Defective Drug Attorneys in Los Angeles
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Booth & Koskoff has handled many cases involving defective drugs and medications. These cases require an in-depth knowledge of the medical issues involved with the particular drug, as well as the manner in which drugs are tested and approved by the FDA. In recent years, the firm has handled cases involving Baycol (a cholesterol-lowering medication) and Cold-Eeze nasal spray (an over-the-counter remedy for the common cold).
Gadolinium
Currently, Booth & Koskoff is involved in litigation involving gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents. Prior to performing MRI’s, radiologists often inject the patient with a drug containing gadolinium, a metal. The gadolinium helps provide a clearer picture of body organs and tissues. There are five different gadolinium-based contrast agents that have been approved by the FDA for use in the United States, and each one has a different chemical composition. Radiologists also have used these agents when performing magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), a procedure for using magnetic resonance imaging to examine a patient’s blood vessels, although the FDA has not approved gadolinium for this purpose.
The FDA first approved gadolinium as a contrast agent in the late 1980's, and by 1997 doctors began discovering the existence of a previously unknown medical condition called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), which is also known as nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy. This is a debilitating condition, which only afflicts patients with pre-existing kidney failure. It leads to fibrosis (scarring) of body tissues, thickening and tightness of the skin, contractures and similar problems. It is a very painful condition which gradually restricts the patient’s mobility and often leads to death. There is no consistently successful treatment for the condition.
When doctors began closely analyzing NSF patients, they discovered two common denominators. First, the patients had preexisting kidney failure, and second, they began developing symptoms of NSF within a few months of undergoing an MRI or MRA with a gadolinium-based contrast agent. Moreover, the vast majority of NSF cases resulted from the use of one particular gadolinium-based contrast agent, Omniscan, even though Omniscan is used only about 11% of the time as compared to other gadolinium-based contrast agents.
In June 2006, the FDA issued a public health advisory about the apparent connection between gadolinium-based contrast agents and NSF and advised physicians to be “cautious” about the use of these agents in patients with kidney failure. In December 2006, the FDA issued an updated public health advisory with a stronger warning to physicians to avoid use of gadolinium-based contrast agents with patients who have kidney disease “whenever possible.” GE Healthcare, the manufacturer of Omniscan, issued its own similar warnings.
At this point, approximately 200 cases of NSF have been identified worldwide, and gadolinium is the only apparent cause of the condition. A great deal of new information is still coming to light, and the litigation is in its early stages.