Those Who Used Chemical Hair Relaxing and Straightening Products Twice as Likely to Be Exposed According to National Health Center Statistics

Tragic health problems stemming from the use of several hair beauty products are surfacing over allegations that their use is linked to the development of uterine and ovarian cancer.

L’Oreal USA Inc. and subsidiaries of India-based companies Godrej SON Holdings Inc and Dabur International Ltd. are among the companies named as defendants in these cases.

There have been so many cases filed in federal courts in numerous states that they may be consolidated into a massive action called a federal Multidistrict Litigation.

Such an action could have legal ramifications, such as deadlines for filing a lawsuit, and it may be advisable to seek legal advice to protect your rights to compensation if you have been affected by these serious allegations of deadly side effects.

There is independent substantiation of these allegations, as a scientific study by the National Institutes of Health found that women who used the products several times a year were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer as those who didn’t.

 BLACK WOMEN MORE AT RISK

There is also a racial component to the fears of uterine and ovarian cancer: The NIH research found that the health dangers from the straighteners and relaxers affected Black women more than other races and ethnicities.

According the NIH:

…health effects associated with straightener use could be more consequential for African American and/or Black women because of the higher prevalence and frequency of hair product use, younger age of initiating use, and harsher chemical formulations.

 The basis of the hair straightener lawsuits is that the products are linked to the dangers of cancer and that the companies were aware of these dangers dating back to 2015 and yet failed to warn consumers of these dangers.

Surprisingly, chemical hair straighteners do not require approval by the Food and Drug Administration before they are placed on marketplace shelves because they are cosmetic products.

However, consumers are protected under certain other laws, such as the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act under which chemical hair straighteners and relaxants can be prosecuted.

WHAT ARE VICTIMS SEEKING IN THEIR LAWSUITS?

 Court filings in hair straightening lawsuits show that the victims in these cases are seeking compensation for their injuries. Among the redress claims are:

• Medical expenses
• Hospital billings
• Counseling costs
• Lost wages, past and future
• Pain and suffering
• Funeral expenses
• Punitive damages above and beyond actual damages

If you were a longtime user of hair straightener products and have been diagnosed with uterine or ovarian cancer or have a loved one who died in similar circumstances there are important legal options to preserve your rights to compensation.

National Figures Show Startling Rise in Cases of Parkinson’s Disease, Devastating Ailment Linked to Paraquat Exposure

Among the horrible side effects of exposure to the herbicide paraquat is Parkinson’s Disease, the second most common age-related neurodegenerative condition diagnosed in North America.

Among the horrible side effects of exposure to the herbicide paraquat is Parkinson’s Disease, the second most common age-related neurodegenerative condition diagnosed in North America.

The herbicide is only supposed to be used by commercially licensed individuals and firms, such as farmers and agricultural workers, but others who lived or worked near areas in which paraquat was used also may have been exposed.

Medical research figures published in NPJ Parkinson’s Disease show that in recent years the number of new cases of Parkinson’s disease diagnoses has increased by about 50 percent to about 90,000 in the United States annually.
There can be several causes for this debilitating disease but the researchers and an increasing number of paraquat lawsuits are pointing to exposure to paraquat as a major contributor.

If you or a loved one has been exposed to paraquat and diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, free consultations about your legal options are available at …… Preserving your rights to compensation may be affected by legal time limits so prompt action is important.

So far, nearly 2,400 paraquat lawsuits have been filed in federal courts in which victims are claiming that they developed Parkinson’s Disease because they used and came in contact with the herbicide.

The victims allege they are suffering from a brain disorder that causes unintended or uncontrollable movements, and leaves them, shaking, stiff, and encountering problems with balance and coordination.

As the disease progresses the victims eventually may have difficulty walking, talking and caring for themselves.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines the specifics:

• Paraquat is a toxic chemical that is widely used as an herbicide (plant killer), primarily for weed and grass control.
• In the United States, paraquat is available primarily as a liquid in various strengths. The US Environmental Protection Agency classifies paraquat as “restricted use.” This means that it can be used only by people who are licensed applicators.
• Because paraquat is highly poisonous, the form that is marketed in the United States has a blue dye to keep it from being confused with beverages such as coffee, a sharp odor to serve as a warning, and an added agent to cause vomiting if someone drinks it. Paraquat from outside the United States may not have these safeguards added.

