According to a company-sponsored study people who take Meridia have a slightly higher risk of a nonfatal heart attack or stroke. However, this increased risk has only been seen in patients that have some form of heart disease. Therefore, the company is intent on keeping the drug on the market but restricting it to patients that do not have any known heart problems.

The strategy was not accepted in Europe and the diet pill has been banned there. If the editors at The New England Journal of Medicine have their way, it will also be banned in the US. They contend that the risk far outweighs any benefit. Furthermore, they question if there is any real benefit at all by noting that in most instances the weight loss evidenced by patients on the drug, is generally no more than 9 pounds, or less than 5% of the body weight.

Why would a company accept such a risk by keeping the drug on the market? We don’t purport to know that, however we do know that in the pharmaceutical industry, obesity is known as the “trillion dollar disease” and that is the estimated amount of profit that could be made by a manufacturer that is able to produce a drug that is both safe and effective in treating obesity.

So far, no company has successfully done so. Currently the only other FDA approved drug for long term treatment of obesity is Xenical. However, there are two other drugs currently awaiting FDA approval. They are Contrave from Orexigen Therapeutics Inc and Lorcaserin from Arena Pharmaceuticals.

Considering the financial potential for a successful obesity drug, it is no surprise that Abbott, a big pharma company, is fighting for the right to keep Meridia on the market. As defective drug attorneys it is also no surprise to us that a big pharma company is willing to accept a very significant level of risk when the financial potential is so strong.

References:

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1003114

http://www.realdietmeds.com/blog/

http://www.healthnews.com/nutrition-diet/weight-loss/weight-loss-drug-meridia-comes-under-fireagain-4442.html

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20100901/weight-loss-pill-meridia-ups-heart-attack-stroke

Records show that the vehicle has an excellent safety record. However, there have been 44 Grand Cherokee crashes and 55 deaths since 1992 where fire was listed as the most harmful factor. Of those figures, 10 of the crashes and 13 of the deaths occurred in rear end crashes according to the federal safety agency.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Center for Auto Safety, a safety research group, petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to start an investigation. According to the group, “the vehicle’s plastic fuel tank behind the rear axle and below the rear bumper makes it especially vulnerable to rupturing or leaking and causing fires in rear-impact collisions.” ABC owned station WTVD in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina first brought attention to the alleged problem when they told the story of a 49-year-old mother, Susan Kline, who died in a fiery accident in 2007. Police reports show that the woman was on a New Jersey highway and had slowed down to avoid a car that was backing up after having missed an exit. She was subsequently rear-ended and her 1996 Grand Cherokee burst into flames.

Not that long ago, Toyota was under investigation. So often, the automakers and other big businesses shield their cost cutting practices and less than stellar safety records by creating slick advertisements and marketing programs to tout their products and services. In many cases, once these corporate entities come under scrutiny, evidence surfaces showing monetary reasons that influenced decisions to choose cost cutting over safety. Hopefully, that will not be at the root of this case. But it seems to happen frequently enough to cause the public to question whether or not money was a factor. BP Oil is certainly perpetuating that line of thinking.

A spokesman for Chrysler says that the company is fully cooperating with safety officials and that the Grand Cherokee “meets or exceeds federal safety standards.” Safety officials are still working towards determining whether or not to issue a recall. Some of these recalls help avert potentially dangerous situations that can cause both serious injury and death.

Bicycling is certainly a greener way to travel, but it does come with risks. One of those risks is cars with whom bicyclists must share the road.

Unfortunately, a Houston auto accident claimed the life of a bicyclist and led to charges being filed against the driver of the vehicle that struck him, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The Houston auto accident occurred on Southwest Freeway when a 19-year-old, who is being charged with reckless driving, struck a 35-year-old man on a bicycle. The driver crossed multiple lanes of traffic to take an exit when he lost control of his vehicle after hitting a curb, the bicyclist, and a light pole.

The man died as a result of the Houston auto accident.

Read more.

Have you ever been involved in a Houston auto accident? Did you suffer Houston auto accident injuries?

