Product Liability Attorney Blog

Earlier this month, federal investigators confirmed that batches of heparin imported from China by Baxter Healthcare were tainted with a man-made chemical that led to at least 81 deaths and 152 adverse reactions in U.S. patients who were prescribed the blood thinner.

An investigative team from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control published their findings in the Dec. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The report concluded that illnesses and deaths were all linked to heparin made in China that was contaminated with the chemical oversulfated chondroitin sulfate. The heparin was then marketed in the U.S. by Baxter, of Deerfield, Ill.

The crisis began in November 2007 and has continued through Jan. 31, 2008.

Continue reading " CDC Confirms Heparin Deaths Linked to Baxter Imports from China " »

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Posted In: Heparin

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Yet another study, this one from Canadian and Australian researchers, confirms that patients who receive the anti-bleeding drug Trasylol face a higher risk of death than those who are given cheaper anti-bleeding drugs.

Released on Dec. 2, the study reviewed findings from 49 randomized clinical trials. While Trasylol (aprotinin) was found to be more effective at controlling blood loss than lysine analogues, the higher fatality rate associated with the drug as well as its high cost outweighed the benefits.

Dr. David Henry, one of the co-authors of the study which will be published in the Jan. 20 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal, concluded:

"Lysine analogues are almost as effective as aprotinin in controlling blood loss, are cheaper, and appear not to increase mortality."

Continue reading " New Study Confirms the Dangers of Trasylol " »

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After a distributor ignored repeated requests to recall contaminated heparin, the Food and Drug Administration sent U.S. marshals to the Cincinnati-based company to seize the dangerous drug.

According to an FDA press release, the marshals descended on Celsus Laboratories in early November to seize heparin sodium and heparin lithium. The sodium form is given to patients as a blood thinner. The lithium is used to coat medical devices in order to prevent blood from clotting on them.

Almost 250 deaths have been linked to raw heparin imported from China. Heparin, derived from pig intestines, is typically injected into patients to reduce the risk of blood clots in catheters or during kidney dialysis and cardiac surgery.

Continue reading " U.S. Marshals Seize Tainted Heparin " »

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Bernard Madoff allegedly bilked investors out of $50 billion and it appears there will not be enough assets left in the investment firm to reimburse investors who were victimized by the giant Ponzi scheme.

However, Madoff’s indirect investors, people who invested with a broker or hedge fund that then turned the money over to Madoff, may have a good shot at a winning at least a partial refund.

Brokers and hedge funds must conduct a due diligence investigation before turning a client’s money over to another investment firm. In the Madoff debacle, middlemen that acted as a go-between are now facing lawsuits from angry investors claiming a lack of due diligence, Fortune magazine reports.

The suits allege that Madoff’s middlemen such as Ascot Partners of New York City ignored red flags even as other funds avoided Madoff’s investments because of the presence of obvious danger signs.

Continue reading " “Made Off” with the Money " »

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Posted In: Securities Fraud

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Investors who trusted prominent Wall Street trader Bernard Madoff with their hard-earned savings are reeling from the news that he allegedly bilked them out of $50 billion through a fraudulent Ponzi scheme.

Madoff’s victims include not only banks and hedge funds but also individuals and a variety of charitable foundations such as one founded by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel and another started by famed Hollywood director Stephen Spielberg, Bloomberg News reports.

Madoff, the former chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market, was arrested last week by agents with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and charged by federal prosecutors with one count of fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed separate civil charges against 70-year-old Madoff.

This week, a federal judge ordered the U.S. operation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC to be liquidated. A court-appointed trustee will seize any remaining assets and attempt to return it to investors.

But it is already clear that there won’t be nearly enough to reimburse investors. As a result, many are facing crippling losses.

Continue reading " Madoff Victims Reeling after Financial Fraud is Disclosed " »

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Posted In: Securities Fraud

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