O'Connor Law

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Cardiac Risk - AVANDIA

Avandia (generic rosiglitazone) was approved by the FDA in 1999 to treat type 2 diabetes. On May 23, 2007, an article was published in the New England Journal of Medicine stating that Avandia significantly increases the risk of heart attack in diabetes patients. Though the drug has not been recalled to date, the FDA did issue a public safety alert advising those taking the drug to consult their doctors regarding the serious cardiovascular risks associated with taking the drug.

These potential life-threatening effects of Avandia are not new, however. In 2000, Dr. John B. Buse, Chief of Endocrinology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, warned the FDA that Avandia showed "a worrisome trend in cardiovascular death and severe adverse events" among patients taking the drug.

Both the FDA and the maker of Avandia (GlaxoSmithKline) have known about the risks associated with the drug for seven years but have not adequately warned prescribing doctors and consumers about the deadly effects of the drug.

In 2006, worldwide sales of Avandia exceeded $3 billion, making it one of GlaxoSmithKline's best-selling drugs ever. Clearly, the maker of Avandia will lose quite a bit of money each year if and when Avandia is recalled.

For more information, contact the Law Offices of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates at 800-518-4529, or visit our website to fill out one of the contact forms (www.oconnorlaw.com). The initial consultation is free, and the firm works on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we recover money for you.

posted by Michael J. O'Connor & Associates at 12:40 PM

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Two New Resources

Make sure to check out the following two websites for additional information regarding Workers' Compensation:

Workers' Compensation: Surveillance and Privacy

Understanding Your Pre-Litigation Rights Under the Workers' Compensation Act

For more information, contact the Law Offices of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates at 800-518-4529, or visit our website to fill out one of the contact forms (www.oconnorlaw.com). The initial consultation is free and the firm works on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we recover money for you.

posted by Michael J. O'Connor & Associates at 10:17 AM

Dangerous Drugs

News of product recalls or the latest findings on pharmaceutical drugs commonly fill today's headlines. Vioxx, Fosamax, Trasylol, Ketek, Tequin, Advair, Bextra, Zyprexa and Serevent are just a few drugs that have been in the recent spotlight.

Visit our Dangerous Drugs page at www.oconnorlaw.com/dangerous for additional information on the latest drug recalls or contact the Law Offices of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates at 800-518-4529. The initial consultation is free and the firm works on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we recover money for you.

posted by Michael J. O'Connor & Associates at 8:30 AM

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Text Messaging While Driving

The New York Times carried a story on July 14, 2007 of 5 recent high school graduates killed in a car accident most likely caused because the 17 year old driver was actively text messaging while she was driving. You can read the full article by clicking on the link below:

Text Messages Sent on Phone of Driver Before Wreck

At Michael J. O'Connor & Associates we see the tragic results of decisions like this everyday. A study released in April 2006 found that almost 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds of the event. More and more often that inattention can be attributed to cell phones.

In the United States over 236 million people subscribed to such wireless communication devices as cell phones as of May 2007. Increased reliance on cell phones has led to a rise in the number of people who use the devices while driving. There are two dangers associated with driving and cell-phone use, including text messaging. First drivers must take their eyes off the road while dialing. Second, people can become so absorbed in their conversations that their ability to concentrate on the act of driving is severely impaired, jeopardizing the safety of vehicle occupants and pedestrians.

A January 2007 survey by the insurer Nationwide found that 19 percent of motorists say they text message while driving. Overall, 73 percent of us talk on cell phones while driving. Another study of drivers in Perth, Australia, found that motorists who use cell phones while driving are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.

We encourage our clients to print out this email as well as the New York Times article above and give it to those nearest and dearest to you. It may save them from harm by increasing their awareness of the potentially tragic consequences sometimes associated with cell phone use while driving a motor vehicle.

If you or someone you know is grievously injured through no fault of their own, we hope that you will call or refer our firm so that we can help ensure that your legal rights are adequately protected. For more information, contact the Law Offices of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates at 800-518-4529, or visit our website to fill out one of the contact forms (www.oconnorlaw.com). The initial consultation is free and the firm works on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we recover money for you.

posted by Michael J. O'Connor & Associates at 1:08 PM

Counterfeit Drugs Sold on Internet

FDA Warns Consumers about Counterfeit Drugs Sold on Internet

In the past few years, more and more people have been buying prescription drugs over the Internet; however, the FDA is cautioning consumers about the dangers associated with buying drugs online. The FDA alert is based on information it received indicating that 24 apparently related Web sites may be distributing counterfeit prescription drugs.

Xenical, an FDA-approved drug prescribed to help obese individuals lose weight, is one of the drugs that consumers thought they were buying but actually got a counterfeit version instead. Three different consumers in three states in recent months bought what they thought was Xenical, but instead, they received a counterfeit version in the mail.

The FDA investigation is on-going, but at this point, it appears that the Web sites selling the counterfeit Xenical are operated from outside the United States. We have a partial list here of the Web sites being investigated, but a full list of the 24 sites that may be involved in the distribution of counterfeit drugs is available on the FDA web page www.fda.gov/buyonline/:

AllPills.net
Pharmacy-4U.net
DirectMedsMail.com
Brandpills.com
Emediline.com
RX-ed.com
RXePharm.com
PillsPharm.com

For more information, contact the Law Offices of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates at 800-518-4529, or visit our website to fill out one of the contact forms (www.oconnorlaw.com). The initial consultation is free and the firm works on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we recover money for you.

posted by Michael J. O'Connor & Associates at 1:07 PM

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