Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Pfizer Settlement Ends Most Painkiller Lawsuits - Friday, October 17, 2008
Pfizer Inc. has reached a deal to end over 90 percent of the personal injury lawsuits, comprising of nearly 7000 cases, over the pain relievers Celebrex and Bextra. The deal will cost Pfizer $894 million. The lawsuits were originally brought by plaintiffs or their families claiming the drugs caused heart attacks, strokes, and other injuries. Pfizer said it hopes to have the claims finalized by the end of the year.
The Pfizer deal also ends suits by patients and insurers to recover what they spent on the painkillers, as well as claims made by 33 states and the District of Columbia that Bextra was "improperly promoted" by Pfizer. Of the total $894 million settlement:
- $745 million will go to settle personal injury cases
- $60 million covers settlements with the attorneys general in 33 states and the District of Columbia
- $89 million will go to cover consumer fraud class action cases for reimbursement of money spent on Celebrex and Bextra
Louisiana and Mississippi still have cases pending against Pfizer and the promotion of the painkillers.
While the settlement covers most parts of the lawsuits brought against Pfizer, it does not cover securities fraud litigation filed in connection with the drugs. Furthermore, the settlement comes as a result of state and federal judges ruling that the plaintiffs failed to present reliable scientific evidence that proves Celebrex can cause strokes or heart attacks at its prescribed dosage. Pfizer said this was the catalyst for the settlement due to the likelihood of protracted litigation that would be hard on patients, doctors, and - maybe most importantly where Pfizer is concerned - the shareholders. Early trading has Pfizer shares down 47 cents to $16.50, a drop of 2.8 percent.
NTSB Investigating EMS Helicopter Crash in Illinois - Thursday, October 16, 2008
An emergency medical service helicopter clipped a guy wire, causing the blades to break off and crash Wednesday night in Aurora, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The crash killed two crew members, a nurse, and a one-year-old patient. Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating.
This is just the latest in a string of EMS helicopter crashes that has the NTSB concerned. NTSB Vice Chairman Robert Sumwalt, speaking three days after a Maryland State Police chopper crashed carrying victims from an automobile accident, said, "We have had too many [EMS accidents]. We need to do something about it. We need to do something about it right now." So far, there have been nine fatal medical helicopter accidents this year.
The NTSB has raised concerns about EMS helicopters in the past. Since 2006, over 50 people have been killed in these types of accidents, and nearly 50 percent of these accidents happen at night. Many of the accidents have been blamed on poor weather conditions, such as fog. (The most recent accident in Aurora happened in clear weather.) The NTSB released a report in 2006 that identified four safety issues they were concerned about:
Less stringent requirements for EMS operations conducted without patients on board.
A lack of aviation flight-risk evaluation programs for EMS operations.
A lack of consistent, comprehensive flight-dispatch procedures for EMS operations.
No requirements to use technologies such as terrain awareness and warning systems to enhance EMS flight safety.
However, the NTSB can only make recommendations to the FAA on ways to lower the number of accidents. While the FAA agrees with many of the NTSB recommendations, critics charge that the FAA has not turned these recommendations into mandatory regulations. For example, one technology veteran EMS pilots would like to see on all helicopters is night-vision goggles. The NTSB has recommended this as well, and a survey released last May by the National EMS Pilots Association said that over 80 percent of pilots prefer to use night-vision equipment.
The company making night vision equipment, ITT Technologies, has been operating on a 24/7 schedule, but night-vision goggles for civilian or emergency medical service and law enforcement use are on a six to eight month wait-list. Most of these night-vision goggles are going to the military due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Only a third of the 800 EMS helicopters in the U.S. are equipped with night-vision goggles.
New Rule Adds Seatbelts to Small School Buses - Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Although it only applies to new buses weighing five tons or less, and won't take effect until 2011, the government has decided that small school buses will now be required to have harness-style seatbelts. Under the new policy, larger buses will also be required to have higher seatbacks to keep larger or older students from being thrown over seats in the event of a bus accident. These new rules come after the death of four Alabama students, killed when their bus careened from an overpass on Nov. 20, 2006.
