North Dallas Personal Injury Lawyer

Unproven Drugs Allowed to Remain on Market By FDA

Angel Reyes — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:28:11 GMT

We trust organizations like the FDA to keep us safe. After all, that's why they were created in the first place, right?

Well, a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) suggests that the FDA has failed to pull several drugs that are currently on the market, despite studies that indicate that these drugs lack any real health benefits.

The problem started in 1992, when the FDA began a new method for approving drugs by using "surrogate endpoints". Basically, the FDA would use the results of initial tests on a drug to try and predict the long-term effects that the drug will have. This policy was implemented to shorten the time it takes to get critically-needed medications on the market, as well as to lower the costs of medication production by eliminating expensive repeated trials.

One example of this is the use of HIV-drugs, which were approved based on initial tests showing their virus-lowering capabilities.

According to the Associated Press:

The FDA approved AstraZeneca's lung cancer drug Iressa in 2003 based on early results showing it reduced the size of tumors. But later studies showed the drug did not significantly extend patient lives.

The FDA has left the drug on the market, despite hundreds of reports of a sometimes fatal pneumonia.

FDA officials explain that access to Iressa has been restricted to a small number of patients who have shown benefit. The agency recommends all other patients try two alternative drugs.

Many of the drugs that were tested with "surrogate endpoints" did end up being as successful as their initial tests predicted. Nevertheless, since 1992, the FDA has failed to pull even one drug off the market due to missing or inconclusive data, despite the fact that outside studies have determiend that many of these drugs are not beneficial to patients.

This lack of follow-through is dangerous and costly to patients who are paying for medications that may not even help them. It is a shame that the FDA, which we rely on to keep us safe in so many ways, is the organization behind this scandal.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Angel Reyes

Window Blinds Are Finally Recalled; Strangulation Risk is Cited

Angel Reyes — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:42:44 GMT

In an update to a recent blog posting I did about window blinds and how deadly they can be for children. This week nearly one-million roller blinds and Roman shades were recalled. The blinds and shades are sold by IKEA, Bed Bath & Beyond and Hanover Direct. The problem with the blinds involves children who can get tangled up in the cords and strangle to death says the Consumer Products Safety Commissioner. The recall includes ISDANS, TUPPLUR and ENJE roller blinds manufactured overseas and sold in many stores in America. This is not the first recall of blinds and shades. In 2008, IKEA recalled blinds following the death of a child.

There is some good news, if you own the blinds you can contact Louis Hornick at 800.517.3612 for a free repair kit. Do it, it could save a child’s life.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Angel Reyes

Update on Trucking Accident That Killed 10 in Oklahoma

Angel Reyes — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:26:30 GMT

A prosecutor in Miami, Oklahoma, filed negligent homicide charges against Donald Creed, the driver of the 18 wheeler that slammed into a line of stopped cars, killing 10 people, four of whom were from North Texas. The June 26 wreck was blamed on Creed’s inattention. Unfortunately, the crash killed Shelby Hayes, her husband Randall Hayes, their son Ethan Hayes, all of Frisco, Texas, and Shelby’s mother Cynthia Olson.

According to the Associated Press:

The traffic accident happened in clear weather, on a dry road. The ten victims were all in cars that had stopped on the Turnpike. Traffic was backed up because of another accident.

That's when authorities say Creed's Truck plowed into, and ended up on top of, several vehicles. Investigators say Creed never slowed down.

"There is no indication whatsoever by physical evidence of eyewitnesses that he took any evasive action. Try to slow down, hit the brakes on his truck at all. He basically plowed everyone at 70 miles an hour," said Eddie Wyant, Ottawa County DA.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Angel Reyes

Drivers Injured in Wrong-Way Crash on Dallas North Tollway

Angel Reyes — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:45:39 GMT

Just about every month brings forth another tragic tale of a wrong-way driver on the Dallas North Tollway.

According to the Dallas Morning News:

There have been at least five wrong-way accidents on the tollway this year. Some of the accidents have proven to be deadly.

In June, two drivers were killed after one of the drivers started heading the wrong way on the southbound lanes near Wycliff Avenue, according to authorities. Jenny Hall, 28, of Dallas is believed to have driven for more than four miles before colliding head-on with Carl Lotspeich, 25, of Addison.

In May, a 16-year-old girl was killed after a driver heading the wrong way in Frisco crashed into her vehicle.

