Pennsylvania Injury Lawyer Blog

While the United States Army doesn’t make its own laws, it does have the authority to regulate much of what happens on Army bases. Until recently, DMAA containing supplements such as Jack3d were sold at stores on Army bases. However, after two recent deaths of Army soldiers who had DMAA in their systems, the sale of Jack3d and similar supplements has been halted on Army bases and the Army has ordered Jack3d pulled from shelves on base
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The U.S. Army is currently conducting a safety review at the completion of which it plans to announce whether Jack3d, OxyElite Pro and other similar supplements will once again be allowed to be sold on Army bases. For now, the supplements are still available to consumers in the United States at stores located off of Army bases.

For those still wondering is Jack3d illegal for military use the answer is that “illegal” may be the wrong term, but the Army is concerned about the safety of the supplement and is urging soldiers to be wary of DMAA supplements until a full safety review has been completed.

Once again there’s bad news for people with DePuy hip implants.

According to a recent article, internal email between the FDA and DePuy Orthopaedics, the maker of hip implant knew that the medical device was not going to be approved by the FDA because of the demand for revision surgery caused by early failure problems.

So the hip implant device that was rejected by the FDA was only sold overseas, but its companion version that was recalled around the same time, the ASR Hip Resurfacing System, was implanted in 30,000 patients in the United States and 93,000 worldwide. The DePuy rejected hip device was also a type of resurfacing which is an alternative to standard surgery. The company started selling the implants abroad around 2003 but because resurfacing was a new procedure, the FDA required DePuy to run clinical trials before selling the device in the United States.

In order to win FDA approval for a medical device, the hip implant must show that it’s reasonably safe and effective and at least as effective as, or not inferior to a traditional hip implant.

Continue reading " Hip Implants: Duped by DePuy? " »

When the FDA issues a warning, such as it did in June 2011 for the diabetes drug Actos, patients and their families often have lots of questions. In this post, we’ll answer three common questions about Actos and bladder cancer to provide you with some information that you can speak about with your doctor when discussing your diabetes treatment plan.

Question 1: When Did Actos Come on the Market? Actos came on the U.S. market in 1999. While other countries have taken Actos off the market for safety concerns, Actos remains on the market in the United States as of February 2012.

Question 2: Is Actos Safe? The FDA has warned patients and doctors that the use of Actos for more than one year, particularly in patients who have had or currently have bladder cancer, may be dangerous. Specifically, the prolonged use of Actos for these patients may increase the risk of developing bladder cancer.

Question 3: Does Actos cause cancer? While the FDA has not yet determined that Actos causes cancer, it has unequivocally said that Actos can raise the risk of developing bladder cancer for some patients.

We hope this information is useful to you as you and your doctor create a plan to manage your diabetes and other healthcare needs.

There are many potential side effects of transvaginal mesh surgery. While painful sexual intercourse is not life threatening, it can certainly affect a person’s quality of life and is thus an important side effect to be aware of if you are considering transvaginal mesh surgery or if you have already had vaginal mesh surgery.

Vaginal meshes may cause painful sexual intercourse for a woman and her partner. Many patients, and their partners, want to know why. How does transvaginal mesh cause painful intercourse and is it fixable? Transvaginal mesh may cause painful intercourse when the mesh erodes through the skin, or is exposed in the vaginal wall. Often, the problem of painful sex will need to be resolved through further surgery to fix the eroded mesh.

Painful sex after transvaginal mesh surgery is an important symptom to report to your doctor as it may be a sign that the mesh has eroded through the vaginal wall. While it may not be the most comfortable topic to discuss with your physician, it

Topamax (generic topiramate) is an anti-seizure medication that is also used to prevent migraine headaches. Off-label, Topamax is prescribed to treat mood instability, weight loss, Parkinson’s, stroke, and psychiatric disorders. Off-label means when a prescription medicine is used to treat a disease or condition for which the drug has not been approved by the FDA. While the FDA regulates how a medication can be advertised or promoted by the manufacturer, these regulations do not restrict a doctor's ability to prescribe the medication for different conditions, in different doses, or for different lengths of time.

Topamax when taken during the first trimester of pregnancy may cause birth defects such as oral clefts.