While smaller buses already have lap belts, there is no requirement for larger school buses. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said the reason the government decided not to add them to larger buses is that the number of children that can squeeze into seats would be limited if they all had to wear seatbelts. Some school districts require up to three children to share the same seat.
The pilot project has mixed reviews. One bus driver said that, though his bus cannot start until all children have buckled their seatbelts, as soon as the bus is underway, he can hear the students unlatch their belts. One student worries that if the bus crashes into a pond and overturns, the younger children won't be able to get their belts off. However, some students think the belts are a good idea and that they will keep students safe. A spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association objects to spending additional federal funds on the seatbelts. Because school buses are already a very safe mode of transportation, and the crash data doesn't support an increase in safety on the buses, the spokesman said states shouldn't be pressured on this issue.
There are 474,000 school buses that carry roughly 25 million children to and from school each year in this country. There are around six children killed each year in school bus accidents.
Study Finds Vioxx Risks Lasted After End of Use - Tuesday, October 14, 2008
A study whose findings have been published online in The Lancet, a UK medical journal, shows that users of Vioxx faced an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and death for up to a year after they quit taking the drug. It was assumed that Vioxx users would be safe after the drug was pulled from the shelves in 2004. Co-author of the study, Dr. Robert Bresalier, says that the good news is that the risk seems to have diminished after one year.
Bresalier and other researchers followed individuals who were involved in the international APPROVe trial, which looked at Vioxx and a placebo over a three year period. The study attempted to find out whether Vioxx could lessen the occurrence or recurrence of cancerous polyps in the colon. This trial was ended in early 2004 due to the increased risks associated with Vioxx.
The new study covers 84 percent of those who were part of the original trial. Researchers found that nearly 79 percent of those individuals were still at increased risks a year after the drug trial ended. This is congruent with the risk found during the trial, in which those who took Vioxx were twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke as those who were not taking the drug. The risk of dying increased by 31 percent over those taking the placebo.
Researchers of the study and other experts believe that long-term use of non-aspirin painkilling drugs in the same category as Vioxx increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death across the board. These drugs, called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), also include cox-2 inhibitor drugs (cox-2 drugs target the cyclooxygenase 2 enzyme which is involved in inflammation, such as Vioxx and Bextra, as well as Celebrex.
Though Celebrex is the only one of these three still on the market, it is unknown if Celebrex is more likely to increase risks than are other cox-2 drugs. However, Dr. Eric J. Topol, director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute and Chief Academic Officer of Scripps Health, says one needs to be suspicious of Celebrex. He claims Celebrex taken in high doses increases the risk of heart attack and stroke, but that no studies have been done to show its long lasting effects.
Merck, the manufacturer of Vioxx, issued a statement, claiming the pharmaceutical company believes this analysis is "post hoc," and uses limited data from a "prematurely terminated study." This is obviously in response to the many lawsuits the company already faces and will likely face in the future for their defective drug.
Thousands Flee Chemical Spill in Pennsylvania - Monday, October 13, 2008
At least 2,500 people were forced to evacuate from a two mile radius around the Indspec Chemical Corp. plant in Petrolia, Pennsylvania over the weekend because of a chemical leak. A corrosive liquid called oleum, similar to sulfuric acid, overflowed from a tank. The liquid then became a toxic cloud.
A spokeswoman from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said the evacuation precaution was taken due to concerns about skin burns and respiratory damage. There were no reported injuries at the plant, and the spill was contained where crews were reported to be cleaning it up.
The evacuated were taken to shelters in surrounding towns with no word on when they can return to their homes. Three residents were injured during the evacuation. Residents outside the evacuation area were told to stay indoors and close all vents, windows and doors.
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