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The Genentech unit of drug maker Roche Holding AG, makers of the psoriasis drug Raptiva, is removing the drug from the market after learning it can cause a rare fatal disease of the central nervous system.

Raptiva was approved in 2003 for the treatment of chronic moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, a condition of the skin characterized by red, scaly, inflamed patches of skin. The official date this drug will be removed from circulation is June 8, 2009, reports Fox 5 in Atlanta.

The company stated no new prescriptions should be written. Of the approximately 2,000 patients now using the drug, three have shown symptoms of the rare nervous system disorder and one died. The FDA confirmed these cases in February, the same day regulators in the European Union recommended banning the drug.

A multi-million dollar jury verdict was upheld on March 4, when the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision that a patient has the right to sue the drug manufacturer of a prescription or over-the-counter drug if that drug caused injury.

The decision means drug makers are not shielded from state lawsuits just because their product is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

A Vermont musician sued the drug maker, Wyeth, after she lost part of her arm to gangrene after being injected with the drug, Phenergan, an anti-nausea drug. The suit argued the labeling of the drug did not give proper warnings of the danger of the drug to consumers. The jury agreed and awarded the woman $6.7 million.

The Peanut Corp. of America, the company at the center of a national salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds of people, has temporarily closed its plant in Plainview, Texas, after test results showed “the possible presence of salmonella” in some of its products.

Peanut Corp.’s plant in Georgia has been implicated in a salmonella outbreak that has sickened 600 people and caused eight deaths.

If you or someone you care about has been seriously injured or killed by someone else’s careless attitude toward food safety, you have the right to hold the careless party responsible in court. With almost 50 years of experience, the Louthian Law Firm can help you evaluate your case and file a lawsuit if the facts warrant one. To preserve your right to a day in court, contact one of our experienced South Carolina foodborne illness attorneys as soon as possible, at 1-866-410-5656, for a free case evaluation.

Peanut Corporation of America’s Georgia plant, which has been linked to salmonella in peanut butter that has made 500 people ill and killed eight, shipped out contaminated peanut butter 12 times in the past two years, federal officials said yesterday.

“There is a salmonella problem at the plant,” said an official with the Centers for Disease Control.

Federal investigators have found four strains of salmonella at the Georgia plant, including one in a sample near a plant washroom.

A wage discrimination bill that reverses a 2007 Supreme Court ruling cleared the Senate Jan. 22 and could be ready for signing by President Barack Obama within days.

The bill is aimed at negating a high court ruling that narrowly defined the time period during which a worker can file a claim of wage discrimination. That ruling enforced a strict filing deadline even in instances where the worker is unaware for months or years that he or she was getting less than a co-worker doing the same job.

The bill has been hailed by attorneys who handle employees’ discrimination claims as well as women’s groups that want to narrow the wage differences between men and women.

South Carolina Attorney Herbert Louthian is one of the attorneys representing an assistant superintendent in a lawsuit against Hampton School District Two. The South Carolina school official alleges she was wrongfully placed on administrative leave twice in less than one year.

Mortgage fraud is turning into a blight on the national economy, and federal authorities are warning homeowners, including those in South Carolina, to tread carefully when buying or selling property.

Mortgage fraud is now estimated as costing Americans $4 billion to $6 billion annually, according to the FBI.

If you or someone you love is a victim of predatory lending or mortgage fraud, you have the right to sue the unscrupulous lender to recover your money and punish them for their wrongdoing. You should speak to the Louthian Law Firm as soon as soon as possible. We offer free, confidential consultations to victims, and we never take any fees unless and until we win the case. For a free, no-obligation case evaluation, call us today at 1-866-410-5656.

A recent court verdict in Missouri demonstrates the kind of traumatic injuries that can occur in a bicycle-car collision. A jury returned a $1.8 million verdict in a personal injury case brought by a University of Missouri student. She was seriously injured in 2005 when she was struck by two vehicles at an intersection near campus.

The student has had several surgeries and was forced to have her left leg partially amputated.

The Louthian Law Firm in Columbia, SC believe cyclists have the right to hold negligent drivers responsible for the harm they cause. That’s why we’ve devoted a page on our Web site to this important issue.

A Florida jury has awarded $13.3 million to the family of a woman who died when her pain patch failed and flooded her system with too much medication. Susan Diane Hodgemire, 34, suffered from violent vomiting and fell into a coma after the contents of the patch came into direct contact of her skin. She later stopped breathing and died. Hodgemire is but one of many victims of defective pain patches distributed by Johnson & Johnson that have been found to leak a deadly amount of the narcotic fentanyla. About 80 percent of the lawsuit settlement will be handled by Johnson & Johnson. The rest of the settlement is to be paid by a physician who was found liable for medical malpractice for his actions after Hodgemire telephoned for help. The Johnson & Johnson pain patches have been involved in dozens of other lawsuits nationwide.

If you or someone you care about was injured by a defective medical product like the pain patches, contact the Louthian Law Firm today at 1-866-410-5656 for a free evaluation of your case.

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Motorcycle accidents during the past 12 months have killed more Marines than combat duty in Iraq, a new report says.

The alarming death rate has prompted military officials to call a meeting to address the issue. Since last November, 25 U.S. Marines have died in motorcycle crashes, compared to 20 Marines killed during fighting in Iraq. All but one of the motorcycle wrecks involved a so-called “sport bike,” which can easily exceed 100 mph.

If you’re dealing with fallout from a motorcycle wreck, you should consider speaking with the experienced South Carolina motorcycle accident attorneys at the Louthian Law Firm. We have represented motorcycle crash victims and other injured South Carolinians since 1959, and we know our clients are often at a difficult time in their lives. We can help our clients be fairly compensated for a serious motorcycle crash, including money to pay medical bills, repair costs, missed work and other financial costs the accident caused; compensation for a serious injury or permanent disability; and compensation for your pain and suffering.