Following the FDA panel's decision last Friday regarding drug-eluting stents, we released the following press release, which deals with a reported potential conflict of interest for six of the physicians:
Weitz & Luxenberg Responds to Report of Panelists’ Financial Ties to Stents
December 8, 2006, New York, NY—As the Food and Drug Administration panel converged last week in Washington to review the incidence of lethal blood clots linked to drug-eluting stents, a Bloomberg News article revealed that six physicians who have been advising U.S. regulators on the matter, have financial ties to Johnson & Johnson, maker of the Cypher (Cordis) Stent, and Boston Scientific Corp., maker of the Taxus Express2 Paclitaxel-Eluting Coronary Stent. The panel has just recommended allowing those dangerous products to remain on the market.
Of today’s FDA decision, Paul J. Pennock, director of the drug and medical device litigation unit at Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., said, “It is unsurprising that the Panel would vote in favor of the stents despite the strong evidence that drug-eluting stents carry life-threatening risks.”
Pennock has handled many high-profile cases dedicated to the public's welfare, among them litigation related to the dangerous contact-lens solution ReNu with MoistureLoc, manufactured by Bausch & Lomb.
Weitz & Luxenberg, one of the leading plaintiffs’ personal injury litigation law firms in America, has been following the research on late in-stent thrombosis—blot clots occurring within the stent more than 30 days after implantation. Researchers have found that the clots can lead to heart attacks, a repeat revascularization procedure, open-heart surgery and even death.
Most recently, an analysis by the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, published November 29th in the American Journal of Medicine, found that blood clots are four to five times more likely to develop in patients with drug-coated stents, compared to the older, bare-metal versions. Data presented at the hearing from a comprehensive Swedish Registry, which followed outcomes for three years, showed that after six months, a significant increase in the rate of blood clots was associated with a corresponding increase in the rate of heart attack and death; a fact that both device manufacturers have long disputed. It would appear that some of the conflicted members of the panel ignored this significant evidence.
Given the seriousness of medical issue before the panel, the FDA’s decision to use physicians who have monetary stakes in the products under review, is a betrayal of the public’s trust. In 2004, a similar predicament occurred in a decision to allow Vioxx back onto the market. Nearly all of the panelists with financial ties to the drug companies who made that class of pharmaceuticals reportedly voted to allow it; however, in that case, the FDA later chose to reject the advice of compromised physicians.
People who have been harmed by drug-coated Taxus or Cypher stents can contact Weitz & Luxenberg. Interested parties should call the Client Relations department at 1 (800) 476-6070 or via e-mail by writing to clientrelations@weitzlux.com. You may also visit our website, www.weitzlux.com
About Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C.:
Weitz & Luxenberg, founded in 1986, is one of the leading plaintiffs’, mass torts, product liability, and personal injury litigation law firms in America. We have tried other pharmaceutical product liability cases in the New Jersey mass tort court, including the noted $13.5 million victory in the Vioxx case McDarby v. Merck (docket no. ATLL129605), earlier this year, including what is considered to be the first punitive-damage verdict in New Jersey against a pharmaceutical company. We are involved in the other New Jersey mass torts involving dangerous drugs, including PPA, Propulsid, Accutane, Vioxx and Bextra/Celebrex and Seroquel. The firm has also played leading roles in national and local litigations involving asbestos, silicone breast implants, and the pharmaceutical products DES, Rezulin, and Baycol as well as medical malpractice, and general negligence, among others. A forerunner in the legal fight against environmental polluters, Weitz & Luxenberg has worked with clients harmed by MTBE, mercury and trichloroethylene, among other toxins.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Read on for an alarming incidence of a physician who has been sued over 100 times for medical malpractice but is still licensed to practice in numerous states. How is this possible?
