Patrice Denman Attorney-at-Law

SOCIAL SECURITY

News Release

Social Security Commissioner Astrue Calls for Prompt State Assembly Passage of Bill Ending Furloughs of Federally-Funded State Employees

Asks Governor to Withdraw Veto Threat and Not Appeal Lawsuit

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Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today called for the California State Assembly to quickly pass Senate Bill 29.  This bill, which already has passed the State Senate, would end the practice of furloughing Federally-funded state employees, a practice recently held to be illegal by a California superior court judge. 

About 1,500 employees in this category are responsible for reviewing applications for Social Security disability benefits in California.  California’s taxpayers, state employees, and disability applicants all are harmed by these furloughs, and no one benefits.  Each furlough day costs the state about $850,000 in administrative reimbursements and delays the payment of over $420,000 in much needed Social Security benefits to  residents’ with disabilities.

“Furloughing disability examiners is incomprehensible under any circumstances, and it is callous in a recession of this magnitude,” Commissioner Astrue stated.  “Congress authorized half a billion dollars under the Recovery Act to hire staff to reduce disability backlogs, and California is thwarting Congress by unilaterally reducing staffing in a punitive way that also hurts the State’s coffers.”

“It is time for Governor Schwarzenegger to renounce his failed furlough policy by withdrawing his veto threat of Senator Steinberg’s Bill 29 and by declining to appeal the decision in the furlough lawsuit.  Fairness, compassion, and common sense all require that result.”

Seattle, WA: Patients who suffer from reglan neurological side effects, such as tardive dyskinesia, may be shocked to learn they took Reglan for far longer than they should have. The drug, used to treat acid reflux and heartburn, is meant to be taken for only three months. Reglan has potentially irreversible side effects that often show up after the patient has used the drug on a long-term basis.

Reglan lawsuits are now being filed by patients who say they were never warned about the risks of tardive dyskinesia or long-term use. Some patients say they took the drug for years.

In 2008, a patient named Shirley Brinkley filed a lawsuit against Wyeth, the maker of Reglan. Brinkley alleges that she was first prescribed Reglan in June, 1992 to treat motility of her stomach, and continued taking the medication until April, 2007.

According to Brinkley’s lawsuit, her doctors relied on information published in the package inserts and the Physician’s Desk Reference and were not aware that the information given could have been inaccurate or misleading.

Brinkley has been diagnosed with permanent and disabling neurological injury, including tardive dyskinesia. Her lawsuit alleges that the makers of Reglan failed to warn her and her physicians of the risks associated with Reglan, including the risk of unsafe doses. She further alleges that the defendants committed fraud by misrepresenting Reglan’s adverse effects.

Brinkley’s lawsuit seeks in excess of $600,000 in damages.

Other lawsuits have now also been filed against the makers of Reglan, alleging failure to adequately warn the public about the risks associated with the use of Reglan. Some of these lawsuits were filed by parents of children who were prescribed Reglan as infants and now suffer from movement disorders as a result.

For a free consultation, please contact our office at 440-639-1020