Archive for January, 2010

Toyota said Thursday it is recalling 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. to fix accelerator pedals with mechanical problems that could cause them to become stuck.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling faulty product cases through out the state.  Our personal injury lawyers have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

Graco Children’s Products Inc. announced a recall of approximately 1.5 million Graco strollers after children’s fingertips were amputated by hinges on the products.

The recall includes certain model numbers of its Passage, Alano and Spree Strollers and Travel Systems. There have been seven reports of children placing their fingers in a canopy hinge as the canopy was being opened or closed.

The U.S. government, through the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said the strollers pose an amputation and laceration hazard to children when opening or closing the canopy.

The recall involves strollers made between October 2004 to December 2009. The model numbers and manufacture dates are on the lower inside portion of the rear frame, just above the wheels.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling faulty product cases through out the state.  Our personal injury lawyers have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

Johnson & Johnson expanded their recall Friday to include several other over-the-counter drugs sold in the U.S., the United Arab Emirates and Fiki.

The recall was prompted in response to complaints of a foul odor and “non-serious” gastrointestinal disorders including vomiting and diarrhea.

The recall has been expanded to include Tylenol caplets, Motrin IB, chewable extra strength Rolaids, Benadryl allergy tablets, Simply Sleep and St. Joseph aspirin.

For more information on the recall, please click here.

Inspectors from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported that a Johnson & Johnson unit failed to perform a formal investigation after receiving more than 70 complaints about its pain reliever Tylenol.

In 2008, consumers complained about a musty odor in Tylenol Arthritis Caplets, however Johnson & Johnson did not perform test to determine whether or not the product was chemically contaminated.

On average an estimated 3.2 million Americans spend some time time in a nursing home annually. Fortunately, for those who are searching for quality short-term or long-term care there is now another resource to help them in their search.

Using the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services’ Nursing Home Compare site, U.S. News & World Report has developed a ratings system of their own. Read all about it here.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula, S.C. is a Wisconsin law firm with a devoted nursing home abuse practice. Our Nursing Home Abuse Team, consisting of attorneys, nurse attorneys and paralegals, is the largest in the state and has successfully represented abused and neglected nursing home residents throughout Wisconsin.

The British Medical Journal published a study in August of 2009, which found that Yaz and Yasmin had higher risks of blood clots, heart attacks and strokes than other contraceptives. Both drugs are manufactured by Bayer.

The Food and Drug Administration reprimanded Bayer for publishing misleading advertisements. According to the FDA, the advertisements promoted Yaz for unapproved uses, such as PMS and acne treatment. The FDA also felt the ads downplayed Yaz risks and overplayed benefits. As a result, Bayer had to run a $20 million ad campaign to correct earlier claims. More recently, Bayer received an FDA warning about quality control at a plant that manufactures one of Yaz’s main ingredients.

Yaz, its predecessor Yasmin, and its generic version Ocella all contain the synthetic drug Drospirenone, which has been shown to have a high risk of clotting events. All three drugs are linked to pulmonary embolism, heart attack, stroke, deep vein thrombosis, kidney failure and gallbladder disease.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling Yaz cases through out the state.  Our personal injury lawyers have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

Fosamax is a drug manufactured by Merck designed for women to offset the bone loss associated with menopause. Fosamax is part of a group of drugs called biphosphonates. Biphosphonates affect the way bones renew themselves. These drugs work by inhibiting cells from breaking down old or damaged bone, a beneficial effect that inhibits bone loss. However, they can also have a secondary effect of decreasing the formation of new bone tissue. Victims claim that taking Fosamax caused them to develop  a rare problem called osteonecrosis (death of the jaw).

Until recently, Fosamax was on of the most popular drugs in the United States. However, fallout from a lawsuit and the introduction of generic versions of the drug caused Fosamax prescriptions to fall 83% since 2007 causing global sales of the drug to fall to $1.55 billion, or almost 50% compared with 2007.

Doctors believe that trauma caused by chewing and teeth grinding causes jawbone cells turnover more quickly than many other bones in the body. Recognizing the high cell turnover, biphosphonates may accumulate in the jawbone, and try to compensate by oversuppressing cell turnover. This theory has led doctors to believe that biphosphonates might lead to jawbone death in patients who have dental surgery, like tooth extraction, from which the jaw needs to heal itself even more intensely.

Fosamax’s maufacturer Merck is currently involved in multi-district lawsuit in the State of New York. There are approximately 1,200 Fosamax cases in the U.S.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling dangerous drug cases through out the state.  Our personal injury lawyers have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.

A Brown University study has found Hispanic senior citizens are more likely than whites to live in nursing homes of poor quality.

The study is the first full-scale analysis of its kind to explore Hispanics in nursing homes.

Researchers were shocked by the diparities in nursing home care that are primarily white, compared to nursing homes that are a mix of whites and Hispanic residents. Hispanics are more likely to reside in homes that have structural problems, staffing issues and financial trouble while whites are more likely to have long-term care insurance and able to afford better homes.

Hispanics traditionally have used long-term care services less frequently than any other U.S. ethnic group.  In the past, elder care was handled by adult daughters, but financial issues have forced Hispanic women to work outside the home.

Experts estimate that more than 5% of the current Hispanic population is elderly and is expected to quadruple in the next 10 years.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula, S.C. is a Wisconsin law firm with a devoted nursing home abuse practice. Our Nursing Home Abuse Team, consisting of attorneys, nurse attorneys and paralegals, is the largest in the state and has successfully represented abused and neglected nursing home residents throughout Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that a construction worker was killed in a construction accident in Milwaukee’s Third Ward Monday morning.

According to a worker on the construction site, a man had fallen down an elevator shaft at 159 N. Jackson Street.

The Milwaukee Fire Department confirmed that a fatality had occurred, but they reported that a person may have fallen through a roof.

Pitman, Kyle & Sicula is a Wisconsin personal injury law firm handling construction accident cases through out the state.  Our personal injury lawyers have successfully represented injured people in almost every county. We know Wisconsin.