According to journalist Eric Barton, some construction workers refused to work with the Chinese drywall, afraid that the smell meant the material was rotten. Barton also writes that some contractors told workers to paint the drywall quickly in order to mask the smell.

Homeowners have been driven out of their houses by the rotten-egg smell of sulfur dioxide. The sulfur dioxide can be toxic and has been blamed for corroding wires and pipes leading to the ruin of appliances and household systems such as air conditioners. The Consumer Product Safety Commission indicates that the problems seem to be concentrated in homes built in 2006 and 2007.

Ciproflaxin is a powerful antibiotic that is used to treat bacterial infections of the bladder, kidney, prostate gland, cervix, stomach, intestine, lung, sinus, bone, and skin and as a preventive measure after exposure to anthrax. Made by Bayer AG, it is sold under a variety of names including Cipro, Ciproxin, Ciprobay, and Cipro XR.

On July 8, 2008, the FDA added a black box label warning to Cipro in order alert patients of possible tendon ruptures and tendinitis.

According to the warning, “the risk of tendon effects is higher if you are over 65 years of age, and especially if you are taking corticosteroids.”

Anyone who has been given ciprofloxacin and experiences pain, swelling or inflammation in the area of a tendon should stop taking the drug and contact his or her physician. Patients who experience a snapping or popping sensation in the area of a tendon, note bruising right after an injury in the area of a tendon or are unable to move or bear weight after taking the drug should also contact a doctor immediately.

The lawsuits claim that Johnson & Johnson and its Ortho McNeil unit touted Levaquin as a safe treatment for bacterial infections even though the companies allegedly knew that it could cause severe tendon ruptures and tendonitis.

On July 8, 2008, the FDA issued an alert requiring Ortho to add a black-box warning to Levaquin’s label. The warning advises patients that Levaquin increases their risk of tendinitis—inflammation or irritation of a tendon, one of the thick fibrous cords that connect muscle to bone. Some patients who have taken Levaquin have reported the rupture of tendons in the shoulder, hand and heel.

The risk of tendinitis and tendon rupture is increased in patients older than 60; in kidney, heart, and lung transplant recipients; and in patients given Levaquin in conjunction with steroid therapy.

If you or a loved one has suffered a serious complication after taking Levaquin, contact the attorneys of Carey & Danis. We can help. Carey & Danis is a national law firm that represents individuals injured by America’s largest corporations.

Dr. Jorge Armenteros was not only AstraZeneca’s paid speaker, he is also the chair and voting member of the FDA advisory committee that will decide whether Seroquel XR, an extended-release version of Seroquel, should be approved to treat depression and anxiety. However, the day before the Philadephia Inquirer story appeared in print, it was announced that Armenteros would not be voting on the request.

Seroquel is currently approved only for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Last year, it generated $4.45 billion in sales. There are approximately 20 million people in the United States who suffer from anxiety and depression. If the FDA approves the expansion, sales of Seroquel could soar.

So too could the number of people suffering dangerous Seroquel side effects such as diabetes, high blood pressure and sudden cardiac death.

Lawsuits have been filed against AstraZeneca alleging that the drugmaker hid the dangers associated with Seroquel from patients and many were seriously injured as a result.

Sales were halted on March 31 when the federal government announced a free repair program for more than 120,000 Yamaha Rhino models 450, 660 and 700.

According to the announcement from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Rhino has been linked to the deaths of at least 46 ATV drivers and passengers.

The repair program includes the installation of a spacer on the rear wheels, removal of the rear anti-sway bar, the installation of half-doors and passenger holds.

AstraZeneca, the London-based company that makes the drug, wants the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve Seroquel for depression and anxiety disorder patients. According to the Associated Press, millions of patients already use Seroquel for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. If the FDA expands the list of approved conditions, more than 20 million people in the United States could potentially receive Seroquel.

But there are serious safety concerns.

A recent New England Journal of Medicine article indicated that drugs like Seroquel can increase the risk of sudden cardiac death. Seroquel side effects also include high blood pressure and diabetes.

AstraZeneca is also facing a number of lawsuits that claim the drugmaker kept the dangers associated with Seroquel hidden.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Seroquel for the treatment of schizophrenia, a condition that may include hearing voices, seeing or sensing things that are not present, mistaken beliefs or unusual suspicions. Seroquel is also approved as a treatment for bipolar disorder, a mental illness that causes extreme mood swings. Seroquel has also been prescribed to treat dementia even though the FDA has not been approved it for that purpose.

Seroquel has been associated with some severe and deadly side effects. The Seroquel side effects lawyers at Carey & Danis believe that AstraZeneca kept the dangers associated with Seroquel secret. As a result, a number of patients prescribed Seroquel suffered serious injuries.

The Food and Drug Administration now warns that there are several risks and side effects associated with Seroquel therapy including:

An increased chance of death in elderly person

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS), a life-threatening nervous system problem that can cause high fever, muscle stiffness, sweating, a fast or irregular heartbeat, a change in blood pressure and confusion

An uncontrollable muscle movement condition known as tardive dyskinesia

High blood sugar and diabetes

St. Louis, MO – The law firm of Carey & Danis LLC (www.careydanis.com) has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of persons who purchased auction rate securities from H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB), and H&R Block Financial Advisors, Inc., between Aug. 26, 2003 and Feb. 13, 2008 and who continued to hold the securities as of Feb. 13, 2008.

