South Carolina Lawyer Blog

Stryker Orthopedics recently announced a recall for two of its hip replacement products, sold under the names Rejuvenate Modular and ABG II. Both Stryker’s Rejuvenate and ABG II models used so-called ‘modular neck’ technology, and the company says that the products are being recalled because of possible risks linked to the modular-neck stems.

Stryker announced its Rejuvenate and ABG II recalls in the midst of a growing amount of concern among researchers, doctors and patients about the safety of hip replacement technology. At the end of June, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gathered experts and doctors for a panel focused on the safety and use of hip replacement technology.

The FDA panel mostly looked at the safety of so-called metal-on-metal hip joints, but the experts also looked at the numbers of safety concerns and complaints about other types of hip replacements as well. According to the FDA, they’ve had reports of nearly 40,000 ‘adverse reactions’ from hip joint replacements between 1992 and 2011. These ‘adverse reactions’ can include a whole range of health problems, injuries and other negative impacts that are the result of hip replacement products.

The modular-neck models affected by the Stryker recalls aren’t metal-on-metal joints, but they do have metal parts. This means that Stryker’s Rejuvenate Modular and ABG II joints may be vulnerable to kinds of wear and tear that also affect metal-on-metal joints, as a recent article from Orthopedics This Week explains. One of the biggest concerns is the risk of ‘fretting’ and corrosion problems with the modular neck, which can release very tiny metal particles from the artificial joint into the patient’s body. This can lead to pain, swelling and other problems in the hip area, according to Stryker.

The Stryker website has no estimates about the potential number of people these recalls will affect. It also has no figures about the numbers of Rejuvenate Modular or ABG II joints that they’ve sold.

According to the FDA page about the Rejuvenate Modular and ABG II recalls, patients who are concerned that they may have one of the recalled modular neck joints can contact Stryker over the phone or through their website. However, as the Stryker recall website points out, patients who’ve had hip replacement surgery have to check their own medical records to find out if they have one of the affected modular neck models.

Stryker says that it has no way of confirming whether a patient has a recalled hip replacement because of patient privacy rules. Only surgeons can confirm what kind of joint a patient has, if a patient doesn’t already know. It’s also a good idea to contact your surgeon, especially if you or a loved one has trouble understanding medical jargon or you can’t find the information in your own records.

About The Louthian Law Firm
The Louthian Law Firm, P.A., of Columbia, S.C., has been obtaining fair compensation for personal injury victims since 1959. The firm was founded by Herbert Louthian, who has more than 50 years of trial experience and is licensed to practice in all courts in South Carolina. The Louthian Law Firm focuses on personal injury cases involving medical malpractice; car, truck and motorcycle accidents; and other serious and catastrophic injuries throughout South Carolina. For a free, confidential case evaluation, contact the firm by phone at 888-662-9820 or through its online form.

Drug company giant GlaxoSmithKline made U.S. history recently in an agreement with U.S. authorities requiring the company to pay a $3 billion healthcare fraud settlement. The GlaxoSmithKline deal with the U.S. Department of Justice also has the drug maker pleading guilty to three misdemeanor criminal counts.

The criminal counts are linked to three different GlaxoSmithKline drugs: Paxil, Wellbutrin and Avandia.

News about the settlement says that $1 billion will go toward settling criminal complaints leveled against the company, and the other $2 billion will go toward settling civil fines.

A large part of the settlement focuses on attempts by GlaxoSmithKline to get doctors to prescribe certain of its drugs in ‘off-label’ uses. As the American Cancer Society summarizes, an off-label drug use is when “a drug is used in a way that is different from...the FDA-approved drug label.”

According to the FDA, the decision to use drugs in an off-label prescription is left up to doctors in most cases. However, while it may be legal for doctors to prescribe drugs for off-label uses, it’s not legal for drug companies to advertise or promote those off-label uses.

According to a Reuters article about the settlement, the Department of Justice says that’s exactly what GlaxoSmithKline did. Some of the off-label uses that U.S. officials say GlaxoSmithKline promoted include prescribing the antidepressant drug Paxil to treat patients under the age of 18 and prescribing the antidepressant drug Wellbutrin for weight loss.

