Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

The European Medicines Agency said, “the unexpected presence of a pig virus in GlaxoSmithKline's Rotarix vaccine poses no threat and should continue to be used.” (London, AP, 5/21) The drug maker released a statement this week confirming a statement made in March that the vaccine, which is designed to protect babies, it still safe for use.

The statement in March was prompted by the Food and Drug Administration’s urging pediatritions to stop using the vaccine. However, the FDA cleared the vaccine for use earlier this month.

As a medical malpractice attorney, I am hopeful that the agencies in the U.S. and Europe have carefully examined the vaccine to ensure its safety.

New medical research suggests that a new frontier in substance abuse may be within our grasp. Researches say, a “better understanding of how addiction overlaps with other brain diseases is sparking a hunt to see if a treatment for one might also help another.” (L. Neergaard, AP Medical, 5/25).

It's "a different way of looking at mental illnesses, including substance abuse disorders," says National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Dr. Nora Volkow, who on Monday urged researchers at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting to get more creative in the quest for brain-changing therapies for addiction.

The idea behind the treatment is controlling one’s brain to overcome substance abuse. Although the treatment is in early stages of research, as a medical malpractice attorney, I am intrigued by this promising study.

After years of claiming otherwise, “the nation's largest pediatricians group is relaxing its stance against swimming lessons for children younger than 4.” (C. Johnson, AP Medical, Chicao 5/24). In the past, the American Academy of Pediatrics took issue with the fact that swimming lessons could give both parents and toddlers a false sense of security, but now the group says lessons are fine for children as young as 1.

However, the academy also emphasizes that parents who feel their children are not ready for swimming lessons should not enroll them. Moreover, parents should choose classes that “emphasize water safety and require a parent or other adult to be in the water with the child.”

The updated policy recommends additional safety precautions including “fences around all pools, even popular inflatable ones. Kids can drown by leaning over the soft sides and falling in. And the group warns that children can drown when their hair or hands get sucked into the drains of pools or spas without drain covers or proper filter-pump equipment.”

As a personal injury lawyer in Chicago, I join the academy in cautioning parents to vigilantly supervise young children swimming and encourage parents to take the necessary precautions to ensure their children are swimmingly in safe environments.

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday, that a Freshway Foods “is recalling lettuce sold in 23 states and the District of Columbia because of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 19 people, three of them with life-threatening symptoms.” (M. C. Jalonick, AP Wasington, 5/7).

Freshway Foods of Sidney, Ohio, “said it was recalling romaine lettuce sold under the Freshway and Imperial Sysco brands because of a possible link to the E. coli outbreak.” Although the source of the outbreak is unclear at this time, the FDA is concentrating its investigation on lettuce grown in Arizona.

The lettuce was sold in Alabama, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin and has a use by date of May 12.

Many are frustrated with the political roadblocks that reforming food standards had faced, as “the House passed a bill last year that would give the agency much more authority to police food production, but the Senate has not acted on it.”

As a products liability attorney, I am hopeful that Congress will act quickly to give the FDA greater policing power over food production as is necessary to ensure the food that is sold is safe.

According to a new study, “Pregnant women could -- and probably should -- consume 10 times more vitamin D than experts currently recommend.” (Denise Mann, 5/1, CNN).

This study interestingly contradicts medical advice that has persisted for decades. Doctors have cautioned pregnant women that consuming too much vitamin D could potentially cause birth defects. For example, “under current guidelines anything over 2,000 IU per day is still considered potentially unsafe for anyone, not just pregnant women.” However, the new study suggests that much Vitamin D is “not only safe during pregnancy, but doubling it may actually reduce the risk of complications.”

Of course, pregnant women should never change their vitamin intake without consulting their physicians. One potential shortcoming is that the study looked only at women in their second trimester and beyond, and since organs are formed in the first trimester, it is not clear if higher dosages of Vitamin D would be dangerous at earlier stages. Although this research is not conclusively established yet, new guidelines regarding Vitamin D intake during pregnancy are expected to be announced this summer. As a medical malpractice attorney, I am intrigued by the results of this study, but feel as though further study is likely warranted before any drastic changes to pregnancy guidelines are promulgated.

CNN reports, “A voluntary recall has been issued for more than 40 over-the-counter drugs for children, including Tylenol and Motrin, because they don't meet quality standards.” (AP Medical, 4/29). As a products liability lawyer, I am pleased to see that the recall was taken on a voluntary basis and am hopeful that all parents take necessary precautions.

The reason for the recall, according to McNeil Consumer Healthcare is, “some products in the recall may have a higher concentration of active ingredient than specified while other may have inactive ingredients that don’t meet testing requirements.” The recall is not being taken as a result of adverse medical effects. The company said these products should not be administered to children.

The affected brands include: Tylenol Infants' Drops, Children's Tylenol Suspensions, Children's Tylenol Plus Suspensions, Motrin Infant Drops, Children's Motrin Suspensions, Children's Zyrtec Liquids in Bottles and Children's Benadryl Allergy Liquids in Bottles. More information can be found here.