Defective Drugs and Medical Devices

On July 7, 2021, Baxter Healthcare had to recall one of its software programs due to a defect that can cause fatal injury or death. The product in question is the Dose IQ Safety Software, which is a standalone, computer-based software program that healthcare providers use to store dosing information for their patients. Some healthcare…

As the coronavirus pandemic continues into 2021, experts predict the spread of the virus will only slow once a vaccine is readily available and administered to the general population. As the vaccine rollout goes into effect throughout the United States, millions of citizens are in line for vaccination against the COVID-19 virus. The great majority…

What used to be routine but complicated medical tasks undertaken by human beings may soon be performed by moving, talking computerized devices. The future has been arriving in the medical field for some time but it seems that the machines are truly getting ready to take over, and that will create medical liability for a…

No matter how much or how little television you watch, it’s impossible to avoid viewing a commercial about a drug that has caused some type of serious disease. The latest news out of the pharmaceutical industry is the recall of ranitidine drugs, the best known of which is Zantac. The recall is just another in…

CNN reported on July 25, 2019, that Allergan “issued a worldwide recall of Biocell textured breast implants and tissue expanders that have been linked to a rare cancer. The move came after the US Food and Drug Administration requested the manufacturer voluntarily recall the products.” Allergan claimed the recall was in response to global information…

According to a new observational study published in the BMJ in the November 2018 issue, a class of type 2 diabetes medications called sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors has been associated with twice the risk of lower limb amputations compared with other type 2 diabetes medications. The BMJ study reports that SGLT2 inhibitors are associated with…

According to a recent study conducted at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology, women who undergo Cesarean sections have been routinely overprescribed opioid (narcotic) pain medications. The study looked at 179 patients who had undergone cesareans at VUMC over an eight-week period to examine opioid prescribing practices and consumption…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suggested that use of the product known as Limbrel may inflict a life-threatening injury to the liver in addition to promoting the development of pancreatitis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. In November 2017, the FDA issued a warning concerning Limbrel, which Primus Pharmaceuticals, the company that markets the product, designates…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking on medication errors by changing drug packaging and labeling. Medication errors are a massive problem in the healthcare systems of the United States. The Institute of Medicine reports that as many as 98,000 Americans die each year because of medical errors, and up to 7,000 of…

You have likely heard of, and may well have been a victim of, a cyber security breach where sensitive, personal information was hacked from the servers of a bank, a credit bureau or even a major health care insurer. Medical devices such as pacemakers and insulin pumps are now connected to wireless networks so that…