Counterfeit drugs fly beneath the usual political radar of war, deficits, gay rights, and other issues that Washington often deals with. But to Kevin Fagan, the problem of pharmaceutical fakery is a real problem: His then 16 year old Tim had been injected with counterfeits after a life-saving liver transplant in 2002.

Kevin's crusade to help clean up our leaky drug distribution system -- which all too often allows fake drugs to slip into the legitimate supply chain through shady secondary wholesalers -- brought him to Washington, where Representative Steve Israel introduced Tim Fagan's Law in 2005. The bill, and the significant problems with the distribution system that allows this to happen, are detailed more fully on my Counterfeit Drug Resource Page. Since I represent the Fagan family, it is a matter of some interest to me.

The problem with the proposed law doesn't seem to be self-evident since it is non-partisan legislation that does the following:

• Increases criminal penalties. The current federal law is three years in prison. Israel's bill increases penalties and includes up to life in prison.

• Mandates that a manufacturer must alert the FDA of a counterfeited drug in 2 days. Currently, there is no mandate. The pharmaceutical industry has said that it would voluntarily tell the FDA about counterfeited drugs within 5 business days.

• Provides the FDA with the authority to require companies to use anti-counterfeiting technology, as the technology becomes feasible and available.

• Mandates that the FDA implement the paper pedigree rule that was mandated in 1988 and has been postponed for 17 years. It also closes the "authorized wholesaler" loophole and includes manufacturers as needed to start the pedigree.

• Authorizes $60 million for spot-checking for counterfeits for each year between fiscal years 2006 and 2010.

• Authorizes $5 million for each year between fiscal years 2006 and 2010 for educating the public and health care professionals on how to identify counterfeit drugs.

• Provides recall authority to the FDA for prescription drugs. Currently, the FDA can only recall equipment and can only encourage private companies to recall their drugs.

• Authorizes the FDA to issue subpoenas with respect to preventing threats to public health.

So why would a bill that has no partisan agenda languish in a committee despite it being sound public policy? The answer, I'm afraid, is that it languishes simply because it came from the minority party. Israel, who is the Fagans' congressman, happens to be a Democrat. So too is New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who introduced a counterfeit drug bill in the Senate.

With the Democrats taking control of Congress, it is hoped that this bill can now move out of the committees where it is stuck and out on to the floor for debate and voting.

Labels: attorney, counterfeit, drugs, election results, Fagan, law, lawyer, personal injury, politics, Schumer, Steve Israel

Since many of the same questions recur in personal injury law, it makes sense to write about them. Here then is the first installment of Frequently Asked Questions:

1. There are so many attorneys and legal websites, how do I select a law firm?

• Make sure the firm has a real office in your area. A "national" firm advertising on the Internet may merely be a toll free number from anywhere, without even having an attorney admitted to practice law in New York. Such a firm is likely to sign clients up, and then shop the case around to others in New York in exchange for a legal fee. This lowers the fee to the local attorney (who you have not met) that will do the actual work. Because the "national" firm is taking some of the legal fee, it will also make it less likely to be accepted by high caliber local attorney. The same is true of the dozens of attorney search "services" that are little more than an advertising web site.
  

• Make sure the firm has handled personal injury cases such as yours and has some examples for you to see. Would you want a firm that devotes 95% of their time to matrimonial matters handling a medical malpractice birth injury lawsuit for your child?

• Visit the office and talk to the attorney that will handle your case. If you feel you are being rushed and not given enough time to discuss the matter, hire another firm.

• Will your case get individual attention, or be one of thousands of New York personal injury cases that the firm handles, assembly-line style? Some people like small firms with individual attention, and others like larger firms. It is a matter of personal preference.

• If possible, get a reference from someone you know and trust.

2. Someone approached me at the hospital and recommended a lawyer. Is it OK to use that firm?

Any law firm that solicits you, your family or friends at a hospital should be immediately reported to the District Attorney or the local disciplinary committee. This "ambulance chasing" is illegal, unethical and embarrassing to the profession. Further, if such conduct takes place at the start of representation, it will be impossible to trust the attorneys later on to do the right thing for you when you seek advice on how to proceed. I don't care how good they claim to be, if they are unethical than you should look elsewhere, or if you have already hired them, change attorneys.

In the next FAQ post, I'll cover legal fees for general liability cases as well as the more complex medical malpractice suits.

Labels: attorney, FAQ-Medical Malpractice, FAQ-Personal Injury, law firms, lawyer, legal ethics, legal fees, medical malpractice, New York, personal injury