Current Events

After Michelle Zarick complained of excessive vaginal bleeding, her doctor found growths in her uterus that needed to be removed. One option: robot surgery, described by her gynecologist as “the latest, greatest” technique available.

With nimble robotic instruments doing the delicate work usually performed by doctors hands-on, there would be less pain and bleeding, she was told.

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U.S. regulators halted Amgen Inc. (AMGN)’s pediatric clinical trials of the kidney drug Sensipar after a 14-year-old patient died.

Sensipar, approved in adults in 2004, was being tested for effectiveness and safety in children younger than 18 years old, the Food and Drug Administration said today in a statement. The FDA said it hasn’t concluded whether Sensipar had a role in the death and will make recommendations when its review is complete.

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New York Workers’ Compensation Board revises Medical Treatment Guidelines effective March 1, 2013:

The New York Workers’ Compensation Board has implemented revisions and additions to the 2010 Medical Treatment Guidelines as of March 1, 2013. Perhaps the most important change to these Guidelines includes a provision that will allow for 10 annual sessions of “maintenance care” for claimants who have reached maximum medical improvement. For our clients who have been classified with a permanent partial or permanent total disability, this is a significant development. Whereas the original Guidelines eliminated any and all “palliative” care, “chronic care” or any other treatment in excess of those limited durations of treatment permitted in the original 2010 Guidelines, now claimants with permanent injuries will be entitled to a modicum of respect in the form of 10 sessions of physical therapy, chiropractic care or other forms of “maintenance care”. The revision does not permit 10 sessions of each type of maintenance care; it allows for a combination of the different types of maintenance care not to exceed a total of 10 sessions. This is a much-welcomed relaxation of the original Guidelines and a tacit recognition that claimants with permanent injuries can benefit from ongoing care.

Another massive change to the Medical Treatment Guidelines includes a whole new set of Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. Interestingly, the carpal tunnel Guidelines also include a description of factors to be considered by healthcare practitioners in formulating an opinion on whether the carpal tunnel is related to the claimant’s work activities. The existing Guidelines have no such factors to consider for the other bodily sites that were included in the original 2010 Guidelines, including the neck, back shoulders and knees.

Please contact us now for a free consultation on how the newly-revised Guidelines affect you, whether you are an existing client or you are contacting us for the first time. 

A New Jersey jury ordered a Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) subsidiary to pay $3.35 million in the first of 2,100 lawsuits over its vaginal mesh implant, and will now weigh punitive damages that may total as much as $16.75 million.

The Atlantic City jury yesterday found that J&J’s Ethicon unit failed to warn a South Dakota woman’s surgeon of the risks tied to its Gynecare Prolift vaginal mesh implant and fraudulently misled her. Linda Gross, a 47-year-old nurse, sued along with her husband, complaining of constant pain and 18 operations she had after the device was implanted.

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The device, called LPS Diaphyseal Sleeve, is used in reconstructive knee surgery. It was recalled because of the potential for fractures, the FDA said.

The agency said it has received 10 reports of incidents in which the device has malfunctioned.

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The suppliers of a new drug to treat anemia in patients undergoing kidney dialysis have recalled all lots of the product after reports that it had caused severe allergic reactions, including some that were fatal.

Affymax and Takeda Pharmaceutical, which jointly market the drug, Omontys, or peginesatide, announced the recall late on Saturday, and the notice was also posted by the Food and Drug Administration.

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If a laser spa treatment goes wrong, who’s to blame?

New evidence suggests that medical doctors who, in some cases, were not even present during the procedure are the most likely to take the heat from those who underwent the treatment.

Malpractice lawsuits related to laser procedures have surged over the last three decades, and dermatologists and plastic surgeons are faulted even if they were not involved in the procedure, according to a study by a pair of physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital.

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A Plymouth Superior Court jury on Wednesday awarded a Plymouth family $63 million after their 7-year old daughter suffered a severe allergic reaction 10 years ago to Children’s Motrin, a version of ibuprofen made by drug giant Johnson & Johnson.

The child, now a teenager, was originally given the popular pain reliever after showing signs of fever. But after continuing to take the drug, Samantha T. Reckis developed blisters and fatigue -- and the condition only grew worse.

Within days, it was diagnosed as Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, a rare and serious reaction to some medications, including ibuprofen. Hundreds of people contract the disease a year in the United States -- nearly one-third of whom die and many other are either blinded or suffer other serious conditions.

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Check your medicine cabinets.

Triaminic Syrups and Theraflu Warming Relief Syrups, sold between May 2010 and December 2011, have been recalled by federal regulators.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the child-resistant caps can fail and enable the cap to removed by a child with the tamper-evident seal in place.

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18-thousand Million Dollar Baby Dressers made by Bexco are being recalled after two toddlers died in separate incidents.  According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the dresser can become unsteady when a child climbs into the drawers. Both children were reportedly trapped and suffocated when the piece of furniture fell over.  These dressers were sold at JCPenney, Amazon.com and BabiesRUs.com.

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General Motors announced a pair of recalls Thursday covering more than 12,000 vehicles.

The first recall is for 8,519 Chevy Malibu sedans from the 2013 model year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said one or more bolts in the vehicles' rear suspension may not have been fastened tight enough.

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