Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Attorney Blog

August, 2010 -- Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, and Jeck, P.C. proudly announced today that Stewart J. Eisenberg and Kenneth M. Rothweiler have been selected by their peers for inclusion in the 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of Medical Malpractice Law. Rothweiler was also recognized as a "Best Lawyer" in the area of Mass Torts.

For over a quarter of a century, Best Lawyers has been regarded by the legal profession and the public as the definitive guide to legal excellence in the United States. The selection process to Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive and rigorous peer-review survey comprising more than 3.1 million confidential evaluations by the top attorneys in the country.

Stewart J. Eisenberg, the co-founder and senior partner of the law firm Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C., has represented victims of catastrophic injuries and death for almost 30 years. He is the Past President of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (formerly PATLA), and the Immediate Past President of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association. Eisenberg has been voted a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer since the inception of the award, and is named by LawDragon Magazine as one the nation's best plaintiff's lawyers. He has been honored by the American Trial Lawyers Association as one of the state's top 100 plaintiff's trial lawyers. A frequent author and lecturer, he is the recipient of the Milton D. Rosenberg Award from the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association for his years of tireless service to the organization.

Eisenberg's first multi-million dollar verdict of $2.4 million dollars was in the landmark case of Feld v. Merrian, where he represented the victims of a brutal criminal assault against the landlord of an apartment complex for failing to provide adequate security. His string of multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements has continued throughout his distinguished career.

Kenneth M. Rothweiler is the co-founder and senior partner of the law firm Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C., and also chairs the firm's management committee. He is dedicated to complex personal injury litigation, specifically in medical malpractice, and has achieved a reputation for providing exemplary legal counsel, which has resulted in numerous multi-million dollar verdicts, settlements and judgments for his clients. Rothweiler is recognized as one of the top trial lawyers in Pennsylvania, and has been named as one of the top 100 Trial Lawyers by the American Trial Lawyers Association. He has been voted a Super Lawyer by his peers consistently, and is a regular contributor on FOX 29's 10 o'clock news. A former President of the Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, Rothweiler has been recognized by Lawdragon Magazine as one of the nations top trial lawyers. He is currently President-elect of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice ("PAJ").

Coumadin is the most popular blood thinner prescribed to patients but is also one of the world's most dangerous drugs. Coumadin or warfarin is prescribed to about two million patients each year to prevent blood clots after surgeries and for other medical conditions such as a stroke. Dosing with Coumadin is tricky and doses are usually determined by trial and error but a new gene test aims to discover an accurate and appropriate dosage for a patient before the drug is prescribed.

The test evaluates two genes that control how the drug is metabolized by the body. A clinical trial of close to one thousand patients resulted in a thirty percent lower risk of hospitalization than those who were not gene tested. An accurate dose can save lives; too much Coumadin can lead to bleeding and too little can cause clots.

This gene test is also a promising win for gene testing and personalized medicine. The positive results of this test can lead to further research and testing with other medications and genes to prevent prescription errors and save patient's lives.

Related Sources:
Study: Gene testing helps get blood thinner dose right

The Food and Drug Administration is forcing the drug giants Amgen and Johnson & Johnson to publicize the risks of their anemia drugs on cancer patients.

Procrit manufactured by Johnson & Johnson and Aranesp and Epogen manufactured by Amgen are multi-million dollar anemia drugs prescribed to cancer patients. The drugs have the ability to limit the number of blood transfusions undertaken by cancer patients. Recent studies have shown that while these drugs may limit the need for blood transfusion they can cause tumors to grow in patients taking the prescribed medications.

The FDA has set up a risk management plan for the companies to warn patients and doctors of the risks associated with these anemia medications. Under the plan the Amgen and Johnson & Johnson have to register each oncologist who prescribes their drugs and ensure that the all of the drugs' risks have been discussed before they are prescribed to patients.

Related Sources:
FDA asks companies to discuss anemia drug risks