Health

Quality healthcare is vital, but when mistakes happen, the consequences can be severe. Our health coverage examines how Virginia’s legal system addresses medical negligence, unsafe facilities, and patient harm. We also look at larger public health concerns and how policy decisions affect access to safe, reliable care.

FDA Announces Changes to Medical Device 501(k) Process

When a company develops a medical device, it must go through the 501(k) process for approval by the FDA.

By Eric Washburn

/ 7 Feb 2019

FDA Announces Changes to Medical Device 501(k) Process

Steps You Can Take When You Receive the Wrong Medication and Get Sicker

In April 2018, leading pharmacy trade magazine Drug Topics published a feature titled “Your 10 Worst Pharmacy Mistakes.” One pharmacists wrote about directing a parent to give a child a teaspoon of an opioid-infused cough suppressant instead of 1 milliliter. The mistake resulted in the…

By Richard Shapiro

/ 19 Jun 2018

Steps You Can Take When You Receive the Wrong Medication and Get Sicker

Makers of Xarelto Pay Physicians More Than Any Other Drug Company

Far too often, our Virginia personal injury law firm has brought our readers information about dangerous drugs which are on the market despite the serious side effects they can cause. One of those drugs we’ve written about is Xarelto, a drug which is prescribed to…

By Randy Appleton

/ 27 Feb 2017

FDA: Dozen U.S. Hospitals Fail to Report Medical Device Deaths and Injuries as Required

Federal law requires hospitals to report any serious injury which was potentially caused by a medical device to the manufacturer of that device within 10 days the injury occurred. Hospitals are also required to notify both the manufacturer and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)…

By Randy Appleton

/ 14 Dec 2016

Several States File Lawsuits Against J and J for Pelvic Mesh Implants

Johnson & Johnson for many years represented the risks of vaginal mesh implants for thousands of patients, according to the attorneys general of Washington state and California this week as they filed lawsuits against the healthcare giant. One of the patients named in one of…

By Richard Shapiro

/ 28 May 2016

Transvaginal Mesh Claims on the Rise

The number of transvaginal mesh lawsuits has now increased to more than 100,000 in the US. Women in the US who have had the procedure are continuing to have complications from these relatively new defective devices. What Is Transvaginal Mesh? TVM is an implant that…

By Randy Appleton

/ 29 Apr 2016

Watch Out for the Deadly Duodenoscope Superbug

Olympus, the manufacturer of the endoscope involved in two superbug deaths at UCLA, never had FDA approval to sell the device. The device is used in patients with gastrointestinal complaints. The FDA was unaware, until 2013, that Olympus started selling its TJF-Q180V duodenoscope (or ERCP…

By Richard Shapiro

/ 12 Oct 2015

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Surprises Drug Companies With Potentially Damaging Decision

Drug companies are likely unhappy and worried about future lawsuits after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a ruling late last month which said they could be sued for defectively designed drugs, something that has not previously been allowed. The 4-2 decision revolved around a case…

By Jim Lewis

/ 21 Feb 2014

Risks Associated with New Diabetes Medication May Outweigh Potential Benefits

The dangers of Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca diabetes medication may outweigh their benefits, according to U.S. regulators. The two pills, which represent a new class of diabetes medication, are targeted not only at diabetics, but also those that suffer from high blood pressure and excessive

By Patrick Austin

/ 30 Dec 2013

Electronic Cigarette Makers Feel Increasing Heat From Safety Officials

Public health officials in the nation’s three largest cities are currently weighing plans to ban the smoking of electronic cigarettes, known as “vaping.” The move is being advocated by some health officials who say the vapors emitted by e-cigarettes can cause harm to others and…

By Randy Appleton

/ 24 Dec 2013

Young Women Claim HPV Vaccine Left Them Infertile

Two young women from Wisconsin have filed a claim in federal court arguing that the HPV vaccines they received led to premature ovarian failure and left them unable to get pregnant. The two women, 19 and 20-year-old sisters, have sparked serious discussion about the potential…

By Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

/ 5 Dec 2013

USPlabs Supplement, OxyElite Pro, Responsible for Hepatitis Outbreaks

If you google OxyELITE Pro you’ll come up with a guarantee that the product is a pharmacist formulated “Super Thermogenic™” so laser targeted, its potency is unmatched. It sounds very impressive doesn’t it? It even goes on to say, “Unlike other fat burners on the…

By Jim Lewis

/ 2 Nov 2013