Drug injuries and deaths in U.S. hit record highs: many caused by heparin

November 10, 2008
10:41 pm

Justice Seeker

Heather L. Ryan, R.N., C.L.N.C- Heather Ryan is a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant with 15 years of experience in the health care industry. Her expertise in reviewing medical records and assisting lawyers with the determination as to whether legal action should be taken provides an invaluable asset to the newsroom. Medical-malpractice, products liability, personal injury and workers’ compensation are some of the recent areas of litigation Ms. Ryan has focused her efforts on. A member of the Florida Justice Association, Heather maintains a long list of certifications and credentials to support her areas of expertise and stays up-to-date with her clinical knowledge working as an emergency room/trauma nurse, at a Level 1, Adult/Pediatric trauma and teaching institution in South Florida.

Drug injuries and deaths in U.S. hit record highs: many caused by heparin

Drug injuries and deaths in the U.S. hit record high numbers, partially due to Heparin. Heparin, a blood thinner made by drug company, Baxter, was found to be tainted and administered to thousands.

November 10, 2008, West Palm Beach, FL (JusticeNewsFlash.com)–The watchdog group, Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), recently announced record high numbers of serious drug reactions and fatalities among Americans. ISMP is known, to top medical and legal experts, as the number one legal resource available on the Web. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received nearly 21,000 reports of incidents involving severe drug reactions. Twenty-three percent of these drug injuries resulted in deaths. Part of the record high incidents, reported to the FDA, were claimed to be caused by a blood thinner known as Baxter Heparin, previously approved by the FDA in 1972. Baxter International, a world wide drug manufacturing company, markets itself as a leader in the healthcare industry for more than 75 years.

The government health and law reporters at JusticeNewsFlash.com are urging patients and family members, who have been taking Heparin, to consider the following:

-Consult your doctor regarding your medication immediately
-Do not stop taking any medication without seeing your doctor first
-Go to www.fda.gov for specific FDA drug safety alerts and recalls.
-Consult a product liability lawyer if you or your family has been
injured due to tainted medications.

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Written by a medical and legal reporter for JusticeNewsFlash.com specializing in business litigation, defective product cases, drug injury lawsuits, medical malpractice claims and wrongful death legal actions.