Some women taking Topamax for seizures and preventing migraine headaches also tout that they have lost weight while on the drug. Weight loss is a side effect of Topamax. Some people are thrilled and others concerned. What is concerning is that taking Topamax while pregnant (when women don’t even know they’re pregnant yet) has devastating side effects on the unborn fetus.

Why would any doctor prescribe Topamax for weight loss?

Continue reading " Topamax used for weight loss - Is it worth the risk? " »

Topamax (generic topiramate) is an anti-seizure medication that is also used to prevent migraine headaches. Off-label, Topamax is prescribed to treat mood instability, weight loss, Parkinson’s, stroke, and psychiatric disorders. Off-label means when a prescription medicine is used to treat a disease or condition for which the drug has not been approved by the FDA. While the FDA regulates how a medication can be advertised or promoted by the manufacturer, these regulations do not restrict a doctor's ability to prescribe the medication for different conditions, in different doses, or for different lengths of time.

Topamax when taken during the first trimester of pregnancy may cause birth defects such as oral clefts.

Some women taking Topamax for seizures and preventing migraine headaches also tout that they have lost weight while on the drug. Weight loss is a side effect of Topamax. Some people are thrilled and others concerned. What is concerning is that taking Topamax while pregnant (when women don’t even know they’re pregnant yet) has devastating side effects on the unborn fetus.

Why would any doctor prescribe Topamax for weight loss?

Continue reading " Topamax used for weight loss - Is it worth the risk? " »

Transporting lumber is essential for the lumber and construction industries and for the employees and customers who depend on those industries. However, the transportation of lumber via lumber trucks can be dangerous and precautions should be taken by trucking companies and drivers to prevent lumber truck fatalities.

3 Causes of Lumber Truck Fatalities

There are many potential causes of lumber truck fatalities just as there are many potential causes of deaths in the broader trucking industry. However, motorists who share the road with lumber trucks should be aware of:

• Lumber truck deaths caused by shifting loads. A shifting load may cause the lumber truck to become unbalanced and more likely to roll over causing potential danger both for the driver and the vehicles around the truck.


• Lumber truck deaths caused by break failures. Brake failures may prevent the lumber truck driver from stopping safely and avoiding a collision.


• Lumber truck deaths caused by tired or distracted drivers. Lumber trucks may take longer to stop than passenger cars. A fatigued or distracted driver may lose critical seconds in stopping a vehicle and avoiding a fatal crash.

It is important to know common causes of lumber truck crashes before an accident so that potential injuries and deaths can be prevented. After an accident, it is important to understand the cause of your accident because it might be relevant to your recovery. An experienced lumber truck accident lawyer can help you determine the cause of your crash and fight for the recovery you deserve.

You’ve seen the commercials. You are eager to try the once a month medication to treat your osteoporosis and you are ready to ask your doctor for a prescription. However, before you pop that pill in your mouth, it is important to understand the possible side effects of bisphosphonate drugs such as Boniva.

Boniva Bisphosphonate Risks

Bisphosponate osteoporosis drugs pose certain risks and no exception is made for Boniva. New risks recognized by the FDA and included in the warnings for Boniva include:

• Femur Fractures. An atypical fracture of the femur, or thigh, bone can create significant pain and problems with the hip and mobility.
• Osteonecrosis of the Jaw (ONJ). ONJ is a deterioration of the jaw bone that is sometimes called “dead jaw.” ONJ can create significant problems with eating, speaking, infection, dental problems and other complications that greatly affect a person’s health and quality of life.

Boniva risks, such as those described above, can best be explained to you by your doctor. However, if you have already been hurt by Boniva then you may have a legal right to recovery.

Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer of women? In the United States, one in four women die of heart disease, while one in 30 dies from breast cancer.

This year wear your heart on your sleeve and ask everyone you know to wear a red dress, red tie, or red shirt. The power color red promotes and supports women’s heart health.

Heart disease is forever. Once you have heart disease, it’s not going away. Having heart disease is not an automatic death sentence as there are risk factors and there are some things you can do right now to minimize those risk factors.

Some of the risk factors are:

• High blood pressure
• High blood cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Smoking
• Being overweight
• Being physically inactive
• Having a family history of early heart disease
• Age (55 or older for women)

You cannot change your family history nor can you change your age but you can quit smoking, begin an exercise program, lose weight, take medication or meditation to lower your blood pressure and ask your doctor how to lower your blood cholesterol.

Continue reading " Heart Disease & Women - National Wear Red Day® " »