Use of gadolinium-based contrast agents in MRI’s causes nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF)

A magnetic resonance imaging scan, commonly called an MRI, gives doctors a detailed view of the soft tissues of the body and is especially helpful in neurological, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and oncological (cancer) imaging. A contrast agent, similar to a dye, is often used during MRI’s in order to enhance the quality of imaging. These contrast dyes may also be used during magnetic resonance angiography scans (MRA’s) and “CT” scans. One type of contrast agent which uses the toxic substance gadolinium has been linked to causing those with kidney problems to develop a disease called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), formerly called nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NFD). NSF/NFD is characterized by the formation of thick, hard skin on the extremities and the fibrosis of organs. The symptoms of this debilitating disease include:

• Burning, itching, swelling, or hardening of the skin
• Red or dark patches on the skin
• Yellow spots on the whites of the eyes
• Stiff joints and trouble moving the limbs
• Hypertension
• Deep bone pain in the hips and ribs
• Symmetrical skin lesions

According to the FDA, patients usually experience these symptoms between 2 days and 18 months after being exposed to gadolinium. In 2006, researchers found that NSF/NFD is directly caused by the use of gadolinium-based contrast agents during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) in those with kidney problems. Patients with properly functioning kidneys can quickly expel gadolinium from their bodies, but patients with kidney problems cannot and therefore the toxic substance remains in their bodies and causes harm. A recent study revealed that 2.4% of the time that a patient with advanced kidney disease was exposed to gadolinium they developed NSF/NFD. There are 5 gadolinium-based contrast agents approved for use in the U.S.:

1. Omniscan (gadodiamide)
2. MultiHance (gadobenate dimeglumine)
3. Magnevist (gadopentetate dimeglumine)
4. ProHance (gadoteridol)
5. OptiMARK (gadoversetamide)

Of these, the majority of all reported NSF/NFD cases involve Omniscan, with 5 out of 9 patients diagnosed with the disease having received an MRI involving Omniscan. There is no current cure for NSF/NFD but the most effective treatment option is often a kidney transplant. Many lawsuits have already been filed against GE Healthcare, the company who manufactures Omniscan, for failing to warn of the risk that the contrasts pose for patients with kidney problems. It is also crucial that doctors administering gadolinium-based contrast agents use the lowest dosage possible. Although no recall has been ordered and gadolinium-based contrast agents are still in use, the FDA has ordered that warnings be placed on these contrast agents in order to alert patients and healthcare professionals of the risks. If you or a loved one has developed NSF or NFD after having undergone an MRI or MRA involving a gadolinium-based contrast agent, you may be entitled to compensation. Please call us for a free initial consultation at (727)781-3433 or submit a simple case form.

Shoulder pain pumps and post-arthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (PAGCL)

The use of intra-articular shoulder pain pumps for pain management after arthroscopic surgery has been favored over oral painkillers because the medication is delivered immediately. These pain pumps involve the insertion of a catheter which emits local anesthesia directly into the surgical site and are often used for 2-3 days after surgery. However, the use of these pain pumps, such as the Stryker pain pump or the I-Flow On-Q pump, has now been linked to the development of a condition called post-arthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (PAGCL). This condition involves the deterioration of the cartilage in the shoulder joint resulting in the following symptoms:

• Shoulder pain and stiffness
• Clicking, popping, and grinding of the shoulder
• Shoulder weakness
• Decreased range of motion
• Shrunken shoulder joint (visible on X-ray)

These symptoms typically manifest within 3-12 months after surgery. Those diagnosed with PAGCL often report that the symptoms of this condition are worse than the symptoms that they originally sought surgery for. Many individuals require a joint replacement surgery to reduce the pain caused by the bone-to-bone contact in the shoulder that results from the loss of cartilage. Recent studies have established that there is a definite risk of developing PAGCL after using shoulder pain pumps. One study conducted by Dr. Charles Beck which was published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that 63% of subjects who used a pain pump after surgery developed PAGCL. This recent medical information suggests that shoulder pain pumps should be avoided, especially those administering bupivacaine and epinephrine. Despite studies conducted in 2006 and 2007, the manufacturers of shoulder pain pumps (including Stryker, DJO Inc., I-Flow and BREG Inc.) failed to warn about the risk of developing PAGCL after using their pain pumps. Pain pumps continue to be used and have no warning against pointing the catheter into the joint space, although this is what research cites as the cause of developing PAGCL. PAGCL is a serious condition which can result in the need for shoulder replacement surgery, life-long pain, and/or lost mobility. If you or a loved one has sustained injury after using an intra-articular shoulder pain pump, you may be entitled to compensation from the manufacturers who failed to warn consumers and the medical community about the risk of developing PAGCL. Please call us at (727)781-3433 for a free initial consultation or submit a simple case form.

