Hidden Risks Of LASIK Surgery. The advertising and infomercials suggest LASIK surgery is painless and foolproof. The surgeon cuts a tiny flap on the surface of the eye and a few blasts from a laser burn away part of the cornea in hopes of giving patients perfect vision. When we first reported on LASIK surgery last year we met … [Read more...]
Toxic CCA Playgrounds
Preservative Known As Toxic CCA Extend The Life Of Wood. If there's one thing wood knows how to do, it's rot. Expose lumber to the elements, and within as few as five years, sun, rain, termites and fungus can reduce it to pulp. That's why builders were so enthusiastic in the 1970s when the lumber industry introduced pressure-treated … [Read more...]
FDA OK of Stomach Band Premature, Researchers Say
Stomach Band Was Cleared. An adjustable stomach band used for treating severe obesity was cleared prematurely by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and may not be as safe as previously thought, according to researchers who conducted a four-year study of the product. The inflatable banding system, called the Lap-Band, … [Read more...]
Mitsubishi SUV ‘Unsafe’
Mitsubishi Montero Has A Severe Risk Of Tipping On Two Wheels. The 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Limited sport/utility vehicle has a severe risk of tipping on two wheels, according to Consumer Reports, which gave the vehicle a rare "not acceptable" rating. The magazine published by Consumers Union said the problem was discovered in … [Read more...]
Zyban Warning After Bad Reactions
Zyban May Cause Adverse Reactions. A committee monitoring the anti-smoking drug Zyban has received almost 800 reports of adverse reactions in the seven months since it became available in Australia. The Australian Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee also reported nine deaths among people taking the drug, although it could … [Read more...]
Texas Medical-Device Co. Faces Suit
Medical-device maker Sulzer Orthopedics, facing 700 lawsuits over a hip-replacement part it recalled last year. Medical-device maker Sulzer Orthopedics, facing 700 lawsuits over a hip-replacement part it recalled last year, has been sued by a man who says his knee implant had the same defect. Leroy Harp of Tulsa, Okla., sued … [Read more...]
Firm Asks Net Analyst Blodget To Keep Quiet
Net Analyst Blodget Limit His Opinions. Noted Internet analyst Henry Blodget has been asked by his firm to limit his opinions to paper, but some comments keep leaking through the gag order. Merrill Lynch asked Blodget to not comment publicly or to the press about the companies he covers beyond what is in his written reports, until … [Read more...]
Officials Suspect IPO Manipulation
Wall Street IPO Manipulation. Joseph Schacherer feels he was cheated by Wall Street. Like so many small investors who chased a share of the Internet dream, the Oceano, Calif., resident hoped to invest in the hotly anticipated initial public offering of Red Hat, the software vendor that went public in August 1999 for $14 a … [Read more...]
Chronology of events in Ford/Firestone controversy
Bridgestone Corp. Stop Supplying Tires To Ford Motor Co. The following is a chronology of events leading to the decision of Japan's Bridgestone Corp. on Monday to stop supplying new tires to Ford Motor Co. because of a dispute over whether Ford Explorer Sport Utility Vehicles or Firestone tires have caused 174 traffic deaths in the … [Read more...]
Don’t Call Stachybotris the Black Plague, But the Fuzzy Fungus Is Plaguing the South
Health Problems Associated With Fuzzy Fungus. Last October, Teresa Koehlar noticed sores and tiny red bumps on her legs and nose. Her dogs started having stomach problems. Soon, her neighbors were throwing their own infected couches and mattresses in Dumpsters. In March, residents of her suburban apartment complex were told to … [Read more...]
Four Suffer Arthritis After Controversial Treatment
Lyme Disease Vaccine Can Cause Arthritis. Researchers have reported four cases of temporary arthritis they believe are associated with a controversial Lyme disease vaccine. Since the vaccine LYMErix was approved in December 1998, there have been questions about whether it might cause arthritis in some people. GlaxoSmithKline, the … [Read more...]
Juries Treat Nursing Home Industry With Multimillion Dollar Verdicts
Nursing Home Industry Multi-million Dollar Verdicts. Mary Roden, an Alzheimer's patient, spent more than two years at the Starcrest Nursing home in Newman, Ga. Before she got out, she had suffered at least 32 separate injuries. For example, in March 1999, Roden was allegedly left for hours with her legs touching a heat register … [Read more...]
