In recent years, Topamax has been among industry leaders in treating epilepsy and migraine headaches. Although extremely popular, recent research has shown that this drug may cause birth defects, such as cleft lip and cleft palate, in young babies. Birth defects attorneys strongly urge women to avoid the use of Topamax during pregnancy, especially during the first trimester, in an attempt to limit the risk of birth injuries.
Food and Drug Administration Acknowledges the Serious Dangers
In early March 2011, the FDA issued an alert regarding the dangerous risks of certain oral defects that may derive from the use of Topamax during pregnancy. Additional warning labels have also been added to the Topamax bottle. The Food and Drug Administration has also upgraded Topamax to a Class D pregnancy drug. The significance of this change is that as a Class D drug, Topamax can “potentially present significant and unnecessary harm to a human fetus“. Birth defects lawyers believe that cleft lip and cleft palate occur more frequently when a fetus is exposed to Topamax during gestation.
The Food and Drug Administration has said that Topamax should never be prescribed for women who are pregnant unless it is a life or death situation. Unless the situation is truly life threatening, or similar drugs have been deemed completely ineffective, women should avoid the use of Topamax. These findings came from numerous studies performed by the North American Anti-epileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry. Although Topamax has been popular and an industry leader for effectiveness, birth defect lawyers say pregnant women need to consider the vast risks to their baby before consuming the prescription drug.
Birth Defects Attorneys in New Jersey and Philadelphia
If your child was born with an oral malformation that you believe can be attributed to your use of Topamax during pregnancy, it is possible that you would like to speak with a birth defect lawyer. Please contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
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Bed sores are injuries to the skin and the underlying tissues. They occur from prolonged pressure on the skin. The skin typically affected is that skin that covers bony areas of the body. These areas include, but are not limited to, heels, ankles, hips, or buttocks. People with medical conditions that limit their movements and require the use of a wheelchair, or patients that are bedridden, sustain the highest risk of developing bed sores or pressure ulcers. Those in nursing homes sometimes develop them from nursing home neglect and abuse. When a patients movement is limited, caregivers have to follow certain protocols to make sure these painful and dangerous bed sores and pressure ulcers are prevented.
Last week in New York City, a mute female stroke victim took the stand in court to testify against the nursing home aide that sexually abused her in a Morningside Heights facility. With the help of an interpreter, the 61-year-old woman painstakingly spelled out her testimony by pointing to letters on a page while the interpreter read them aloud. The victim was considered completely dependent, partially paralyzed and unable to speak. The male nursing home aide was assigned to the midnight shift when he assaulted the disabled woman. He was caught abusing the victim by a nurse who came to the room after seeing her call light come on three different times.
A Connecticut jury rendered what
Sustained pressure occurs when the skin and tissue are compacted between the bone and an outer surface. Surfaces such as beds and wheel chairs are the most common. The pressure may over power the blood, flowing through the capillaries, preventing oxygen and nutrients from reaching the skin tissues. Bedsore attorneys believe that regions of the body that are not protected by fat or muscle tend to be at the greatest risk of bedsores caused by sustained pressure.
Quadrangle’s license has been restored for the next six months. Under the terms of the agreement, the facility has to make some major changes to their operations. They have to have a manager for each shift responsible for the dementia care unit, the managers must take a leadership training course, all staff members of the dementia care unit must receive performance evaluations to assess their skills and empathy towards the patients, and when hiring new employees they must be evaluated for experience, skills and empathy.
The lawsuit, filed by the estate of Ms. Farrell, charged the hospital and Dr. Shander with negligence, but a Superior Court jury found that neither was liable for any form of malpractice. Nearly three years later, the appellate court put a halt on the lower court’s ruling because the trial judge should have asked potential jurors if they had read a New York Times Article before the trial began. The article could have potentially swayed the emotions and prejudices of the jurors which could have led to an unfair influence on the verdict.
Wheelchairs are a necessary means of mobility for many people worldwide. Although wheelchairs allow individuals to move freely from place to place, the extended period of time in the same position could lead to pressure ulcers. Those who rely on wheelchairs need to be weary of this potential. People who frequently use wheelchairs often suffer from pressure sores in a few sites in particular. The tailbone or buttocks, the shoulder blades and spine, and the backs of the legs and arms are common sites for bedsores to form. These areas of the body rest against the wheelchair for a prolonged period of time, creating a wound which slowly evolves through the bedsore stages.
Nursing homes are often fined for various citations of