According to reports, more than 3,000 lawsuits have been filed against Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Plaintiffs believe that the company knew that a diabetes drug called Actos -- a product that Takeda manufactures -- could increase the risk of a patient getting bladder cancer. Due to this, many people have filed product liability claims.
Drug manufacturer may have known about risks, suits say
Pradaxa suits allege internal bleeding, increased risks
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is tasked with ensuring the safety of products that are distributed for consumption to Americans in Illinois and beyond. But when the FDA does not have proper information, its determination on a given product can be incorrect and thus potentially dangerous. This may be what is happening in a current product liability case involving the drug Pradaxa.
Effexor at center of several heart defect suits
It seems that the manufacturer of Effexor is being hit with lawsuits over the product. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals was notified of the first product liability claim against it for Effexor in February 2012. Since then, several other liability suits have been filed against the company. Most have been due to complications that arose when women took the drug during their pregnancies.
Documents reveal important evidence in hip replacement suits
Thousands of suits have been filed against DePuy Orthopedics and Johnson & Johnson, the medical device manufacturer's parent company. According to plaintiffs, the suits were filed because the companies failed to provide information regarding alleged design flaws to consumers and patients that had the companies' hip implants installed. The defective products were reportedly failing at a rate of 12 to 13 percent within five years of implantation.
Study says generic prescription labels have different safety info
Many patients in Illinois do not think twice about what medicines they have been prescribed. Most rely on their physicians to consider the dangers of mixing prescriptions, weighing the side effects of each drug against the others to make sure there are no conflicts that could result in physical or mental consequences. But how is a doctor supposed to do that when, according to a recently published study, generic prescriptions are often labeled differently than their brand name counterparts? If any patients have issues with this, it could potentially result in a product liability suit.
Zoloft liability case set to move forward
Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1991, Zoloft has become a household name in Illinois and elsewhere. The prescription drug is used to treat disorders related to anxiety, panic and obsessive-compulsive tendencies in addition to the primary ailment it targets: major depression. Pfizer Inc. markets the antidepressant and earlier this year, some consumers of the drug alleged that it caused their children to be born with birth defects.
Four Loko at the center of several suits
Lawsuits against the manufacturers of Four Loko have appeared in Illinois, Wisconsin and Virginia, many associated with the same case. The reason for the involvement of several different states is due to details from the case and the locations of the owning and manufacturing companies. According to a product liability suit filed against City Brewing in Wisconsin, the labeling for the beverage was inadequate because it did not inform consumers of the inherent risks associated with consumption of the drink which once was a mixture of alcohol and caffeine.
Bayer birth control may cause more than blood clots
Many people in the Chicago area have heard about the complications that are reportedly being caused by Yaz, an oral contraceptive manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Bayer. According to reports, these complications have included pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, blood clots and stroke. In some cases, these conditions have resulted in fatal consequences.
Delaying Illinois and other state recalls costs Volvo $1.5 million
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration fined Volvo for allowing 32,000 potentially-defective vehicles to remain on highways longer than necessary. The car maker allegedly violated federal regulations that demand timely product recalls on vehicles in Illinois and around the country.
Fumes from deployed airbag killed motorist
Defects or malfunctions in vehicles can cause serious injuries or even death for motorists and their passengers. In Illinois and elsewhere, this has frequently resulted in a product liability lawsuit. In one case, a 59-year-old driver seemed to have escaped from a six-car pileup relatively uninjured, only to tragically die much later from deadly fumes he breathed in from his air bag when it properly deployed to protect him during the collision.
