Every day parents put their kids on school buses assuming they are safe and in good mechanical condition. On any given day, approximately 47 million elementary and secondary school children board a yellow school bus, yet remarkably few of these buses have seat belts, and an alarming percentage have either not been properly inspected or failed inspection altogether.

While responsible parents would never put their children in an automobile with bad brakes or allow them to ride in an automobile without the use of a seatbelt, the ubiquitous yellow school bus is a vehicular dinosaur.

Though most states have proposed legislation mandating seat belts on school buses, only a handful actually have them. Even fewer mandate their usage. Studies show that students riding on belt-equipped buses roam the aisles less frequently and are more likely to remain seated. Additionally, bus drivers report being less distracted because they have to spend less time handling student misbehavior and can concentrate more on driving safely.

Seat belt opponents argue that school buses already are the safest form of transportation on the road and that equipping buses with seat belts would reduce overall capacity. Private contractors, as well as many school officials who operate a third of the nation's school buses, have fought the installation of lap belts on school buses for more than 30 years. For the most part, federal and state governments have gone along with them.

Parents should also be reassured that when they put their children on a school bus each day that the vehicle is safe and has passed a recent inspection. Yet surprise inspections throughout the country have shown that nearly 80 percent of these buses fail inspection—over half of which fail for mechanical reasons.

In a recent survey of school bus mechanics, the braking systems were the most common concern expressed. While the effect of wear and tear may seem obvious, many brake problems are concealed. The brakes may appear to be functional when actually little force is being applied to the brake drums. Ideally, all wheels should be doing an equal amount of work, applying and releasing at the same time. Something as simple as maintaining air pressure in the braking system, can prevent a catastrophic failure. Misalignment or brakes that are out of balance are unseen problems, but certainly can be felt by the driver. It is not enough to repair a problem once a defect is found because of the inspection process; inspection programs must be thorough and preventative in nature, and drivers need to know how to recognize a problem before it becomes an incident. In the event of a serious injury, defective brake issues should be thoroughly explored by experts who have full access to the brakes before changes are made.

School buses should be designed to ensure the safety of the millions of children they transport annually and maintenance and proper inspection of these buses should be the rule and not the exception. Any school bus wreck that transpires is not an accident if the problems that cause them are well known. The National Coalition for School Bus Safety found that some operators are making money by running unsafe buses by waiting for state inspectors to identify defects rather than doing preventative maintenance because it would mean removing the bus off the road for a period of time.

Parents have a right to expect that buses are designed and maintained to minimize student injuries. If a member of your family or someone you know has been injured as a result of a collision involving a school bus, call Law Offices of Gary Green toll free and without obligation at 1-888-442-7947 or send us an e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

• Actos
• Darvon/Darvocet/Propoxyphene
• Guidant Defibrillators
• Avandia
• Trasylol
• Digitek Recall
• Fosamax
• Yasmin/Yaz

Actos

Actos (pioglitazone) is manufactured by Takeda Pharmaceuticals and is a drug normally prescribed for the treatment of Type II diabetes. On June 16, 2011, the FDA issued a new warning citing increased risk of bladder cancer in patients taking Actos for more than a year. In September, 2011 the FDA began a safety review of Actos after initial data from the manufacturers ongoing study indicated that the drug may increase the risk of bladder cancer. Two European countries have already banned the use of the drug.

If you or someone you know suffered from bladder cancer while using Actos, contact Law Offices of Gary Green toll free at 1-888-4GARYGREEN or send us an e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Darvon/Darvocet/Propoxyphene

In 2009, an outside advisory panel to the FDA recommended that Darvon and Darvocet be pulled from the market. Their review indicated that the potential side effects outweighed any benefits of these drugs. More specifically, they found that Darvon and Darvocet can cause serious and potentially fatal heart rhythm abnormalities. The FDA is not required to follow the recommendations of the panel, and both Darvon and Darvocet remained on the market.

In 2010, after electrocardiography data from a clinical study revealed QT interval abnormalities occurred in healthy individuals taking the prescribed dosage of the drug, the FDA removed Darvon and Darvocet from the market.

The QT interval is defined as the measure of time between the start of the Q wave and the end of the T wave in the heart’s electrical cycle.

Guidant Defibrillators

In July 2005, the FDA announced the recall of implantable defibrillators and pacemakers manufactured by Guidant Corporation. These devices are implanted surgically in people who have a type of heart disease that creates the risk of a life-threatening heart arrhythmia (abnormal rhythm). Some of the risks associated with the defibrillators are deterioration of the wires and its inability to deliver therapy. One of the risks associated with pacemakers is that a sealing component used in the devices may experience a gradual degradation, resulting in a higher than normal moisture content with the pacemaker case.