Weitz & Luxenberg Responds to Wave of Serially-Sued Doctors
December 6, 2006, New York, NY—In one of many recent cases of medical malpractice, The Birmingham News reported last week that an Alabama woman received an overdose of anti-nausea medication, slipping into a coma for 26 hours before awaking with stroke-like symptoms such as having to relearn words. She and her husband had no idea that the attending doctor had previously roamed from job to job, and reportedly had over 100 malpractice suits brought against him between 2002 and 2003.
Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., one of the leading medical malpractice and personal injury litigation law firms in America, is dedicated to holding such doctors and other medical professionals accountable for the tragic injuries they inflict with negligent care. This appalling Alabama story begs the question of how a serial abuser of the Hippocratic Oath could find safe haven time and again in local medical systems.
“These doctors lose their license to practice, only to move to another state with another license,” said Allan Zelikovic, head of the Medical Malpractice Unit at Weitz & Luxenberg. “Better coordination and cooperation between states, malpractice insurance companies, and hospitals or health care organizations, would avoid most of these activities,” he added.
Zelikovic contends that our medical information-sharing systems—vastly improved from 25 years ago—are not being utilized. As a result, said Zelikovic, “The public continues to be victimized and good doctors and hospitals are vilified by the few bad apples.”
In an article in last Saturday’s paper, The Birmingham News reported that the doctor, Christopher Martin, has left a trail of open negligence suits in his wake. Among those pending cases are accusations of maiming or killing patients through medical malpractice.
Martin, reportedly, has surrendered or lost his license to practice medicine in at least five states, and allowed it to expire in two others. Most galling is that to date, Martin may still practice in seven other states where he has managed to maintain a medical license.
Those who have been affected by medical malpractice may contact Weitz & Luxenberg by calling our Client Relations Department at 800-476-6070 or e-mailing clientrelations@weitzlux.com. Please also visit our website: http://www.weitzlux.com/
About Weitz & Luxenberg
Weitz & Luxenberg, founded in 1986, is one of the leading plaintiffs, mass torts, medical malpractice and personal injury litigation law firms in America. The firm has played leading roles in national and local litigations involving asbestos, DES, and silicone breast implants, among others. A forerunner in the legal fight against environmental polluters, Weitz & Luxenberg has worked with clients harmed by MTBE and mercury, among other toxins. The firm has won numerous cases involving dangerous pharmaceuticals, including Vioxx, achieving a $13.5 million verdict against Merck & Co. (docket No. ATLL129605).
Weitz & Luxenberg Responds to Wave of Serially-Sued Doctors
December 6, 2006, New York, NY—In one of many recent cases of medical malpractice, The Birmingham News reported last week that an Alabama woman received an overdose of anti-nausea medication, slipping into a coma for 26 hours before awaking with stroke-like symptoms such as having to relearn words. She and her husband had no idea that the attending doctor had previously roamed from job to job, and reportedly had over 100 malpractice suits brought against him between 2002 and 2003.
Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., one of the leading medical malpractice and personal injury litigation law firms in America, is dedicated to holding such doctors and other medical professionals accountable for the tragic injuries they inflict with negligent care. This appalling Alabama story begs the question of how a serial abuser of the Hippocratic Oath could find safe haven time and again in local medical systems.
“These doctors lose their license to practice, only to move to another state with another license,” said Allan Zelikovic, head of the Medical Malpractice Unit at Weitz & Luxenberg. “Better coordination and cooperation between states, malpractice insurance companies, and hospitals or health care organizations, would avoid most of these activities,” he added.
Zelikovic contends that our medical information-sharing systems—vastly improved from 25 years ago—are not being utilized. As a result, said Zelikovic, “The public continues to be victimized and good doctors and hospitals are vilified by the few bad apples.”
In an article in last Saturday’s paper, The Birmingham News reported that the doctor, Christopher Martin, has left a trail of open negligence suits in his wake. Among those pending cases are accusations of maiming or killing patients through medical malpractice.
Martin, reportedly, has surrendered or lost his license to practice medicine in at least five states, and allowed it to expire in two others. Most galling is that to date, Martin may still practice in seven other states where he has managed to maintain a medical license.
