Site Redesign At My Reglan Lawyer Blog

My Reglan Lawyer blog, Find The Right Reglan Lawyer, got overhauled this weekend.  Because the statute of limitations for many (perhaps even most) Reglan lawsuits will be up in February, I'm paying some extra attention to the site this month and next. 

If you're looking for documents from Reglan lawsuits (including expert witness reports), you won't find a better resource than my blog.  Or, if you're in the market for a Reglan lawyer, why not check the site out and see if I can help you find the right Reglan attorney to handle your case?

As a little background: Reglan (the generic equivalent is Metoclopramide) is a drug that was promoted to help people who suffered from heartburn, GERD, and similar ailments.  The drug works well for that, but there's a catch.  People who use Reglan for longer than 12 weeks are at great risk of developing a movement disorder such as tardive dyskinesia.  Unfortunately, it wasn't until February of 2009 that Reglan received a Black Box warning to alert people ot the risk.  And in February of 2011, the two-year statute of limitations in many states will likely be up.  (In product liability lawsuits over prescription drugs, the date when the drug was either recalled or got a Black Box warning is typically the date statutes begin to run.  But not always, so don't rely on anything here to determine when your statute is up.) 

In the next few weeks, I'll be overhauling a few of my other blogs.  I'm sticking with Typepad for them, even though I've been incredibly impressed with Squarespace.  I may move Dangerous Drugs to Squarespace, but I'm still up in the air on that one.

Avandia Withdrawn In Europe, Restricted In U.S.

Which is the better approach - to yank a dangerous drug, or severely restrict it?

In Europe, however, patients currently on rosiglitazone-containing drugs will have to find other options, now that the European Medicines Agency has suspended the marketing authorization for the treatments. As DJN reports, the EMA says patients taking rosiglitazone shouldn’t stop on their own, but should make an appointment with a physician to discuss their options.

Source: FDA Keeps GSK's Diabetes Drug Avandia on Market, Europeans Recommend its Removal - Health Blog - WSJ

As I mentioned over at my other website, this will probably cause more Avandia lawsuits to be brought here in the U.S.A.

Lawsuit alleges that talcum powder can cause ovarian cancer

Unfortunately, the headline from the article below implies that the judge has made some sort of decision on the merits regarding this case:

The complaint alleges that research from 1988 to 1992 found that frequent application of talc-based powder in the genital area increases the risk of ovarian cancer. Johnson & Johnson failed to inform consumers of the risk as it promoted female use of talc-based products such as Shower to Shower and Johnson's Baby Powder, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed by Sioux Falls resident Deane Berg, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2006. The lawsuit claims she used talcum-based products for hygiene purposes for about 30 years.

"This was an intended and foreseeable use of the defendants' products based on the advertising, marketing and labeling of the products by the defendants," the lawsuit said.

Source: Judge won't dismiss lawsuit linking cancer to talc

The reason the lawsuit wasn't dismissed was only because the judge didn't believe it was filed after the statute of limitations expired.  I'm presuming that the discovery rule must be at issue, because that's generally the only time a motion for summary judgment is filed based upon limitations.

The lawsuit was filed by "The Talc Litigation Group," a law firm with which I am not familiar.  I'm obviously also not familiar with the science behind the lawsuit, but I have to give these guys kudos for bringing the case to trial.  Many, if not most mass-tort law firms don't have the guts to drop the several hundred thousand dollars it will take to be the very first case in a potentially new mass-tort.  Rest assured though that if these guys make it past a Daubert challenge, they won't be the last law firm to file a talc lawsuit.

Are All 15-Passenger Vans Defective?

Some auto experts think that all 15-passenger vans are defectively designed because they have a propensity to roll over.  This quote raised my eyebrow:

"The rollover rate for fully loaded or nearly loaded 15-passenger vans is about three times the rollover ratio of vans with fewer than five passengers," the report said.

Source: Consumer Groups: Type of Van in NY Crash Unstable

Since 2002, Public Citizen has advocated a second set of rear wheels on 15-passenger vans.

Now, bringing a defective design lawsuit like this would be incredibly expensive, and may require the plaintiff to show a safer alternative design exists.  In theory, it wouldn't be terribly expensive to add a second set of wheels to the back of one of these vans.  I'll keep an eye out for any lawsuits over these designs.

Pfizer Removes Patient Testimonials After FDA Warning

On the Premarin website, Pfizer had several patient testimonials in which women sang about the wonders of Premarin.  Those testimonials came to the attention of the FDA's Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communication (DDMAC).

The DDMAC sent Pfizer a warning letter regarding the testimonials:

 The claims “seriously misrepresent what is known about the efficacy of Premarin,” since they imply that that the drug will “eliminate all hot flashes, discomfort, and other symptoms associated with menopause, and that Premarin will ‘circumvent being on menopause at all,'” according to the letter. Other testimonial statements, such as “My life after Premarin became absolutely different…I got up feeling like the day is better,” and “I started feeling very much alive again,” were also misleading, since FDA is not aware of substantial clinical evidence to back up Premarin's ability to improve a patient's “overall physical and emotional functioning,” the letter said.

Source: DDMAC slaps Premarin patient testimonials, Acuvail journal ad

Pfizer has since pulled the testimonials.

I wonder if the many women who have developed breast cancer while taking Premarin would like to give a testimonial for Pfizer?