drug
| | 0 Comments | Consumer Protection, Drug Issues, Legal Issues | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nation’s Largest Drug Distributor to Pay $150M in Settlement

Drug distributor McKesson Corporation will pay a $150 million fine.

Regulators have alleged that McKesson Corporation, a drug distributor, failed to report suspicious orders of painkillers that have been linked to the opioid addiction epidemic.drug

The company has agreed to pay a $150 million fine after they allegedly failed to detect and report suspicious orders of prescription pain pills, according to federal prosecutors. This has arguably led to the growing heroin crisis.

For example, more than 1.6 million orders for controlled substances were filled by McKesson in Colorado between June 2008 through May 2013. However,  just 16 of them from a single customer as suspicious, the Justice Department said.

In a statement from the White House last summer, federal fears related to pain killer and opioid addictions were made clear:

“President [Obama] has made [it] clear that addressing this epidemic is a priority for his Administration.  While Federal agencies have been using their authority to take every available action they can, Congress needs to take action on what is most urgently needed now – additional funding to make lifesaving treatment available to everyone who seeks it. The President has called for $1.1 billion in new funding to help Americans who want treatment get it wherever they live.”

Those addicted to opioid painkillers are most likely to form a heroin addiction according to the Centers for Disease and prevention.

McKesson, the nation’s largest drug distributor,  was accused of failing  to create an effective system to detect suspicious pharmacy orders. This was argued to be a violation of the Controlled Substances Act.

In 2008, McKesson agreed to a $13.25 million civil penalty for actions including failing to report suspicious sales of their drugs on “internet pharmacies.”

 

In a statement, McKesson said it settled “in the interest of moving beyond disagreements about whether McKesson was complying with the controlled substance regulations … and to instead focus on the company’s partnership with regulators and others to help stem the opioid epidemic in this country.”

| | 0 Comments | medical lawsuit | , , , , , , , , , , ,

Johnson & Johnson Faces More Legal Trouble Over Hip Products

Johnson and Johnson is facing more legal trouble related to their hip products.

There are currently more than 8,000 suits for the DePuy Orthopaedics products manufactured by Johnson & Johnson.

In the past, the company has lost one trial involving the device and won another where the courts ruled in the manufacturer’s favor.

In the new case, the victim claims to have “suffered substantial injuries and damages” from the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary manufactured hip implant.

This comes less than a month after a federal jury in Dallas ordered Johnson & Johnson and its DePuy Orthopaedics unit to pay more than $1 billion to plaintiffs who claimed they were injured by Pinnacle hip implants.

The Indiana man filed the lawsuit in Middlesex County Superior Court on Dec. 9, the new suit alleges that the metal-on-metal version of the product is defective. As a result of defects,  metal particles move into a recipient’s bloodstream and tissue after wear and tear.

 

| | 0 Comments | Consumer Protection | , , , , , , , , , ,

Takata Settles Airbag Lawsuit

airbag recall

Airbag manufacturer Takata has been in the news over the course of the past few months as scrutiny of their malfunctioning airbags has increased. The company recently settled one of their lawsuits with a family who had a member paralyzed and later die to to injuries caused by the airbag. The settlement was made just moments before a hearing was supposed to take place where the judge could have made Takata executives testify in court. Many people were surprised at the settlement, including the lawyer representing the family of the victim, Patricia Mincey.

Mincey was paralyzed from the neck down after the Takata airbag in her 2001 Honda Civic forcefully inflated after a collision on June 15, 2014. The airbag was among those recalled by Honda less than a week later.

Takata’s airbags have caused several deaths and numerous injuries to drivers and passengers, causing automakers to recall nearly 60 million vehicles in the US alone.

While the exact numbers on the settlement have not been released, Takata has handled all of their previous lawsuits with swift action. The company is currently trying to repair their image and restore consumers confidence in their products. With airbags being a vital safety component in any car, it may take the company a very long time to be trusted by car drivers and manufacturers alike.

According to a New York Times Article, the mass recalls of Takata airbags gained new urgency last month, when federal safety regulators warned that airbags in more than 300,000 older Honda and Acura vehicles were at an unacceptably high risk of exploding and needed to be replaced immediately.

 Takata also faces a class-action lawsuit brought by owners of affected cars and is the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
| | 0 Comments | Legal Issues | , , , , , , , , ,

Airbag Recall Impacts Millions

Airbags are safety devices found in just about every vehicle on the road in the United States. Their intention is pure, they are intended to keep vehicle occupants safe in the event of a collision. Although they usually do, like anything else airbags can fail to operate as intended. At times, due to defective designs, automotive companies may issue an airbag recall. This happens when they fail to keep vehicle occupants safe. When passengers suffer an injury or death due to an airbag malfunction, they may be entitled to compensation.

Takata Recall

airbag recall
Airbags in general are not a dangerous. The Department of Transportation reports that, in the last 30 years, frontal airbags have saved more than 37,000 lives.                         (Photo Credit: Melissa Clark)

Airbag recalls are common. Recently, Honda, the Japanese automobile manufacturer, came clean. They revealed that they had knowledge of defective airbags produced by Takata, years before informing federal regulators and triggering a massive airbag recall.

The airbags in question have exploded during impacts and caused serious injuries and deaths. Takata is an automotive parts company that provides products such as airbags for major car manufacturers. Although Honda is believed to have been most impacted, the defective airbags plague more vehicles than Takata originally suggested in 2013.

In 2015, The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a list to the public of 14 other automakers impacted by the Takata airbag recall. That equals 28 million vehicles with unsafe airbags. Globally, 10 deaths (most in the United States) and more than 100 serious injuries have been linked to these faulty airbags. From burns to air bag chest injuries or death, trauma from airbags are a serious matter.

Recall History

Airbag recalls are nothing new. In 2014 Nissan recalled close to 1 million vehicles due to faulty airbags. Now, over one year later, federal regulators suggest that that they have not made the necessary changes. Many other airbag producers and automakers face legal liability when injuries and death are caused by airbags. In reference to the Takata recall, only about $7.5 million airbags have been repaired, the probability of future injuries remains high.

Airbag Recall Compensation

Replacing these airbags are estimated to cost up to $24 billion dollars. That does not include the coming legal obligations that Takata and automakers might face for medical liabilities. Airbags in general are not a dangerous. The Department of Transportation reports that, in the last 30 years, frontal airbags have saved more than 37,000 lives.  That does not undermine the thousands of individuals have sustained injuries in the last 10 years, some of which are ignored or misdiagnosed.Whether an injury was caused by the Takata airbag or any other legal action may be necessary. If you or a loved one have experience serious bodily injury or death, due to an airbag malfunction, you may be entitled to financial compensation.