According to the investigation, which the Department of Justice spearheaded, GlaxoSmithKline encouraged doctors to prescribe these drugs off-label to their patients by treating doctors to spa programs, special dinners and other activities.

A different sort of controversy surrounds the charges relating to the diabetes drug Avandia. In the case of Avandia, prosecutors say, GlaxoSmithKline didn’t give important safety information to the Food and Drug Administration. The data, the Department of Justice says, has led to so-called ‘black box’ warnings on Avandia, advising doctors and patients about the increased risk of heart attack and heart failure linked to the drug.

As Reuters coverage of the drug settlements points out, the size of the $3 billion settlement and extent of the criminal charges is a new level of victory for U.S. drug and health regulators. As James Cole, with the U.S. Justice Department said, the GlaxoSmithKline medical fraud settlement is, “a clear warning to any company that chooses to break the law.”

About The Louthian Law Firm
The Louthian Law Firm, P.A., of Columbia, S.C., has been obtaining fair compensation for personal injury victims since 1959. The firm was founded by Herbert Louthian, who has more than 50 years of trial experience and is licensed to practice in all courts in South Carolina. The Louthian Law Firm focuses on personal injury cases involving medical malpractice; car, truck and motorcycle accidents; and other serious and catastrophic injuries throughout South Carolina. For a free, confidential case evaluation, contact the firm by phone at 888-662-9820 or through its online form.

It seems medical research linking diabetes drug Actos to bladder cancer just keeps piling up. A new study from Canada, recently published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found that the common diabetes treatment may be involved in raising bladder cancer risks for users by as much as 22 percent.

The authors of the new study say that they still aren’t sure how or why pioglitazone, the drug in Actos, is linked with the higher cancer risk. Senior study author Jeffrey A. Johnson says that recent studies of the drug’s effects in animals show that Actos may cause crystals to form, which might then irritate the bladder and trigger the increased cancer risk.

Current studies show that, overall, people with type 2 diabetes have about a 40 percent higher risk of developing bladder cancer than other people. Doctors think this may be because people with this type of diabetes have increased levels of insulin, a chemical produced by the body to help digest food, in their bodies.

According to the National Institutes of Health, diabetes affects 25.8 million people in the U.S., or just over 8 percent of people. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes in the U.S., and diabetes is responsible for $116 billion in medical costs in the U.S. each year.

We’ve written before about the growing evidence linking Actos to cancer dangers. The drug in Actos is also a part of diabetes medications sold under the names Actoplus Met, Actoplus Met XR, and Duetact. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 2.3 million people filled prescriptions for pioglitazone drugs in the first 10 months of 2010.

The findings from the Canadian study reinforce findings by an earlier French study and a five-year study by the FDA, which all found links between the Actos drug and higher risks of bladder cancer. The FDA has said that it will continue to monitor data from patients prescribed diabetes drugs with pioglitazone in them.

According to the FDA, people who’ve taken pioglitazone drugs—whether under the name Actos, or in another form like Duetact—should be aware of the increased bladder cancer risk, as well as potential symptoms of bladder cancer. Symptoms includepain in the lower back and abdomen, the appearance of blood or a red color in urine, pain while urinating, or an urgent need to urinate. Experts still don’t agree about how best to safeguard patients—France suspended the drug, and Germany recommended that doctors not prescribe it for any new diabetes cases. In the U.S., some doctors say they have stopped prescribing the drug. Others say they look at a patient’s overall background and cancer risk, and may still prescribe the drug if the risk of cancer seems low enough. For the millions of American patients taking the pioglitazone drug, however, this new study may just show that the risk is never low enough.

About The Louthian Law Firm

The Louthian Law Firm, P.A., of Columbia, S.C., has been obtaining fair compensation for personal injury victims since 1959. The firm was founded by Herbert Louthian, who has more than 50 years of trial experience and is licensed to practice in all courts in South Carolina. The Louthian Law Firm focuses on personal injury cases involving medical malpractice; car, truck and motorcycle accidents; and other serious and catastrophic injuries throughout South Carolina. For a free, confidential case evaluation, contact the firm by phone at 888-662-9820 or through its online form.

