CBS News (8/4) on its website reported that the Yamaha Rhino off-road vehicle "is at the center of a legal firestorm. At least 59 riders have been killed in Rhino accidents, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. More than 440 wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits are pending, and Yamaha has settled others." Plaintiffs "say the Rhino is dangerously unstable due to its unusually narrow stance, high ground clearance and lack of a rear differential to help in turning. They also claim the Rhino's seat belts tend to unspool during rollovers, resulting in belted occupants being partially ejected." CPSC chief Inez Tenenbaum "said the safety commission is continuing to investigate" despite a Yamaha "free repair program" which appears to be "a recall in everything but name." If you or a loved one has been injured in a roll over involving a Yamaha Rhino or other ATV, contact Begam & Marks for a free consultation and review of the facts surrounding the accident.

In a front-page story, the New York Times (8/5, A1, Singer) reports, "Newly unveiled court documents show that ghostwriters paid by [Wyeth] played a major role in producing 26 scientific papers backing the use of hormone replacement therapy in women, suggesting that the level of hidden industry influence on medical literature is broader than previously known." The articles were drafted by a medical communications firm paid by Wyeth, and were "published in medical journals between 1998 and 2005." They "emphasized the benefits and de-emphasized the risks of taking hormones to protect against maladies like aging skin, heart disease and dementia." The "supposed medical consensus" created by the papers is said to have helped sales of Wyeth's hormone drugs Premarin (conjugated estrogens) and Prempro (conjugated estrogens/medroxyprogesterone acetate) rise "to nearly $2 billion in 2001." That "consensus fell apart in 2002 when a huge federal study on hormone therapy was stopped after researchers found that menopausal women who took certain hormones had an increased risk of invasive breast cancer, heart disease, and stroke." Begam & Marks has a long history of fighting for the rights of those injured by defective or improperly marketed medications. If you or a family member has been injured or killed as a result of the wrongful conduct of others, please call for a free consultation.