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Welcome to the New York Defective Products Law Firm of Leandros A. Vrionedes, P.C. We have offices in New York City, and serve clients in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau, and Westchester. For over fifteen years, our lawyers have provided legal representation and advice to individuals and their families in New York involved in defective products cases, including consumer products, drugs and medicines, industrial and manufacturing machinery, medical devices, and automobiles and other motor vehicles. This is a firm dedicated to providing the finest legal representation to the injured public throughout New York.
We provide expert and individualized service for your specific defective product law needs. The cornerstone of our success is the quality relationship, which we maintain with our clients and/or their families. Our New York Law Firm focuses on intelligent legal representation and pledge to listen to and communicate with clients. As New York Lawyers, we treat our Clients with integrity and respect for their needs, goals and objectives.
Defective products harm millions of people every year. Manufacturers of products can be sued for design defects, improper safety devices and manufacturing defects. Products Liability cases may involve:dangerous toys, automobile design, sport utility vehicle rollovers, gas tank explosions, seat belt failures, improperly designed consumer and household products, industrial machinery & equipment, farm machinery, tractors and equipment, products causing explosions and burns, and aviation products. In any products case it is important to save the product or have an attorney act quickly to investigate and preserve the evidence.
There are three main categories for defective product cases. They are 1) Design defects, flaws in the design of the product; 2) Manufacturing defects, specific defects that occur during the manufacturing process of a product; and 3) Failure to warn consumers of the potential dangers and risks of the product.
Drugs and Medicines
Drug companies may send to market a drug that has not been adequately tested or may cause unforeseen side affects. Such drugs have been Vioxx, Phen Phen, Baycol, fosamax, celebrex, and crestor. They can cause a variety of side effects, which include heart attack, stroke and death. Please call us if you have suffered any side effects from a prescription you are taking including: |
Celebrex (Celecoxib) is a COX-2 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) developed by Pfizer, Inc., which is used to treat symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, acute pain, and primary dysmenorrhea (menstrual cramping). The use of NSAID's is associated in some patients with serious problems from stomach ulcers, including bleeding. NSAID medications are also associated with liver damage in some patients. Patients taking Celebrex had a significantly increased risk of heart attacks.
FDA link: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/COX2/default.htm |
Fen Phen - In the late 1990's, the drugs known as Fen Phen, Redux, and Pondimin were frequently prescribed to assist with weight loss. As many as twenty percent of people who took those drugs suffered heart damage, including: 1) Damaged Heart Valves - The drugs Fen Phen and Redux are associated with damage to the heart's aortic and mitral valves; and 2) Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) - A condition is caused by a narrowing of the blood vessels in the lungs, which can cause high blood pressure and can lead to heart failure. This condition is extremely serious, is usually progressive in nature, and can result in death. It has been associated with Fen Phen and Pondimin. Manufacturer liability is based upon the assertion that it was known for many years that the use of Pondimin and Redux could lead to primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH), but the manufacturers downplayed the health consequences in order to maintain a very lucrative market for their drugs.
FDA link: http://www.fda.gov/cder/news/feninfo.htm
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Trasylol (also known as aprotinin) was approved by the FDA in 1993 to control bleeding and limit the need for transfusions in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG). Several studies have linked this drug to an increased risk of death, cardiac events and renal failure resulting in the need for dialysis. In particular, two new studies published on February 28, 2008 in the New England Journal of Medicine confirmed an increased risk of death in patients given the anti-bleeding drug Trasylol77. A study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in January 2006, revealed that patients treated with Trasylol77 have twice the rate of kidney failure and an increased risk of heart attacks, heart failures, strokes and encephalopathy.
FDA link: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01834.ht |
The Duragesic (Fentanyl) patch is used in patients with moderate to severe chronic pain. Each patch contains a three day dose of Fentanyl gel which is designed to release a steady dose of the analgesic through a rate controlled membrane. Fentanyl is an extremely strong opioid pain medication. While the Duragesic product label was modified in July of 2005, it is still available for use today. According to the recall, Aexposure to the Duragesic hydrogel contents could result in an increased absorption of the opioid component, Fentanyl, leading to increased drug effect including nausea, sedation, drowsiness, or potentially life threatening complications.@ Most recently, in June of 2007, a Florida family was awarded $5.5 million dollars in the wrongful death verdict of a 28-year old man following the nation's first Fentanyl patch trial.
FDA link: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/fentanyl/default.htm
Avandia was approved by the FDA in May 1999 for use in improving control of blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetics. Since its approval, Avandia, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, has been used by more than seven million people worldwide and is, today, being used by over one million Americans. The FDA is continuing to analyze the data and to investigate the increased risk of heart attack linked to Avandia. Although the FDA has not reached any conclusions and its analysis of the drug is ongoing, on May 21, 2007, the FDA advised patients using Avandia, especially those who have underlying heart disease or who are at high risk of heart attack, to consult with their physicians about this new information.