July may be the deadliest month for ATV riders, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). This year, the agency says, it’s already heard of almost 160 deaths related to ATV accidents around the country. Nearly 30 of those deaths were children under the age of 16. Experts say that recent data not only shows more children and adults getting seriously injured or killed in ATV accidents, but accidents also increase around the summer months. For example, between 2004 and 2006, just the months of March and April saw the number of children under 16 killed in ATV accidents rise over 65 percent. The same time period saw adult deaths rise 85 percent.

This year, the CPSC says, at least 18 ATV-related deaths happened over the Memorial Day weekend holiday. Experts from the CPSC say that recent years show that these higher rates of death and injury usually peak in July.

All-terrain vehicles, or ATVs, are powerful autos that can go well over 60 miles per hour and can often weigh more than 700 pounds. Unfortunately, too many parents and riders assume that the vehicles are more like toys than serious machines. Because of this, many riders don’t treat their ATVs with the proper caution and ride in unfamiliar terrain, at high speeds, and without proper safety equipment. The CPSC says that many riders are unaware that ATVs actually pose a very high rollover risk, particularly in rough terrain. This high rollover risk means that all ATV riders should undergo training and be aware of just when and where it is safe to ride.

The CPSC recommends that all ATV riders follow these safety tips:

• All ATV drivers, both adults and children, should take a hands-on ATV safety course from a certified instructor.


• Do not allow children younger than 16 years old to drive or ride adult ATVs. Children younger than 16 years old do not have the skills to safely drive adult ATVs. More than 90 percent of all injuries to children happen because of this.


• Likewise, children younger than 6 should never be on an ATV—either as a driver or as a passenger.


• Always wear protective gear—especially a helmet—when riding an ATV.


• Do not ride on a single-rider ATV as a passenger or carry a passenger if you drive one.


• Never allow more people on any ATV than the vehicle was designed to carry.


• Do not drive ATVs on paved roads. ATVs have solid rear axles, which make turning on paved surfaces difficult and dangerous. It also increases the risk of the ATV overturning or hitting another object, such as a tree or car.

For more information about ATV safety and regulations, visit the CPSC’s ATV safety website.

About The Louthian Law Firm

The Louthian Law Firm, P.A., of Columbia, S.C., has been obtaining fair compensation for personal injury victims since 1959. The firm was founded by Herbert Louthian, who has more than 50 years of trial experience and is licensed to practice in all courts in South Carolina. The Louthian Law Firm focuses on personal injury cases involving medical malpractice; car, truck and motorcycle accidents; and other serious and catastrophic injuries throughout South Carolina. For a free, confidential case evaluation, contact the firm by phone at 888-662-9820 or through its online form.

According to information gathered by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), in recent years South Carolina has proved itself to be the deadliest state for accidents involving drunk drivers in the United States.

Just before the 4th of July holidays (one of the deadliest times of year for all drivers), Congress approved changes to Federal transportation policies under a series of programs and laws called the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP-21 bill. Though MADD and some other safety advocates say the changes are aimed squarely at eliminating drunk driving, others say the law goes too far.

The biggest changes in law involve technologies that may help prevent drunk drivers from being able to operate vehicles in the first place. The MAP-21 bill includes a grant program meant to encourage states to adopt laws allowing the use of ignition interlock devices in the vehicles of those convicted of drunk driving. When a driver has an ignition interlock device in his or her vehicle, the unit makes a driver test their blood alcohol content (BAC) before they can start the vehicle—much like a Breathalyzer. If a driver’s BAC is above the .08 legal limit, the vehicle will not start.

Currently, 16 states have laws in place that allow courts to require interlocks in the vehicles of people found guilty of drunk driving, including South Carolina. However, under the MAP-21 bill, the grant programs wouldn’t just encourage states without interlock device laws to adopt them. The MAP-21 bill would also encourage states with existing laws to expand the use of the devices from just the most serious repeat offenders to anyone found guilty of drunk driving.