Avandia

Avandia is widely used to treat patients with Type II Diabetes Mellitus. Avandia has been associated with a significant increase in the risk of myocardial infarctions and an increase in the risk of death from cardiovascular causes. Criteria for an Avandia cause of action include:

• Diagnosed with Type II Diabetes
• Avandia use for at least twelve weeks
• 50 years old or younger
• Non-smoker
• Death from cardiac event
• Myocardial infarction (MI)/heart attack resulting in death or disability
• Congestive heart failure (CHF) resulting in death or disability
• Cardiomyopathy.

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Trasylol

As if patients facing heart bypass surgery did not already have enough to worry about, there is now a chance that Trasylol, a drug used to prevent blood loss, might actually increase their risk of kidney problems, heart attacks, and strokes. Patients who suffered serious injuries as a result of Trasylol are now filing lawsuits against the drug's maker, alleging it knew about the risks but failed to warn patients.

The first lawsuits against Bayer, maker of Trasylol, were filed earlier this year.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, (January 26, 2007) found that Trasylol had an increased risk of kidney failure, stroke, and degenerative brain disease. The study concluded, "The association between Aprotinin (Trasylol) and serious end-organ damage indicates that continued use is not prudent. In contrast, the less expensive generic medications aminocaproic acid and tranexamic acid are safe alternatives."

The study found the increased risks of serious injury were significant. Trasylol was found to have a 55 percent increased risk of heart failure and a 181 percent increased risk of stroke or encephalopathy (degenerative brain disease). The research team estimated that up to 10,000 patients now require dialysis because of Trasylol.

Furthermore, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found Trasylol was associated with a 48 percent increased risk of dying within five years of coronary artery bypass surgery. In fact researchers noted, as reported in The New York Times, that replacing Trasylol with other drugs for a year would prevent 10,000 deaths worldwide over the next five years.

Questions have been raised about what Bayer knew about the risks of Trasylol and when officials knew it. Allegations of withholding information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have been made, although it is not clear whether the omission was intentional or erroneous. Despite a safety meeting with FDA officials, Bayer representatives failed to mention that their company had undertaken a safety study of Trasylol. Preliminary findings of that study found an increased risk of death, kidney damage, stroke, and congestive heart failure. Yet Bayer did not inform the FDA of this data at the safety meeting.

If you have suffered kidney failure, heart problems, or other permanent complications after surgery, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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Digitek Recall

Actavis Totowa LLC notified healthcare professionals of a Class I nationwide recall of all strengths of Digitek (Digoxin) on April 28, 2008, a drug used to treat heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms. The products are distributed by Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., under a Bertek label and by UDL Laboratories, Inc. under a UDL label. The product is being recalled due to the possibility that tablets with double the appropriate thickness may contain twice the approved level of active ingredient.

The existence of double strength tablets poses a risk of digitalis toxicity in patents with renal failure. Digitalis toxicity can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, low blood pressure, cardiac instability and bradycardia. Several reports of illnesses and injuries have been reported. If you have suffered kidney failure, heart problems, or other permanent complications after as a result of Digitek, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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Fosamax

Fosamax has been widely used to prevent or treat osteoporosis. It is also used for the treatment of Paget's Disease. Fosamax has been associated with the development of bone loss in the jaw, also called osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) or "jawbone death." Criteria for Fosamax cause of action include:

• Diagnosed with osteoporosis or Paget's Disease
• No kidney disease.
• Development of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ)
• Long-term use of Fosamax
• Atrial Fibrillation
• Esophageal Tumors and/or cancer
• Unusual Bone Fractures
• Severe Bone, Joint and Muscle Pain

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Yasmin/Yaz

Yasmin and its newer version, Yaz, are birth control pills manufactured by Bayer Healthcare. Their generic counterpart, Ocella, is produced by Barr Laboratories.

These once-a-day oral contraceptives contain drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol and were heavily marketed without adequate warnings about the serious and potentially life-threatening side effects. Users with pre-existing kidney or liver disease could be particularly susceptible to these safety concerns, yet the manufacturers of these drugs failed to provide adequate information and warnings to consumers and healthcare providers.

Although Yaz and Yasmin contain components used in birth control pills for years, the component drospirenone is exclusive to these drugs. Drospirenone has been linked to dehydration which can then lead to an increase in potassium. This potassium increase is known as hyperkalemia. Because of the direct connection between potassium levels and heart rhythm, any disturbance in potassium levels can be serious and dangerous.

Some side effects associated with the use of Yasmin, Yaz and Ocella include:

• Blood clots and blood clot-related injuries
• Strokes
• Deep vein thrombosis
• Pulmonary embolism
• Heart attacks
• Gallbladder injuries; gallbladder removal
• Kidney stones
• Kidney failure
• Pancreatic cancer
• Death

If you or someone you know suffered from blood clots, stroke, heart attack, deep vein thrombosis, gallbladder disease or death while using Yasmin, Yaz or Ocella, contact Law Offices of Gary Green toll free at 1-888-4GARYGREEN or send us an e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to discuss your legal options without obligation.

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