Goldman Scarlato & Penny is investigating claims on behalf of all persons whose private information was stolen through the Equifax data breach.
On September 7, 2017, Equifax announced a “cybersecurity incident potentially affecting approximately 143 million U.S. consumers.” According to Equifax, hackers “exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access” to consumers’ private information.
Equifax claims that the data breach began in mid-May and continued through July of 2017, and that individuals’ names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, and addresses were stolen. Equifax reported that some consumers’ driver’s license numbers and credit card numbers have also been compromised.
Persons whose social security numbers have been stolen need to be concerned about identity theft. Victims of other data breaches have had false tax returns filed in their names, experienced fraudulent claims for health care coverage, and received bills for credit card charges on accounts opened without their knowledge or consent.
Although Equifax claims that it discovered the data breach more than a month ago on July 29, it did not announce the it until September 7, 2017, leaving consumers exposed to, and unaware of potential identify theft during that time. .
Equifax has created a website, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com, where consumers can enter their last names and the last six numbers of their Social Security numbers to determine if their data were compromised.
This is the second time Equifax has been in the news this year for a data breach. In May, the company announced a breach of W-2 payroll data from its subsidiary TALX.
If your private information may have been compromised, please contact a GSP attorney to learn more about your rights. GSP’s Data Breach lawyers are currently representing victims of data breaches against Anthem, Inc., 21st Century Oncology, Community Health Systems, Inc., Athens Orthopedic Clinic, PA, Premera, Intuit, Medical Informatics, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, United Shore, Xerox Mortgage Services, and Target Corporation. Please fill in your contact information and an attorney will contact you promptly. Or, you can email Mark Goldman directly at goldman@lawgsp.com or Doug Bench at bench@lawgsp.com or call GSP toll free at (888) 872-6975 to talk to a lawyer free of charge.
One of our attorneys will contact you within 24 hours for a confidential evaluation of your case.
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A settlement of the Anthem data breach class action has been announced. The value of the settlement is $115 million, excluding additional funds Anthem has committed to spend to further protect the data contained on its computer networks. If you have any questions about this settlement or any other data breaches, please contact firm partner Mark Goldman at goldman@lawgsp.com, (484) 342-0700.
Goldman Scarlato & Penny represents retired NHL players in a cutting-edge class action lawsuit alleging that the NHL failed to warn players of the short and long-term effects of repeated concussions and head trauma, failed to adequately care for its players after they received such injuries, and promoted and glorified unreasonable and unnecessary violence leading to head traumas.
A number of similar cases were filed in different courts, and on August 19, 2014, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred all the related NHL concussion cases to the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota for centralized proceedings. There are 18 related cases in the centralized action on behalf of 138 plaintiffs.
On September 14, 2014, the Court appointed Goldman Scarlato & Penny to the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee. The lawsuit seeks medical monitoring and compensation for the long term harm the retired players suffered as a result of concussions sustained while playing Ice hockey at the NHL.
Onglyza (Saxagliptin) is a prescription medication used to help manage blood glucose levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes mellitus type 2, also known as type 2 diabetes, is a chronic metabolic disorder that is characterized by high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and relative lack of insulin. Although some diabetics can control their blood glucose levels with diet and exercise, many are prescribed pharmaceuticals to help manage the disease.
Pharmaceutical giants, AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb teamed up to develop, manufacture and market Onglyza, which received FDA approval for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in 2009.
Onglyza has been an extremely profitable venture and generated more than $700 million in sales in 2012 alone.
Onglyza is a member of a class of medications known as dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (“DDP-4”) inhibitors. When non-diabetics ingest carbohydrates, which break down in the body to become glucose, it triggers the release of incretins. Incretins produce and regulate insulin in the body. The release of insulin allows the glucose in the blood stream to move to the cells of the body, where it is used and expelled as energy.
This process is disrupted in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Although type 2 diabetics may produce incretins, the enzyme DPP-4 effectively destroys the incretin hormone before it can trigger the production and regulation of insulin. The result is that the glucose remains in the blood stream and the individual’s blood glucose level goes up.
DPP-4 inhibitors, like Onglyza and Kombiglyze XR, work by blocking or “inhibiting” the actions of the DPP-4 enzyme. This allows the incretin hormones in their body to work properly and release insulin from the pancreas in response to a meal.
The active ingredient in Onglyza is saxagliptin. Two large clinical studies recently showed that patients who received saxagliptin- or alogliptin-containing medicines were hospitalized for heart failure more than those who received a placebo. In addition to Onglyza, AstraZeneca also distributes Kombiglyze XR, which is also a DDP-4 inhibitor that contains saxagliptin as one of its active ingredients. Those clinical studies that were recently conducted showed serious cardiac risks associated with Onglyza and Kombiglyze XR and have raised concerns about the risks associated with use of the drug.
