Private irrigation well water tests have determined that two additional wells are contaminated with toxins associated with the Raytheon plant located on 72nd St. in St. Petersburg. The two wells in question are located in the 6900 block of 12th Avenue North and 16th Avenue North. These tests were conducted by Arcadis a third party hired by Raytheon to perform well testing. The tests were performed on April 29 and May 8.
In news related to our class action lawsuit, Raytheon’s lawyers have already filed papers to remove the issue to federal court.

Trasylol, a clotting drug used during cardiac surgery has been pulled from the market by Bayer after an FDA request to remove the drug due to health concerns. The FDA asked for the withdrawal after its studies found that the drug’s benefits don’t outweigh its considerable and serious adverse side effects, including death. In fact, two studies this year found the drug use increased patient mortality rates among those undergoing bypass surgery. Studies have shown that the Trasylol drug increased the risk of death, kidney damage, congestive heart failure and stroke.
Trasylol Side Effects Class Action Lawsuit

While the $8.7 million civil verdict is arguably the largest in Vermont’s history, it is not the only matter that makes the sex abuse lawsuit settlement unique. Revelation of internal church documents revealed one bishop threatening to sue another bishop over liability issues. Bishop Salvatore Matano sent a letter to Bishop John D’Arcy threatening to sue his diocese for not disclosing Rev. Edward Paquette’s prior abuse history. Matano wrote in part, the survivor “would have been successful had they pursued a claim for damages against your diocese in this matter.” D’Arcy didn’t take too kindly to the not so subtle threat from his brother bishop. D’Arcy responded, “I do not see how we are assisted by imputing words or creating lapses of words in the fashion which supports the cause of your diocese. I regret deeply and take very seriously your threat to bring this diocese into civil court. I pray that will not occur.”
This exchange between Catholic bishops is absolutely unprecedented. It’s just not the way bishops interact. If there are disputes, they usually are handled behind closed doors and never in writing. It shows that the two bishops never thought their heated correspondence would ever see the light of day.
The verdict includes both compensatory as well as punitive damages and clearly demonstrates the importance of obtaining the internal or secret church documents. Without such documents, a survivor of sexual abuse is not likely to prevail in his quest for justice. These internal, secret documents contain the history of abuse and cover-up that has rocked the Catholic Church.

The consumer advocacy group Public Citizen has petitioned the FDA to remove Ortho Evra from the marketplace. Controversy surrounding the birth control patch has escalated since a 2005 found that women using Ortho Evra were more susceptible to life threatening blood clots than those using the birth control pill. The FDA has updated Ortho Evra’s label with warnings in 2005, 2006, and earlier this year.
Some studies have found that Ortho Evra is twice as likely than the pill to cause dangerous blood clots because patients absorb 60% more estrogen with the patch. Additionally, the patch has not proven to be any more effective than the pill in birth control. Ortho Evra lawsuits have found studies that show the manufacturer of Ortho Evra, Johnson & Johnson researchers that found the higher estrogen levels associated with the patch prior to its approval in 2001. Now, Public Citizen is asking the government to ban the drug due to its safety concerns and its ineffectiveness.

In the past decade, Florida has held some dubious distinctions-election debacles, the Elian Gonzalez saga, and the Terri Schiavo tragedy. Now it seems that the Sunshine State can add one more to its list: leading the nation in boating deaths. Last year, boating fatalities jumped 10% and the state has led the nation for the 16th time in the last 20 years. Some of this can be attributed to the fact that Florida is a peninsula and is not land locked like most of the contiguous 48 states. However, this should not allow state officials to dismiss these boating statistics.
According to an article in the St. Petersburg Times, 77 people died, 8 of them in Tampa Bay, in boating mishaps. The issue has drawn the attention of the Florida Legislature but at a Feb. 6 meeting of the House Committee on Conservation and State Lands the measure failed. Opponents of more boater education cited government largesse in declining to push education legislation in spite of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s statistics showing that increased boater education could save lives.

Raytheon Class Action Lawsuit

Joe Saunders will meet with concerned Azalea residents this evening ( March 8th 2008 ) to discuss the groundwater contamination by Raytheon. The meeting will be held at Azalea Baptist Church, 7900 22nd Ave. North, St. Petersburg beginning at 7:30pm. Attorney Saunders will discuss the class action lawsuit against Raytheon as well as the status of the contamination investigation. Residents first learned of the problem after media reports discovered unacceptable levels of 1,4-dioxane, trichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride in the neighborhood groundwater. While Raytheon and the DEP continue to state there are no evidence of health issues related to the toxic plume, other experts have cautioned that it may be too early to make that determination. The toxic plume has caused a diminution of property values in the neighborhood. At least three real estate closings have failed as a result of the plume.
Raytheon Class Action Lawsuit

The specter of two class action lawsuits would put fear into the corporate heart of most companies. However, Raytheon Corporation hasn’t blinked as it faces a class action lawsuit as a result of contaminating the groundwater in the Azalea neighborhood of St. Petersburg.
Raytheon has faced these types of class actions before. They’ve settled a securities class action lawsuit
In 2004, Raytheon was faced with another class action lawsuit. This time the victims sued the defense contractor for exposure to x-ray radiation.
In addition to the class action lawsuits, Raytheon has had to contend with massive environmental cleanup efforts ordered by the DEP, most notably in Mountainview CA and Tucson AZ.
http://www.saunderslawyers.com/practice-areas/pollution/raytheon-class-action-lawsuit.html

While diabetic pumps used to treat teenagers with Type I diabetes have allowed them to live more normal lives, the pumps can come with certain risks. Some of the risks are associated with misuse of the pump but other risks have been found when the pumps malfunction. Two possible suicide attempts have been documented in teens where the patient gave themselves too much insulin.
Insulin pumps are the size of a cell phone and worn on a belt or in a pocket. They dispense insulin through a tube with a tip that is inserted under the skin and taped. They cost about $6,000 and supplies run $250 a month. Most health insurers cover much of the cost.
The FDA has called for more study about safety concerns as well as closer parental involvement with teens who choose to use the diabetic pump.

Raytheon has inspected wells in the Azalea neighborhood and plans to do more testing in the wake of class action lawsuits and a report due to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on May 31. In spite of Raytheon’s continued insistence that there is no danger to human health as a result of the toxic plume, the DEP has contacted six residents in the Azalea neighborhood and advised them against using their irrigation wells until after the DEP reviews Raytheon’s findings at the end of the month.
In the meantime, our class action lawsuit investigation into Raytheon’s toxic spill and subsequent neglect will continue. Besides the obvious health concern, many residents affected by the Raytheon groundwater contamination are worried about plummeting property values and the stigma associated with living in or next to toxic waste caused by Raytheon.

According to the Wall St. Journal, Pfizer is starting to settle lawsuits against its painkilling drugs Celebrex and Bextra. While the numbers are not yet official, one attorney told the Journal that he was offered $200,000 per client for his Bextra clients while he was offered $40-50,000 per client for his Celebrex cases.
Pfizer appears to be handling their cases differently than Merck whose product Vioxx is in the same class of painkilling drugs. All are classified as Cox-2 inhibitors which have come under intense scrutiny because they’ve been linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.