Last night, near Loop 12 and the Dallas North Tollway, Isidro Camacho, of Dallas, drove north for more than a half a mile in the southbound lane and smashed into a Chevy Cobalt driven by Holly Harding, of Lewisville. Both drivers were hurt and transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital. Camacho is facing drunk driving charges.

Watch video about wrong-way drivers on the Dallas North Tollway.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Angel Reyes

Labor Secretary Hot Over Texas Working Conditions

Angel Reyes — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:38:12 GMT

Labor Secretary, Hilda Solis, is taking a good hard look at Texas’ safety record as it relates to working conditions here in the Lone Star State. The Labor Department is looking at several deadly incidents, one of which happened last June in Austin, Texas and took three lives. The lives lost in that deadly scaffolding collapse were just a drop in the bloody bucket of all construction deaths that occur in Texas. Indeed, Texas has more per capita construction deaths than any other state.

The good news is that the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are getting serious about enforcement. OSHA enforcement peaked this summer in Dallas so hopefully Texas employers, and especially, construction companies, will start taking the safety of their employees more seriously. OSHA will go from “coach to cop” said Raleigh Roussell, president of TEXO, an association of North Texas builders. I was under the impression that being a cop was OSHA’s mission, it looks like under Secretary Solis, they’re back to following their mission statement.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Angel Reyes

Pfizer Pleads Guilty to a Felony and Pays U.S. $2.3B Fine

Angel Reyes — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 07:18:21 GMT

Just yesterday I wrote about Forest Laboratory's problems with paying doctors to prescribe Lexapro over Celexa because Lexapro costs almost 6 times more than Celexa, yet is so similar to Celexa the Food and Drug Administration can't tell them apart.

The news today is that Pfizer and subsidiaries Pharmacia & Upjohn agreed to pay a fine of $2.3B for trumpeting Bextra a drug it was forced to recall. Indeed. Pfizer's subsidiaries actually pleaded guilty to a felony charge of marketing Bextra for unapproved uses!

How did Pfizer do it? Just like Forest Labs; they paid doctors to prescribe Bextra. Keep in mind, Pfizer is the world's largest pharmaceutical company. The fine it agreed to pay is the largest fine ever paid by a pharmaceutical company. Bear in mind, $2.3B to Pfizer is like paying a speeding ticket to you and I.

How did all this happen? John Kopchinski a West Point grad and Persian Gulf war vet, was told to increase profits at Pfizer no matter how many people's lives were placed in jeopardy. He couldn't stomach that philosophy so he filed a Qui Tam or in layman's terms, a whistleblower action against Pfizer. Four long years after the drug was pulled from the market, Pfizer ponied up a fine and pleaded guilty to a felony to resolve the issue with the U.S. Government.

Kopchinski stands to collect at least $51M for his courage to stand up to Big Pharma.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Angel Reyes

Big Pharma Will Stop At Nothing To Get Your Money

Angel Reyes — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 07:36:50 GMT

In a recent development, Federal Prosecutors in Boston announced a civil lawsuit against Forest Laboratories. You may ask yourself, what did Forest Laboratories do? The answer is, they promoted two drugs, Lexapro, for adults and Celexa, for kids. You may ask yourself, so what? Well let's dig deeper.

Forest hired doctors to "educate" other doctors about the benefits of the costly drug, Lexapro because Celexa was off patent and would not be a billion dollar seller. It turns out that Forest licensed Celexa from a Danish pharmaceutical company, Lundbeck. Without getting technical, Lundbeck's patent was about to run, so they modified it ever so slightly and renamed it Lexapro. So, you may again be asking, why does that matter? It matters because once Forest licensed Lexapro, their marketing team went out and trumpeted Lexapro as superior to Celexa.

The Food and Drug Administration couldn't tell Lexapro from Celexa (the off patent drug), so Lexapro's sales went to $2.3B, yes billion, in 2008. Celexa sells for a fraction of Lexapro because it is off patent. Lexapro is $87.99/month and Celexa is $14.99/month. They are the same drug! Indeed, the FDA couldn't tell them apart!

Why then are doctors prescribing Lexapro rather than Celexa? Because Forest gives more food and money to doctors than all but a few of its much larger rivals. Hmm, could that be the reason?

Fact: in 2004, Forest spent $24.7M to pay 2,000 psychiatrists and primary care doctors to give marketing lectures. Marketing lectures earn shrinks and primary care docs more than their annual salaries. Perhaps that why so many Lexapro prescriptions were written.

