The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

Avandia and Actos are both drugs for treating type 2 (adult onset) diabetes. Avandia is offered by the British company GlaxoSmithKline and Actos is offered by Takeda Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. with Eli Lilly & Co. They have both been found to increase the risk of heart failure and in 2007, the FDA required them to have a black box warning to that effect. A black box warning is the strongest FDA warning.

They belong to a class of diabetes drugs (called thiazolidinediones or glitazones) that work by increasing the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Another drug in this class was Rezulin, which was withdrawn from the market in 2000 for causing liver disease fatalities.

In 2007, The Avandia and Actos companies separately issued warnings that their drugs can also increase the risk of broken bones in women.

A Harvard Study

The American Diabetes Association is planning to publish a study done recently by a group of Harvard researchers. The study covered the years from 2000 to 2006 and focused on the medical records of 26,375 diabetic patients who took Avandia. They were all patients at Boston area clinics and hospitals affiliated with Harvard Medical School.

The study compared this group with another group in the same time period who took Actos. Researchers were looking for reports of heart attack (myocardial infarction) and they found such reports nearly twice as often for patients on Avandia as for those on Actos.

Separate and Similar Studies

1. In a separate study done by GlaxoSmithKline and i3 Drug Safety (a drug safety firm), researchers found that the risk of heart attack among Avandia users is increased by 35 percent to 41 percent over that for Actos users. This study used the medical records of 47,501 patients for each of the two drugs and covered the years 2000 to 2007. It will be published in the journal Clinical Therapeutics shortly.
   
2. In 2003, the Mayo Clinic published the results of their Actos and Avandia study. This was a much smaller study but it involved live patients. The six patients had type 2 diabetes and took either Actos or Avandia. They all went to an emergency room complaining of congestive heart failure symptoms (shortness of breath, weight gain, swollen feet) and four of them also had chronic kidney trouble.

As a result of this study, The American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association have issued guidelines for use of the glitazone group of drugs. They are warning the public that if you have mild heart disease or any kidney problems and you take any of these drugs, you may have increased risk of developing congestive heart failure.

About 13,000 people have filed claims against GlaxoSmithKline after using Avandia and suffering a heart attack. An unknown number have also filed against Eli Lilly and Takeda. However, the FDA has so far refused to order these drugs withdrawn from the market.

If you have been harmed by a defective drug and are wondering whether you might have a valid legal claim against the drug manufacturer, please contact our law firm today. Our lawyers work out of offices nationwide and we will be happy to schedule a free case review for you.

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Typically, automobile accidents at intersections involve left-turning vehicles that are attempting to cross on-coming traffic, the failure to yield the right of way or the failure to obey stop signs or traffic lights. Failure to yield the right of way, driving through a stop sign or ignoring a traffic signal at an intersection is responsible for almost 45% of all fatal automobile accidents.

Obscured stop signs, faded or missing stop signs and malfunctioning traffic lights, along with faulty intersection design are responsible for motor vehicle accidents at intersections also. The experienced California automobile accident attorneys at The Cochran Firm have road design engineers, accident investigators and experts in many fields available to assist in the determination of possible negligence on the part of municipalities for an accident at an intersection.

Automobile accidents at intersections often result in devastating injuries like traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, severed limbs, broken bones and massive soft tissue trauma. You should be financially compensated for any expenses caused by someone else’s negligence due to your injuries, such as medical and long term care expenses, the loss of income, your pain and suffering, and in the case of a wrongful death, the survivors are entitled to damages for their losses also.

If you or someone you love was injured or killed at a dangerous intersection in the San Jose, California area, please contact The Cochran Firm today to schedule a private consultation at no cost to you to protect your legal rights and to learn how to proceed with your case.

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Rear end car collisions have become the most common type of car accident since the introduction of the cell phone, with over 2.5 million rear end collisions every year in the United States.

A rear end car collision often results in serious physical injury to the occupants of the automobile that is struck due to an injury commonly known as whiplash. Whiplash is the result of a sudden, violent involuntary forward and backward motion of the head and neck, which causes soft tissue trauma to the muscles and ligaments of the neck that results in pain, swelling, stiffness, headache, nausea, numbness and loss of balance.

Whiplash injuries can range from mild symptoms to severe, life-changing disabling pain. If left untreated, this condition can be responsible for months and years of debilitating pain and suffering.

The experienced rear end car collision attorneys at The Cochran Firm work together as a team so clients can benefit from the level of skill and knowledge available to them. If you have suffered because of someone else's negligence and inattention, you deserve to be compensated for your injuries.

If you live in the Memphis, Tennessee area, please contact The Cochran Firm today if you or someone you love was injured in a rear end car collision to protect your legal rights and get the financial compensation you deserve from the law firm that cares.

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Every day commuting back and forth to work or driving to a doctor's appointment, grocery shopping or dropping your children off at school is stressful enough, but when you add the danger inherent in a tired truck driver speeding to meet a deadline in an overloaded, poorly maintained, 40 ton truck in the lane next to you, the stress level rises to new heights.

If you are ever involved in an accident with a truck, protect your rights by gathering as much information about the accident as possible, and notify your own insurance company without delay; a delay in notifying your own insurance company may affect your claim. Do not allow the trucking company or insurance adjuster to choose your physician; you have the absolute right to choose your own doctor, and do not sign anything without the advice of your own legal representative.

Trucking companies have teams of lawyers and insurance adjusters on the payroll whose main goal is to protect the trucking company in the event of an accident and limit their financial and legal responsibility.

If you have been injured in an Alabama truck accident you can benefit from the experience of the truck accident attorneys at The Cochran Firm who will be aggressive in protecting your legal right, and willing to do everything they can to give you the legal representation and personal attention you deserve.

If you live in the Dothan, Alabama area, and you or a loved one has been the victim of an accident with a truck, please contact The Cochran Firm today and learn how we can help you recover financial compensation for your injuries and losses without delay.

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