A New Jersey judge has dismissed the first two of more than 150 lawsuits alleging that hormone replacement therapy drugs caused cancer. Superior Court Judge Jamie Happas found that the plaintiffs did not present sufficient evidence that Wyeth Inc. failed to submit accurate medical evidence during the Food and Drug Administration approval process. The ruling casts doubt on the future of 166 remaining claims filed under the New Jersey Products Liability Act and New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. Mary Pat Gallagher, Law.com 07/15/2008

Wyeth agreed to an undisclosed settlement this week to resolve claims that the menopause drugs Prempro and Premarin were to blame for breast cancer in two Nevada women. In their lawsuit, the two women accused Wyeth of failing to warn them about cancer risks associated with the drugs. Wyeth is facing 5,000 to 10,000 lawsuits stemming from hormone replacement drugs still available to the public. Sophia Pearson, Bloomberg 07/16/2008

A suit was filed in Orange County Superior Court against Botox maker Allergan Inc., alleging deaths and injuries were caused by the drug. The Botox users and their relatives claim they were not warned of the risks associated with the drug. The deaths cited in the suit all came from off-label uses, but many of the injuries stem from approved uses. An Allergan spokesperson did not address the specific case, but noted that many patients who receive Botox have chronic health issues that put them at risk of other diseases. Lisa Girion, LA Times 07/10/2008

An eye surgeon has agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who claims he was left legally blind after undergoing laser eye surgery. James Dell’Ermo filed the lawsuit against Joseph Dello Russo after having the surgery to correct nearsightedness. An attorney for Dello Russo said they decided to settle the case in order to avoid the uncertainties of a trial. AP, Newsday 07/08/2008

A doctor who has been accused of gross negligence in the deaths of at least two children he helped deliver remains on the job with the nation’s largest HMO. As far back as 2002, colleagues complained to officials at Kaiser Permanente that Hamid Safari posed potential risks to patients under his care. Kaiser only restricted Safari’s duties earlier this year. California regulators are seeking to revoke or suspend Safari’s license and have fined Kaiser $3 million for its handling of physician errors throughout the state. Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein, LA Times 10/16/2007
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Basic Errors Hurt Patients “Basic errors made by doctors, including tests ordered too late or not at all and failure to create follow-up plans, played a role in nearly 60 percent of cases in which patients were allegedly hurt by missed or delayed diagnoses, a study found. Researchers in the study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine yesterday, reviewed 307 closed medical malpractice claims, 181 of which allegedly involved diagnostic errors that harmed patients.

Most of those cases involved various types of cancer. While researchers acknowledged that most claims involved several factors, they said major ones included mistakes by doctors: failure to order appropriate diagnostic tests (100 cases); failure to create a proper follow-up plan (81); failure to obtain an adequate history or perform an adequate physical examination (76); and incorrect interpretation of tests (67).

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/10/03/basic_errors_hurt_patients/

Medical malpractice can arise in two general situations:

• Either the failure to do something which a medical professional or hospital of ordinary learning, judgment, or skill in your community, or a similar community, would do; or
• The doing of something which a medical professional or hospital of ordinary learning, judgment, or skill in your community, or a similar community, would not do under the same or similar circumstances.

Provide your lawyer with all the facts in the case and all the relevant documents in our possession, including the notes you made after each visit to or telephone conversation with your doctor. Answer all of your lawyer’s questions honestly and to the best of your ability. Do not slant or embellish the facts.