The blind trust in prescription drugs (and OTC medicines) that we here in Miami Beach as well as elsewhere across the country have may be very much misplaced, and the more lawsuits that are filed, the more obvious the scullduggery appears to be.
Last week, we were pondering the number of cases filed by former drug company employees, whistleblowing about the bad stuff they were seeing happening regarding both prescription drugs as well as over the counter medicines. Part of that involved GlaxoSmithKline admitting guilt to a crime and paying over $750,000,000 in settlement of both criminal and civil claims against it.
Miami and the Nation - We Are All So Dependent Upon the Integrity of Doctors and Drug Companies
Drugs that we take, and give our loved ones, we're thinking that doctors know best and that these medicines will help them get better, and have less pain as they recover. We're all so dependent upon the kindness (and integrity) of strangers here, aren't we?
Well, now there's a new battlefield in the war against dishonest drug companies as the federal government has brought a criminal action against Lauren Stevens, 60, in-house attorney for Glaxo Smith Kline. (Read the complete news release by the Justice Department here.) According to the New York Times, filing criminal charges against Ms. Stevens is part of the federal government's "long-promised crackdown" on pharmaceutical company executives.
Glaxo Smith Kline's lawyer has been charged by the Department of Justice with:
- one (1) count of obstructing an official proceeding
- one (1) count of concealing and falsifying documents to influence a federal agency and
- four (4) counts of making false statements to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The first two charges each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The four charges of making false statements each carry a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison.
Meanwhile, GlaxoSmithKilne wasn't named in the indictment and so far, hasn't been charged with a crime by the feds.
Do you use drugs made by GlaxoSmithKline? Odds are high that you do.
Curious about whether or not you or a loved one takes a drug or medicine manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline? Easy enough to check, just go down the list of drugs and vaccines they have listed on their web site. On there, you will see such well-known drug products as:
- Advair
- Amoxil
- Avandia
- Boniva
- Dexedrine
- Flonase
- Lamictal
- Paxil
- Valtrex
- Wellbrutin
- Zantac
Miami - Be Safe and Be Careful
As always, please remember that if you have a gut instinct that something isn't right with a pill or capsule or syrup - call your doctor. (Don't just automatically stop taking the medication until you speak with a health care professional, however, because cold turkey might have its own damaging repercussions.)
If harm has occurred take care of it first - safety and security are number one. After that, consider calling a lawyer. It's becoming glaringly obvious that lawsuits and money damages are what these drug companies respect, not the basic concepts of doing the right thing because it's the right thing to do.
By on November 11, 2010 1:01 PM
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