Legal Information and Resources

Most people think of carbon monoxide poisoning as coming from automobile exhaust or faulty heating systems and indeed much of it does come from those sources. However, in the summer time houseboats can become a significant source of injury and death from this lethal poison gas. (more…)

In the United States physicians are permitted to prescribe medications to patients to treat conditions that are not specifically listed in the label, or product insert, for that medication. All medication labels must be approved by the FDA, and those labels list the conditions and diseases that FDA believes the drug is safe and effective in treating. If a physician uses a drug to treat a condition NOT listed in the label this use in called “off-label” use. There is less scientific evidence to support non-approved uses. (more…)

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) with co-sponsorship from Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Al) and Senator Richard Durbin (D.Il) introduced legislation in the United States Senate to reduce the substantial problems involved in obtaining service of process on foreign manufacturers and then obtaining jurisdiction over them in American state or federal courts. (more…)

As consumers of medical care and products, including drugs and devices, we want the FDA to have the most up-to-date tools in order to protect our health. In the August 13th, 2009 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, two articles detail the newest plan to monitor drug safety in the United States. (more…)

The FDA announced on August 13, 2009 that lot number 311756 of the drugs Dextroamphetamine Saccharate, Amphetamine Aspartate, Dextroamphetamine Sulfate and Amphetamine Sulfate (mixed salts of a single entity amphetamine product) 20mg tablets, 100 count bottles, is being recalled by Barr Laboratories, Inc. That lot may contain tablets exceeding weight requirements and that may lead to super-potent tablets. (more…)

Merck & Co., which certainly is familiar with mass tort trials (including the diet drug Fen-Phen jury trial in which partner James Pettit was co-lead counsel), now faces the first FOSAMAX trial. (more…)

Merck and Schering Plough (who are in the middle of a 41.1 billion—that’s right, billion—dollar merger have agreed to pay 41.5 million—that’s right, million—dollars to settle consumer and class action suits against them alleging that the companies hid unfavorable clinical trial results of their cholesterol drugs Vytorin and Zetia. (more…)

If you drive anywhere in the city of New York (or apparently anywhere else in the tri-state area as well) the sight of a driver with a cell phone pasted to his or her face is common. See that car ahead, speeding up and slowing down for no apparent reason? Get up next to it and what do you see: the driver on a cell phone. An erratic lane changer: drunk or tired maybe—nope: cell phone. And how about the SUV driver that races you to the red light, and then when the light turns green seems to be unable to find the gas pedal he was so familiar with only seconds before? Is he really trying to get you steamed? Nah—cell phone! (more…)

The use of “ghostwriters”—professional writers who assist non-writers to write a book or article and who are paid for their work but receive no public credit for their efforts—hence the “ghost” in the term—are widely used. It is common for professional sports stars, politicians or actors to utilize ghostwriters when writing their Great American novel. Football players play football: they don’t write for a living. Politicians schmooze: they don’t write for a living. And actors act, not write. So it’s no surprise that when an actor or athlete “writes” a book, he or she doesn’t do it alone. The player, star or politician provides the material, anecdotes and subject expertise and the ghost provides the writing ability. And together, they produce a polished work. (more…)