The national health center also outlines how you may have been exposed to paraquat:

• Paraquat is not known to have been used in any terrorist attacks or wars.
• The most likely route of exposure to paraquat that would lead to poisoning is ingestion (swallowing).
• Paraquat can be mixed easily with food, water, or other beverages. If the form of paraquat that is used does not contain the safeguard additives (dye, odor, and vomiting agent), people might not know that the food, water, or other beverages are contaminated. Eating or drinking paraquat-contaminated food or beverages could poison people.
• Paraquat poisoning is also possible after skin exposure. Poisoning is more likely to occur if the skin exposure lasts for a long time, involves a concentrated version of paraquat, or occurs through skin that is not intact (skin that has sores, cuts, or a severe rash).
• If it is inhaled, paraquat could cause poisoning leading to lung damage. In the past, some marijuana in the United States has been found to contain paraquat.
• Licensed applicators of paraquat are the people most at risk for exposure.

Company Confirms Probe at Michigan Plant at Center of Baby Formula Shortage and Links to Baby Deaths

Abbott Laboratories has confirmed reports in the Wall Street Journal and other major news outlets that the Justice Department is investigating the company’s infant formula plant in Michigan that was shut down for months last year due to contamination

An Abbott official said in an email to the media that the company is “cooperating fully” in response to the probe by the consumer protection branch of the federal agency,

The company already is facing over 100 federal NEC Similac lawsuits over allegations of serious illnesses and deaths from the use of Similac and Enfamil baby formula products.

Similac infant formula lawsuits claim that Abbott deceived parents and doctors by labeling cow’s milk-based products as “human milk fortifier” that caused necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) injuries to newborns.

The company is accused in these lawsuits of making misleading statements that falsely suggested the fortifiers were derived from human breast milk.

An Abbott official said in an email to the media that the company is “cooperating fully” in response to the probe by the consumer protection branch of the federal agency,

The company already is facing over 100 federal NEC Similac lawsuits over allegations of serious illnesses and deaths from the use of Similac and Enfamil baby formula products.

Similac infant formula lawsuits claim that Abbott deceived parents and doctors by labeling cow’s milk-based products as “human milk fortifier” that caused necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) injuries to newborns.

The company is accused in these lawsuits of making misleading statements that falsely suggested the fortifiers were derived from human breast milk.

“Although Defendants aggressively market their products, including the Products, to make parents believe Defendants’ products are safe and necessary for growth of a premature infant, their products are extremely dangerous for premature infants,” the plaintiffs’ lawsuit claims.

The Sturgis, Michigan, factory’s temporary closure in February 2022 caused a national controversy because of its dominance of the baby formula market and the ensuing nationwide baby formula shortage.
The factory was closed after federal inspectors discovered numerous violations of health codes, including lax safety protocols, bacterial contaminations and construction defects affecting contaminations.

$10,000 Fine Looms for Residential Care Facility in Case in Which Elderly Woman Found Gasping for Air in Body Bag

Shocking stories from nursing homes continue to be revealed as vulnerable residents are still falling prey to abuse or mistakes from staff members in whom their care was entrusted.

One of the latest and most shocking incidents occurred at an Iowa Alzheimer’s care facility where a 66-year-old woman was pronounced dead after being found unresponsive in her room.

The woman was later found alive when a funeral director unzipped her body bag, according to documents from the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals.

CNN reported that the woman was admitted to a special care facility in Urbandale, Iowa, on Dec. 20, due to “senile degeneration of the brain” and was found unresponsive by a nurse on Jan. 3.

CNN provided the following chain of events:

“Both the nurse and the funeral director, who arrived from Ankeny Funeral Home and Crematory to pick up the woman, reported no signs of life at around 7:38 am.

“At approximately 8:26 a.m., funeral home staff unzipped the bag and observed Resident #1’s chest moving and she gasped for air. The funeral home then called 911 and hospice.”

The woman was returned to the hospice but died the next day, according to the report.

Well over two million men and women in their retirement years are now housed in special care facilities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but understaffing, abuse and negligence have generated a wave of nursing home negligence lawsuits.

Additionally, the problem of nursing home negligence has been dramatically escalated by the arrival of the new coronavirus, Covid-19.

If you or a loved one are the victim of injury or abuse because of the actions of a caregiver or nursing home facility there are now legal options available through the network of specialized lawyers available through Injury Help Desk

 The following is a list of the most common types of nursing home lawsuits that the national network of attorneys at Injury Help Desk is investigating:

• Physical abuse
• Mental abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Financial abuse
• Neglect
• Negligence of care
• Medical malpractice
• Medication errors
• Wrongful death
• Substandard hiring practices
• Understaffing
• Substandard training of staff
• Breach of statutory or regulatory rights

If you or a loved one has been a victim of any of those factors contact the national network of specialized lawyers available through Injury Help Desk as soon as possible because beginning an investigation early to gather evidence early is critical in a nursing home negligence case.

