Medication and Medical Device Claims

We are handling cases involving Aspergillus Meningitis suffered following contaminated epidural steroid injection. These cases deal with products recalled by New England Compounding Center (NECC) on October 3rd and 4th, 2012. The chemical name of the products supplied by this company that are subject to the recall include Methylprednisolone Acetate, Betamethasone Sodium Phosphate, Bupivacaine, Clonidine, Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate, Glycerin, Hyaluronidase, Isovue, Lidocaine, Omnipaque, and Triamcinolone.

Our firm is filing suit against those involved in selling these contaminated drugs to physicians in Indiana who in turn injected those contaminated drugs into their patients. These Meningitis illnesses are not an accident; rather, they are all the result of injections of medications that are contaminated. The persons who have been injected are not contagious, since this is not viral meningitis, but meningitis caused by fungal contaminants being injected into the body. Our investigation has revealed that the contaminated drugs were being sold at discount.

Medical Conditions Frequently Encountered

Here are some of the other medication and medical device claims we are concerned about:

Pradaxa™ – approved by the FDA in October 2010. Also called Dabigratran. An anticoagulant used to reduce risk of strokes and blood clots. The medication is being investigated for possible association with fatal bleeds.

Fosamax™ – manufactured by Merck and used to treat osteoporosis in post menopausal women. Investigations are focusing on a serious bone disease called Osteonecrosis of the Jaw. The condition involves loosening of teeth. This product may also be associated with low energy femur fractures.

Gardasil™ – marketed as a vaccine to prevent HPV (human papillomavirus). The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System lists adverse events associated with this product as multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, paralysis, and blood clots.

SSRI-antidepressants such as Celexa™, Lexapro™, Luvox™, Paxil™, Prozac™ and Zoloft™ are used to treat depression. A link is being investigated as to heart birth defects in children where mothers took these medications in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Defective Hip Replacements: We’ve received several calls regarding hip replacement components which have failed. At the present time the FDA is analyzing the failure rate of different type components. There is litigation pending in other states looking into the DePuy ASR brand component. The problem appears to be with chromium and cobalt fragments leading to inflammation. A recent FDA study report can be found at: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm297745.htm

Please phone if you have questions about the above medications and devices, or any medication or medical devise about which you have a question.