LOS ANGELES – (August 22, 2012) Baron and Budd attorneys filed a deceptive labeling class action lawsuit today against Abbott Laboratories concerning the company’s “Ensure Muscle Health” and “Ensure Clinical Strength” products.  The lawsuit alleges that Abbott Laboratories engages in deceptive and misleading practices in connection with the marketing of its products and charges the company with violations of multiple laws. The complaint was filed on behalf of Michael J. Otto of California and a class of similarly situated consumers across the country who purchased Ensure Muscle Health or Ensure Clinical Strength drinks. Baron and Budd attorneys Roland Tellis and Mark Pifko serve as counsel in the lawsuit.

According to the complaint, Abbott capitalizes on the fears of mature Americans who are worried about muscle loss, promising that drinking the products alone will “help rebuild muscle and strength naturally lost over time.”  To build consumer trust, Abbott touts the purported health benefits of these products with invented, pseudo-scientific terms such as “Revigor,” and proclamations like, the “#1 doctor recommended brand,” the lawsuit states.  As alleged in the lawsuit, to further establish credibility for the company’s claims, Abbot also uses phrases such as “clinical nutrition.” 

However, as alleged in the lawsuit, nowhere on the packaging of the products does Abbott disclose that the products cannot help rebuild muscle and strength in the general population of consumers to whom the products are sold — including in Abbott’s target market of healthy adults — unless the products are used in combination with a regular exercise program.  Instead, Abbott chose to selectively omit this material information from the labels for the Products to increase sales by inducing the general population of consumers who will not benefit from the products to purchase and consume them anyway, the lawsuit states.

“It’s hard to imagine a more personal affront than deceiving people about what they put in their bodies,” said Baron and Budd attorney Mark Pifko. “A sophisticated company like Abbott should be held accountable for knowingly confusing and misleading its  customers.”

Baron and Budd is a nationally recognized plaintiffs’ law firm with more than 30 years’ experience fighting to protect what’s right for consumers. The firm prides itself on remaining on the cutting-edge of meaningful litigation that protects consumers from negligent companies. Last year, Baron and Budd served on the plaintiffs’ steering committee in the Bank of America bank overdraft fee litigation that resulted in a $410 million settlement for consumers and forced Bank of America and other financial institutions to change overdraft fee policies. Since its expansion in 2011, the firm’s Los Angeles office has taken the lead on a number of high profile consumer lawsuits, including cases against companies in the banking, automotive and food product industries. 

To learn more about the Ensure lawsuit, visit the firm’s website at http://www.baronandbudd.com

View the original article here

Doctors continue to encourage more and more mesothelioma patients into clinical trials.

Families dealing with a diagnosis of mesothelioma are typically overwhelmed. A patient is often diagnosed with this deadly form of cancer 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Determining how a victim was exposed, and who is responsible, is just one important task. And time is often short - with a median survival after diagnosis of about 12 months.

By consulting with an experienced mesothelioma law firm, families can gain access to some of the leading medical and legal professionals in the field. Veteran lawyers experienced in mesothelioma litigation can often help with information and resources regarding treatment advances and the leading research centers. Leaders in the medical field are working on the latest treatments, and the clinical trials aimed at finding new treatment to increase longevity and improve quality of life.

We understand a diagnosis is overwhelming. And we want you to know there is a support system in place to help. Determining how a victim was exposed to the asbestos that resulted in a mesothelioma diagnosis is central from a legal standpoint. But the mesothelioma community stands ready with a wide range of resources of which law firms that focus on mesothelioma litigation are often aware.

The National Cancer Institute reports only about 5 percent of all cancer patients in the United States participate in clinical trials. Lack of participation in clinical trials is one reason progress has been slow in the fight against rare cancers like mesothelioma.

About 3,500 patients a year are diagnosed with mesothelioma in the United States. However, that number is expected to grow exponentially with the retirement of the baby boom generation, many of whom were exposed to asbestos in schools, in the military and on the job through the 1970s when the use of asbestos was commonplace.

Clinical trials can be a vital resource for patients fighting the disease. And patients are a vital resource for such trials, which are racing to bring the next generation of treatments to the nation's oncology centers. In mid-2012, there are 164 clinical trials involving different levels of mesothelioma research that are either recruiting participants, actively engaged in the testing of participants, or have recently concluded such testing, according to the National Institutes of Health. Among the most promising treatments are gene therapy and immunotherapy, which manipulates a person's immune system into attacking cancerous cells.

"Participation of patients with mesothelioma in clinical trials is essential if we are going to make progress and develop novel therapies," said Raffit Hassan, M.D., a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute, which is part of NIH.

On the legal side, fighting on behalf of mesothelioma victims and their families is just as complex. As we reported recently on our Mesothelioma Lawyer Blog, the host of companies responsible for negligently exposing victims to asbestos continue the fight to dodge responsibility.

In some cases they deny asbestos exposure or otherwise challenge causation. In other cases, corporations have used federal bankruptcy laws to establish mesothelioma trusts in an attempt to limit their exposure for the millions of dollars in damages suffered by victims and their families.

Help for mesothelioma victims can be found at The Ferraro Law Firm by calling 1-800-275-3332. Offices in Miami, Washington, D.C., and New York City.