Mesothelioma and wrongful death

Since the early 1940’s, the collective group of minerals known as asbestos has been used extensively in the construction, shipbuilding and heating industries. Asbestos can be found in homes built between 1930 and 1970, paint compounds used prior to 1977, some vinyl floor tiles, cement pipes and roofing shingles. However, it is not until more recently that people who were previously exposed to asbestos (the Mesothelioma and Asbestos Disease Society estimates that 27,000,000 Americans have been exposed) have suffered from diseases that directly resulted from their exposure to this substance. The most deadly of these asbestos-related diseases is mesothelioma, a form of cancer found in the lining of the chest, abdomen and heart. The National Institute of Cancer lists working with asbestos as the #1 risk factor for mesothelioma and reports that there are 2,000 new cases of mesothelioma diagnosed in the U.S. each year. Mesothelioma is almost always fatal, with the survival rate averaging 11 months. The Health and Safety Executive reported 2,037 deaths caused by mesothelioma in the year 2005 alone. Common symptoms of mesothelioma include:

• Fluid build-up around the chest-lining or abdomen
• Coughing
• Anemia
• Tumors
• Nausea
• Fever
• Sweating
• Shortness of breath

Those who have been exposed to high levels of asbestos are most at risk for mesothelioma. This includes construction workers, plumbers, carpenters, drywall removers, firefighters, electricians and those living within close proximity to industries that make or use asbestos products. Additionally, paraoccupational, or family, exposure occurs when someone is exposed to asbestos fibers brought home on the clothes, skin or hair of a family member who comes into frequent contact with asbestos. Death caused by mesothelioma often warrants a wrongful death case because the manufacturers producing products containing asbestos and the companies requiring employees to work in conditions involving asbestos have known about the dangers of this substance for years. If you have sustained any asbestos-related diseases (including mesothelioma and asbestosis) or a loved one has died due to an asbestos-related disease caused by the negligence of another, please call us for a free initial consultation at (727)781-3433 or submit a simple case form.

Chantix’s suicide side-effects

Chantix, a medication manufactured by Pfizer and first introduced in 2006, once offered smokers hope that they could successfully quit smoking and prolong their lives. The once-daily pill is part of a 12-week program that has been hailed as the most successful smoking cessation drug available thus far and works because the active ingredient, varenicline tartrate, attaches to nicotine receptors in the brain and thereby blocks nicotine from reaching them. As a result, the pleasurable feelings formerly felt after lighting up disappear and the urge to smoke soon follows. However, Chantix has now been cited by the FDA for the serious side effects associated with its use. As of February of this year, the FDA registered 491 cases involving suicide attempts associated with Chantix, out of which 37 people committed suicide while taking Chantix. Recent class-action and individual lawsuits are blaming the manufacturer for failing to list these potentially fatal side effects on the warning label. Normal side effects while taking Chantix include nausea, dizziness, headache, loss of taste, changes in dreaming, constipation and gas. However, some of the serious side effects to look out for include:

• Depression
• Suicidal thoughts
• Aggression
• Hallucinations
• Anxiety
• Abusive behavior

If you or a loved one has experienced physical injury or death as a result of a suicide or suicide attempt while taking the drug Chantix or after having recently taken Chantix, compensation may be available through an individual Chantix lawsuit. Please call us at the Law Offices of Hensley|Chalfant for a free initial consultation at (727)781-3433 or submit a simple case form.

Baxter Heparin recall

The medication Heparin is a blood thinner, or anti-coagulant, which is used during surgery and dialysis to prevent blood clots. However, this drug has recently been linked to up to 81 deaths and 800 adverse reactions as reported by the Federal Drug Administration. The company Baxter International, who manufactures about 50% of the Heparin vials used in the U.S., recalled 9 lots of its 1000/unit mL multi-dose Heparin vials in January. The FDA began receiving reports of allergy-type reactions linked to Baxter Heparin, most of which occurred in dialysis patients. The side effects experienced in some patients who received this contaminated Heparin included:

• Abdominal pain
• Burning sensation
• Chest pain
• Decreased blood pressure
• Diarrhea
• Difficulty swallowing
• Dizziness
• Dyspnea (shortness of breath)
• Erythema (redness of the skin)
• Headache
• Loss of consciousness
• Nausea

