Blog Home

Phoenix Personal Injury Accident Attorney Steve Leshner Listed in Super Lawyers in 2013
Posted by: Stephen Leshner
May 13, 2013
Topic: PHOENIX PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY STEVE LESHNER IS NAMED A ARIZONA "SUPER LAWYER"

Stephen I. Leshner, a Phoenix plaintiffs personal injury, accident and medical malpractice attorney has been named to the Arizona Super Lawyerslist as one of the top attorneys in Arizona for 2013.  This is the sixth consecutive year Steve has been so honored.  No more than 5 percent of the lawyers in Arizona are selected by Super Lawyers.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.  The annual selections are made using a rigorous multi-phased process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice areas.

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers magazines in leading city and regional magazines across the country.  Super Lawyers magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law.  For more information about Super Lawyers, go to superlawyers.com.

Permalink

Zoloft and Greenstone Linked to Birth Defects
Posted by: Stephen Leshner
March 28, 2013
Topic: PRODUCT LIABILITY

Mothers prescribed the antidepressant prescription drug Zoloft early in their pregnancy (first trimester) are at risk for having babies with major birth defects, including:

 1.      cardiac defects such as atrial or septal heart defects (holes in the heart), malformations, and obstructions;

2.      cleft lip;

3.      cleft palate;

4.      gastrointestinal malformations;

5.      genital malformations;

6.      omphalocele (an abdominal wall defect at the base of the umbilical cord which can result in the infant being born with a sac protruding through the defect that contains the small intestine, liver, and/or and large intestine);

7.      craniosyntosis (a defect that causes an abnormally shaped head);

8.      anal atresia (a defect that causes a malformed rectum); and

9.      spina bifida (a defect in which the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth)

Mothers who took Zoloft in their third trimester are at risk delivering for babies who suffer from the potentially fatal condition of PPHN (primary pulmonary hypertension).

Both Zoloft and a generic version called Greenstone are manufactured by Pfizer.

If you or someone close to you has a child with birth defects after taking Zoloft or Greenstone during the first trimester of pregnancy, please call Phoenix Arizona accident injury attorney Steve Leshner for a free consultation.

Permalink

FDA Investigates Januvia and Byetta Diabetes Drugs over Potential Pancreatic Cancer Risk
Posted by: Stephen Leshner
March 25, 2013
Topic: PRODUCT LIABILITY

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating certain diabetes drugs, including Januvia and Byetta over a potential link to pancreatic cancer.  The FDA found evidence of pre-cancerous cell changes in pancreatic tissue samples of patients who took the drugs.  While the FDA has previously warned about these risks, there was no mention of pre-cancerous cell changes.

Further, the FDA is investigation incretin mimetics such as Januvia and Byetta, as well as Victoza and Janumet, following unpublished research showing pre-cancerous cell changes in patients who took these diabetes drugs.

While a number of lawsuits have been filed against the manufacturers of these drugs, alleging that these drugs caused the claimants pancreatic cancer, there have been no known jury verdicts or settlements to date.  There is a bellwether scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, California in April, 2013, which may give direction to attorneys, claimants and the manufacturers.

If you or someone you know has suffered from pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer or thyroid cancer after taking Januvia or Byetta (or Victoza or Janumet), please call Phoenix Arizona accident injury attorney Steve Leshner for a free case review and consultation.

Permalink

Johnson & Johnson Under Federal Criminal Investigation for DePuy ASR Hip Replacements
Posted by: Stephen Leshner
February 22, 2013
Topic: PRODUCT LIABILITY

Johnson & Johnson says it's under investigation by federal prosecutors over the company's practices in marketing a line of hip replacements recalled two years ago because many failed and had to be replaced within five years.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts and the Civil Division of the U.S. Justice Department last August sent a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary an informal request for information about its ASR XL hip replacements.

J&J says in a regulatory filing that its DePuy Synthes Inc. subsidiary, which makes joint replacements, surgical trauma equipment and other orthopedic surgery products, is cooperating fully with the investigation.

The company says that subsidiary and two others have turned over documents requested by the government.

J&J recalled the DePuy ASR artificial hips in August 2010.

Stephen I. Leshner is currently handling cases for many DePuy ASR clients in the Federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL) in the Northern District of Ohio, as well as cases involving DePuy Pinnacle, Smith & Nephew R3, and Wright Medical Conserve in their respective MDL litigations.  Additionally, Steve has been able to settle cases for clients with Wright Medical Profemur Z femoral neck fractures, and Zimmer Durom cups.  If you or someone close to you has been injured by any Metal-on-Metal hip replacement system, please call Steve for a free consultation.

Permalink

Transvaginal Mesh (TVM) Update
Posted by: Stephen Leshner
November 14, 2012
Topic: PRODUCT LIABILITY

Transvaginal mesh (TVM) cases are being litigated in a series of Multi-District Litigations (MDL) in the United States District Court, Southern District of West Virginia.  An MDL consolidates all litigation, so that it can be efficiently litigated at the same time by all the parties in front of one Judge.  For example, I filed a number of TVM cases in Arizona, which were transferred to the MDL in West Virginia.  The Defendants in these cases are transvaginal mesh manufacturers C.R. Bard, Ethicon, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson), American Medical Systems, Inc., Coloplast Corporation and Boston Scientific Corporation.  Over 1,000 cases to date have been consolidated in West Virginia.

The FDA has issued an updated safety notice warning doctors, health care providers and patients that the placement of surgical mesh through the vagina to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence may present greater risk for the patient than other non-mesh procedures.  Pelvic organ prolapse occurs when the muscles and ligaments supporting a woman?s pelvic organs weaken and a pelvic organ slips out of place, or prolapses.  Prolapse can involve the bladder, uterus, vagina, or rectum.

If you are someone close to you is suffering from a defective TVM, please contact Steve Leshner in Phoenix, Arizona for a free consultation.

Permalink