Those who have been affected by medical malpractice may contact Weitz & Luxenberg by calling our Client Relations Department at 800-476-6070 or e-mailing clientrelations@weitzlux.com. Please also visit our website: http://www.weitzlux.com/
About Weitz & Luxenberg
Weitz & Luxenberg, founded in 1986, is one of the leading plaintiffs, mass torts, medical malpractice and personal injury litigation law firms in America. The firm has played leading roles in national and local litigations involving asbestos, DES, and silicone breast implants, among others. A forerunner in the legal fight against environmental polluters, Weitz & Luxenberg has worked with clients harmed by MTBE and mercury, among other toxins. The firm has won numerous cases involving dangerous pharmaceuticals, including Vioxx, achieving a $13.5 million verdict against Merck & Co. (docket No. ATLL129605).
Friday, December 01, 2006
Below is a press release on a recent mesothelioma verdict:
Weitz & Luxenberg Wins $25 Million in Mesothelioma Verdict
November 28, 2006, New York, NY—In its ongoing effort to hold corporations responsible for recklessly exposing workers to the lethal toxin asbestos, Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. obtained a jury verdict ordering DaimlerChrysler AG to pay $25 million to a New York City brake reliner who lost his right lung to mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused by asbestos.
Chrysler, the world’s fifth-largest automaker, was found to have acted in “reckless disregard for the safety of others,” in its failure to warn of the hazards of asbestos, which it has known about since the 1930’s. The case (Index no. 113939/04, New York Supreme Court, Manhattan) was brought by Alfred D’Ulisse, 73 and his wife, Margaret, of North Massapequa, New York. Mr. D’Ulisse, a retired police officer, was exposed to asbestos while relining Chrysler brakes at Morak Brakes in Brooklyn, New York, from 1960 to 1981.
Michael Roberts, Weitz & Luxenberg trial team attorney said, “The jury obviously disbelieved Chrysler’s bogus litigation-defense that working with asbestos brakes is safe.”
The Weitz & Luxenberg trial team included Roberts, Adam Cooper and Jerry Kristal, with additional support by associate attorney Patti Burshtyn. Prior to this case, Chrysler had boasted of winning 14 asbestos-related cases in a row. In this suit, Chrysler was found to be “jointly and severally liable,” thus requiring the company to pay 80 percent of the verdict—its 10 percent share and an additional 70 percent for the shares of two other companies. This is believed to be the highest verdict against Chrysler, to date.
Weitz & Luxenberg is known for spearheading asbestos cases, among others, winning a historic consolidated trial in 1991 involving men who had worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the 1940s and 1950s. Weitz & Luxenberg represented 36 clients in that case and secured verdicts of $75 million. In 1996, Weitz & Luxenberg obtained a $64.65 million award for four asbestos plaintiffs and in 2002, the firm won a $53 million verdict for a brake mechanic suffering from mesothelioma. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions more for its clients, many of whom formed the backbone of the victorious Allied war effort in World War II.
Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles. Weitz & Luxenberg represents numerous individuals who have serious injuries related to asbestos. These injuries include mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis (a noncancerous, chronic lung ailment), and other cancers.
About Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C.: Weitz & Luxenberg, founded in 1986, is one of the leading plaintiffs, mass torts, product liability, and personal injury litigation law firms in America. The firm has played leading roles in national and local litigations involving asbestos, DES, silicone breast implants, medical malpractice, and general negligence, among others. A forerunner in the legal fight against environmental polluters, Weitz & Luxenberg has worked with clients harmed by MTBE and mercury, among other toxins. The firm has won numerous cases involving dangerous pharmaceuticals, including Vioxx, achieving a $13.5 million verdict against Merck & Co. (docket No. ATLL129605). It also recently filed a case related to the harmful acne medicine, Accutane, manufactured by Hoffman-La Roche Inc. (State Supreme Court of New Jersey, May 2, 2006, Mass Tort general docket No. 271). The firm’s other active pharmaceutical litigations include actions against the manufacturers of Bextra, Celebrex, Ortho Evra and Seroquel.
