Lawsuits you should know about

The fourth generation birth control pill Yasmin (also known as Yaz and Ocella) may be linked to gallbladder disease and other adverse side effects. As a result, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed, including two class action lawsuits in Canada. Plaintiffs claim that the manufacturer, Bayer Healthcare, failed to warn them of the possible side effects that might result from taking Yaz.

Yaz is sold as a contraceptive, but is also prescribed to control premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). It contains the hormones ethinyl estradiol (estrogen) and drospirenone (a synthetic form of progestin).

Several adverse side effects have been possibly linked to the use of Yaz. Some patients who have been taking Yaz have developed gallbladder disease, which often requires laproscopic surgery if not complete removal of the gallbladder. Some lawsuits also state that Yaz side effects included pancreatitis and blood clots, which led to strokes, pulmonary embolism, and/or deep vein thrombosis.

Louise Thanos of Montana filed suit against Bayer after she took Yaz for two years and suffered major health problems including gallbladder failure. The law firm of Tony Merchant Law Group LLP has filed suit against Bayer on behalf of two women from Canada. Among the complaints listed in this lawsuit are “blood clots, pulmonary embolisms, gall bladder removals, and other serious medical emergencies.”

It is believed that at least one death may have been due to taking Yaz. Leah Mayfield, a 20 year old Tennessee Tech student, collapsed in the shower and later died of a pulmonary embolism. Her family said the doctor told them it may have been due to taking Yaz and the family has since filed suit against Bayer.

Bayer has stood behind Yaz, saying the pill is safe and that all possible side effects mentioned in the lawsuits are listed on the labeling.

Accutane (also known as isotretinoin) is a medication that has been used in the past to treat acne. Manufactured by Roche Pharmaceuticals, the drug has been linked to possible adverse side effects including depression, suicide, colon cancer, and inflammatory bowel disorder. Hoffman-La Roche stopped selling the drug in June 2009, citing competition from generic medication and loss of income due to lawsuits against the company.

Thirty-eight-year-old Andrew McCarrell of Ala. sued Hoffmann-La Roche and was originally awarded $2.6 million in May 2007. McCarrell began taking Accutane at age 23. He developed chronic ulcerative colitis and suffered from inflammatory bowel disorder (IBF), which eventually led to him having his colon removed. The original judgment was overruled on an appeal, but a judge just recently awarded him $25.16 million for compensatory damages in a retrial.

McCarrell is just one of many that have won judgments against Hoffmann-Roche. The lawsuits have claimed side effects such as chronic bowel disease and bowel maladies for which some plaintiff’s have had to have their colons and intestines removed. Some plaintiffs continued to suffer problems even after they quit taking Accutane.

Hoffmann-Roche first notified physicians of a possible link between Accutane and IBF in 1984. Continued research showed a link, but some are saying Hoffmann-Roche failed to notify physicians and patients of the severity.

Roche has said it plans to appeal the judgment for McCarrell.

Graco has issued another voluntary recall of high chairs. Approximately 1.2 million of the company’s Harmony high chairs have been recalled due to breakage. The screws that attach the front legs can become loose and/or fall out and the rear leg brackets can crack, both causing the high chair to fall.

Graco has received 464 reports of the high chair breaking and tipping over without any injuries. Parents have reported 24 incidents of the high chairs breaking to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) with reports of children suffering from bruises, bumps, scratches, and hairline fractures.

The Harmony high chairs were sold at AAFES, Burlington Coat Factory, Babies “R” Us, Sears, Shopko, Target, Toys “R” Us, USA Baby, Wal-Mart and other retailers including online stores from December 2003 until March 2010 for between $70 and $120.

The model number of the high chair can be located under the footrest. Please visit the official Graco web site for a list of model numbers are involved in the recall (http://www.gracobaby.com/SafetyAndRecall/Pages/SafetyAndRecallArticle.aspx?recallID=31&page=SafetyAndRecall).

Parents who own the Harmony high chair should quit using it immediately. Graco can be contacted for repair kit by calling (877) 842-3206 or at their web site at http://www.gracobaby.com.

