Beasley Allen

Alabama Voices: Corporate Crimes

Fri, 02 May 2008 05:05:00 GMT

I read the recent Alabama Voices opinion piece by Skip Tucker headlined "Injustice Is Injustice." In it, Mr. Tucker, executive director of Alabama Voters Against Lawsuit Abuse, tells of being held up by a bully holding a knife and demanding a quarter from him when he was in the fourth grade.

He compared that bully's long-ago actions to the actions I have taken as attorney general to hold the drug companies accountable that have stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from Alabama's Medicaid program by manipulating their prices. He calls our work to recover the monies that were wrongfully taken and that pushed Medicaid ever closer to a budget crisis an "injustice."

You do not have to take my word for it. Pleadings in courts across America stand as a stark reminder that those who steal are not just bullies in Mr. Tucker's long-ago past, nor do they always use knives to do their stealing.

Instead, they use insulin shots, diabetic testing supplies, heart and…

Unum Group reverses 42 percent of reviewed claims

Thu, 01 May 2008 05:05:00 GMT

By BILL POOVEY
Associated Press Writer

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - In a forced self-review, the Unum Group agreed to fully or partly reverse 42 percent of previously denied disability claims and paid out $676 million in additional benefits.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance in a statement Wednesday said the agreement with the Chattanooga-based insurer involved a review of claims from January 1997 through 2004.

An investigation of complaints about Unum's claims handling led to a $1 million fine in March 2003 after Georgia's insurance commissioner said regulators found a mind-set of looking "for every technical legal way to avoid paying a claim."

In 2004, insurance officials in Tennessee, Maine, Massachusetts and New York directed the company to review its claims handling as part of an agreement that was ultimately accepted by most states.

Tennessee insurance officials said Wednesday that the four-year review, now finished, shows…

Court clears way for drug company trial

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 05:04:00 GMT

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled Friday that more than one pharmaceutical company can be tried at the same time in the state's lawsuit accusing more than 70 drug companies of fraud in overcharging the state's Medicaid program.

The ruling went in favor of the state, which sought to combine some of the cases. The drug companies had asked that each company be tried separately.

Montgomery attorney Jerry Beasley, who represents the state in the case, said the ruling clears the way for trial to begin June 16 in Montgomery on a suit against two of the companies, Novartis AG's pharmaceutical division and SmithKline Beecham Corp.

In the first trial in February, a state court jury awarded the state $215 million in its Medicaid drug pricing fraud case against AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP. Beasley said Friday he believes the state's case against Novartis and Smith-
Kline is stronger than the original case.

"The drug companies wanted…

Vioxx criticism may tarnish Merck but settlement safe

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:04:00 GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Renewed criticism of Merck & Co's handling of its withdrawn pain drug Vioxx may further tarnish the drugmaker's image but is not about to scuttle its multibillion-dollar deal to settle thousands of personal injury lawsuits brought by former Vioxx users.

Researchers who analyzed court documents said Merck failed to disclose information it had on safety risks of Vioxx that may have led to avoidable injuries and deaths, according to articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The fresh publicity sparked calls by U.S. Congressman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, for Merck to respond to the allegations, while health regulators promised to review the JAMA reports -- all but guaranteeing Merck will not be able to put Vioxx in its rearview mirror any time soon.

However, attorneys for both sides agreed that the legal settlement will not be affected.

"It will not impact the settlement in any way," said Andy…

Judge OKs subpoenas in Countrywide probe

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 06:04:00 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A federal judge ruled the Justice Department can subpoena documents and question Countrywide Financial Corp. executives under oath to determine whether the lender abused borrowers and the bankruptcy-court process.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Agresti said "it certainly has not been proven that Countrywide did anything wrong," but noted a bankruptcy trustee "has made a showing of a common thread of potential wrongdoing" in several cases. The cases are a representative sample of nearly 300 Pennsylvania bankruptcy cases involving Countrywide borrowers.

The potential wrongdoing warrants further inquiry by a bankruptcy trustee on behalf of the Justice Department, Agresti said.

Fed plans BofA-Countrywide hearings

Countrywide and other mortgage companies have come under scrutiny amid a surge in home loan defaults by borrowers with poor credit histories.

Countrywide (CFC, Fortune 500), the nation's largest mortgage lender and home…

Congress: Vytorin Makers Held Bad News

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 06:04:00 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Allegations from Congress that drug makers Schering-Plough Corp. and Merck & Co. hid negative research results to boost sales have cast a shadow over the companies' futures.

"This is the last thing that Schering and Merck need, especially in a political year," said analyst Steve Brozak of WBB Securities Ltd. "This can become brutal."

The Senate's Finance Committee and the House's Energy and Commerce Committee have been investigating for months how Merck and Schering-Plough handled data comparing Merck's Zocor against their new cholesterol drug Vytorin - which combines Merck's Zocor and Schering-Plough's Zetia.

The Senate committee on Monday released new evidence the companies may have known long ago that research showed Vytorin was no more effective than Zocor but withheld it to pump up sales of Vytorin.
Even the researcher who led a crucial study of the drug accused Vytorin's makers of withholding negative results to boost…

Jury Awards $226,000 in Mesothelioma Civil Suit

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 06:03:00 GMT

An Indiana County jury this week awarded $226,000 to the family of a man who had been exposed to asbestos while he worked at the Fisher Scientific plant along Indian Springs Road in White Township.

George Baroni, of the Homer City area, worked for Fisher from 1959 to 1994 and later developed mesothelioma, an incurable cancer of the lining of the lungs. Baroni, 73, died in October 2005 and his family filed the civil lawsuit the next year against the companies that provided Fisher with products that contained asbestos.

Several lawsuits have been filed in recent years in the Indiana County court by former Fisher Scientific workers - or their estates - but the Baroni case was the first to be decided by a jury.

The others ended in out-of-court settlements, including some that were reached after a jury had been selected and testimony had begun in court.

Three of the four companies sued by the Baroni estate "resolved their differences" with the family before…

John Ritter doctors cleared in wrongful death lawsuit

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:03:00 GMT

It was reported today (March 14, 2008) that two doctors accused of negligence in the death of beloved actor John Ritter have been cleared of all charges by a Glendale, Calif., jury. The physicians, a cardiologist and a radiologist, were under fire in the diagnosis and treatment of the actor, who died of a torn aorta in 2003.

The jury found that the radiologist, Dr. Matthew Lotysch, detected signs of heart disease and recommended that Ritter follow up with his physician, which Ritter did not do. The jury believed the doctor's testimony that those initial scans did not show the enlarged aorta, but simply indicated the possibility of heart disease.

In the case of the cardiologist, Ritter's family, who brought the suit against the doctors, said that Dr. Joseph Lee was negligent his treatment of the actor when he arrived at the Providence St. Joseph emergency room with chest pain. The jury determined that the doctors did everything they could to save Ritter's…

Mesothelioma victim wins $20 million verdict

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 06:03:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO-A Dallas, Texas-based law firm today announced a $20 million civil verdict in an asbestos lawsuit on behalf of Joan Mahoney, 69-year-old victim of mesothelioma, a painful and debilitating form of cancer affecting the lining of the lungs, and Daniel Mahoney, her husband of 42 years. The jury attributed 30 percent of the $20 million liability to defendant Georgia Pacific Corp.

Attorneys represented Joan and Daniel Mahoney before Judge Thomas Mellon in San Francisco County Superior Court.

Mrs. Mahoney, a San Francisco native, spent much of her career in real estate and show business. Her singing career spanned 30 years and took her around the world seven times on USO tours. But it was her work in the part-time family construction business that exposed Mrs. Mahoney to Georgia Pacific's asbestos-containing joint compound, the suit established. Together, Mrs. Mahoney and her husband, who was also a math teacher, built and remodeled over 200 houses in the…

Dangerous skin reactions from Carbamazepine

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:03:00 GMT

A March 2008 FDA patient safety news bulletin reiterated warnings to healthcare professionals about dangerous and possibly fatal skin reactions to the drug carbamazepine in certain patient populations. Reactions include Stevens Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis.

The FDA report states these skin reactions are significantly more common in patients with a particular human leukocyte antigen allele called HLA-B*1502. This allele occurs almost exclusively in people with Asian ancestry, including South Asian Indians. The FDA advises patients with this ancestry should be screened for the HLA-B*1502 allele before starting treatment with carbamazepine.