People who have been injured by asbestos can contact Weitz & Luxenberg. Interested parties should call the Client Relations department at 1 (800) 476-6070 or via e-mail by writing to clientrelations@weitzlux.com. Please also visit our website at www.weitzlux.com
Weitz & Luxenberg Wins $25 Million in Mesothelioma Verdict
November 28, 2006, New York, NY—In its ongoing effort to hold corporations responsible for recklessly exposing workers to the lethal toxin asbestos, Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. obtained a jury verdict ordering DaimlerChrysler AG to pay $25 million to a New York City brake reliner who lost his right lung to mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused by asbestos.
Chrysler, the world’s fifth-largest automaker, was found to have acted in “reckless disregard for the safety of others,” in its failure to warn of the hazards of asbestos, which it has known about since the 1930’s. The case (Index no. 113939/04, New York Supreme Court, Manhattan) was brought by Alfred D’Ulisse, 73 and his wife, Margaret, of North Massapequa, New York. Mr. D’Ulisse, a retired police officer, was exposed to asbestos while relining Chrysler brakes at Morak Brakes in Brooklyn, New York, from 1960 to 1981.
Michael Roberts, Weitz & Luxenberg trial team attorney said, “The jury obviously disbelieved Chrysler’s bogus litigation-defense that working with asbestos brakes is safe.”
The Weitz & Luxenberg trial team included Roberts, Adam Cooper and Jerry Kristal, with additional support by associate attorney Patti Burshtyn. Prior to this case, Chrysler had boasted of winning 14 asbestos-related cases in a row. In this suit, Chrysler was found to be “jointly and severally liable,” thus requiring the company to pay 80 percent of the verdict—its 10 percent share and an additional 70 percent for the shares of two other companies. This is believed to be the highest verdict against Chrysler, to date.
Weitz & Luxenberg is known for spearheading asbestos cases, among others, winning a historic consolidated trial in 1991 involving men who had worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in the 1940s and 1950s. Weitz & Luxenberg represented 36 clients in that case and secured verdicts of $75 million. In 1996, Weitz & Luxenberg obtained a $64.65 million award for four asbestos plaintiffs and in 2002, the firm won a $53 million verdict for a brake mechanic suffering from mesothelioma. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions more for its clients, many of whom formed the backbone of the victorious Allied war effort in World War II.
Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles. Weitz & Luxenberg represents numerous individuals who have serious injuries related to asbestos. These injuries include mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis (a noncancerous, chronic lung ailment), and other cancers.
About Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C.: Weitz & Luxenberg, founded in 1986, is one of the leading plaintiffs, mass torts, product liability, and personal injury litigation law firms in America. The firm has played leading roles in national and local litigations involving asbestos, DES, silicone breast implants, medical malpractice, and general negligence, among others. A forerunner in the legal fight against environmental polluters, Weitz & Luxenberg has worked with clients harmed by MTBE and mercury, among other toxins. The firm has won numerous cases involving dangerous pharmaceuticals, including Vioxx, achieving a $13.5 million verdict against Merck & Co. (docket No. ATLL129605). It also recently filed a case related to the harmful acne medicine, Accutane, manufactured by Hoffman-La Roche Inc. (State Supreme Court of New Jersey, May 2, 2006, Mass Tort general docket No. 271). The firm’s other active pharmaceutical litigations include actions against the manufacturers of Bextra, Celebrex, Ortho Evra and Seroquel.
People who have been injured by asbestos can contact Weitz & Luxenberg. Interested parties should call the Client Relations department at 1 (800) 476-6070 or via e-mail by writing to clientrelations@weitzlux.com. Please also visit our website at www.weitzlux.com
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