In a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal (9/11, Subscription Publication), American Association for Justice President Burton LeBlanc writes, “We agree with you that the FDA should create new regulations allowing generic drug manufacturers to independently update their warning labels (‘Innovator Liability, Take Two,’ Review & Outlook, Sept. 5). As you mention, this would fix the current …
Woman Awarded $2 Million For Transvaginal Mesh Implant Injuries
Bloomberg News reported last week that C.R. Bard Inc. has been ordered to pay $2 million to a woman who alleged that the manufacturer hid flaws associated with its vaginal-mesh implants. Jurors in Charleston, West Virginia deliberated for about 12 hours over the course of two days, according to Bloomberg News, holding Bard liable for injuries sustained by Donna Cisson, …
JPMorgan Reaches Settlement Over Forced-Placed Insurance
Bloomberg News (9/10, Smythe) reports that JPMorgan and insurers have “reached a $300 million settlement with property owners who accused the companies of overcharging for hazard insurance.” JPMorgan, Assurant Inc. and other insurers will pay “refunds valued at 12.5 percent of annual premium costs to homeowners who had the policies placed on their properties by the bank starting in January …
Meningitis Cases Tied to Massachusetts Compounding Pharmacy Outbreak Continue to Emerge
The Boston Globe (9/8, Lazar) reports that patients across the country are still dealing with the impact of fungal infections they contracted from contaminated shots made at the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Massachusetts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is trying to determine if the delayed diagnosis in many patients was because the infections incubated or the …
FDA Announces da Vinci Surgical System Robot Recall
According to Bloomberg News, Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG), which makes da Vinci Surgical System robots, informed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month that 30 devices may not have been tested properly, leading to a recall. The FDA said that the class 2 recall affects Intuitive’s da Vinci Si Vision System Cart, Si Surgeon Side Cart, Instrument Control Box …
Stryker Hip Implant Recipient Sues Over Permanent Disabilities
A lawsuit alleging personal injuries after implantation of a Stryker hip that was filed in California Superior Court, has been moved to U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California. According to her lawsuit, Mary Hazelwood alleges that the hip replacement device failed prematurely and that the components loosened in her body, causing her “great pain.” The lawsuit also claims that the company failed to warn consumers about …
Wyoming Man Sues Pharmacy After He is Given Sleep-Inducing Medication By Mistake
According to the Powell Tribune, a Wyoming man is suing a pharmacy after it allegedly erroneously filled an order for a drug he was taking to ward off sleep with a sleep-inducing medication. The Tribune reports that Ronald Franks, 61, alleges that a Powell pharmacy botched his medication and caused him to get into a car accident, leading to his …
CVS Cracks Down on Over-Prescribed Medication
Two CVS pharmacists wrote an editorial for this month’s New England Journal of Medicine that describes how the pharmacy has started to limit the ability of doctors to over-prescribe medication. The article, written by Mitch Betses, R.Ph., and Troyen Brennan, M.D., M.P.H, describes how opioid prescriptions increased by more than 300 percent between 1999 and 2010, and how this has …
What is Force-Placed Insurance?
Force-placed insurance is placed on mortgaged properties to provide coverage in the event the current coverage lapses or is deemed to be insufficient. It is intended to ensure that the property remains insured, protecting both the homeowner and the loan provider. However, in some cases, the lenders take advantage of homeowners. Major home loan providers such as Wells Fargo, Bank of …
Two Deaths in Texas Related to Specialty Compounding, LLC
Two patients injected with recalled products from Specialty Compounding in Texas have died. At least seventeen patients are believed to have received the tainted calcium gluconate just before the recall of all products. The drug causes bloodstream infections due to a non-sterile bacteria called Rhodococcus equi. The company issued a voluntary recall of all products distributed after May 9, 2013. …