$2.19M Labor Law Verdict
Labor Law Verdict. Tiziano Sozzi, a 38-year-old painter and plasterer, was injured on when the ladder he was working on collapsed. Tiziano Sozzi v. Gramercy Realty Company No. 2 LP 22523/98 March 15 Kings Supreme JUDGE: Ira B. Harkavy ATTORNEYS: Andy F. of Parker & Waichman, Great Neck. Elsa Rodriguez Preston of … [Read more...]
Arsenic Victims ‘Never Know What Hit Them’
Arsenic Victims By Treated Wood. Rick Feutz, a former Teacher of the Year in Washington, started a routine backyard project one week back in the late 1980s. He decided to build a swimming raft for his kids off his lakefront property near Seattle. Sawing and building, he felt like he was coming down with the flu. "By the end of … [Read more...]
Arsenic Fears Rise Over Treated Wood Disposal
Arsenic Treated Wood Disposal Is Qualify As Hazardous Waste. Pressure-treated lumber has enough toxic chemicals in it to qualify as hazardous waste. But years ago, industry lobbyists in Washington secured an exemption from hazardous waste laws. Because of that, tons of treated wood decks and playgrounds that wear out can be dumped … [Read more...]
The Poison In Your Back Yard
Pressure-Treated Lumber The Newest Environmental Hazard. In bug-filled Florida, pressure-treated lumber has been a modern miracle. It stands up to termites, beetles and the rot that comes from relentless humidity. Every day, the lumber flies out of home-improvement stores to become boardwalks, backyard gazebos, picnic tables, decks, … [Read more...]
Tiremaker Settles Texas Suits Involving 78 People
Lawsuits Filed By Victims Against Tiremaker Have Been Settled. Twenty-six lawsuits filed by accident victims who alleged tread separation on tires made by Bridgestone/Firestone caused their rollover crashes have been settled for an undisclosed amount, a Houston law firm and the tiremaker said. Linda Houssiere, of the firm … [Read more...]
Hip Replacement Patients May Face More Surgery
Hip Replacement Injuries. “I feel like I have an alien living in my body, says Rhonda Silva. Rhonda Silva used to take long walks with her husband. Now she's confined to her Oakland, California, apartment, immobile for ten months with defective hip replacements that cause her "excruciating pain." "I feel like I have an alien … [Read more...]
Md. Court Decides Lead Paint Appeal
Cases That Poisoned By Lead Paint Have A Right To File Lawsuit. Maryland's mid-level appeals court ruled in separate cases yesterday that renters poisoned by lead paint have a right to file negligence lawsuits against public housing agencies but cannot sue real estate agents who broker leases for lead-contaminated homes. The Court … [Read more...]
Outcomes Following PolyPropylene Mesh PuboVaginal Slings For Stress Urinary Incontinence
PolyPropylene Mesh PuboVaginal Slings Placement Inuries. 56 consecutive women underwent a ProteGen sling placement in a community hospital. Methods Between 5/97 and 3/98, 56 consecutive women underwent a ProteGen sling placement in a community hospital setting by a single surgeon using a standard technique. Chart review and … [Read more...]
Patient Safety Being Left Behind
Patient Safety Left Behind With Medical Errors. An overworked nurse infuses the wrong type of blood into a patient. An experienced pharmacist puts the wrong drug in a child's medicine bottle. A less-experienced surgeon blows a heart procedure that is performed more frequently and flawlessly down the street. All the patients die, … [Read more...]
SUV Rollover Risks Kept Quiet
SUVs Are The Riskiest When It Comes To Rollover Accidents. Just how risky are SUVs when it comes to possible rollovers? If you can't find figures to help you make an educated assessment, CBS News Transportation Correspondent Bob Orr says you can blame the auto industry and Congress. While SUVs are among the most popular … [Read more...]
SUVs’ Popularity Likely To Mean More Suits
Rollover-Related Lawsuits Are Expected To Increase. Many rollover-related lawsuits have been filed during the past decade, and the number is expected to increase dramatically as the popularity of sport-utility vehicles rises, lawyers and consumer safety advocates say. The highest-profile case, Ford Motor vs. Ammerman, reached the … [Read more...]
