Suit worth following....

[WODIN]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/orioles/2003-06-03-bechler-lawsuit_x.htm


LOS ANGELES (AP) — Steve Bechler's parents plan to sue the makers of a diet supplement containing ephedra, which a coroner said contributed to the heatstroke death of the Baltimore Orioles pitcher in spring training.
Attorney Todd Macaluso said Ernie and Pat Bechler will sue Cytodyne Technologies, Inc., and Phoenix Laboratories, the manufacturers of Xenadrine RFA-1, a diet supplement that includes ephedra.

The civil action will charge wrongful death, product liability, negligence, fraud and misrepresentation this week, Macaluso said. There was no announcement about how much the family might seek in damages or where the lawsuit would be filed.

"The loss of Steve Bechler has had a devastating effect on the family," Macaluso said in a statement Monday.

A phone message left after business hours for a spokesman at Cytodyne, based in Manasquan, N.J., was not immediately returned.

Ephedrine use is banned by the NCAA, the International Olympic Committee and the NFL, but not major league baseball.

Last week, Illinois became the first state to ban the substance.

The 23-year-old Bechler was taking the supplement to lose weight at the start of spring training when he collapsed Feb. 16 in Fort Lauderdale He died the next day after his temperature rose to 108.

Toxicology tests confirmed that "significant amounts" of an over-the-counter supplement containing ephedra led to Bechler's heatstroke, along with other factors, Broward County medical examiner Dr. Joshua Perper said.

Macaluso was one of the lead attorneys in a class action lawsuit brought by Jason A. Park against Cytodyne. The company was ordered Friday to pay $12.5 million to California consumers for exaggerated and false claims about the product's safety and effectiveness.

Cytodyne denied the charges and said it plans to appeal the ruling of San Diego Superior Court Judge Ronald Styn.


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[Zyglamail]

This kind of stuff pisses me off to no end, where is the personal responsibility today??? Why is it always someone elses fault when bad things happen due to drug/suppliment use? Cant his parent just admit their son. Why go after a sup company when the sup didnt point a gun at his head and make him take it???

 

[ROID WARRIOR]

As an aside, the article is not entirely correct, Illinois is not alone, the California legislature also recently voted to ban the sale of ephedra. Other restrictions and bans include Nassau County, New York, which has had a ban on the sale for some time, courtesy of former County Executive Tom Gulotta, after a teenager from Long Island died on spring break after allegedly consuming an "herbal ecstasy" product containing ephedra. Florida has restricted the sale of ephedra to minors. Interestingly, the testimony at the legislative hearings in favor of the recent CA ban went unopposed by the supplement maunfacturers. Apparently the supplement manufacturers have thrown in the towel on ephedra products. TwinLab discontinued all ephedra products following an action similar to the instant one.

In any event, perhaps the fraud thoery will be the most difficult, although if the intent is proven it could result in the award of punitive damages.


RW

 

[HULKSTER]

Yes, Twinlab discontinued the use of ALL its ephedra based products. They now only produce ephedra-free products, which is like taking the caffeine out of coffee. On a side note, Cytodyne---of Manasquan, NJ----which produces Xenedrine, has informed all of its retailers that there will be no shipments of Xenedrine for the next month. The company will use that time to produce a new inventory, as Cytodyne has COMPLETELY RUN OUT OF XENEDRINE! Also, GNC has announced that all of its stores will stop selling ephedra-based products come the end of June.

 

[manny78]

Welcome to America, the land where human beings cannot be responsible.

 

[ReallyDumb]

I like it

I like the fact they are banning this substance. While I have used it, and had no side-effects, there are a great deal of people that do. This product even if taken correctly is extremly unsafe! I have many friends that are doctors and they have seen a great deal of people whose bodies are not able to correctly process this drug. The majority of people live from the drug reaction, but permanant damage to the heart is the result. The companies like TwinLabs and alike, do realize this huge risk of using this drug and in an effort to probably curb litigation, they attempt to post a little note saying when and who should take this drug. This notice in legal terms provides an "assumption of risk". For most product liability cases, assumption of risk is really the only defense.

While courts do agree that providing a little label blurb is notice, they believe it is insufficient notice for the harm resulting. The majority of people that take this drug just dont understand the risks involved. If products cant find a better way then putting a warning in mega-small print on the bottle, they should be pulled. As I write this, i keep on remembering the case of chain-saws.... One of the best places to go for STrict-Liability lawsuits.

Cheers

 

[manny78]

Re: I like it

I like the fact they are banning this substance. While I have used it, and had no side-effects, there are a great deal of people that do. This product even if taken correctly is extremly unsafe! I have many friends that are doctors and they have seen a great deal of people whose bodies are not able to correctly process this drug. The majority of people live from the drug reaction, but permanant damage to the heart is the result. The companies like TwinLabs and alike, do realize this huge risk of using this drug and in an effort to probably curb litigation, they attempt to post a little note saying when and who should take this drug. This notice in legal terms provides an "assumption of risk". For most product liability cases, assumption of risk is really the only defense.

While courts do agree that providing a little label blurb is notice, they believe it is insufficient notice for the harm resulting. The majority of people that take this drug just dont understand the risks involved. If products cant find a better way then putting a warning in mega-small print on the bottle, they should be pulled. As I write this, i keep on remembering the case of chain-saws.... One of the best places to go for STrict-Liability lawsuits.

Cheers

I hope you'd apply the same logic to tobacco products...

 

[Zyglamail]

Re: Re: I like it

I hope you'd apply the same logic to tobacco products...

Not to mention half the OTC products like tylenol, cough/cold meds etc. I find some people have a very skewed sense of logic when it comes to these things and many just dont realize that these things dont jump off the shelf and down your throat, people who use them make a decision to take them. I suppose draino should be outlawed as well because I know a kid growing up who drank it and was terribly disfigured cause it ate away his face and throat.

 

[ryce]

Not to mention MacDonald's fries, aspartame, Hagen Daz

 

[Singleton]

I think I'll move to China. It's legal there.