Articles Posted in Defective Drugs

In Tennessee and all over the United States, people have heard about several medications that may have severe or dangerous side effects. The drug Wellbutrin has been added to this list of medications because it has been connected to heart birth defects. If you or someone you love has taken Wellbutrin while pregnant and your child may have or has a heart birth defect as a result, then you should speak to a Tennessee Wellbutrin and personal injury lawyer as soon as possible. They will work with you and make sure you get the compensation you need for what you have been through.

According to research studies and findings, there were more than 12,700 babies born in the U.S. between 1997 to 2004. Mothers who took Wellbutrin or Bupropion in the early part of their pregnancy were at a higher risk of having babies with heart defects during this time period, than babies whose mothers did not take the medication. This defect affects blood flow from the heart’s left chamber to the rest of the body. According to the study, the most common type of this defect was a narrowing of the body’s main artery and this defect needs to be corrected with surgery.

As shown by data from 6,853 infants born with a major heart defect and 5,869 infants with no defect, those born with a heart defect had a 0.5 percent report of their mother having taken Wellbutrin before pregnancy or early in their pregnancy. Ten of those cases were left outflow tract heart defects. Guidelines from 2009 from the American Psychiatric Association and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists point out that psychotherapy may be a better form of treatment for depression in pregnant women with mild depression. However, pregnant women with more severe depression may need to continue medication.

Recent reports may show that antidepressant medicines may disrupt breast cancer treatments which can cause patients to get the cancer again and die from it. Also, in October, it was found that women taking some antidepressants during their pregnancy may be at a greater risk of having premature birth and having more babies in the intensive care unit.
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In Tennessee and across the country, people expect that when they take medicine for certain medical conditions or illnesses that it will make them feel better and that it is safe. Unfortunately, sometimes medications that people may take may increase their chances of developing other more serious and even dangerous medical conditions and illnesses. In a recent case, Susan Elfont, Bernadette Kalenkoski and Judy Mulderig claim that they took the drug Prempro developed by the company Pfizer Inc., for menopause and later developed breast cancer. According to the lawsuit, Elfont who is sixty-six and a former teacher, took Premarin and Provera which later were combined the two hormones into the Prempro pill for over two years before being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997. Kalenkoski who is sixty-eight and a former nursing aide took Prempro for over four years and was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. Finally, Mulderig also sixty-eight and a retired teacher took Premarin and Provera for eleven years beginning in 1988.

During the trial, the jury found out that during the tree week trial of the drug, none of three women had a history of breast cancer in their family and it was determined by professionals that their use of the menopause drug was what led them to develop the cancer. Pfizer Inc has faced other lawsuits and settlements in the past due to the drug Prempro. This drug combined Premarin and Provera into the Prempro pill in 1995. The marketing of the drug reached over $2billion before a study in 2002 discovered that Prempro had links to breast cancer. The jury awarded $20 million in compensation to Elfont, $27.85 million to Kalenkoski and $24.75 million to Mulderig.
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When Christopher Trejo was sixteen he suffered from reaction known as Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis after taking Motrin as directed for less than one week. This reaction caused severe inside-out exfoliating damage affecting all of his mucosal membranes, which are like second- and third-degree burns over one hundred percent of his body. This reaction also caused severe pulmonary damage, near-blindness, infertility, whole-body scarring and hypoxic brain injury. Trejo’s abilities to hear, smell, see, taste, and touch have been severely reduced. This case was recently the subject of a dangerous drug lawsuit.

During the trial, the jury heard evidence that Motrin lacked adequate warnings about Stevens – Johnson syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, which have caused deaths and severe and permanent injuries to a several people who had used Motrin products. The jury also Motrin has been improperly labeled and should have been changed years ago to warn consumers about these and other severe reactions and side effects. The jury’s verdict of $48.2 million for general, special, and punitive damages against Johnson & Johnson as well as its fully owned subsidiary McNeil Consumer Healthcare is record setting.
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When Tennessee residents and people all over the United States go into a doctor’s office or hospital to have a medical procedure they expect to get better. Unfortunately, sometimes treatments or procedures are given that may be dangerous and harmful to patients and this may result in an injury and the need for additional care or treatment. If you or someone you love has had a procedure or taken medication and then suffered further injury as a result then you should talk to a Tennessee dangerous drug and personal injury attorney right away.

In this case, a man received Botox injections in 2007 as treatment for a hand tremor and writer’s cramp. The first two treatments went well, however after the third treatment the man suffered a rash then metal confusion that led to brain damage which left him disabled and needing twenty-four hour care. The Botox injections have left him unable to walk, talk, feed himself, or go to the bathroom. He has no health insurance and only receives Veteran Administration benefits.

According to the lawsuit which claims that Allergan, the producer of Botox, failed to warn his physician about the possible risks of Botox. According to evidence shown during the case, before July of 2007 Allergan sent letters to European doctors warning about the possible dangers of Botox but fail to disclose these warnings to doctors in the United States. This warnings included that Botox can spread beyond the injected muscle and cause severe auto-immune responses and brain injuries. Allergan instead of warning about these possible dangers stated that Botox was a miracle drug and compared to penicillin.

The Allergan Company in another settlement agreed to pay $600 million to the U.S. Justice Department when it illegally promoted the off-label use of Botox and encouraged doctors to use it for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In this case, the man was awarded $12 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages.
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