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Virginia Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Lawyers Serve Up Some Chicken Soup

Supreme Court rejects Wyeth claim

On March 4, 2009, the U. S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in the case of Wyeth v. Levine.  Diane  Levine, a bass player and composer of children in Vermont, went to a clinic for treatment of headache-induced nausea.  The staff at the clinic administered the antihistamine Phenergen, manufactured by Wyeth Pharmaceutical Company, by using an "IV push."  The drug was inadvertently injected into one of Ms. Levine's arteries.  She developed tissue deterioration and gangrene, and her arm was ultimately amputated.

 Mrs. Levine went to state court and sued Wyeth (it knew that the IV push created a risk of inadvertent arterial injection and gangrene), claiming that its warning was inadequate because it did not prohibit IV push delivery.  Wyeth defended on the basis that the warning was mandated by the FDA and that the case was preempted by federal law. 

 The jury awarded Ms. Levine $6.7 million, and Wyeth appealed. 

 In a 6 - 3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court brushed aside Wyeth's plea that it limit lawsuits against drug makers. 

 This is a huge victory for citizens who are injured by huge pharmaceutical companies who know of the dangerous drugs they are putting on the market and then try to hide behind FDA requirements. 

 You can read the entire opinion here.

Debt collectors at your door? Read this before you pay.

Big Pharma Giveaways to Doctors Ends

Have you ever looked around your doctor's office and seen all the things printed with names of pharmaceutical companies and their products?  That's about to stop.

As of Thursday, January 1, 2009, doctors will no longer receive free gifts from pharmaceutical companies.  For  years, big pharma has peppered doctors’ offices with free promotional items – pens, pads (including prescription pads), tongue depressors, mugs, soap dispensers, T-shirts, etc. – all of which, of course, are emblazoned with the name of the company’s latest high-profile drug. 

More and more, pharmaceutical companies have been the focus of criticism for such practices and arguably are taking the voluntary ban step as a way of blunting some of the criticism.  Here's an interesting article about the ban.  The many comments about the article express different points of view.

So, what’s wrong with promotional items?  Drug companies spend billions of dollars keeping their products in front of doctors to try to influence them to write prescriptions to us. How can patients – you and I – be sure that what we are being prescribed is necessary and appropriate for our medical condition?   As long as that is happening, we should be asking questions.

Notice this is a voluntary ban on free gifts (swag).  But, also note what is NOT included in the ban:  free lunches and dinners, payment for consultations and free drug samples.

Robbery Without a Gun

Ben Glass has written THE book for anyone who is thinking about making a claim against their disability insurance company. Ben's book reveals the  mistakes claimants and their doctors make, and it shows people how to fill out the forms. It also contains horror story after horror story of folks who made mistakes in their claims and whose claims were denied by the insurance company.

www.RobberyWithoutAGun.com

Wear Clean Underwear

Perhaps your mother told you to wear clean underwear when you went out because, horror of horrors, what if you were involved in an accident and your underwear was dirty!  I'm quite sure my mother never gave me this exact warning -- I think I made it up on my own -- but Alexis Martin Neely, a California wealth-protection lawyer -- has used that attention-grabbing statement as the title her new book.  It's for all parents who want to protect their children and is a must-read for parents everywhere who care about their children and what happens to their 'stuff' in the event the parents are in an accident.

We take great care buying the right car seat and planning for our children's future education.  This book will move you to action to take the important steps to protect their future in case you are not here.  Once you read Wear Clean Underwear, you will be moved to take action.

Insurance Companies - Tricks They Use to Keep from Covering Your Loss

Halloween Safety

Every year we see and hear warnings about child safety on Halloween, and every year we read stories about families whose Halloween ended tragically.  In our October newsletter we wrote about Halloween safety (and even wrapped the newsletter in a glow-in-the-dark Halloween bag just as a further reminder). 

Since Halloween is on Friday this year, the danger is even greater – children staying out later and more Halloween parties where alcohol is involved.  Mike Schafer wrote about children and Halloween safety in his blog and included many helpful tips:  http://www.mikeschaferlaw.com/blog/avoiding-the-halloween-car-accident.cfm

Have fun and be safe!

511 VA and (pound)77 – Help for Va Motorists

I don’t know who Dan and Traci are, but I found this useful information on their blog . 

Both 511 Virginia and #77 are Virginia Department of Transportation programs designed to make it easier for drivers to get around Northern Virginia.   www.511Virginia.org is a “one-stop resource for how to get moving in Virginia.”  Your choices are Select A Region, Road Conditions, Trip Planning, Traffic Cameras, Weather and more. 

#77 is an emergency number for roadside assistance on Virginia highways.  Dan and Traci’s auto mechanic told them about it. 

For anyone who drives Northern, these two bits of information can be important, convenient and perhaps even life saving.  Thanks to Dan and Traci for helping us all.

JAZZ 4 JUSTICE -- THIS FRIDAY

7th Annual fundraiser presented by the Fairfax Law Foundation and the GMU Jazz Ensemble, Friday, November 21, 2008, at 8:00 at the GMU Center for the Arts

Last year, over 1200 people attended JAZZ 4 JUSTICE, the annual fall fundraiser of the Fairfax Law Foundation.  We hope you will attend this premier community event and enjoy an evening of classic jazz.  The GMU Jazz Ensemble performs an exciting music program featuring talented young people and is fun for the whole family.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors.