New litigation groups certified at Miami convention.

To join one or more of these new groups, contact the interim chairs listed.

Trasylol (aprotinin)

Trasylol was designed by Bayer to reduce bleeding during open-heart surgery. The drug was originally limited to patients with a high risk of blood transfusion. In 1998, the FDA approved it for use during any open-heart surgery, and sales skyrocketed.

In January 2006, two studies suggested an increased risk of renal failure and stroke in patients who used Trasylol versus other available drugs, prompting a February 2006 FDA advisory. In September 2006, after another published study linked Trayslol with kidney failure, the FDA limited the drug's use to patients with serious transfusion risks.

The new Trasylol Litigation Group will provide members immediate access to FDA materials, sample complaints, and FDA responses to FOIA requests. The group will hold an organizational meeting at the annual convention in Chicago this July. Its interim chair is James Ronca of Philadelphia; e-mail address [e-mail].

Atypical anti-psychotics

This group is a new iteration of the former Zyprexa Litigation Group, and it encompasses all drugs in the class of atypical anti-psychotics, intruding Zyprexa and Seroquel. Like Zyprexa, Seroquel is designed to treat schizophrenia, but it causes diabetes in many patients.

The litigation group's interim chair is Howard Nations of Houston, who has been active in leading the Seroquel multidistrict litigation based in Florida. Nations can be reached by e-mail at [e-mail].

Fosamax

Fosamax is a drug used to treat osteoporosis/osteopenia or cancer where there is a risk of metastasis. It was designed to combat the weakening of bone, but it limits blood flow in the bone and its use can result in bone death. This typically occurs in the jawbones of Fosamax patients who have undergone dental work. Fosamax can also cause a sudden spiral fracture in a patient's shinbone, as commonplace microfractures accumulate and fail to heal due to the limited blood flow caused by Fosamax.

The Fosamax (and other bisphosphonates) Litigation Group offers support in handling cases involving several other bisphosphonates in the same class as Fosamax, including Zometa. The group's interim chair is Michael Monheit of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania; e-mail address [e-mail].

Lawnmower defects

The lawnmower industry has long understood the dangers of riding mowers, yet some manufacturers continue to market mowers with a deadly defect that is easy and inexpensive to correct with a no-mow-in-reverse default feature.

Almost 80,000 Americans require hospital treatment for lawnmower injuries each year, according to the April 2006 Annals of Emergency Medicine.

The Lawnmower Litigation Group will provide its members with recent verdicts and materials collected over the years by experienced practitioners. Its interim chair is David Hodge of Birmingham, Alabama. His e-mail address is [e-mail].

Kugel mesh

Kugel mesh, used in hernia operations, has been marketed as an easy-to-use medical device. Rather than having to make a large incision, a doctor inserts the collapsed Kugel mesh through a tiny incision. The mesh should then expand over the area it is meant to support. However, sometimes the mesh's "O"-ring fractures and lacerates the intestines, which can lead to major complications, including death. The FDA has issued numerous recalls of this product, most recently in January 2007.

The Kugel Mesh Litigation Group hold an organizational meeting at the Chicago Annual Convention in July. Its interim vice chairs are Fred Thompson III of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, e-mail fthompson@motleyrice. com; and Ed Wallace of Chicago.

Human tissue

This gruesome litigation involves the fraudulent harvesting and selling of body parts in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The defendants, including several funeral directors, sold body parts to major biomedical companies without properly screening the parts for disease. The companies then failed to comport with FDA regulations and implanted the potentially diseased body parts in up to 20,000 unwitting patients. As a result, some recipients have contracted HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases. Others have received aged, brittle bone instead of healthy, strong bone.

The group's interim chair is Lawrence Cohan of Philadelphia. His e-mail address is [e-mail].