Speeding and Drugs – Aronberg & Aronberg

In this blog we’re going to let you know about two recent stories that have hit the personal injury airwaves. The first story has to do with speeding while driving and the other has to do with the diabetes drug Actos (and, more importantly, its manufacturer).

First things first: obviously, as time goes on and new technologies are developed, death rates from a great many causes begin to dip. However, shockingly (or maybe not shockingly) there has been no decrease in the number of deaths each year caused by speeding-related car accidents. Why are people speeding? Who knows; maybe it’s the rush of everything that seems to characterize this portion of human history. Maybe it’s that the cars go faster nowadays than they did before. Either way, according to a recent study by the Governors Highway Safety Association, about 33% of all car accident fatalities are linked to speeding. In 2010 alone, more than 10,500 people were killed because of speeding.

Now, this isn’t to say that speeding is not linked to anything else, like, for example, drinking. When you drink, you’re more likely to take risks and do things you wouldn’t otherwise do. If you’re drinking at a party, maybe you’d be more inclined to tell somebody how you really feel. If you’re driving while drunk, you’re going to be much more likely to drive erratically. Telling someone how you feel about them won’t end in a personal injury suit, but drinking and driving CAN! It’s highly negligent to get behind the wheel while you’re intoxicated; in doing so, not only do you risk your own safety, but you risk the well-being of everybody around you. Drunk driving leads to unsafe driving and that, in turn, leads to a great many deaths each year. We have a responsibility to act in a cautious manner when we are on the road with other drivers.

The second part of this blog is devoted to looking at a lawsuit filed against Takeda Pharmaceuticals. We’re all familiar with the fact that drug manufacturers have a duty to disclose possible side effects of the drugs they are producing. Well, according to this lawsuit, Takeda did not properly disclose the fact that hundreds of users of their drug Actos suffered congestive heart failure because of the drug. The unreported cases occurred between 2007 and 2010. In 2007, the Food and Drug Administration, which has jurisdiction over this issue, ordered that Takeda must include a warning on Actos’ packaging, warning patients about the risk of congestive heart failure.

While Takeda met that responsibility in part, they circumvented the true purpose of the demand. Takeda chose not to include any information about any of the victims of the drug who did not die or require hospitalization. Concealing that information, according to the lawsuit, was an effort by Takeda to avoid losing sales to the competitor drug, Avandia, manufactured by pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. While this suit is not a personal injury lawsuit—because it’s what’s known as a “whistleblower” suit—it may very well be received as a product liability suit.

When you’re on the road, please drive carefully. We see the results of far too many accidents. And if you’re required to take medication for one reason or another, please do extensive research to make sure that the drug you’re taking is actually going to help you instead of hurt you.

If you have any questions about any of the information found here, or about any other legal matter, please contact the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg at 561-266-9191 or at daronberg@build.simple.biz.

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