http://heparin-law.com/blog Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:41:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/heparin-frequently-asked-questions-part-v.html http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/heparin-frequently-asked-questions-part-v.html#comments Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:52:00 +0000 gjohnson http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/heparin-frequently-asked-questions-part-v.html 1. When did the Baxter Heparin contamination begin?
2. When did Heparin return to being Safe?
3. How severe of a reaction should we have before calling?
4. What is the process should when I call the Johnson Law Office?
5. Will this Involve a Class Action?
Today, we continue with:

6. Are these Federal or State Court Actions?

Each plaintiff has a choice as to whether to file a non-class action case in Federal or State Court. The class action cases (non-severe consequences) are being handled in Federal Court. The Johnson Law Office, as well as our affiliated firm, The Nolan Law Group, are licensed in Illinois, the state where Baxter has its home office. Baxter has agreed to allow our claimants to bring these cases in Cook County, Illinois. Our litigation affiliate, The Nolan Law Group of Chicago, has a long track record of excellent results in Cook County, Illinois, including the Air Philippines case which was settled in 2007 for $165 million.]]> http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/heparin-frequently-asked-questions-part-v.html/feed 1 http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/heparin-frequently-asked-questions-part-iv.html http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/heparin-frequently-asked-questions-part-iv.html#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:19:00 +0000 gjohnson http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/heparin-frequently-asked-questions-part-iv.html

• 1. When did the Baxter Heparin contamination begin?
  
• 2. When did Heparin return to being Safe?
  
• 3. How severe of a reaction should we have before calling? 
  
• 4. What is the process should when I call the Johnson Law Office?
  

Today, we continue with:

5. Will this Involve a Class Action?

There are two types of cases involving heparin: those where people had death or severe reactions and those where people had minor or imperceptible reactions. The first type of case should be handled as separate, individual cases. Clients hire a lawyer, who specifically investigates and handles the details of what happened. If serious injury or damage can be proved, then this particular claimant should receive specific economic damages for all losses that occurred, including wrongful death, survivorship claims, loss of society and companionship, medical expenses, funeral expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering. The Johnson Law Office is only handling cases involving serious injury and death.

A class action suit would be more appropriate for individuals who were administered contaminated Heparin where neither death or serious injury occurred.

The Johnson Law Office is not representing individuals in the class action. Other lawyers are handling cases where no tangible damage can be shown.]]> http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/heparin-frequently-asked-questions-part-iv.html/feed 0 http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/heparin-frequently-asked-questions-part-ii.html http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/heparin-frequently-asked-questions-part-ii.html#comments Fri, 13 Mar 2009 23:01:00 +0000 gjohnson http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/heparin-frequently-asked-questions-part-ii.html 2. When did the Heparin return to being Safe?

Officially, all of the contaminated heparin should have been off the shelves by April of last year. However, recalling millions of vials of contaminated heparin is an enormously complex process, especially in hospital settings where different supplies of heparin may have been commingled. If the your loved ones death or catastrophic reaction after heparin fits the resembles an alergic reaction to a bee sting type, call us regardless of how recently the adverse event occurred.

3. How severe of a reaction should we have before calling a lawyer?

All cases of death should be investigated especially those after January 1, 2007 until the present day as I write this in March of 2009. Further, all cases of “severe consequences” should also be investigated. “Severe consequences” means adverse reactions involving significant additional medical care, hospitalization or damage to any body organ or limb.

For example, if heart damage occurred, you should call. If the heart stopped and the body was deprived of oxygen or blood flow for a documented period of time, you should call. If there was gangrene or injury to any limb, you should call. There may even be cases of amputation resulting from contaminated heparin. All such cases should be identified.]]> http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/heparin-frequently-asked-questions-part-ii.html/feed 0 http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/fda-use-of-private-inspectors-raises-doubts.html http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/fda-use-of-private-inspectors-raises-doubts.html#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:16:00 +0000 gjohnson http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/fda-use-of-private-inspectors-raises-doubts.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#29561173

The New York Times, at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/06/business/06food.html?_r=1 said:

“With government inspectors overwhelmed by the task of guarding the nation’s food supply, the job of monitoring food plants has in large part fallen to an army of private auditors like Mr. Hatfield. And the problems go well beyond peanuts.”

The total abrogation of its responsibility to regulate has left both of the FDA’s mandates – food and drugs – vulnerable. The NY Times article highlights peanuts and salmonella. The Heparin Catastrophe is the poster child for what is wrong with the FDA’s drug inspections. But the spirit of deregulation has harmed Americans in virtually all aspects of their lives.

One must ask, what was the SEC doing all those years, giving Bernie Madoff and Citibank, clean bills of health? What was the Justice Department doing worrying about Martha Steward and not Wall Street?

Ronald Reagan’s infamous quote: “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem” has left a legacy of a broken economic system, grossly disproportionate income distribution, corruption, and now, disease. We must allow government to go back to monitoring business. We must stop the absurd out cry outcry against a mild return to a progressive tax system. And we must use the Justice Department to prosecute crimes, not curry politic favor. For those who have been killed or made sick by Baxter’s greed, there must be justice.]]> http://heparin-law.com/blog/2009/03/fda-use-of-private-inspectors-raises-doubts.html/feed 0 http://heparin-law.com/blog/2008/11/fda-information-on-adverse-event-reports-and-heparin.html http://heparin-law.com/blog/2008/11/fda-information-on-adverse-event-reports-and-heparin.html#comments Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:04:00 +0000 gjohnson http://heparin-law.com/blog/2008/11/fda-information-on-adverse-event-reports-and-heparin.html Information on Adverse Event Reports and Heparin

The chart below shows numbers of deaths reported after heparin administration that occurred and were submitted to FDA from January 1, 2007 through May 31, 2008. The reports are sorted according to the date of the medical event in the report, indicated in the first column. This date may be different than the date of death.

The second column indicates the number of deaths reported after heparin administration, regardless of cause.

The third column indicates the number of death reports that included one or more allergic symptom(s) or symptoms of hypotension (low blood pressure). These are the events that prompted a series of heparin recalls.

There have been 246 reports of death reported to FDA since January 1, 2007; 238 were reported to FDA on or after January 1, 2008.

Of the 149 reports that included one or more allergic symptom(s) or symptoms of hypotension and death, 146 were reported to FDA on or after January 1, 2008.

The fact that allergic symptoms or hypotension was reported does not mean that these were the cause of death in all cases.

FDA received reports of 97 patients who died without mention of allergy or hypotension. These patients died of a variety of causes.

In the majority of reports with a death outcome, there was not enough clinical information to assess the relationship between death and the use of heparin.

The recent internet posting from the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) (http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/safety/heparin-qanda.html) states that CDRH has received reports of 11 deaths associated with heparin-containing devices. The CDRH reporting system is separate from the Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) used to capture the reports counted below. It is possible that reports of one death were sent to both systems, and could potentially be counted twice.



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