Zocor, the popular cholesterol lowering drug manufactured by Merck & Co. already carries warnings about muscle pain and weakness as a serious side effect of the drug.  However, on Friday the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its own warnings to health care providers and patients about a serious risk of muscle injury and kidney damage for some patients who take Zocor.

Zocor is the brand name of the drug simvastatin.  It is found as a component in the cholesterol lowering drug Vytorin (manufactured by Merck) and Simcor (manufactured by Abbott Laboratories). 

The warning issued by the FDA is for patients who take the highest approved dose of the medication (which is 80 milligrams).  Patients who take lower doses of the drug Zocor and possibly other drugs in this class (known as statins) appear to be at a lower risk for such injury.

The potentially deadly side effect that the FDA is warning about is known as rhabdomyolysis.  This is a form of muscle damage that can lead to kidney damage and possibly kidney failure and even death.  The FDA based their warning on information gathered from clinical trials and studies, reports of side effects by users, and prescription data.

Statins are a type of drug that is taken to reduce the body’s levels of LDL cholesterol by limiting the amount of cholesterol that can be produced in the body.  Other drugs that fall under the class of statins include the popular medications Lipitor (manufactured by Pfizer) and Crestor (manufactured by Astra Zeneca).

Can Fosamax (the popular osteoporosis drug) cause more harm than good?  That’s a question viewers of ABC’s Good Morning America are asking themselves after watching a report on the show this morning.  A new study set to be released this week says that the drug Fosamax, designed to help strengthen bones, could cause a weakening of the bones as a side effect when taken for an extended period of time (meaning over the course of more than five years).

In 2008 the FDA contacted the manufacturer of the drug about reports of femur fractures happening in women who took this popular drug.  Merck (the maker of Fosamax) has added femur fractures as a possible side effect in the literature included in the patient information in the drug package.

Fosamax is part of a class of drugs known as bisphosphonates.  These drugs have been proven to help prevent hip and spine fractures in many patients.  Doctors do agree that the possible dangers of fractures of the hip and spine that can occur in patients with osteoporosis are a problem and the chance of these fractures and the associated side effects of them (including death) must be weighed against any potential side effects of the drugs.  While there is no conclusive research on the length of time a patient can safely take this class of drugs, doctors recommend that patients not take it for more than five years.

Little Brownie Bakers has recalled one kind of Girl Scout Cookies because of a strange smell and taste.  The maker of Girl Scout Cookies, the Louisville, KY based Little Brownie Bakers has recalled the Lemon Chalet Creme cookies because of a strange smell and taste from the cookies.  The company states that the cookies are safe to eat, but the recall is because they are not up to their quality standards. 

The company has received a few complaints about the issue with the Lemon Chalet Cookies, but no reports of anyone becoming ill from eating them.

The following lot codes are from the cookies that are affected by this recall:

7455881
7455882
7455883
7456741
7456742
7456743
7457661
7457662
7457663
7458521
7458522
7458523
7459401
7459402
7459403

If you have purchased Lemon Chalet Creme cookies please contact the manufacturer for more information.  Their website is www.littlebrowniebakers.com and the phone number where you can reach them is 800-962-1718.

To read the article where I found this information, click here for a link to it.

Copco, a division of Wilton Industries Inc., has voluntarily recalled 132,000 Copco and Wild Leaf Tea Co. Bristol model and Martha Stewart Collection and 142,000 Copco Harmony tea kettles.

The Copco and Wild Leaf Tea Co. Bristol model and Martha Stewart Collection tea kettles were recalled because the handle may become loose, causing burns. There have been eight reports of handles coming loose or becoming deformed, with one consumer reporting minor burns.

The Copco and Wild Leaf Tea Co. Bristol model and Martha Stewart Collection tea kettles being recalled have enamel finishes in white, crème, blue, cobalt, sand, red, and green and were sold online, through mail order, and at retailers such as Macy’s and Linen ‘n Things for $35 from October 2005 until January 2010.

Consumers owning the Copco and Wild Leaf Tea Co. Bristol model and Martha Stewart Collection tea kettle should stop using them immediately and contact Copco at (866) 255-9237 between 8 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday for a refund.

The Harmony tea kettles were recalled because of reports of the lid coming loose when handling, which resulted in burns. There have been 25 reports by consumers of lids coming off, with some reporting second-degree burns to hands and fingers.

