Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Magic Power Coffee, an instant coffee product marketed as a dietary supplement for sexual enhancement, contains an active drug ingredient that can dangerously lower blood pressure, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns. When blood pressure drops suddenly, the brain is deprived of an adequate blood supply, which can lead to dizziness or lightheadedness. Consumers should stop using Magic Power Coffee immediately. The agency warns consumers that sexual enhancement products that claim to work as well as prescription drugs are likely to expose consumers to unpredictable risks and the potential for injury or even death.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tests conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a product known as “Generic Tamiflu” and sold on the Internet has found that the product contains an ingredient that could cause serious injury in some consumers. The fraudulent product does not contain Tamiflu’s active ingredient, oseltamivir, but cloxacillin, an ingredient in the same class of antibiotics as penicillin. Patients who are allergic to penicillin are at risk of experiencing similar reactions from cloxacillin. Such reactions include sudden, potentially life-threatening reactions called anaphylaxis, with symptoms that include difficulty breathing, chest tightness, swelling of the throat or tongue, hives, dizziness, loss of consciousness, or a rapid or weak pulse.

Read the rest of this entry »

When Joshua Brantner was 20 years old, he attended a party that changed his life forever. He arrived as a healthy, ordinary guy but left in an ambulance with a traumatic brain injury that severely impaired his mental and physical functions.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning hospital risk managers, surgical service managers and infection control professionals that a device used in surgical and endoscopy suites for sterilizing or disinfecting medical devices has been modified, has not been approved by the FDA, and may not properly disinfect or sterilize instruments, which may pose a serious risk to patients and health care staff.

Read the rest of this entry »

Toys, children’s furniture, clothing, home appliances, power tools, sports equipment – these are just some of the many products that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalls every year to protect consumers from using potentially dangerous and life-threatening items. But while the CPSC’s safety alerts notify the public of recalls involving new and recently made products, millions of older, defective, once-recalled or banned products find their way into thrift stores every year.

In fact, the CPSC says that 7 out of every 10 thrift stores sell products that pose the risk of injury and death. If hazards abound in second-hand stores, what is the CPSC doing to improve public safety? And what can consumers do to protect themselves?

Read the rest of this entry »

A device used to block off the aorta, monitor aortic pressure, and deliver solution to stop the heart during cardiopulmonary bypass procedures has been recalled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because the device’s balloon catheters may spontaneously rupture during surgery and may result in serious health consequences or death to patients.

Read the rest of this entry »

Concussions, injuries that fall on the mild side of the traumatic brain injury (TBI) scale, are receiving significantly more consideration these days than ever before, thanks to studies that probe and attempt to grasp the often elusive nature of TBI.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating certain types of medical devices made by Hospira Inc. and Abbott Nutrition after 122 reports of sparking, charring and fires from the power cords used with the devices. The announcement follows a recall announcement and FDA warning last August on some medical devices made by Hospira Inc. because of faulty electrical cords that could lead to serious injury or death.

Read the rest of this entry »

A catheter that connects to infusion pumps used to store and deliver medicine into the body is being recalled because its design is incompatible with certain pumps and may cause serious injury or death due to catheter disconnection or blockage at the connection site.

The Class I recall was announced this week by the Food and Drug Association (FDA) and covers INDURA 1P Intrathecal Catheter model 8709SC, Intrathecal Catheter, model 8731SC; Sutureless Pump Connector Revision Kit, model 8578; and Intrathecal Catheter Pump Segment Revision Kit, model 8596SC. A Class I recall is the most serious type of recall the FDA can give and involves situations in which there is a reasonable probability that use of the products will cause serious injury or death.

Read the rest of this entry »

A 19-year-old pole vaulter for the University of Southern California San Diego died earlier this month after receiving a traumatic brain injury. According to the Los Angeles Times, sophomore Leon Roach from Huntington Beach, California, had been practicing his vaults on Thursday, September 3. Roach was completing a jump but missed the pads and hit the concrete instead, landing head first.

Read the rest of this entry »