AHP’s Diet-Drug Settlement Shortchanges Consumers
Diet Drug Lawsuit Settlement. American Home Products Corp.'s $3.75 billion settlement of lawsuits over its withdrawn diet drugs leaves most former users unfairly "trapped" in an agreement providing inadequate compensation, opponents of the pact told a judge. U.S. District Judge Louis Bechtle heard final arguments today about the … [Read more...]
Jury Reaches Verdict In Collapsing Fire Ladder Case, Says Law firm of Parker & Waichman
Collapse Of A Fire Ladder. NEW YORK, May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the collapse of an aerial fire ladder during an attempted fire rescue in 1994, a loving husband and father plunged to his death while his family and a New York City firefighter were severely injured. On Friday, April 28, a Brooklyn Jury found that the City of New … [Read more...]
Opening Arguments Delivered In Air Bag Death Case
Death In A Crash Resulted From Aggressive Air Bag. A girl's death in a minivan crash resulted from "a terribly aggressive air bag" by an automaker more concerned about sales even the cost of test dummies than proper testing of the device, an attorney argued Friday. The family made the claim on behalf of Alison Sanders' family, … [Read more...]
Drug Linked To Liver Damage
Duract May Cause Liver Damage. Dave Storey took a new drug called Duract to relieve chronic back pain and ended up with liver failure. CBS News Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson tells Dave's story. Dave Storey, a chef in Nevada, was nursing chronic back pain in late 1997 when his doctor gave him a new pain medication, Duract. Dave … [Read more...]
Americans Ignorant of Their Implants
25 million Americans are living with implanted medical devices, from pacemakers to artificial joints. Up to 25 million Americans are living with implanted medical devices, from pacemakers to artificial joints, but too many patients have unrealistic expectations of how long implants will last and don't even know what model is in their … [Read more...]
Two GM SUVs Get Lowest Rating
Government Issued Ratings Of Vehicles' Resistance To Rollover. The federal government on Tuesday issued its first ratings of passenger vehicles' resistance to rollover crashes, and the lowest score went to two General Motors sport-utility vehicles. The Transportation Department gave one-star ratings to the Chevrolet Blazer and GMC … [Read more...]
American Home Seeks Settlement
American Home Products Lawsuit Settlement. American Home Products Corp. stands ready to spend about $4 billion to settle much of the litigation over its diet drugs. Although final terms have yet to be worked out -- meaning a deal could still elude the company -- the settlement under negotiation would be the biggest ever over … [Read more...]
American Home Products To Appeal Court’s Ruling
American Home Products Appeal To Court. American Home Products Corporation (NYSE:AHP) will appeal today's ruling in the case of Deborah Lovett vs. American Home Products Corporation in Van Zandt County, Texas District Court. "We are disappointed by today's ruling," says Bob Schick of Vinson & Elkins, a Houston-based attorney … [Read more...]
J&J Accused in Suture Lawsuit
Accused in a nationwide class action lawsuit of selling contaminated sutures. The nation's biggest maker of surgical sutures is accused in a nationwide class action lawsuit of selling contaminated sutures that gave patients serious infections and caused at least one death, lawyers said Tuesday. Ethicon Inc., a Johnson & … [Read more...]
$4.9-Billion Jury Award Slams GM
GM Was Slapped With The Largest Penalty In A Product Liability Case. General Motors Corp. was slapped Friday with the largest penalty ever handed out in a product-liability case, a $4.9-billion judgment a Los Angeles jury awarded to six passengers severely burned in a 1979 Chevrolet Malibu. On Christmas Eve 1993, a drunken … [Read more...]
Liposuction Blamed In Five Deaths
Five Deaths From Liposuction. A new study documenting five deaths from liposuction has raised questions about the safety of the elective surgery to reduce fat. Liposuction is the most common cosmetic surgery in the United States. The number of people undergoing the medical procedure has increased 216 percent since 1992. As the … [Read more...]
Jury Selection In Diet Drug Case
Diet Drug Can Cause Heart Problems. A woman who blames a popular diet drug combination for her heart trouble has gone to court to take on the world's seventh-largest drug maker in a closely watched case. Opening statements were expected to begin later today in the lawsuit filed in state district court by Sandra Moore against … [Read more...]
