mounting evidence has linked long-term use of the medication with femur fractures in postmenopausal women.
Fosamax, one bisphosphonate, is supposed to make bones stronger. But now there’s mounting evidence that for some women, taking Fosamax or its generic alendronate for more than five years could suffer spontaneous fractures.
Bones: Experts rethink long-term use of drugs
Bisphosphonates, a class of drugs that are highly beneficial in reducing bone fractures in people with osteoporosis, the experts say, should not be prescribed to patients who don’t have the disease but are at risk of developing it, as often has been the practice in recent years.
And osteoporosis patients should talk to their doctors about taking a “holiday” from the drugs after two or three years on the medications, says Ken Lyles, director of geriatrics research at Duke University. The drugs can be taken intermittently after several years, he says.
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