Atlanta Injury Lawyers Blog

Acoustic neuromas is a type of cancer that researches have found to be five times more likely to develop in children and young teenagers who use cell phones. Researchers of this study also found that people who didn’t use cell phones until they were in their twenties were only twice as likely to develop the cancer. Acoustic neuromas can cause deafness.

It is believed by researchers of the study that children 12 years old and younger should only use cell phones in the event of an emergency and that hands-free phones or headsets are best used by teens. Incidentally, the National Agency for Research on Cancer has categorized cell phones as a category 2B. Other carcinogenic compounds classified, as category 2B is gas engine exhaust and the pesticide DDT.

Most experts claim that it is not possible to presuppose the long-term health risks associated with cell phone use because it can take decades for cancer to develop. And studies haven’t followed people for more than one decade. The information from the study will be sent to the World Health Organization to be reviewed and for potential guidelines on cell phone use to be implemented.

Faulty respirators that can result in the user developing illnesses like asbestos mesothelioma and asbestosis continue to be found in the Atlanta area. These respirators are supposed to protect the wearer by getting rid of contaminants in the air. But even with industry policies prepared and employed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and Center for Disease Control design flaws continue to be found.

Faulty respirators are worse than not wearing a respirator at all because it gives workers a falls sense of security that they are safe from asbestos so the wearer is more likely to put him or herself into more dangerous situations.

It is estimated that over 84,000 lawsuits have been filed against 3M due to faulty respirators failing to filter out asbestos and other toxins. And American Optical has had 140,000 claims filed against it where claimants have alleged that their respirators were responsible for asbestos-related diseases in wearers.

The New York Times recently reported that a FDA committee has advised improving bone-building drug labels. The brands that will be affected are Actonel, Atelvia, Boniva, and Fosamax. Tens of thousands of women in Atlanta take such medications.

The advisory committee’s recommendation follows studies that suggest there is no noteworthy benefit of continuing such therapy past five years. Though the benefits of taking bone-building drugs for three to five years have been proven, such drugs have not been proven for long-term use.

The advisory committee assembled due to concerns that many women have suffered atypical thigh fractures or jaw disease after taking the medications long-term. However, none of the members of the committee advised imposing strict limits on long-term use. Neither did the committee recommend a black box warning even with petitions from former patients present.

An advisory board for The US Food and Drug Administration recently voted that the advantage of using four popular Bayer drugs make up for the risks associated with their adverse side effects. But the FDA did not make known the fact that three of the advisors were associated with Bayer.

The three doctors were part of a safety committee that evaluated the safety of Yaz, Yasmin, Beyaz, and Safyal. And they served as consultants, researchers, and speakers for Bayer. Bayer’s studies showed no real danger; whereas, other research and a commissioned study by the FDA found that there is. Advisory committees by the FDA are supposed to make independent decisions concerning medical matters.

The FDA states that members of their advisory committees have to declare all financial dealings they may have with companies in order to guarantee “transparency”. But advisory members are only obligated to make known possible conflicts of interest to the FDA. Therefore, such information is seldom freely available.