At the moment, no evidence exists to show that Vytorin and Zetia help patients…The drugs could even be harmful.

- Yale University cardiologist Dr. Harlan Krumholz

The doctors involved with the study say that there is no evidence showing the drugs can slow the buildup of plaque in the arteries and in fact, may speed it up. They are now recommending that doctors not prescribe the drugs, unless used as a ‘last resort.’ This is obviously a very troublesome blow for Merck and Schering-Plough, who were quick to respond that they would continue to market the drugs as they have been.

This is yet another instance that demonstrates the much bigger problem of pharmaceutical companies that put the health and well-being of millions of people on the line in order to maximize profit on their drugs. As we have seen with Vioxx and others, there is much cause for scrutiny and caution. We will continue to monitor this case. If you are currently taking Vytorin or Zetia, please consult with your doctor as to whether you should continue taking these drugs.

There are several alternative designs that are in use that eliminate this hook release hazard and people need to be told that when they use this product they need to position themselves away from the hook and to wear safety glasses.

I have spoken to attornies across the country that have brought these claims and we have the research and safety studies which prove that a bungee cord with at hook at the end is defective and unreasonably dangerous.

I hope that anyone reading this is now aware of this serious risk of eye injury. If you know of anyone that has sustained this injury, have them contact me for a free confidential consultation.

Aggressive and improper operation will always put ATV riders at risk for injury, however, the large number of people who have been seriously hurt or killed while operating Yamaha’s Rhino indicates a defective design. The narrow wheelbase, small wheels, and top-heavy design of this ATV has led to the many riders experiencing sudden rollovers

In the event that you or someone that you know has been involved in an accident while operating a Yamaha Rhino or other type of ATV, I am happy to discuss your case and give you candid answers regarding your situation.

From Reuters:

Dr. Dennis Mangano, the study’s researcher, said during the program that 22,000 lives could have been saved if Trasylol had been taken off the market when he first published his study in January 2006, according to a CBS News report on its Web site ahead of a broadcast slated for next Sunday.

He said in the broadcast that Bayer failed to disclose to the FDA during an FDA advisory panel meeting in September 2006 — at which Mangano’s negative findings were discussed — that the German drugmaker had conducted its own research which confirmed the same dangers established by his study.

The chairman of the FDA advisory panel, Dr. William Hiatt, told 60 Minutes he would have voted to remove Trasylol from the market had he been informed about Bayer’s study, according to the CBS report.

Bayer spokeswoman Meredith Fischer said she could not comment about the broadcast until it is aired, including allegations that the drugmaker had failed to protect patients.

She said Bayer is facing a number of product-liability lawsuits filed by patients who had taken the medicine or their families, but said she not know how many lawsuits were filed.

There are certainly many patients and families that have been affected by this. I’m willing to talk with anyone who has questions regarding Trasylol or other dangerous drugs. If you have any questions please contact me at your convenience.

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.

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.

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.

All the lawsuits involve the drugs Premarin, an estrogen replacement, and Prempro, a combination of estrogen and progestin. The drugs are prescribed to women to ease symptoms of menopause.

This decision should be welcome to the women and their families who were put at risk by these drugs. As it now stands Wyeth will have to pay large damages to the plaintiffs in the case:

“These are very large numbers for compensatory damages,” said Howard Erichson, a law professor at Seton Hall University. “It has to be troubling for Wyeth because dollar figures like these suggest the jury entirely accepted the plaintiff’s version of the story…

When I run into people like Bruce I think about what a great wonderful world this is.  Bruce and I are friends and we will be so forever-not necessarily close to share our secrets and pain.  But close to have shared some wonderful memories and laughs and experiences that are so honest and real and can never be taken away.

You see, for Bruce and I, we can look at each other and laugh and smile and Bruce will say, “Christensen, you little ……” and I will say “Nelson!!!!! (That’s a Courtney phrase).

Jim served too long but had the good sense to leave.  We should draft our representatives.  Why would we want to elect anyone that wanted the job?  Think about it.