Couple Who Brought Attention to Morcellator Cancer Risks Testify on Second Day of FDA Advisory Panel Meeting, Bernstein Liebhard LLP Reports
New York, New York (PRWEB) July 13, 2014 -- A Massachusetts couple who have done so much to bring attention to the cancer risks associated with power morcellators (http://www.gynecaremorcellatorlawsuit.com/) finally had a chance to tell their story to federal regulators, as they presented poignant testimony on the second day of a U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel meeting convened to address the issue, Bernstein Liebhard LLP reports. According to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Dr. Hooman Noorchashm and his wife, Dr. Amy Reed, held back tears as they addressed the FDA’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Devices Panel. Dr. Noorchashm began by presenting a collage featuring photos of women who died, allegedly after they suffered the spread of undetected cancers due to uterine morcellation. *
In addressing the Panel, Dr. Noorchashm also criticized its make-up, asserting that it was packed with gynecological surgeons who are protecting their practice of morcellation. Dr. Reed, who is fighting an aggressive form of uterine sarcoma that was allegedly spread by a power morcellator, reminded the panel of outside experts of their obligation to avoid unsafe and dangerous practices. When Dr. Reed ended her remarks, people assembled in the gallery to observe the meeting responded with a standing ovation, according to the Democrat and Chronicle.
“It’s highly doubtful that this meeting would have ever been convened had it not been for the work of Dr. Noorchashm and Dr. Reed. Our Firm is pleased that they, as well as other alleged victims of uterine morcellation, were finally able to tell their stories directly to the FDA,” says Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationwide law firm representing victims of defective drugs and medical devices. The Firm is now evaluating morcellator lawsuits on behalf of women who may have experienced the spread of undiagnosed uterine sarcoma and other cancers due to uterine morcellation.
Power Morcellators and Cancer
According to a report from CBS News in Boston, Drs. Noorschasm and Reed have been leading efforts to ban uterine morcellation since Dr. Reed’s cancer diagnosis last year.** A petition posted by the couple on Change.org now bears nearly 12,000 signatures.***
In April, the FDA warned that the use of uterine morcellation might allow undetected uterine sarcoma and other cancers to spread outside of the uterus. The agency estimates that 1 in 350 women undergoing fibroid removal have uterine sarcoma cancer cells in their fibroids. Unfortunately, the cancer is almost never discovered until after fibroids have been removed and biopsied. Spread of the disease beyond the uterus will greatly diminish a woman’s chances of long-term survival, according to the FDA.
Since Drs. Noorschasm and Reed began campaigning against power morcellators, court records indicate that a number of morcellator lawsuits have been filed in courts around the country on behalf of women who allegedly experienced the upstaging of uterine cancers due to the devices. Most recently, a case was filed in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California on May 13, 2014 that claimed the use of a Wolf Power Morcellator promoted the dissemination of uterine cancer cells throughout a woman's peritoneal cavity (Case No. Case5:14-cv-02209-PSG).
Victims of uterine sarcomas or other cancers that were allegedly spread via uterine morcellator may be entitled to file their own power morcellator lawsuit against the manufacturer of the device used in their surgery. To learn more about the risks potentially associated with power morcellators, please visit Bernstein Liebhard LLP’s website. To obtain a free legal review, please call 800-511-5092.
*democratandchronicle.com/story/all-about-health/2014/07/11/couple-put-real-people-into-fda-hearing/12517557/, Democrat and Chronicle, June 11, 2014
**boston.cbslocal.com/2014/04/25/local-couple-makes-push-to-ban-morcellation/, CBS, April 25, 2014
***change.org/petitions/women-s-health-alert-deadly-cancers-of-the-uterus-spread-by-gynecologists-stop-morcellating-the-uterus-in-minimally-invasive-and-robot-assisted-hysterectomy, Change.org, July 3, 2014
About Bernstein Liebhard LLP
Bernstein Liebhard LLP is a New York-based law firm exclusively representing injured persons in complex individual and class action lawsuits nationwide since 1993. As a national law firm, Bernstein Liebhard LLP possesses all of the legal and financial resources required to successfully challenge billion dollar pharmaceutical and medical device companies. As a result, our attorneys and legal staff have been able to recover more than $3 billion on behalf of our clients. The Firm has been named by The National Law Journal to the Plaintiffs’ Hot List, recognizing the top plaintiffs firms in the country, for the past 12 consecutive years. Bernstein Liebhard LLP is the only firm in the country to be named to this prestigious list every year since it was first published in 2003.
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Contact Information:
Felecia L. Stern, Esq.
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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http://www.gynecaremorcellatorlawsuit.com/
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Felecia L. Stern, Power Morcellator Lawsuit Center, http://www.gynecaremorcellatorlawsuit.com/, +1 800-511-5092, [email protected]
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