Injury Law Report

Doctors leaving sponges inside patients after surgery? Does this really happen? Yes, and unfortunately, is not as unusual as you think. Some studies suggest that about 1,500 people in U. S. medical facilities have objects accidentally left inside them after surgery. Others suggests it could be higher --- as 3000 to 5000 cases yearly. The most common object left behind? Sponges. Amounting to about 2/3 of the surgical objects left inside of patients, these sponges can lead to pain, infection, bowel obstructions, problems in healing, longer hospital stays, additional surgeries and, in rare cases, death.

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Given the present Salmonella outbreak, the CDC recommends a few simple precautions to be taken while preparing foods.

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Can Salmonella kill people who contract it? Yes, but severe illness is rare and death even more unusual.

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Salmonella food poisoning from raw tomatoes has spread to 16 states, causing U.S. health officials to speculate that the outbreak might be nationwide. Continue Reading Posted In Food Contamination Permalink 1 Comments

The risks associated with Trasylol --- kidney failure, serious heart problems and possibly death --- long ago could have been avoided if Bayer and the FDA would have heeded the warnings revealed in several studies. Why was Trasylol the drug of choice for controlling bleeding during surgery when cheaper alternatives were available? Recent studies state that the cost per dose of Trasylol is $1,300. The generic drug Amicar, which also limits bleeding in operations, is $11 per dose. The generic Cyklokapron, another option, is $44 per dose. According to the studies, neither of the generic drugs was linked to increased risk of kidney failure, heart attack or stroke. What is the reason for exposing the American public to increased risk at a high cost when cheaper and safer options are available?#

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If you had open heart surgery prior to November 2007, you may have received Trasylol without even knowing it. Most likely you received a drug to control bleeding during the operation. Your doctors made the decision to use Trasylol or a similar drug, and it’s not the type of decision about which you would have been consulted. So how can you find out if you or a loved one received the drug? The first place to check would be the medical records. Obtaining a copy of the medical records of the surgery generally is not difficult, but sometimes the copying charges can be a bit expensive (for example, $1.00 per page). Continue Reading Posted In Mass Torts Permalink 0 Comments

Trasylol is a drug that long ago should have been pulled from the market. The failure of Bayer, manufacturer of the drug, and the FDA to suspend its use probably has led to the death and serious injury of thousands of patients who were given this drug during surgery to control bleeding. 60 Minutes recently did a great story on how this drug ended the life of a man who should not have died so young. Posted In Mass Torts Permalink 0 Comments

If you have not read the most recent blogs of the Injury Law Report on this subject, here’s a brief summary:

Trasylol is a drug used to control bleeding and limit the need for blood transfusions in patients undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) surgery. Trasylol is administered intravenously after a patient is under anesthesia and not aware of receiving this drug. Several studies have linked Trasylol to a nearly doubling of the risk of kidney failure resulting in the need for dialysis. In September 2006, Dr. Dennis Mangano presented a study on the drug to the FDA concluding that Trasylol increased the risk of kidney failure, and the risk of death by about 50 percent for some patients. Bayer complained, and the FDA permitted the drug to remain on the market. While this was not the first study linking Trasylol to adverse consequences, it was one of the first that clearly gave the FDA significant data that Trasylol posed an unacceptable risk to patients.

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Unfortunately, we cannot depend upon the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) or the drug industry to keep us safe from dangerous drugs. In the case of Trasylol, a drug formerly used during surgery to control bleeding, both the FDA and Bayer, the manufacturer of the drug, knew or should have know that the drug posed a serious health risk for patients.

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