FDA link: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/rosiglitazone/default.htm |
Chantix (Verenicline) has been linked to serious neuropsychiatric symptoms. Serious neuropsychiatric symptoms have occurred in patients taking Chantix. These symptoms include changes in behavior, agitation, depressed mood, suicidal ideation, and attempted and completed suicide. While some patients may have experienced these types of symptoms and events as a result of nicotine withdrawal, some patients taking Chantix who experienced serious neuropsychiatric symptoms and events had not yet discontinued smoking. In most cases, neuropsychiatric symptoms developed during Chantix treatment, but in others, symptoms developed following withdrawal of Chantix therapy.
FDA link: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01788.html
Heparin Serious injuries and deaths have been associated with the use of heparin, a blood-thinning drug that contained active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) from China. The adverse events have included allergic or hypersensitivity-type reactions, with symptoms such as low blood pressure, angioedema, shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
FDA link: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/heparin/#recalls
Medical Devices |
Gadolinium
Gadolinium is a contrast agent for MRI. Gadolinium, or gadodiamide, provides greater contrast between normal tissue and abnormal tissue in the brain and body. Gadolinium looks clear like water and is non-radioactive. After it is injected into a vein, Gadolinium accumulates in the abnormal tissue that may be affecting the body or head. Gadolinium causes these abnormal areas to become very bright (enhanced) on the MRI. This makes it very easy to see. Gadolinium is then rapidly cleared from the body by the kidneys.
New reports have identified a possible link between NSF/NFD and exposure to gadolinium containing contrast agents. Nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy (NFD) causes thickening and hardening of the skin, often in the extremities, and occurs in patients with underlying renal disease.
The FDA has learned of cases of NSF/NFD in patients with kidney failure who received gadolinium-containing contrast agent. The FDA is actively investigating whether exposure to a gadolinium-contrast agent is associated with the development of NSF/NFD.
Bard® Composix® Kugel® Mesh Hernia Patch
The Bard® Composix® Kugel® Mesh Patch is used to repair ventral (incisional) hernias caused by thinning or stretching of scar tissue that forms after surgery. The patch is placed behind the hernia defect through a small incision. The patch is then held open by a "memory recoil ring" that allows the patch to be folded for insertion and later spring open and lay flat once it is in place.
The "memory recoil ring" that opens the Bard® Composix® Kugel® Mesh Patch can break under the stress of placement of the large sized products in the intra-abdominal (inside the belly area) space. This can lead to bowel perforations (rupture) and/or chronic (recurring) intestinal fistulae (abnormal connections or passageways between the intestines and other organs).
Automobiles and Other Motor Vehicles
Motor vehicle defect claims may be based on defects in the body and frame, brakes and braking system, cooling and temperature control system, electrical system, engine assembly, exhaust system, fuel system, lubrication system, passenger compartment, steering and suspension systems, transmission and drivetrain, and other parts and accessories. |
A vehicle manufacturer or seller's liability for a car defect is controlled by the doctrine of strict liability. Regardless of what steps a manufacturer or dealer says it takes in designing, assembling, or handling a motor vehicle, you can make a strict liability claim based on a motor vehicle defect -- without making any showing as to negligence-- if all three of the following conditions exist: 1) The vehicle or one of its components had an "unreasonably dangerous" defect that injured you. The defect can come into existence either in the design of the vehicle, during manufacture, during handling or shipment (i.e. delivery from the manufacturer), or through a failure to warn consumers of a dangerous aspect of the vehicle. 2) The defect caused an injury while the vehicle was being used in a way that it was intended to be used. 3) The vehicle had not been substantially changed from the condition in which it was originally sold.
Motor vehicle defects include:
Airbags - Defective airbags include those that deploy with too much force, deploy in minor collisions when they are not otherwise needed, or fail to deploy under circumstances in which they should.
Sudden unintended acceleration - occurs when a vehicle uncontrollably accelerates when a vehicle is shifted into drive or reverse.
Tires – Poor tire shoulder design can lead to tread separation causing a serious accident.
Rollovers - The high center of gravity and relatively narrow wheelbase of SUVs increase their susceptibility to rollover.
Seatbelts - Some automatic shoulder belts are poorly designed and have been known to decapitate or otherwise seriously injure occupants when not used properly. Some seat belts have even been known to separate from their base upon impact, thus providing no protection to the occupant.
Passenger ejection – A passenger can be ejected due to faulty seat belts, collapsing seat backs and rollovers.
Crashworthiness and design – Several examples are exploding gas tanks and design flaws that fail to properly protect passengers during a crash.
See monthly motor vehicle recall reports from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. |
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381 Park Avenue South,
Suite 701
New York, New York 10016
Phone: (212) 889-9362
LAV@VrionedesLaw.com |
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Queens County,
42-14 Astoria Boulevard
Astoria, New York 11103
Phone: (718) 777-5895 |
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