Medtronic and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have issued a Class I Recall of the Medtronic Neuromodulation INDURA IP.  Class I Recall’s are the most serious of type of product recall issued by the FDA, involving situations in which there is a reasonable probability that use of the product will cause serious injury or death. This recall consists of 2 models of Medtronic intrathecal catheters, the suturless pump, and the intrathecal catheter pump segment revision kit.

Medtronic has sold around 25,000 of the catheters involved in this recall which was prompted by potential misconnections of the Medtronic sutureless connector (”SC”) catheters from the catheter port on the pump. These misconnections have resulted in a blockage between the sutureless pump connector and the catheter port on the pump and disconnection from the pump connector. To date, the improper connections between implanted catheters and pumps that deliver infused drugs have been detected in 83 patients. One patient has died.

The specific model numbers releated to this recall are:

• Indura 1P Intrathecal Catheter, model 8709SC
• Intrathecal Catheter, model 8731SC
• Sutureless Pump Connector Revision Kit, model 8578
• Intrathecal Catheter Pump Segment Revision Kit, model 8596SC

If you have had a procedure in which one of these pumps were used, I can answer questions regarding your legal rights. Don’t hesitate to contact me via email or call 612.333.7733.

How do we know what we are going to get? Promises for sure. Neither candidate can do anything without getting elected. And so the flow of millions of dollars will continue. All are anxious for this to be done and the election over. Please vote. Candidates, please fulfill the promises you make.

Many people feel disenfranchised in this country.  It is a feeling of hopelessness at times.  We can be so disconnected from decision-making.  Career politicians seem to know better than the common person.

I think he has hit on something. Most people have no trust in their elected officials.  To get elected at at state-wide or national level our representatives owe, they owe, they owe.  Each day we read about deals that our elected officials are making with government contractors and drug companies that cost the taxpayers billions of dollars each year in overpayments by the government.  At least the Attorneys Against Government Fraud are doing something about it as we now have brought six false claims cases against corporations around the country. For more information check out www. false-claims-act.com.

I do not mean to suggest that Jesse is the best we can put up by any means.  As I have said many times, we should draft our represenatives from the best and the brightest and have them serve term limits. Just my .02.

If you know anyone injured in a motorcycle accident have them call us.  We have handled numerous death and injury cases as well as product liability cases involving defective helmets.  Reconstruction of these accidents as soon as possible is critical as it is common that police and troopers assume fault on the motorcycle driver.  I guess that is because they remember the one unsafe idiot and forget the thousands of responsible riders.

Please remember to wear your helmet, leather clothing and good shoes. Please.

The group has a new CD called La Lamentor on the Badman Recording Co. Try em, you’ll like em’.

I like to get out. I don’t get out enough. Music is magic on tape or that was long ago.

It has been and will always be a major part of my life. From the trumpet in junior high, to the joy of Lance Heddan and Dan Marty on sax, to Bobby Peterson on the keyboard, to the piano lessons I hated but taught me the joy of the fingers, to Al Sterner and Billy Hallquist, and Rick LiaBraaten and Leon Sterner, Terry Banbury, Jerry Bader, Stan Krohm, Jeff Bower, Dan Maanum, Jim Rolland, Rob Witte, Eddie Engler,Paul Gagner, Danny Wolf, John Hughes, Doug Smith and Larry Suess, the Winklers, Mary Ann, Ron Geslin, Gypsy, Big Island, The Depot, Joe Cocker, backing Tiny Tim and Johnny C, opening for Ramsey Lewis, Poco, Loggins and Messina, Traffic, Johnny Winter, Sha Na Na, Grand Funk Railroad, booking with Marsh Edelstein and Dick Shapiro meeting Stevie Wonder at the Copacabana and playing his original songs, being managed by Don Powell who, with MoTown records brought Stevie to fame and fortune, Fresh Air, the Depot, First Avenue, George’s In the Park( Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?), the Purple Barn, Magoo’s, The Prison, New City Opera House, Lucky’s , Chameleon, Charlie Campbell, LaMont Cranston, Michael’s Mystics, Mike Botten and Jim West, the Sir Raleighs, the Perspectives and Calvadas.

I have so many wonderful memories of music events. Milwaukee with Blind Faith and Led Zeppelin. The Fire Barn and YMCA dances. The Jockey Lounge and Pudges. Wine and Beer Night.

What is it about music? To explain it is to misunderstand it. It is what it is. At that moment and at this time. To feel it, to embrace it and to send it back. This is why is is called music and it is not about talking.

Thank you Paul. Your spirit lives in your fingers, your head bob, your shoulders, your arms and your eyes.

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.