Dwayne Stidman is undoubtedly facing one of the toughest days of his life today as his beloved son is laid to rest. On Tuesday, he purchased the Harley his son had always wanted and plans to have another marine ride it in the funeral procession today. Dwayne will be riding his own Honda Gold Wing where the urn will be carried inside of a velvet-lined trunk. He commented that “we have a place of honor for him to ride, so we’ll go for one last motorcycle ride together.”

Following the eulogies, Dwayne plans to take the urn with him on a last fishing trip, something that he and his son enjoyed together many times over the years. It is there that Dwayne plans to say his last goodbyes to his son.

Much to his credit Dwayne, who is also a former marine, plans to embrace a new mission to help change state law to provide stiffer sentences to drunk drivers. The man that hit his son was released from jail the afternoon of the day of the accident.

Dwayne has asked that everyone wear red today in honor of his son. He thinks it would be a fitting way to say goodbye by honoring him with a sea of red.

We want to express our heartfelt condolences to young David’s family and friends. You will be putting to rest a local hero today and our thoughts and prayers go out to you.

We always hear that hindsight is 20/20. Unfortunately, that saying can be applied to many safety hazards we face every day.

The possible Houston workers’ compensation case in which a fire fighter in training lost his life is no exception.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the accident that could lead to a Houston workers’ compensation case occurred when a 26-year-old firefighter in training died after a 4.4 mile run in April 2009.

Investigators now say the incident and a possible Houston workers’ compensation case could have been avoided if there had been water available during the run or an ice water immersion facility to lower his body temperature.

The worker died of a heat stroke in May 2009. The investigation into the Houston workers’ death revealed many deficiencies in the Houston Fire Department’s training program.

Read more.

Have you been ever been injured on the job?

According to Gregg, the big difference is that a civil claim is brought by a private citizen or individual against another person or corporation that has caused the death of a loved one.  On the other hand a criminal wrongful death case is what we think of as a murder case where the state tries to put a person in jail for killing someone.

Residents are alarmed after Houston fires have killed three residents in the same apartment complex, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The Houston fires occurred in Park Houston Apartments where three people have died as the result of the blazes.

One Houston fire death was a 65-year-old woman. The other Houston fire victims were a 47-year-old woman and a 16-year-old, both of whom were disabled.

Residents are concerned that there are no alternative exits for the apartment so in the event of a Houston fire, residents may be stuck.

Read more.

Do you have an alternative Houston fire escape in your home?

Motorcycle accidents have the potential to alter lives forever. Not only the lives of those involved in the accident are affected; their families suffer too when loved ones are injured or lost.

A motorcyclist involved in a Houston motorcycle accident has died, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The Houston motorcycle accident occurred on Castle Cove Road when the man was driving at a high rate of speed, he lost control of the vehicle, and the motorcyclist died of injuries suffered in the Houston motorcycle accident.

The Houston motorcycle accident victim’s name has not been released.

Read more.

Do you think speed is to blame for this Houston motorcycle accident?

Have you been involved in a Texas motorcycle accident? Did you suffer Houston motorcycle accident injuries as a result?

Too often lives are lost or drastically altered by the involvement of alcohol in Houston auto accidents.

Unfortunately, authorities are afraid that may be the case in a Houston auto accident that occurred recently, according to The Houston Chronicle. Three females died as a result of a Houston auto accident in which alcohol may have played a part.

The Houston auto accident occurred when a driver went the wrong way on U.S. 59, hitting another vehicle head-on. Three females died at the scene of the Houston auto accident.

Authorities say alcohol may have played a part in the Houston auto accident.

Read more.

Have you ever suffered Houston auto accident injuries? Was alcohol involved?

Sometimes those who most often render aid to citizens need aid themselves. That is what happened in a Houston motorcycle accident that occurred during a funeral procession, according to The Houston Chronicle.

The Houston motorcycle accident occurred when the deputy driving the motorcycle was escorting a funeral procession on Katy Freeway.

The driver of a car in the funeral procession slammed on his brakes, rotated 90 degrees, and caused the deputy’s motorcycle to hit it. The Houston auto accident caused the deputy to be thrown from the motorcycle.

Despite being ejected from the motorcycle during the Houston motorcycle accident, the deputy is in stable condition and should recover.

Read more

Have you ever been involved in a Houston motorcycle accident? Did you suffer Houston motorcycle accident injuries?