The Harmony tea kettles have either stainless steel brushed, polished finishes, or enamel finishes in red, white, black, turquoise, orange, yellow, and blue. They were sold at retailers nationwide for $30 between March 2006 and June 2009.

Consumers owning the Harmony tea kettle should stop using them immediately and contact Wilton at (800) 794-5866 between 8 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Thursday or 8 am and 3 pm Friday for a refund or replacement.

Harvard law student Eva Hibnick has filed a class action lawsuit against Google stating that her personal information was made public on Buzz, Google’s new social networking service. The suit was filed by law firms in both San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Hibnick says she was frustrated when she was automatically opted into Google Buzz without her consent (all Gmail users were opted-in upon Buzz’s launch) and it made her contact list available to the public. This allows many people – people she had not spoken to in months – to follow her profile. The service notified Hibnick’s followers of her status updates.

In disclosing her personal information, the lawsuit says that Google violated federal laws such as the Federal Electronics Communications Privacy Act, the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Federal Stored Communications Act and California common and statutory law.

Hibnick said, “I feel like they did something wrong. They opted me into this social network and I didn’t want it.”

The lawsuit is open to all 31.2 million users of Buzz and seeks injunctions to prevent Google from automatically adding users to new services in the future and an undisclosed monetary amount.
Google has issued an apology and now has it set up so users can hide their contact list as well as block followers they don’t know.

Angry students and parents have filed a lawsuit against the Lower Merion School District of Ardmore, Pennsylvania for “”unauthorized, inappropriate and indiscriminate remote activation” of webcams. The webcams were part of MacBook laptops issued to 1,800 students at the two high schools in the district as part of a government funded intiative. The lawsuit claims the webcams were activated without the student’s knowledge or consent.

The use of the webcams came to light when a student, the son of Michael and Holly Robbins, was informed by Harriton High School assistant principal Lindy Mastko that he was “engaged in improper behavior in his home.”

When the student and his father confronted Mastko about the allegations, they were informed that the school district had the right to remotely activate the webcam.” It was believed that the student took a photo of himself and accidentally uploaded it to the school network.

The Robbins family filed the lawsuit, which seeks an unspecified amount for compensatory and punitive damages as well as an injunction to prevent the school district from activating the webcams.

Christopher McGinley, the superintendent, issued a statement on the school district’s website which admitted that “the laptops do contain a security feature intended to track lost, stolen and missing laptops. This feature has been deactivated effective today.” The statement went on to read that the school district would not be “reactivating the tracking-security feature without express written notification to all students and families.”

“The Biggest Loser” Trainer Jillian Michaels has had three separate lawsuits filed against her in the last week for the Maximum Strength Calorie Control diet supplement that she endorses.

The first plaintiff, Christie Christensen, filed a class action lawsuit against Michaels which states that the pills are “worthless,” “purportedly will cause weigh loss by itself with any additional effort,” and that taking them is “contrary to everything that Ms. Michaels has ever instructed.” Christensen is suing Michaels and Thin Care and Basic Research, the makers of the pills, for $5 million in damages. The lawsuit is also asking that the sale of the product be prohibited.

The second plaintiff, Stephanie Creer, filed a class action lawsuit just one day after Christensen. Her lawsuit claims that the product doesn’t live up to its packaging, which says “two capsules before main meals and you lose weight…That’s it!” Creer claims to have fought her weight her entire life and that the supplement pills didn’t help her lose any weight.

The third plaintiff, Kathy Hensley, said that the diet pills are potentially dangerous because they contain the ingredient citrus aurantium. In rare cases, citrus aurantium can cause high blood pressure and cardiac arrest. Hensley is suing Michaels, and Thin Care and Basic Research, and Walgreens, which sells the pills. The lawsuit is asking for less than $5,000.

The pills contain guarana, coffee bean extract, kola nut seed extract, citrus aurantium, and other herbs. The label does say that the product has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Michaels has issued a statement saying the claims are “baseless” and that she still supports the product. Thin Care pointed out that the company offers consumers a money-back guarantee and has said, “We are confident we will prevail.”