Carbamazepine is an inticonvulsant used to treat epilepsy, as well as mania/bipolar disorder and neuropathic pain. This drug is sold under the trade names Carbatrol, Equetro and Tegretol, and also as a generic.

If test results are positive, the FDA warns the drug should not be started unless the expected…

Wyeth, Pfizer ordered to pay $27 million in punitive damages

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 06:03:00 GMT

A Little Rock, Ark., federal jury found Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Upjohn (a Pfizer unit) liable for $27 million in punitive damages to Donna Scroggin, who sued the drug manufacturers in 2004 after developing breast cancer after taking hormone-replacement therapy. The award includes $19.3 million from Wyeth and $7.7 from Upjohn.

Wyeth manufactures Premarin, an estrogen replacement, and Prempro, which is a combination of estrogen and progestin. These, along with Upjohn's Provera, which contains progestin, are commonly prescribed to treat the unpleasant effects of menopause.

Sales of Wyeth's hormone-replacement drugs topped $2 billion before a 2002 study linked the medicines to a higher risk of breast cancer, according to a report published on Bloomberg.com. The article states that the Women's Health Initiative study, which was sponsored by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, concluded that women who took a combination of estrogen and progestin, as found in Prempro,…

Vaccine settlement complex, may not be first

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 06:03:00 GMT

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- For those convinced that vaccines can cause autism, the sad case of a Georgia girl, daughter of a doctor and lawyer, seems like clear-cut evidence. The government has agreed to pay the girl's family for injury caused by vaccines.

But it turns out it's not that simple -- and maybe not even a first.

The 9-year-old girl, Hannah Poling, had an underlying condition that may have been worsened, triggering her autism-like symptoms.

Her parents believe it was the five simultaneous vaccines she got as a toddler in one day eight years ago that did it. Government scientists say something like a fever or infection could have set off the problem -- but they didn't rule out the vaccines either.

This week, government officials said they have agreed to pay the Polings from a federal fund that compensates people injured by vaccines. The amount is not yet determined.

While parents and advocates for children with autism…

Victory for victims of secondary asbestos exposure

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 06:03:00 GMT

Following a ruling by a Washington State Court of Appeals, victims of secondary asbestos exposure have enjoyed a hard earned victory - The ruling will make it easier for those exposed to asbestos as the result of the work of family members living in the same home to make a claim for their asbestos related diseases such as asbestos cancer, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.

The new ruling overturns a previous ruling made by a lower court, and sets a set a precedent that could allow hundreds of family members and others living in the same home to file their own claims. This means that those suffering from asbestos related illnesses due to exposure from the clothes or body of a loved one that worked with asbestos, commonly known as 'secondary exposure', can now successfully sue the employer for compensation. Until this ruling, is has proven very difficult such cases to proceed.

"For decades, people working with or around asbestos products brought deadly fibers home on their…

Asbestos: Woman sues after developing mesothelioma

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 06:03:00 GMT

Frances Barras of Nederland, Texas, along with her husband and five children, has sued DuPont and several asbestos manufacturers because she has developed mesothelioma from washing and handling her husband's asbestos-contaminated work clothes for many years. They are represented by Dallas-based Baron & Budd, P.C.

Mrs. Barras's husband, Louis Barras, was a refinery worker at the Beaumont DuPont facility between 1957 and 1985. She washed her husband's dusty work clothes, not knowing that they were covered with asbestos fibers. Mrs. Barras now suffers from asbestos-related pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs.

Mrs. Barras has sued the asbestos manufacturers, like Union Carbide, Anchor Packing Company, Guard-Line, Ingersoll-Rand and Owens-Illinois, that provided products to the DuPont facility and exposed her husband to asbestos without providing proper warnings that would have allowed him to protect himself and his…

Merck Says 44K Sign for Vioxx Settlement

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:03:00 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - More than 44,000 people have signed up for shares of a $4.85 billion settlement over the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx, a sign that the deal is on track to go forward, Merck & Co. announced Monday.

Of roughly 47,000 people who registered for the settlement earlier this year, more than 44,000 have submitted all or some of the paperwork necessary for enrollment in the deal, Merck said in a news release.

People who enrolled in the settlement by this past Friday could be eligible to receive an interim payment later this year.

Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck has said it will withdraw from the agreement unless at least 85 percent of people in different groups of claimants join in the settlement.

Those thresholds would be met - and exceed 93 percent of eligible claims in each of four key categories - if all of the more than 44,000 submissions are verified, the company said.

"We are very pleased with the large number of…

Family Awarded $2.25 Million For Asbestos Exposure In Workplace

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:03:00 GMT

New York, NY - February 19, 2008 -- A New York City jury awarded $2.25 million in the case of 73 year old Leonard Shafer who had exposure to asbestos in his workplace as a civilian employee at the New York Naval Shipyard (Brooklyn Navy Yard) in the 1950's. Attorneys for the family of Mr. Shafer helped prove Shafer developed pleural mesothelioma, which is an aggressive, incurable cancer during his career at the Shipyard.

"Mr. Shafer endured pain and suffering that spanned an eighteen month time period from the time he was diagnosed until the time of the death," said an attorney for the case. "Many years ago, nobody knew the affects of being exposed to asbestos in the workplace and unfortunately today, we are being faced with the dangers."

Like so many of his colleagues, Mr. Shafer never wore respiratory protection and was unaware of the dangers of asbestos.…

Nursing Home Fines and Bonuses

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:03:00 GMT

Last year, the state fined 23 Iowa nursing homes $10,000 or more for providing substandard care. Some of those homes were also hit with federal fines and sanctions against their state licenses.

Of those 23 homes, 16 stand to collect bonus Medicaid payments this year from state and federal taxpayers. The bonuses are tied to a state program that rewards nursing homes for providing quality, cost-effective care.

Elderly abuse is a crime. If you or a loved one have suffered nursing home abuse and neglect, please contact us today or call your local law enforcement agency.

Here's how much each home was fined in 2007 and how much it stands to collect this year in performance-based bonuses. The homes are ranked based on the amount of their 2007 fines.

Meadow Lawn Health Care, Davenport
2007 fines: $33,350
2008 bonus: $0

Jury Awards $30 million in Mesothelioma case

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:02:00 GMT

A six-member jury in Superior Court in Bergen County, New Jersey, ruled on Feb. 26 to award the family of Mark Buttitta a settlement of $30.3 million. The judgment is one of the largest ever in asbestos litigation in the state. Buttitta died of mesothelioma just before Christmas 2002, at age 50, after being diagnosed in 2001. Mesothelioma is lung cancer attributed to asbestos exposure. Mark Buttitta is survived by his wife and three daughters.

According to a story in The Record, published Feb. 27, 2008, at www.northjersey.com, before his death, Buttitta sued General Motors and the manufacturers of the brakes and clutches stored at the warehouse, claiming that the asbestos used to make those products caused his cancer. Defendants included General Motors and Honeywell, which had already reached a settlement with the Buttitta family prior to the jury decision, and clutches supplier Borg-Warner and asbestos mining company Asbestos Corporation Limited of Canada, which are jointly…

AstraZeneca Unit Must Pay $215 Million in Pricing Suit

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:02:00 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- A state court jury awarded Alabama $215 million in its Medicaid drug-price fraud suit against an AstraZeneca PLC unit.

The state had claimed the unit, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, made Alabama's Medicaid system pay too much for drugs prescribed to its patients by inflating prices. The firm said it had obtained for the state the best price it could for its drugs.

Medicaid is a U.S. national-state health-care program for poor and disabled people.

The circuit court jury said the subsidiary must pay $40 million in compensatory damages and $175 million in punitive damages.

AstraZeneca is one of more than 70 pharmaceutical manufacturers that Alabama Attorney General Troy King filed suit against in 2005 over drug prices for Medicaid recipients. The state settled cases with two drug makers, Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc. and Day LP.

The suit against AstraZeneca was the first to go to trial.

Drugs made by…

Jury Orders AstraZeneca to Pay Damages in Suit

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:02:00 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Alabama -- A state-court jury awarded Alabama $215 million in its Medicaid drug-price-fraud suit against an AstraZeneca PLC unit.

The circuit-court jury said the subsidiary must pay $40 million in compensatory damages and $175 million in punitive damages.

The suit against AstraZeneca was the first to go to trial.

Drugs made by AstraZeneca include Nexium, to treat heartburn and acid reflux, and Crestor, to lower…