Is there a lesson here, not just a rant? Yes, grab hold of your medical care and research what you're being prescribed. Further, look at cheaper alternatives and generics and ask your doctor whether they are available.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Angel Reyes

Beware the Window Shades and Blinds

Angel Reyes — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:57:00 GMT

Every month a child is strangled by the cords on window blinds. Often times, this leads to a tragic, avoidable death. In Garland, Texas, the Yearout family has made a crusade out of their near tragedy. Luckily, for the Yearouts, their 3 year old survived being strangled by the window blind cord because his 4 year old brother saw what was happening and ran and told his father. Whew.

Last Wednesday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC), a commission I've written about before, and one that finally has a Commissioner with some teeth to enforce the CSPC rules, has come out and recalled 5.5 million roll-up and Roman window shades because of the risks of strangulation.

While the Yearouts may not be a household name, they are serious about bringing this danger to light, and they've succeeded. If anyone needs a household name to have this problem hit home, recall that last May, Mike Tyson's 4 year-old daughter died because she was strangled by a cord dangling from a treadmill. Now a treadmill isn't a window blind, but the problem is the same, dangling cords within reach of small children.

One encouraging sign for the Yearouts is that they've got Congressman Jeb Hensarling in their corner. While Republican law makers have never been accused of cozying up to the CSPC, Representative Hensarling should be applauded for taking on the Yearout's cause.

Be advised of the following recalls:

- Roll-up blinds and Roman shades by Lewis Hyman, Inc.
- Roller shades by Lutron Shading Solutions
- Victoria Classic Roman shades
- MELINA Roman blinds
- Pottery Barn Kids Roman shades
- Window blinds by Vertical Land

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDUEoXsJ6Ds

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Angel Reyes

Are US Roads Filled With Unsafe Trucks?

Angel Reyes — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:00:40 GMT

You’ve been driving for ten hours. You’re tired, you’re hungry, and busloads of school children won’t stop trying to get you to honk your horn. Cars are passing you every two minutes, but you don’t even see them until they’re right next to you. You’re under a deadline, but if you get a speeding ticket, it could mean your job. Not only that, but you’re behind the wheel of a massive 18 wheeler.

The stress, tension, and fatigue of constant driving all add up for those who make a living on the road. Driving conditions are often poor for overworked drivers. However, add to that the unsafe practices allowed or encouraged by many trucking companies and you have a recipe for roadway disasters. Truck safety is a serious problem in the United States, where 12% of vehicular fatalities involve trucks. This year in Texas alone there were 493 truck-related deaths. This is more than 35% more than the number of fatalities in any other state. It seems that for Texas especially, increased attention to trucking safety regulations would make the roads substantially safer for all drivers.

Currently, many trucking companies violate safety standards in order to cut costs. Some practices include overloading shipments, hiring unqualified drivers at cheaper wages, ignoring general maintenance on tires, wheels, and brakes, and encouraging drivers to travel faster and spend more than the allowed number of hours driving. These kinds of practices lead to more than 4,000 deaths and 80.000 injuries on the road each year.

In an investigation of the trucking industry, the American Association for Justice determined that, of the 9 million trucks on U.S. roadways, over 211,000 fail to meet the minimally expected standards of safety. To address this serious problem, safety regulations were reinforced in June 2009 by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance. The CVSA conducted inspections, of which they notified trucking companies in advance, and still found over 22% of the trucks unfit for safe operation. About half of the unsafe trucks had brake problems. Alarmingly, the industry regarded these results as a success, citing a “deep commitment to the safety of all motorists”.

It is unrealistic to think that we will be able to completely eradicate truck accidents, but according to these results, many are easily preventable. The trucking industry must be held accountable for putting the public at risk through carelessness and disregard for safety. Better safety standards and a strict enforcement of those standards are needed to promote public safety and keep the death toll at a minimum.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Angel Reyes

Ft. Worth Motorcyclist Dies in Crash With Van

Angel Reyes — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:00:19 GMT

In a tragic accident yesterday, a 53 year-old motorcyclist died when a van turned in front of him in the 3600 block of Carson Street in Haltom City.

The motorcyclist was wearing a helmet at the time, but the helmet couldn't protect him from an inattentive van driver.

Motorcyclists are often blamed for causing wrecks. The excuses range from you can't see them, they were weaving in and out of lanes, they were speeding, you name it. Now I'm going to fire up my Harley and ride to work in my suit. I hope that doesn't make me crazy.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Angel Reyes