Public Citizen, a consumer watchdog group, questioned the safety of Onglyza as early as 2011, shortly after the drug received FDA approval in 2009. In a newsletter article, Public Citizen expressed their concerns over the lack of long-term data available on the drug and urged consumers to not take Onglyza until such studies were conducted.
In October 2013, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published a study in which a connection between the use of saxagliptin and increased risk of cardiovascular events was identified. The study found that “[s]axagliptin was associated with significantly improved glycemic control and reduced the development and progression of microalbuminuria; however, it increased the risk of hospitalization for heart failure and the risk of hypoglycemic events.”
In February 2014, the FDA responded to the NEJM article by issuing a drug safety communication which made public the FDA’s request that the manufacturer of saxagliptin provide clinical trial data for the purpose of investigating the potential link between the drug and increased risk of heart failure.
In April 2015, the FDA Endocrinology and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee voted by an overwhelming majority (14 to 1) to update the Onglyza label to include stronger warnings about the higher risk of heart failure associated with the drug’s use.
During their discussion, the FDA panelists noted that patients taking this class of drugs had a 27% increase in the rate of hospitalization for heart failure and an overall increased risk of death, regardless of cause. One panelist felt that a labeling change was not sufficient and voted in favor of completely withdrawing the drug from the U.S. market.
The FDA then issued a drug safety communication which required heart failure warnings be included on the labels for Onglyza and Kombiglyze XR, as well as all other DDP-4 inhibitors.
In April 2016, AstraZeneca updated the Onglyza prescribing information to include warnings about the increased risk of pancreatitis and heart failure. In early 2017, warnings regarding the increased risk of bullous pemphigoid, a rare skin disorder, and macrovascular outcomes were also added.
Onglyza users have reported the following adverse events:
The FDA Endocrinology and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee has also advised that individuals with a prior history of heart failure and/or renal insufficiency have a higher risk of experiencing a serious adverse event when using DDP-4 inhibitors.
Individuals who have suffered an injury after using Onglyza are generally filing lawsuits that assert that the manufacturers:
Currently, individuals alleging injuries caused by their use of Onglyza are filing individual lawsuits against the AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibbs and, in cases of Kombiglyze XR use, McKesson Corporation.
These lawsuits are still in the very early phases of litigation and have not been consolidated into a Multi-District Litigation (“MDL”) or a class action litigation.
If you or a loved one used Onglyza or Kombiglyze XR for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and then suffered from congestive heart failure, cardiac failure or death, you may be entitled to compensation.
If you believe you may have a claim, contact us today. There are time limits by which you need to file a product liability lawsuit. Those limits could time bar your case if it is not filed in a timely manner. Your state of residence, when you ingested the drug and when you experienced injuries could all affect how much time you have to file.
Complete the form and one of our attorneys will reach out to you within 24 hours to conduct a free and confidential evaluation of your case.
Melissa Fry Hague
If you believe you or a loved one may have an Onglyza claim, contact us today. One of our attorneys will contact you within 24 hours to conduct a free and confidential evaluation of your case.
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GSP serves as counsel in a class action lawsuit brought by owners or lessees of 2008 – 2013 model year BMW M3 vehicles. The case was brought on behalf of California residents and alleges that the S65 motors installed in the M3 contain defective rotating assemblies leading to rod and main bearing failure, and eventually, catastrophic engine failure. The lawsuit seeks damages and other relief for the owners and lessees.
On July 28, 2017, United States District Court Judge Madeline Cox Arleo denied BMW, NA’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ fraud claims and claims under the California consumer protection laws. The Court’s decision means that the case can now proceed to the discovery stage where Plaintiffs will have an opportunity to review BMW’s evidence related to the alleged defect.
If you have any questions about the lawsuit, please contact Paul Scarlato at scarlato@lawgsp.com for more information.
Our lawyers have dedicated their careers to vindicating the rights of consumers, investors, and small businesses victimized by corporate misconduct and deceptive consumer practices. We level the playing field for our clients by combining their voices with hundreds or thousands of others, and provide top-flight legal representation that matches the skill and expertise of the nation’s largest class action law firms. Goldman Scarlato & Penny, P.C. prosecutes securities fraud, antitrust, consumer fraud, and shareholder derivative class actions throughout the U.S. The firm’s class action lawyers have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of shareholders, consumers and businesses.
Our lawyers have played important roles in some of the most significant class actions in the past two decades, such as In re Vitamins Price Fixing Antitrust Litigation where we helped recover over $2 billion for the Class, In re AOL Securities Litigation, where we helped recoup $2.5 billion in investor losses, and In re NASDAQ Antitrust Litigation in which we helped recover over $1 billion for the Class. We’ll work hard to get results for you.
We believe responsible use of the class action device provides investors, consumers, and businesses with an important tool to combat the greed, indifference, or deception of more powerful actors. Checking these abuses improves the integrity of our financial and commercial markets and inspires confident consumerism that benefits all participants in our economy. We also believe a strong moral compass always points the way to “success” and that good lawyers can be forceful advocates without sacrificing civility, compassion or professionalism.
