Legal News & Updates Blog

The new movie “Awake”, starring Hayden Christensen, portrays the horrifying and painful effects of anesthesia awareness, which occurs when a patient is awake during surgery, yet unable to tell the doctors or nurses about the pain they are experiencing. Unfortunately, for as many as 30,000 people each year, this traumatic… Read more.

Since early 2006, the lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. have been representing individuals diagnosed with diabetes, pancreatitis and other side effects of Seroquel. While the legal claims are moving through the court systems nationwide, new Seroquel lawsuits are still being reviewed and investigated. >>INFORMATION: Seroquel Lawsuits Seroquel, known generically… Read more.

A new technology is being used at some hospitals to help prevent surgical sponges from being forgotten during surgery. Medical malpractice studies have previously found that around 1,500 people have a surgical tool left in after surgery every year, and surgical sponges are one of the most common tools forgotten…. Read more.

The FDA has issued a second warning about problems associated with the fentanyl pain patch. The powerful drug, which has been on the market since 1990, continues to result in unnecessary overdoses and deaths, especially when it is used inappropriately. Despite an earlier warning issued over two years ago, fentanyl… Read more.

A statement released late yesterday confirms that 2,682 Medtronic defibrillator lawsuits will settle for $114.1 million. The Medtronic settlement involves cases filed by individuals as a result of a 2005 defibrillator recall. The medical device maker continues to face thousands of other potential lawsuits as a result of a new… Read more.

The FDA announced today a nationwide canned green bean recall as a result possible contamination with Clostridium botulinum, the bacteria which causes botulism. Over 6,000 pounds of green beans, which were sold in large institutional-sized 6 pound 5 ounce cans, could potentially cause the potentially life threatening form of food… Read more.

GlaxoSmithKline, Plc. has indicated that their attempts to obtain approval for their diabetes drug, Avandia, to be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease have been delayed. Concerns about Avandia heart attacks have caused many potential participants in their Alzheimer’s studies to drop out. The drug maker was hoping to gain approval… Read more.

Two weeks ago we wrote about hospital medication errors which cause serious injuries for thousands of Americans each year. We pointed to the recent overdose of actor Dennis Quaid’s newborn twins, who were given a dose of blood thinner by a Los Angeles hospital which was 1,000 times more than… Read more.

A new technique used by some hospitals in Great Britain may prove to be an important breakthrough in preventing brain damage which could result from a traumatic birth.  A brain chilling cap is used after some deliveries where the birth was delayed or the baby’s brain was deprived of oxygen.  The… Read more.

The December 2007 FDA Patient Safety News show contains a segment highlighting the Medtronic lead recall, which has impacted 235,000 people with one of the defective wires connecting their defibrillator to the heart.  The lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, are reviewing Medtronic lead recall lawsuits nationwide for any individuals who… Read more.