When Lois Eskind died on the operating table of a heart attack while being treated for osteoporosis, her family was deeply grieved. However, when they discovered that her death was possibly caused by the illegal use of Synthes Inc., bone cement, their grief turned to anger. “I feel like my mother was murdered.” Eskind’s daughter Eva Sloan said. “I wanted to destroy them, I didn’t know any other way. I might only be a bumble bee to them, but I want them to know I’m ticked off. Well, I’m more than ticked off.”

Sloan along with her brother Roger Lee McConnell and Sloan’s husband Ike filed a lawsuit in Philadelphia federal court against Synthes claiming wrongful death and failure to warn patients regarding the illegal promotion and testing of the bone cement. Though Lois died in 2003, Sloan did not learn that her mother had been part of a ‘human experiment’ involving the bone cement, until a reporter told her about it in 2011. Eskind was the first of three patients to die on the operating table. More Plaintiff Wants to Destroy Synthes Inc., over Bone Cement

The national law firm of Parker Waichman LLP continues to fight for the rights of victims of defective medical devices, and has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Wyoming woman who was harmed by a transvaginal mesh product.

The lawsuit was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, Charleston Division, where it joins many consolidated in multidistrict litigation, and names Ethicon, Inc., Ethicon Women’s Health and Urology, Gynecare and Johnson & Johnson as defendants. More Wyoming Woman Sues Ethicon over Transvaginal Mesh Injuries

Accretive Health, former bill collector for Fairview Health Services in Minnesota, has agreed settle a lawsuit filed by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson over allegations that company repeatedly breached privacy laws and utilized abusive tactics against patients, including attempting to get payments from emergency room patients.

Terms of the settlement include paying a $2.5 million fine, of which the bulk will be used for a patient restitution fund, turning over all Minnesota patient information, and closing down Minnesota operations and not returning to the state for at least six years. More Accretive Health to Pay $2.5 Million and Leave Minnesota

While analysts says that seven of every 10 prescriptions are filled with generic medications, and the FDA says generics are the same as brand name meds. However,  in the eyes of the law, the two are very different, and can leave consumers who use generic versions without legal recourse when things go wrong.

The family of Texas resident Christian Welsh learned about these differences first hand when Christian developed a very sensitive rash all over his body after using the generic version of Bactrim. While doctors initially suspected that Christian was suffering from the potentially lethal Stevens – Johnson Syndrome, he actually was suffering an allergic response to the drug. More Generic Medications Still Not Equal to Brands under the Law

A Texas woman has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia where it joins many consolidated in multidistrict litigation against American Medical Systems and Boston Scientific alleging that their transvaginal mesh products are defective and caused her to suffer painful injuries.

The lawsuit says the plaintiff was implanted in 2009 with three transvaginal mesh products: the Lynx Suprapubic Med-Urethral Sling System the Elevate Prolapse Repair System, and the Perigee Prolapse Repair System. Though the mesh system were implanted to repair the plaintiff’s pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI), the mesh products instead caused the plaintiff to suffer severe physical and mental pain and suffering, permanent injury, loss of bodily organ system, and permanent and substantial physical deformity. More Texas Transvaginal Mesh Lawsuit Joins MDL

The national law firm of Parker Waichman LLP has filed a lawsuit in Superior Court of New Jersey, Atlantic county Law Division on behalf of a South Carolina woman who suffered an atypical femur fracture of her right thigh allegedly because of the bone-loss drug Fosamax. The lawsuit names Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., and Merck & Co., as defendants.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff began taking Fosamax in December 2005 and suffered a fracture in her right thigh in 2010. The plaintiff says that bisphosphonates like Fosamax were designed to treat the bone loss that occurs with osteoporosis and osteopenia, however, the lawsuit says the drug can actually increase the risk fracture, and causes bones to because more brittle. Further, the lawsuit says that the manufacturer knew or should have known about this risk, yet failed to warn consumers and their physicians, while continuing to market the drug as a treatment. More Lawsuit Says Fosamax Causes Atypical Fracture

Parker Waichman LLP, a national law firm that works to protect the rights of victims of defective medical devices, has filed a lawsuit against DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., DePuy Inc., DePuy International Limited, Johnson & Johnson, Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., and Johnson & Johnson International.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Division where it joins many others consolidated in multidistrict litigation. Parker Waichman filed the suit on behalf of an Arizona woman who alleges that she suffered painful complications from the DePuy ASR hip replacement device. More DePuy ASR Hip Recipient Files Lawsuit over Pain and Complications

A Pennsylvania court has overturned portions of Act 13, a law which would have given sole authority over where natural gas was drilled to state agencies, removing from municipalities the right to establish zoning laws to limit where hydraulic fracking takes place.

The court’s decision is expected to have wide-ranging impact, as the issue of who has control over fracking is being considered in almost all states where fracking is active. Advocates of the law believe its success would allow for a statewide, uniform zoning system, while critics say the law would allow fracking close to schools, homes, and waterways. More Court Overturns Pennsylvania Fracking Limited Local Control Law

The national law firm of Parker Waichman LLP has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on behalf of a New York woman who suffered adverse effects and bodily harm allegedly caused by the IntePro Large Pore Polypropelene Y-Sling transvaginal mesh. The lawsuit names American Medical Systems, Inc., as a defendant, and joins other lawsuits consolidated to the West Virginia Court in multidistrict litigation.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was implanted with the IntePro transvaginal mesh in September 2008, to correct stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. As a result of the IntePro mesh, the plaintiff has suffered numerous injuries including significant physical and mental pain and suffering, permanent and substantial physical deformity, permanent injury, and loss of her bodily organ system, the lawsuit says. More Lawsuit Filed Against American Medical over IntePro Transvaginal Mesh Injuries

27 plaintiffs have joined together to file a lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories in St. Clair County Circuit Court claiming that their children suffered various birth defects because their mothers ingested Depakote during their first trimesters of pregnancy.

According to the lawsuit, Depakote was approved to help control seizures, however, the manufacturer marketed the drug for unapproved, off-label uses including migraines, bi-polar disorder, and depression. The complaint says that Abbott Labs knew that the drug was dangerous when used during pregnancy because of its propensity to cause birth defects, however, the company failed to warn consumers and their physicians about these dangers. More Lawsuit against Abbott Labs Claims Depakote Off-Label Use