Contact us for a free case analysis of your nursing home negligence case as soon as possible to initiate aggressive representation to seek the compensation for which you or a loved one may be eligible.

Fentanyl, Methamphetamine Discovered in Pills Sold in Mexico to Unwary Consumers
In-depth investigative work by a team of Los Angeles Times reporters has uncovered serious concerns about the safety of buying pharmaceuticals in Mexico.

The newspaper reported that pharmacies in several northwestern Mexican cities “are selling counterfeit prescription pills laced with stronger and deadlier drugs and passing them off as legitimate pharmaceuticals.”
The findings are frightening for those who shop for medications south of the border:

In Tijuana, reporters found that pills sold as oxycodone tested positive for fentanyl, while pills sold as Adderall tested positive for methamphetamine. Testing conducted farther south in Cabo San Lucas and nearby San José del Cabo bore similar results, although there, even weaker painkillers — including pills sold as hydrocodone — also tested positive for fentanyl. Many are nearly indistinguishable from their legitimate counterparts.

These revelations are the latest chapter in an opioid crisis that is affecting many Americans.

Lawyers from the national network of lawyers at Injury Help Desk are among the legal resources involved in seeking compensation for victims of this terrible epidemic that has caused such widespread devastation in our country.
Please contact our experienced Injury Help Desk legal team and take advantage of a free consultation to determine whether you are eligible to seek financial accountability over an epidemic in which over 200,000 loved ones have been lost to opioids like hydrocodone, codeine, and other painkillers.
Some of the brand-named opioids cited in the lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributers are

• OxyContin
• Hysingla ER
• Nucynta
• Actiq
• Opana
• Percodan and
• Percocet

Our specialized Injury Help Desk attorneys will treat your case with compassion while aggressively pursuing the pharmaceutical giants who are facing allegations of aggressively marketing these painkillers while downplaying the tragically addictive side effects.
In effect: Prioritizing profits over patients.

There are lots of you out there who have been severely affected by the opioid epidemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites an alarming figure.
In the time frame between 1999 to 2010 these companies reported a four-fold increase in opioid pills sales even though there was not anywhere near an equal increase in the amount of pain reported by patients in the United States.
Overdoses – many of them fatal – have soared since then. In 2015 over 52,000 people died as a result of an opioid overdose. That’s in just one year.
The stakes are high in opioid lawsuits. These companies and distributors such as pharmacies at CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and Albertsons are basing their defense by placing the blame on the consumers.
But lawyers such as the nationwide team at Injury Help Desk are prepared to present evidence that the drug makers bear liability for aggressively and cleverly marketing the opioids while underplaying the risks that patients might face in becoming addicted.

Among the compensation that may be sought:

• Medical expenses
• Funeral and burial costs
• Treatment costs
• Mental health treatment costs
• Drug treatment costs
• Wages and benefits that are lost
• Pain and suffering

Federal Agencies Issue Alert Over Outbreak Connected to Artificial Tears Products

If you’ve been using EzriCare Artificial Tears to alleviate eye problems the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration say stop!

The eye drops have been linked to an antibiotic-resistant bacteria that is causing an increasing number of severe eye infections across the country that can lead to blindness, according to agency officials.
The basis for concern, according to the CDC, is that some of the eye drops contain a mutant strain of a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa that is incredibly difficult to treat.
Agency officials warn that because EzriCare eye drops don’t have preservatives they are more vulnerable to the bacteria, causing numerous victims to be hospitalized and in some cases, blindness.

Here’s the warning about the eyedrops from the federal agencies:

CDC is collaborating with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and state and local health departments to investigate a multistate outbreak of an extensively drug-resistant strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The outbreak strain, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa with Verona integron-mediated metallo-β-lactamase and Guiana extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (VIM-GES-CRPA), had never been reported in the United States prior to this outbreak. The outbreak is associated with multiple types of infections, including eye infections. The investigation to date has identified artificial tears as a common exposure for many patients.

Patients who suffered from this outbreak may contact the FDA’s Consumer Complaint Coordinators at the FDA website. You may also be eligible for compensation through the legal process:

WE’RE HERE TO HELP.

Injury Help Desk was formed to put you in touch with one of our highly specialized lawyers in our national network of legal assistance in order to find the perfect fit for your individual case.

Over the years the attorneys participating in our network have used decades of experience to assist tens of thousands of victims obtain the maximum compensation available for such cases.

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Our clients tell us we are unique for a variety of important reasons including:

• Deep Understanding of the Case
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