A Chinese factory owned by Scientific Protein Laboratories LLC that supplied the active ingredient for Heparin to Baxter International had never been inspected by the FDA. Later investigations by the FDA found that the factory had substituted raw Heparin for a cheaper alternative- oversulfated chondroitin sulphate. Baxter International and Scientific Protein Laboratories LLC are liable for the injuries and deaths caused by their failure to adequately regulate their suppliers and their sacrifice of safety for economic gain, respectively. In addition, the long-term damage to those who survived the contaminated Heparin is not yet known but may include permanent brain damage caused by the deprivation of oxygen to the brain. Heparin has been cited for other problems including faulty packaging which allows hospitals to easily mistake low dose vials with high dose vials, resulting in the overdoses of at least 6 newborns and 2 other patients on this drug since 2001. At the Law Offices of Hensley|Chalfant, we have experience handling wrongful death, personal injury and medical malpractice cases involving improper, wrong or over-medication. If you or a loved one has sustained injuries or died while taking the drug Baxter Heparin, you may be eligible to receive compensation. Please call us for a free initial consultation at (727)781-3433 or submit a simple case form.

Parents sue New Mexico county in shooting death of daughter

Paul and Debra Wayne, parents of a 20-year-old woman shot to death by county deputies in New Mexico two years ago, are suing two deputies, Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White and county commissioners. The Waynes claim their daughter, who was suicidal, was wrongfully shot to death. They claim the deputies could have used Tazers or some other non-lethal means. The young woman, Brittany Wayne, was shot to death in her bedroom about 20 seconds after deputies arrived at her home. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, and demands that the department change the way it trains deputies for dealing with people with mental health problems.
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Suit filed in death of young man with cystic fibrosis

The family of a young South Dakota man has brought a wrongful death suit against a local doctor who they claim negligently prescribed. Dr. Jeffrey Buckau is the osteopath named in the suit, brought by the family of Andrew Scott Vermillion. The suit claims Bucklau prescribed methadone, hydromorphone, Suboxone and alprazolam to Vermillion, even though he suffered from cystic fibrosis. The suit claims those drugs can cause respiratory failure in cystic fibrosis patients. Dr. Bucklau’s medical license is already suspended because of allegations that he over-prescribed addictive drugs to patients.

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Parents sue college for wrongful death

The parents of Gary DeVercelly Jr. have sued Rider University, alleging the school failed to adequately supervise a fraternity house where excessive drinking took place during an alleged hazing incident in which the student died. Gary and Julie DeVercelly filed a wrongful death suit in the case. Their son died after a party at the Phi Kappa Tau house where pledges allegedly drank large amounts of alcohol. DeVercelly, a freshman, was pronounced dead at a Trenton, N.J. hospital two days after the party. He had a blood alcohol content of .426, more than five times New Jersey’s limit for drunk driving.

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Woman sues ex-husband’s brother

A $50,000 wrongful death suit has been filed by the former wife of a Pekin, Ill. man who was allegedly murdered by his brother. Robert A. Harmon of Chillicothe, Ill. is accused of murdering his brother, Jason Harmon. Police say Robert told them he and his brother began fighting. After hitting Jason in the jaw and knocking him down, Robert told police he left the house with his girlfriend. But a Tazewell County Coroner’s report says Jason died of asphyxiation. Angela Eldridge, Jason’s ex-wife, filed the civil lawsuit after she was appointed special administrator of Jason’s estate. She said, “I filed the lawsuit for my kids. I think they deserve something.” Eldridge was married to Jason for seven years before they divorced in 2001.
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Wrongful death suit filed against girl’s classmate

The mother of a high school sophomore in New Castle, Penn. has filed a wrongful death suit against a classmate who may have given the girl drugs. Veronica Million-Passerrello, administratrix of the estate of her 16-year-old daughter, Erica Jo Million, filed the lawsuit, which asks for a jury trial and damages in excess of $50,000. The lawsuit names her daughter’s classmate, Josh Stewart, and the boy’s father, Jason A. Stewart, as defendants. Erica Jo was found unconscious during one of her classes at New Castle Senior-Junior High School. She was taken to Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital, where she died. Police believe she died of an overdose of the prescription pain medication oxyCodone.
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Man sues doctor following wife’s death

