The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is charged with the job of evaluating drug safety and approving medications to be used by patients in the United States. The Drug Injury Attorneys with Ferrer, Poirot & Wansbrough explain that some drugs are approved based on legal loopholes while more helpful medications may be overlooked.
This is an underlying theme in the film Dallas Buyers Club. The movie tells the true story of Ron Woodruff, an electrician living with AIDS/HIV during the mid-1980’s. The character is told by doctors he only has one month to live, which sets him on a course to find a medication that can save his life. He finds drugs and supplements that help alleviate the symptoms of his condition, but he is unable to get the products in the United States because they are not FDA approved. Woodruff smuggles the compounds back to the United States in bulk, so he can distribute them to other patients. Rather than sell the supplements and medications, he uses a membership system that grants free access to the drugs and allows him to avoid criminal prosecution.
The drugs and supplements were not approved by the FDA because of high costs and because drug manufacturing companies were attempting to push another medication through the approval process. In fact, the film shows where trials determine too much of the manufacturer’s drug is lethal to patients, unlike the medications supplied by Woodruff .
Unfortunately, the FDA’s failure to approve the treatment likely cost many lives, and the attorneys with Ferrer, Poirot & Wansbrough feel action should be taken to ensure United States citizens have access to the safest and best drugs in the world.
May 7th, 2013|
May 7, 2013
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently made an announcement regarding the safety of the drug Samsca. The statement explained that taking the medication for extended periods of time could result in a serious Drug Injury.
Samsca is a medication used in the treatment of a condition known as hyponatremia, in which a patient’s blood contains low levels of sodium. The medication is manufactured by Otsuka American Pharmaceutical, Inc. and has been on the market since May of 2009.
The problem with the medication was discovered while the company was preforming clinical trials on a new use of the drug in treating patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). During testing, researchers discovered that extended use of the medication could lead to serious liver damage.
In response to the discovery, the company has stated patients should not take the medication for longer than 30 days at a time. Patients who suffer from liver damage, such as cirrhosis of the liver, should not take the drug either. Doctors have been instructed to closely monitor patients for such liver damage if the drug is prescribed.
Ferrer, Poirot & Wansbrough and their team of Dallas Personal Injury Attorneys acknowledge how devastating an injury caused by taking a medication can be. The firm may be able to help a person who has suffered negative affects of taking a medication prescribed by a doctor.
April 2nd, 2013|
April 2, 2013
A new study has shown a link between patients taking high-potency cholesterol lowering drugs and the potential for developing a Statin Drug Injury. Data indicated those taking these specific medications showed a higher rate than control groups of developing kidney failure.
According to CTV News, researchers from the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies gathered information from more than two million patients who were prescribed cholesterol-lowering medications, known as statins. The individuals who were examined were ages 40 or older and had been prescribed the medications between 1997 and 2008. The researchers then compared the health effects those on higher dosages of the drugs suffered compared to those who took lower dosages.
Data concluded that for every 1,700 individuals taking statins for a 120-day period, one person would be hospitalized due to kidney failure. While the risks of developing kidney failure was higher during the beginning of a regimen of the drugs, the dangers were still present up to two years after stopping usage of the medication.
While researchers still believe there is a place for high-potency statins in today’s healthcare industry, they say patients should be aware of the risks taking these drugs may pose.
The Dallas Personal Injury Attorneys with Ferrer, Poirot & Wansbrough acknowledge the harm taking certain medications may cause patients. That’s why the firm is here to answer any questions you may have if you have been injured by a drug prescribed to you by a doctor.
Hydrocodone is in a class of medication known as Opioids that also includes Morphine, Oxycontin, Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, and Methadone. There are roughly 131 million prescriptions written for Hydrocodone alone each year in the United States and it is consistently listed as one of the top two most-abused drugs in the country each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this abuse was responsible for 14,800 overdose deaths in 2008, while 475,000 individuals experienced Drug Injuries associated with the medications that resulted in an emergency room visit.
These numbers are the reason behind officials with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) asking the FDA to reclassify the drug as a Schedule II medication, rather than a Schedule III. This would tighten restriction on how the drug can be prescribed. Currently a patient can have a prescription refilled each month for up to five months without revisiting a doctor. If the change is made, a patient would only be allowed to have a single 90-Day prescription.
The Dallas Personal Injury Attorneys with Ferrer, Poirot & Wansbrough are hopeful the new regulation, if approved, will be successful in reducing the number of drug injuries that occur in the region each year.
January 22, 2013
Drug injuries resulting from a patient taking an expired medication can be sometimes be deadly. A solution to this problem may be on the way, though. According to San Antonio Magazine, a retired Texas physician has created technology that helps doctors track and maintain an inventory of medications they have on-hand to prevent patients from receiving expired drugs.
Expired medications can be extremely dangerous to patients as they have been proven to cause injury and death several different ways. Cases have been documented of expired vaccines that failed to do their job and resulted in deadly infections. More common injuries result though, when medications break down over time and lose their potency. This may cause a person to not get the correct amount of a particular drug needed to treat their condition.
The doctor added cases of patients receiving expired medications often occur due to the sheer volume of medications doctors keep on-hand. However, he created a device called the Spartan MedTracker that keeps track of vital information about medications, like expiration dates. When a medication expires, it sends a message to the user to have that particular drug disposed of. The system is also capable of creating a list of side effects for each drug.