The most controversial part of the bill, however, is aimed at all autos manufactured after 2015. Under the MAP-21 legislation, all 2015 and newer vehicles will have event data recorders (EDRs) built into them. We’ve already written about the safety concerns that some groups have raised about EDRs, which center around issues of privacy. Some consumer advocates worry that the data in EDRs really isn’t as secure as it should be. However, under MAP-21 legislation, EDRs aren’t the end of the story. As the MADD release about the laws shows, MAP-21 also allows auto makers to begin installing so-called Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety, or DADSS technology. This technology, like an interlock device, is able to test the BAC of a driver, and will stop a vehicle from starting if a driver is above the legal limit. Unlike the interlock devices, however, the DADSS technology would target all drivers—not just those found guilty of drunk driving.

Some groups, like MADD, say that DADSS is a huge step forward in the fight against deadly drunk driving across the US. Others say that the technology is a violation of privacy and that drivers should be able to decide whether or not to use a DADSS system. Still others say that DADSS systems should be used like interlock devices, and only become activated after a driver has been found guilty of drunk driving. The only thing that seems certain right now is that drunk driving is a problem that endangers all drivers and families on US roads, and the battle over DADSS, EDRs and interlock devices is far from over.

About The Louthian Law Firm

The Louthian Law Firm, P.A., of Columbia, S.C., has been obtaining fair compensation for personal injury victims since 1959. The firm was founded by Herbert Louthian, who has more than 50 years of trial experience and is licensed to practice in all courts in South Carolina. The Louthian Law Firm focuses on personal injury cases involving medical malpractice; car, truck and motorcycle accidents; and other serious and catastrophic injuries throughout South Carolina. For a free, confidential case evaluation, contact the firm by phone at (866) 410-5656 or through its online form.

A recent study by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that more than half of all serious injuries involving fireworks happen in the 30 days surrounding the July 4th holidays—which means that the danger of serious burns and injuries to children and other family members exists long after the red, white and blue are boxed up and put away.

The study found that most of the injuries happened when people used fireworks improperly or when fireworks lit up or exploded by surprise. Last year, the CPSC heard reports of four people dying because of the use of professional-grade or homemade fireworks. The agency also had reports of nearly 10,000 others with injuries caused by fireworks.

As CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said, “For thousands of consumers, last year's 4th of July celebration ended with a visit to the emergency room.”

According to the CPSC research, the most common injuries are burns—with over half of all burns affecting the hands and head. The study found that almost 200 people go to the emergency room each day in the month surrounding the 4th of July because of firework injuries or accidents. Many of the most severe injuries are the result of people using illegal or homemade fireworks—which are often very powerful or behave in unpredictable ways. Illegal fireworks aren’t just a danger to the people and families who purchase or light them, since the resulting explosions or misfires can injure neighbors and neighborhood properties.

The CPSC recommends that people think carefully before deciding to purchase personal fireworks. For people who do choose to buy their own fireworks, the CPSC recommends always purchasing from a legally authorized dealer in your own state—regulations about fireworks can change from state to state. For people who choose to buy personal fireworks, safety advocates recommend following these steps to help keep everyone safe:

• Make sure fireworks are legal in your area before buying or using them.


• Don’t allow young children to play with or ignite fireworks, including sparklers. Sparklers burn at temperatures of about 2,000 degrees. This is hot enough to melt some metals.


• Always have an adult closely supervise older children who are allowed to handle fireworks and sparklers.


• Avoid buying fireworks that are packaged in brown paper. This is often a sign fireworks were made for professional displays. They could be dangerous to consumers.


• Never place any part of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse.


• Back up to a safe distance immediately after lighting fireworks.


• Keep a bucket of water or a garden hose close by, in case of fire or other mishap.


• Never try to re-light or handle malfunctioning fireworks. Soak them with water and throw them away.


• Never point or throw fireworks at another person.


• Light fireworks one at a time, and move back quickly.


• Never carry fireworks in a pocket or shoot them off in metal or glass containers.


• After fireworks stop burning, put plenty of water from a bucket or hose on the device before throwing it away, in order to prevent a trash fire.

If you or someone you care about has been injured by a defective product in South Carolina, you have the right to ask the manufacturer for money to cover your medical bills, property damage, pain and suffering and any permanent disability or loss. In order to protect that right, you should speak with the product injuries attorneys at the Louthian Law Firm as soon as possible. We help injured South Carolinians seek justice.

For a free consultation, call us today toll free at 888-926-0051 or locally at 803-454-1200. You can also fill out our confidential online case evaluation form.