A man from Downs on the Severn, Md. Has filed a wrongful death suit against a doctor who he claimed failed to diagnose his wife’s uterine and ovarian cancer. Charles Marcantonio sued Dr. Melissa Moen of Women’s OB/GYN in Parole, Md. The suit claims Dr. Moen read Sherri Schaefer’s sonogram in September 2000 but found nothing. Seven months later the woman was diagnosed with uterine and ovarian cancer, and she died months later. The suit claims the delay in making the diagnosis amounted to malpractice.
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Woman seeks damages in murder of mother, grandmother

Melissa Barry of Cortland, Ohio has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the three people convicted of murdering her mother and grandmother in 2005. Barry’s suit names Jermaine McKinney, Jazzmine McIver and Kenyatta J. Riley Hines. Barry administers the estates of her mother, Rebecca Cliburn, and her grandmother, Wanda Rollyson. The two were murdered in Rollyson’s Newton Bailey Road home two years ago. McKinney, was convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole eligibility for killing the two women. McIver was sentenced to five years, while Hines was given a six-year sentence. The suit seeks more than $25,000 in compensatory damages from each defendant as well as punitive damages
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Doctors, others named in Illinois wrongful death suit

Dr. Jack Levine is facing a civil suit in his home state of West Virginia. But now, he must also respond to a wrongful death suit in the state of Illinois. Dr. Levine is one of four defendents named in the wrongful death suit – the others are Shelby Memorial Hospital, Shelby Area Ambulance Service and Dr. Arnold V. Agapito. The suit was filed by Peggy Shasteen, acting as special administrix of the estate of her mother, Dona Ogilvie. Shasteen is seeking $300,000 in damages from all the defendants except Levine. Damages against him may be named later. Shasteen alleges in her suit that Mrs. Oglivie died following a colonoscopy that Levine performed on her Oct. 25, 2005. Her bowel was allegedly perforated during that procedure. The suit claims that defendant Agapito scheduled her for the colonoscopy rather than for gall bladder surgery, and was slow to notify Levine of her post-operative pain. In the earlier suit against Levine, Ralph Barcus of Gallipolis, Ohio alleged Levine inserted a catheter into his chest in November 1999 and then removed it in May 2001. Barcus claims Levine failed to remove the entire catheter.
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Two men found liable in three-decades-old murder

A jury in Cincinnati, Ohio has found Thomas Watson and Michael Milligan liable in the murder of a woman more than 30 years ago. Cheryl Fossyl was murdered and beheaded in 1977. Since evidence was lacking for a criminal trial, her family filed a wrongful death suit against the two suspects, who police believe killed the woman to keep her quiet about local drug dealings. An earlier trial ended in a mistrial.

Tennessee police officer denies conspiracy in partner’s death

A deputy county sheriff in Tennessee testified in a wrongful death suit recently that he did not conspire to kill his partner. Marty Carson shot and killed his partner, Hubert Yancey, during a policed raid in 2003. During the wrongful death trial, Carson denied soliciting another man, Richard Babb, to kill Yancey. Carson testified he and Yancey were friends and that he had no reason to want him dead. Yancey’s widow, Lori Ann Yancey, brought the suit, and is seeking $10 million in damages. The suit alleges that Carson was involved in drugs, and that Yancey had discovered that. The case is being tried in federal court in Knoxville.

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Family sues for wrongful death of elderly New York woman

The family of an 85-year-old Waterford, N.Y. woman is suing the nursing home where she lived for wrongful death. Helen Casale died in 2006. She lived at Maplewood Manor, a 277-bed nursing home in the town of Ballston Spa. According to the lawsuit, the elderly woman suffered dehydration, sepsis, ulcers and an infection in August of 2006 and was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died. A trial date will be set later in the case.

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Wrongful death suit filed in California shooting

The mother and child of an Oxnard, Calif. man have filed suit against Ventura County, claiming that a Ventura County deputy sheriff wrongfully shot and killed Adrian Canley last year. According to the suit, Senior Deputy Sheriff Shane Matthews shot Canley negligently and without good cause, justification or provocation. According to police reports, Deputy Matthews went to the Crestwood Chalets apartment complex to investigate an unrelated incident. An agitated Canley allegedly approached Matthews and tried to strike him with his pickup truck. Matthews allegedly warned Canley several times and then fired several shots at Canley’s truck, striking the man. After he was shot, police said they found a loaded pistol in his waistband. An investigation by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office into the shooting is nearing completion.

