According to a recent report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), doctors and hospitals received even more money in 2018 from pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers than they did in 2017. These payments were for things like doctor speaking and consulting fees,…
Many patients have experienced serious complications after being implanted with hernia mesh devices made by Ethicon, Atrium, and C.R. Bard. These include infections, inflammation, migration, and adhesions. Correspondingly, the number of hernia mesh lawsuits continues to increase, with more than 1,00
In February 2019, the FDA warned that the gout medication Uloric (febuxostat), manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceuticals, created an increased risk of death from all causes. Takeda was required to place a high-level black box warning on the drug to warn patients and doctors about the…
For about 20 years, the FDA has allowed some medical device manufacturers to shield reports of problems with their devices from the public eye. This was done through the “alternative summary reporting (ASR)” program, which began in October 1997. Typically, companies must report adverse events…
On January 12, 2015, a Pennsylvania woman was allegedly walking her 70-pound dog, which was wearing a collar the woman had purchased on Amazon. Suddenly, the dog lunged, and the D-ring on the collar broke. The retractable leash recoiled back and hit the woman in…
The small lithium-ion batteries in e-cigarettes are sometimes vulnerable to overheating, after which they can explode and catch fire. Though most of these batteries work well, there may be more cases of malfunction than previously believed. When e-cigarettes overheat and catch fire, they often cause
After suffering losses in three key Roundup cancer lawsuits, manufacturer Bayer recently announced its plans to investigate an alternative to glyphosate, the main herbicide in Roundup. In a June 2019 statement, the company revealed that it would invest about 5 billion Euros “in additional methods…
Manufacturer Monsanto and parent company Bayer are currently facing thousands of lawsuits filed by plaintiffs who claim to have developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after using the herbicide Roundup for extended periods of time. Several studies have linked Roundup and its main ingredient glyphosate to n
Calling for an Uber or Lyft driver is becoming ever more popular around the U.S. It is convenient and easy, and many city dwellers are happy to have an alternative to the standard taxi. But, there may be a dark side to this booming industry…
On June 12, 2019, Ford Motor Company announced four safety recalls, three affecting vehicles in North America and one affecting those in Canada only. In total, the recalls impact more than a million vehicles. The largest recall affects more than 1.2 million Ford Explorer SUVs…
In May 2019, the FDA warned doctors and patients about potential problems linked to textured breast implants. Amy Abernethy, FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner, and Jeff Shuren, Director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, released a joint statement in which they acknowledged the
On April 16, 2019, the FDA ordered all manufacturers of transvaginal mesh devices to stop selling and distributing their products in the U.S. immediately. This was the culmination following a series of actions meant to protect women’s health and was made in response to growing…
