More information on website pages that discuss defective drug litigation.

CNN is reporting that new studies shows that mothers who take anti-depressant drugs such as Prozac during their pregnancies are two times more likely to given birth to children with autism than mothers who do not use the drugs during pregnancies. The article noted that women who take these anti-depressants must balance their needs for the drugs with the possible dangers to the infants they birth.

“Poor maternal mental health during pregnancy is a major public health issue,” CNN quoted from Tim Oberlander, M.D., a professor of developmental pediatrics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. “Non-treatment is not an option. While some children might be at risk from an SSRI exposure – and we don’t know who and how that works – there are many mothers and their children as well who will benefit.” Prozac birth defects Autism spectrum disorder affects about one percent of the infants born in the United States, according to medical statistics.

Prozac is one of a class of anti-depressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that also have been associated with other health problems associated with infants born to mothers using those drugs. There are allegations in numerous Prozac lawsuits filed across the country that the drugs also can cause mothers who use these drugs during pregnancy to give birth to infants suffering from heart problems and other birth defects. Medical researchers are recommending that women who are taking Prozac consult with their health care professionals before becoming pregnant.

USCPSC has issued a full and total recall of the Pourable NAPAfire and FIREGEL Gel Fuel bottles and jugs.

The pourable gel fuel can ignite unexpectedly and splatter onto people and objects nearby when it is poured into a firepot that is still burning.

This hazard can occur if the consumer does not see the flame or is not aware that the firepot is still ignited. Fuel gel that splatters and ignites can pose fire and burn risks to consumers.

Reports show that so far 37 incidents and 23 burn injuries from these products.

STOP USING the NAPAfire and FIREGEL recall products.

Among the ramifications when a popular drug is found to cause side effects that have serious health consequences is the filing of lawsuits on behalf of victims of these side effects. There is a long history of people who have been victimized by side effects that were not anticipated recovering millions of dollars of damages from pharmaceutical companies that were at fault for either developing a defective drug or knowing about these dangerous side effects and withholding that information from the public and government regulatory agencies in order to preserve their profits.

This is the situation developing in the case of Zoloft, the hugely successful anti-depressant that was placed on the market in 1991 by Pfizer. As the years went by it became clear to many consumer advocates and medical researchers that a pattern of problems was developing in the use of Zoloft by pregnant women. An alarming number of cases were being reported in which children born to mothers who used Zoloft while pregnant were born with birth defects, including a life-threatening condition known as persistent pulmonary hypertension in newborns, as well as cranial, heart, lung, abdominal abnormalities as well as other defects.

The number of lawsuits filed by Zoloft lawyers increased after 2006, when the Food and Drug Administration issued a public health advisory about these dangerous side effects. These lawyers have the advantage of pooling their resources and sharing information as they investigate these cases on behalf of their clients. Educational seminars have been held and common courses of action have been taken by seeking documentation from Pfizer in preparation for these Zoloft lawsuit cases to proceed through the justice system. These lawyers have been offering free consultations to provide Zoloft victims their legal options in seeking to recover damages.

U.S. Navy veterans comprise an inordinate amount of cases of malignant mesothelioma, the deadly form of cancer contracted by exposure to asbestos. Medical statistics show that about one-third of the 2,000-3,000 people who are expected to be diagnosed this year with this disease will be Navy veterans. In response, a major consumer advocacy group is offering Navy veterans an invaluable guide to cancer treatment options for malignant mesothelioma.

According to an article posted on the San Francisco Chronicle web site, the Mesothelioma Victims Center is offering this service to help former sailors “identify the best doctors, oncology groups and hospitals.” San Francisco, of course, was home to one of the largest Navy installations during the war era and it was from that base and others across the country that so many cases of malignant mesothelioma were linked after positive diagnoses were made in later years. Asbestos exposure, which was a common thread in these cases, has been identified as the cause of the overwhelming number of these cases.

Asbestos was commonplace on ships and shipyards and many of the veterans suffered their exposure either in the construction of ships or while serving on them. The common documentation is that they unknowingly inhaled microscopic asbestos particles which then worked their way into the linings of these victims’ hearts, lungs or abdominal organs and, over the course of several decades, caused the development of cancer cells which became malignant mesothelioma. Many of these people have chosen to find Mesothelioma Lawyers to represent them.

Unfortunately, by the time these victims were diagnosed the cancer was so widespread that it was untreatable and they were only given months to live. Malignant mesothelioma lawyers have been successful in winning millions of dollars of damages for these victims and their loved ones.

The news service Reuters is advising its international subscribers about the dangers of the epilepsy drug Topamax increasing the risk of women who use it during their pregnancies of giving birth to infants suffering from birth defects. Reuters cited an announcement by the Food and Drug Administration in which health officials informed the public that women who used Topamax while pregnant were about 20 times more likely to give birth to infants suffering from cleft lips or cleft palate deformities than mothers who did not use the drug during pregnancies.

The Reuters story quoted Dr. Russell Katz, head of the FDA Division of Neurology Products as saying: “Doctors should think carefully before prescribing the drug to women of childbearing age and alternative medications that have a lower risk of birth defects should be considered.”

Whatever concerns there are about the dangerous side effects of Topamax it remains a huge commercial success. The Reuters story said Topamax’s manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, has sales of more than $2.7 billion in 2008, before rivals arrived in 2009. “Topamax is expected to bring $569 million in worldwide revenue for the diversified drugmaker in 2010, according to Thomson Reuters data,” the story said.

Reuters did not detail the expected legal costs that Johnson & Johnson is expected to incur in defending a growing number of Topamax lawsuits that are being filed on behalf of Topamax victims. Many of these victims will be seeking millions of dollars in damages for the birth defects suffered by these children and the drug-defect lawyers handling these cases have a history of winning large settlements and jury awards in such cases.

Citing conflicting reports from medical researchers, the Food and Drug Administration has just confirmed that it is stepping up its review process into possible health problems that could be caused by side effects from the use of birth control pills such as Yaz and Yasmin that contain drospirenone.

The announcement follows years of complaints from consumers and the filing of many lawsuits on behalf of women who say they have suffered from blood clots, strokes and other serious health issues because of their use of the drugs.

Bayer Health Care, the manufacturer of the drugs, has long defended their safety and eventually funded a research study in which the experts they paid for found that the dangers had been overstated. Critics of that study say that it was biased and that the majority of medical research into the dangers of Yaz and Yasmin confirms that there are serious questions about whether the dangers of the side effects put women at such significantly higher risk of suffering these problems that the drugs should be recalled. One of the studies cited by the FDA reported that women who used these drugs were two to three times more likely to suffer blood clots.

In the meantime, experienced drug-defect lawyers have been filing Yasmin Blood Clot lawsuits across the country on behalf of victims of these side effects. These lawyers have been offering free consultations to these victims and are in the process of seeking court approval to question Bayer officials and examine Bayer internal documents in order to determine whether company officials were aware of these dangers and, if so, why they did not inform the public and government regulatory agencies. If the drugs are proven defective Bayer would have to pay out millions of dollars in damages in settlements and jury awards, according to legal experts

Darvon and Darvocet have now been shown to be such a serious risk to a patient’s health that they have been banned and pulled from the market by their manufacturer, Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals. Studies that have linked the drug to life-threatening heart conditions were one of the factors behind this action after countless millions of the pills were prescribed and consumed over nearly five decades since their introduction.

Many of the patients who used Darvon and Darvocet and suffered serious heart problems or had loved ones who may have died from side effects that they believe were caused by the use of these drugs have been asking about their legal rights and what the status is of litigation against Xanodyne. At present that is difficult to tell because the lawsuits that have been filed have been done so across the country.
More on Darvocet heart problems

There is the strong possibility of a class-action suit in which the lawsuits would be consolidated because they have common claims. Class-action suits are powerful players in the court system because they have the enormous resources of experienced lawyers with a proven record of winning large settlements and jury awards behind them.

Another common factor in these lawsuits is the allegation that Xanodyne knew about the dangers of Darvon and Darvocet and violated its corporate obligation to inform the public and government regulations about the serious risk of developing heart problems. If this is proven the amount of damages that Xanodyne would have to pay out to Darvon and Darvocet victims would be substantially increased.

If you have suffered from these side effects or have lost a loved one because of them these lawyers are offering free consultations to victims in order to provide them with an informed analysis of their legal options.

There appears to be mounting evidence of a link between Prozac and other anti-depressant drugs known as SSRIs and the causation of birth defects in infants born to mothers who used these drugs while pregnant.

Complaints from patients, consumer advocates and findings by medical researchers are putting facts out in public that put the question of the safety of these drugs in question. The rising controversy over Prozac and SSRIs eventually led the Food and Drug Administration to issue warnings to consumers and health care professionals about what the agency called an increased risk of infants suffering birth defects if their mothers used the drugs while pregnant. This had led to the increase of Prozac Birth Defects Lawsuits

The FDA has not yet ordered a recall of the drugs but it has instructed physicians to meet with any women who are pregnant or considering getting pregnant and use Prozac and consult with them about these dangers and the possibility of changing to less risky medications.

One of the problems that the agency also cited with the drugs was the possibility of severe withdrawal symptoms, including severe depression and the possibility of becoming suicidal. For the infants, the risks involve such birth defects as cleft palates and lips and a life-threatening condition called persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn.

Some of the research in this area was conducted in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine and more information substantiating these concerns was included in statistics compiled by the National Birth Defects Prevention Study of Infants. These side effects also are contained in allegations that have been filed in court proceedings by victims of these effects who are suing the manufacturers of Prozac and other SSRIs.

What man in his advancing years wouldn’t want a full head of hair? What if there was a drug that could magically halt the pattern of male baldness? What risks would these men take in order to look younger and more vibrant?

All of those questions are relative to the health controversy swirling around the drug Propecia, one of the most popular and commercially successful hair-loss drugs every marketed. Millions of men have used it and many have reported spectacular results in halting their loss of hair and restoration of their masculinity.
On the other hand a growing number of men are encountering disturbing side effects that range up to permanent impotency.

As the years have passed and more and more men use Propecia the number of both successes and dangerous side effects are increasing. Propecia’s manufacturer, the pharmaceutical giant Merck, has informed those who suffer negative side effects that discontinuing the use of the drug will make their problems go away. Now today many men are seeking out representation for an upcoming Propecia Class Action Lawsuit

This is countered by several research studies, including one by the Swedish Medical Products Agency that found that irreversible sexual dysfunction can be caused by the use of Propecia and other hair-loss drugs in some men.
Presently, the controversy is being played out in the court system where many of these men who have become permanently impotent or suffered other serious sexual problems because of their use of Propecia have filed lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages.