Recall of Bayer’s Trasylol

In early November, the FDA announced that sales of Bayer’s Trasylol (aprotinin) – used to reduce bleeding during heart surgeries – would be suspended pending further investigation into a recent study that indicated increased risk of death linked to the use of Trasylol. The Canadian study, known as the BART study also indicated that Trasylol might also increase the risk for stroke, kidney failure, and heart attack during surgery. Additionally, long after surgery patients may suffer injuries or conditions as a result of the use of Trasylol during a bypass procedure.

Trasylol has been administered to over 1 million patients in the last 14 years. We will continue to monitor the extent to which Trasylol has contributed to injury and death in patients undergoing bypass surgery.

Warning issued on Pfizer’s Chantix

In November the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning on Pfizer’s smoking cessation drug Chantix after reports that many people taking the drug have experienced depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior – often times without the presence or history of any mental illness or psychiatric conditions. At the time of the warning there were 55 suicides that had been reported by people taking Chantix in the U.S. (there have been similar reports in Europe where the drug is marketed as Champix). The FDA is expected to take several months in a safety review of the drug.

In the meantime there is concern that the warnings that have been issued might not reach those people who are taking the drug or those people that are considering trying Chantix. When the FDA issues these types warnings, there is no guarantee that those taking the drug will hear about it.

The side effects that are mentioned on both the TV commercials for Chantix and on Pfizer’s website make no mention of the suicidal ideation and depression that have prompted the warnings. Hopefully prescribing doctors will let their patients know about the potential risks of Chantix.

New Year 2008

Thank you to all of our friends and clients that have supported our firm for the past 33 years with your trust in us, words of encouragement and friendship. The legal services market has changed much over the years and is ever changing today. There is more information available than ever before about the firm that you are hiring. And that’s a good thing.

One thing that has not changed is our commitment to you to provide the highest level of legal services. That is our pledge now and that has been our pledge since we started. We have a network of legal and financial professionals that meet and exceed your expectations for help with your legal problems.

We are very excited about our continuing work in the area of false claims as we have pursued a number of cases currently in suit and several more that will be filed in the immediate future. This is a very rewarding area of the law in helping our government recovery money corporations are stealing from all of us as taxpayers by billing for services not being performed, by overcharging, by lying about meeting specifications, by tax fraud and other areas of fraud . Individuals that blow the whistle on fraud on the government can share in the recovery gained by the government.

The vast majority of fraudulent activity occurs by manufacturers of health care products which include drugs and medical devices. Last fiscal year, the Department of Justice recovered 2.1 billion dollars from health care defrauders and 1.5 billion of this came from pharmaceutical and device manufacturers. For more detailed information on these claims, visit our website at false-claims-act.com.

In addition to our work in false claims, we continue to be active in our commercial practice representing small companies and entrepreneurs with their business issues and litigation. Product liability has always been a significant part of our practice and it remains so as this litigation has been very effective in holding corporations accountable for preventable injuries through safer products. Major catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases are also a specialty we take great pride in.

Whatever the legal problem, we will always take your call and if we can’t help you do our best to help you get to the right place. You can count on it.

Happy New Year. We are thankful for our great country, for our freedoms, for our constitution, for the right to a lawyer, for the right to a jury trial and for freedom of worship. We will continue to fight to keep these rights—you can count on it.