January 15th, 2013|
January 15, 2013
A study recently published in the British Medical Journal has shown a link between taking both non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) and dual antihypertensive therapy medications, including a diuretic plus either an ACE inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker and the risk of acute kidney injury.
The study examined the cases of nearly a half a million patients who were taking the combination of medications and found a total of 2, 215 cases of kidney injury after around six-years of taking the drugs. Researchers were able to conclude from this that taking either of the types of medication alone presented little risk of Drug Injury, but when the two types of medications combined, the risk of injury jumped significantly. The risk was also said to be the highest in the first month of combining the two types of medications.
Experts say the study may “underestimate” just how serious this risk may be and encouraged doctors prescribing drugs for antihypersensitive therapy to discuss the dangers of taking even over-the-counter NSAIDS, like Ibuprofen, with patients while also keeping a vigilant watch for signs of the drug injury in patients.
The Drug Injury Lawyers with Ferrer, Poirot & Wansbrough have been recognized for their success in handling drug injury litigation and suggest discussing your legal rights with an attorney if taking a medication prescribed to you by a doctor has harmed you.
January 8th, 2013|
January 8, 2012
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Mylan, Inc. recently issued a voluntary product recall on several lots of their medications, Hydrocodone and Acetaminophen in 10 and 500-milligram dosages respectively. According to an FDA press release, the recall was issued after certain lots of the medications were found to exceed weight limits and could potentially contain more active ingredient than advertised.
The three affected lots of the drugs, Hydrocodone Bitartrate and Acetaminophen Tablets, USP 10 mg/500 mg, were made by Qualitest Pharmaceuticals and were then repackaged by Mylan and it’s subsidiaries. During testing on the Drugs in December though, it was discovered that some pills found in lots 3037841, 3040859 and 3042573 exceeded weight limits, which meant the pills contained more of certain ingredients than they were supposed to. Such an error could cause a patient to ingest more of a drug’s active ingredient than intended, which could lead to a patient suffering a Drug Injury.
The Drug Injury Lawyers with Ferrer, Poirot & Wansbrough recognize the risks involved with taking medications that are not manufactured to certain specifications and encourage anyone who has been harmed by taking such a drug to look into their legal rights by discussing your case with an attorney.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a voluntary recall on generic versions of the anti-cholesterol medication, Lipitor. CNN News stated the recall was issued due to concerns of small glass particles being packaged with the medications.
40 lots of atorvastatin calcium, which contain 10, 20, and 40 milligram doses of the medication in 90 and 500 count bottles, were affected. The defective medications could cause patients to suffer from a number of drug injuries including laceration or perforation of organs if ingested.
The recall comes after the drug’s manufacturer, Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals, Inc., came under scrutiny by the FDA after the agency discovered the company falsified tests and information that was submitted about certain medications. This led to a decision earlier this year to ban the India-based company from exporting products into the United States until it could prove it had complied with safety standards.
Those who are in possession of affected medications should contact the pharmacy where the drugs were received in order to get replacement medications and to turn in defective medications.
The Drug Injury Lawyers with Ferrer, Poirot & Wansbrough understand the costs that can be associated with an injury caused by a defective medication. That’s why it is so important to discuss your legal rights with a qualified attorney immediately if you have been caused harm by a medication prescribed to you by a doctor.
November 13th, 2012|
November 13, 2012
In 2007, the Texas State Board of Pharmacy was granted $50,000 per year to conduct random testing on drugs compounded by pharmacies, like the one connected with the nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak.
Over the last several years, funding has slipped by as much as 72 percent. In 2010, medications from more than 65 Texas pharmacies were tested for not only contamination, but also potency. The following year, the number plummeted to only 30 tests conducted because of budgetary issues. By August 2012, only 21 tests had been conducted.
Although the testing of compounded medications has decreased, the number of facilities manufacturing drugs has grown to 6,300 facilities and has laws overseeing the process has been relaxed. For example, a drug made by these facilities can have as much as a 10 percent discrepancy in its designed level of potency. These types of miscalculations have a potential for causing serious drug injury.
The Drug Injury Lawyers with Ferrer, Poirot & Wansbrough understand the complexities of filing a claim for a drug injury and are here to answer any questions you may have regarding your legal rights if you have been caused harm by a medication given to you by a physician.
October 9th, 2012|
October 9, 2012
With as many as 13,000 patients across the United States potentially receiving contaminated steroid injections, experts say the number of infected individuals is expected to continue to rise. The Odessa American says at least 114 Texans were exposed to the deadly aspergillus meningitis fungus at two Texas medical facilities when they received injections for back pain treatment.
Both the Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Southlake and Dallas Back Pain Management received lots of the preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate manufactured by New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Massachusetts. The nearly 18,000 doses of the drug that were distributed in 23 states, used to treat patients suffering from back pain, have been connected with at least eight deaths and 105 patients being sickened with the fungal form of Meningitis.
While no cases of infection have been reported yet by the Texas patients, officials have instructed individuals who received the injections to watch for symptoms of the drug injury, including stroke-like symptoms, headache, nausea, fever and dizziness. The symptoms are caused by swelling in the brain and spinal cord brought on by the fungal infection and can often result in death.