Heart Valve Abnormalities Examined
Diet Drug May Cause Heart Valve Abnormality. In the largest study of its kind, Duke University Medical Center researchers found that the longer a person used a popular duet of diet drugs known as "fen/phen," the greater the likelihood they had a heart valve abnormality. Duke researchers said in a report prepared for the annual … [Read more...]
Man Sues Heart-Valve Maker for Wife’s Death
Heart-Valve Maker Face A Lawsuit. The husband of a Northwest Side woman, who died after having a mechanical valve implanted in her heart last year, is suing the manufacturer of the device, claiming leaks in the valve led to her death. The company recently recalled the valve and other similar products. Christine Krizin, 53, had a … [Read more...]
Weight-Loss Wars
Weight-Loss Drug Combination. Over the 1996 Memorial Day weekend, Mary Linnen celebrated her engagement with her parents. The wedding would take place in the fall, and she had worked out all the details but one: Before she bought her wedding gown, Linnen wanted to lose 20 pounds. Her physician had prescribed a new diet-drug … [Read more...]
Diet Drugs: Let Buyer Beware
Diet Drugs Dramatic Results. For a time, fen-phen was the hottest thing going when it came to weight loss. A combination of two prescription drugs, fenfluramine and phentermine, its users were reporting quick and dramatic results. More and more people were asking for it, and doctors and weight-loss centers were obliging them. Now … [Read more...]
NEW WARNINGS FOR PARKINSON’S DRUG, TASMAR
Tasmar Can Cause Fatal Liver Injury. FDA and Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., the manufacturer of the drug Tasmar for patients with Parkinson's Disease, are advising doctors about reports of a new finding of fatal liver injury associated with use of the drug, and recommending significant changes in how it is used. Because of these reports, … [Read more...]
Drivers Detail Air Bag Horrors
Ross Kelley Was Parked When His Airbag Suddenly Burst Open. WASHINGTON (AP) - Ross Kelley was sitting in his 1994 Chrysler minivan, parked in a driveway with the motor on and waiting for a friend, when his air bag suddenly burst open with a bang. ``The air bag just blew up in my face,'' Kelley recalled. ``It felt like someone … [Read more...]
Why Your Favorite Stock Analyst Only Has Good News
Stock Analyst Only Has Good News. Investors digest a daily slew of upgrades and downgrades from Wall Street analysts, but are far from getting a balanced diet mostly good news with a dash of positive spin. So where's the bad news? According to Chuck Hill, director of research for First Call in Boston, two-thirds of the analysts … [Read more...]
Drug-Induced Disorders
Common Type Of Drug-Induced Disorders Are Predictable. Recent estimates suggest that each year more than 1 million patients are injured while in the hospital and approximately 180,000 die because of these injuries. Furthermore, drug-related morbidity and mortality are common and are estimated to cost more than $136 billion a year. … [Read more...]
Serious Eye Injuries from Air Bags
Air Bags Can Inflict Eye Injuries Even In Minor Accidents. Activated air bags can inflict severe eye injuries, including blindness, even in minor car accidents, a small-scale study shows. The research report, published in the March Journal of Ophthalmic Surgery and Lasers, describes the spectrum of air-bag-related eye injuries … [Read more...]
Air Bag Injuries Plentiful
Research Painted A Grim Picture Of Airbag Injuries. Anyone looking for reassurance that air bags are good for you won't find much in injury studies recounted this week at the Society of Automotive Engineers Congress in Detroit. Heads nearly torn from necks. Brain trauma. Multiple rib fractures. Facial abrasions. Eyelid, shoulder … [Read more...]
Transit Authority Has Conceded Liability for the Crash of Two Subway Trains
Transit Authority Liability For Crash Of Two Subway Trains. The Transit Authority has conceded liability for the crash of two subway trains on the Williamsburg Bridge June 5 that injured 66 passengers, according to an attorney representing one plaintiff. Jerrold s. Parker of Parker & Waichman reported yesterday that in response … [Read more...]
Sheily Inc Notify Patients of Heart Valve
Risk of fracture for some sizes of these valves may be higher. The Food and Drug Administration has asked Shiley Inc. of Irvine, Calif., the maker of Bjork-Shiley heart valves, to notify patients and physicians that risk of fracture for some sizes of these valves may be higher than previously thought. The fracture rate for the … [Read more...]