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Pawtucket, R.I. denies claim in death of woman

City Council members in Pawtucket, R.I. have rejected a claim filed by the family of a woman who bled to death waiting for a Fire Department ambulance. The council’s Committee on Claims and Pending Lawsuits voted to deny the claim. The family of the woman, Maria G. Carvalho, must now file a wrongful death lawsuit if it hopes to recover any damages from the city. Mrs. Carvalho bled to death in September. City dispatchers failed to send an ambulance to her home even though the family and neighbors had called 911 three times. The 53-year-old Mrs. Carvalho was being treated for kidney problems, and she bled to death through a shunt that had been inserted in her arm so she could receive dialysis treatments. Meanwhile, the city has fired two dispatchers who were on duty when the incident happened.

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Portland, Ore. settles wrongful death suit

The City of Portland, Ore. will pay $500,000 to the family of a man who was shot to death by police in 2005. The family of Raymond Gwerder had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city after Gwerder was shot to death at a Portland apartment complex. The 30-year-old Gwerder was shot in the back by a police sniper while he talked via cell phone with a police negotiator. The sniper said he shot Gwerder because he feared Gwerder might shoot through the wall of a home next door. A grand jury ruled that Besner did not break any laws.

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Settlement in shooting death of Florida teen still unclear

It’s still not clear who, if anyone, will collect damages in the death of a 16-year-old Delray Beach, Fla. boy who was fatally shot by a Delray Beach police officer more than two years ago. In September, Delray Beach commissioners voted in favor of a $1 million payment in the wrongful death case of Jerrod Miller. But the settlement was not approved by Miller’s father, who was a co-plaintiff in the case. Lawyers for the family had sought $7.5 million. Legal actions in the case now center around which family members have standing, and which can collect the money. Delray Beach police officer Darren Cogoni shot Jerrod Miller in the head as Miller drove a car along a breezeway at the Delray Full Service Center during a dance. Cogoni was fired but was never charged with a crime.

Wrongful death suit filed in death of college football player

University of Kentucky football player Trent DiGiuro died in July 1994 when he was shot in the head while standing on the front porch of his Kentucky home. Now, his family has filed a wrongful death suit against the man convicted of killing him. Shane Ragland pleaded guilty last August to a charge of second-degree manslaughter in connection with DiGiuro’s death. Ragland is disputing the wrongful death suit in spite of his guilty plea on the criminal charge. Ragland was convicted of the murder in 2002 and received a sentence of 30 years. The conviction was overturned in 2004 by the state Supreme Court, which ruled that prosecutors’ closing arguments were inaccurate. Two years later, the conviction was overturned again, this time because of questions about the reliability of tests that had been conducted on bullets. In exchange for the second-degree murder guilty plea, the state recommended and an eight-year sentence, with credit given for four-and-a-half years already served. He completed the sentence in August.

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Suit filed in death of pedestrian

A resident of Muncie, Ind. has been named the defendant in a wrongful death suit filed in connection with the death of a pedestrian. Police say Gary Smith, 46, was the driver of a van that struck James Burton, 37, of Parker City last August. Burton was reportedly walking along the side of a road in the early morning hours when he was struck. The driver allegedly did not stop, and Burton died several hours after the incident. Police say that forensic evidence found on the van matched the victim. Burton’s family has filed a wrongful death suit against Smith, and also against the Parker City Saloon, where smith was allegedly drinking in the hours before the accident. Burton left four small children.

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$12.5 million judgment in death of bicyclist

A dentist who lived in Thousand Oaks, Calif. was killed when he was struck by a motorist as he rode his bicycle near his home. Glenn Garvin, 49, died Sept. 16, 2006. Later, his family filed a wrongful death suit against Norma Seigel, 82, of Thousand Oaks, who was driving the car that struck Garvin. Now, a jury has awarded $12.5 million to Garvin’s family – one of the highest such awards ever returned in California’s Ventura County. Eight days before the accident, Seigel’s eye doctor informed her that she had cataracts in both eyes. Garvin was an endodontist. His 2006 earnings totaled $746,633.

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Lawyer asks that wrongful death suit be dismissed

The attorney for an 18-year-old Chapel Hill, N.C. man who is accused of fatally shooting his parents wants a wrongful death suit againsat the man to be dismissed. The lawyer claims that Adam Sapikowski was not sane in 2005 when Jim and Alison Sapikowski were shot to death, and he produced psychiatric reports in court that said the young man claimed his parents had abused him. The wrongful death suit was filed by the executor of James and Alison Sapikowski’s estate, and by trustees of several family trust funds. The criminal case has not yet gone to trial – that may happen early in 2008.