The class action lawsuit, La Grave v. H&R Block, Inc., et al., 08-cv-667, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. The suit alleges that H&R Block, Inc. and its subsidiary H&R Block Financial Advisors, Inc., violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by deceiving investors about the investment characteristics of auction rate securities and the auction market in which the securities are traded.

Auction rate securities are municipal or corporate debt securities or preferred stocks that pay interest at rates set through periodic auctions. The instruments typically have long-term maturity dates or no maturity date.

The suit filed on Sept. 24, 2008 claims that, pursuant to uniform sales materials and top-down management directives, H&R Block offered and sold auction rate securities to the public as highly liquid cash-management instruments and as suitable alternatives to money market mutual funds. On Feb. 13, 2008, all of the major broker-dealers, including H&R Block, withdrew their support for the auctions. The suit claims that, as a result, investors have been unable to liquidate their auction rate securities.

The lawsuit alleges that H&R Block failed to disclose the following material facts about the auction rate securities it sold to the class:

• The auction rate securities were not cash alternatives like money market funds but were instead complex long-term financial instruments with 30-year maturity dates.
• The auction rate securities were only liquid at the time of the sale because H&R Block and other broker-dealers were artificially supporting and manipulating the market to maintain the appearance of liquidity and stability.
• H&R Block and other broker-dealers routinely intervened in the auctions for their own benefit to set rates and to prevent all-hold auctions and failed auctions.
• H&R Block continued to market auction rate securities as liquid investments even after H&R Block and other broker-dealers determined that they would likely be withdrawing support for the periodic auctions and that a freeze of the auction rate securities market would result.

On March 31, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Yamaha Motor Corp., announced a free repair program to address safety issues with the Rhino 450, 660 and 700 models of off-highway recreational vehicles.

There have been 46 deaths of ATV drivers and ATV passengers linked to the Rhino 450 and 660. More than two-thirds of the fatalities involved rollovers. Unbelted Rhino occupants were also involved in many of the deaths. Many of the incidents involving ATV deaths or serious injuries occurred while operating the ATVs at slow speeds on relatively level terrain.

The repair program includes the installation of a spacer on the rear wheels, removal of the rear anti-sway bar, the installation of half-doors and the installation of passenger holds.

But don’t expect Madoff to give up the assets – which also include boats, cars, $17 million in cash and $45 million in bonds – without a fight. Many of the assets are titled in the name of Madoff’s wife, Ruth, and lawyers for the Madoffs are expected to argue that she is independently wealthy.

As Bernard Madoff, the mastermind behind a multibillion Ponzi scheme, fights to preserve his family fortune, many of his investors are still trying to come to terms with the fact that they’ve lost everything as a result of Madoff’s fraud.

The nonprofit health group, U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention, which is responsible for setting standards for the quality, purity, strength and consistency of medicines, unveiled a plan that would include three identification tests and screening for organic impurities beginning Aug. 1.

In a news release, Roger L. Williams MD, UPC’s chief executive officer, stated:

“The tragedies involving heparin and glycerin demonstrate the shortcomings of 20th century safety nets in a 21st century global manufacturing supply chain. The reality is that with the decentralized, complex and global nature of today’s manufacturing environment, it is too easy for an unscrupulous supplier—driven by economic or even more frightening motives—to add an ingredient to a drug product that shouldn’t be there, putting us all at risk.

Late last year, Madoff told federal investigators that he was solely responsible for the $50 billion securities fraud scam. But that seems unlikely. According to the bankruptcy trustee liquidating Madoff’s securities firm, it now appears there were no trades for at least a decade. At the same time, the firm sent client statements showing trading activity and market prices.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Columbia University Law School professor John Coffee noted:

“Someone had to creatively imagine what to tell all those clients.”

In addition to employees of the securities firm, Coffee indicated that feeder fund managers may also find them exposed to criminal charges.

“If prosecutors can show a kickback or any kind of undisclosed payments to feeder funds, then it will be much simpler for private investors to sue those feeder funds and it can support indictment under mail and wire fraud statutes.”

According to Bloomberg News, a profit report prepared by investment bank Lazard Ltd. concluded that the brokerage earned only $1.12 million last year. In addition, the brand is now tarnished because of the alleged Ponzi scheme that cost investors billions of dollars.

Recently, The Wall Street Journal compiled an extensive list of Madoff’s most over-exposed investors. In addition to those mentioned in our previous posting, some of the charities, hedge funds and banks that could sustain staggering losses include:

The British bank Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC which had a potential exposure of almost $500 million as a result of trading through Madoff and collateralized lending to funds of hedge funds.

BNB Paribas, a French bank, could lose up approximately $430 million through its trading business and collateralized lending to funds of hedge funds.

Spanish bank BBVA could lose almost $370 million if Madoff funds were not found to exist.

Man Group PLC, a U.K. hedge fund, estimates it could lose $360 million as a result of investing directly in Madoff funds and indirectly sub-advised by Madoff Securities and for which Madoff acts as a broker-dealer.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on the plight of the Linkes last Sunday. Nearly a year after the auction-rate securities market froze the Linkes still cannot access approximately $75,000 of their money.

The Missouri Secretary of State negotiated buy-back agreements with Wachovia Securities in St. Louis and Commerce Bank. But Stifel, the third-largest brokerage based in St. Louis, wasn’t part of the deal.

According to the article, “St. Louis couples angry at Stifel Nicolaus over auction rate securities,” Stifel claims it has done nothing wrong. Other regional brokerages such as Raymond James Financial are taking a similar position.

As a result, thousands of investors like the Linkes are still unable to retrieve their hard-earned money.