Multiple types of spinal injections are offered to patients with and without spinal lesions by pain management specialists despite FDA warnings, and in a way manufacturers warn could cause paralysis and even death, according to Edward P. Milstein, partner at the top New York Kenalog injection malpractice law firm of Dankner Milstein, P.C.
“What many of these patients do not know,” Milstein said, “is that some of the injections they are getting are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Nor do patients know that these injections into the epidural space near the spine are only short acting and invariably ineffective in the long run. Most troubling is that these injections expose patients to serious risks and complications including stroke, paralysis and even death.”
In 2011 Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. changed the label on its steroid Kenalog — one of the most frequently administered steroids in epidural injections for treating neck and back pain — stating that the use of Kenalog is “not recommended” for injections near the spine because of “reports of serious medical events including death” associated with administering steroids in that manner. The drug manufacturer also said the use of steroid injections to treat pain is “booming,” thanks to an aging population and “generous reimbursement by insurers.”
Yet notwithstanding these warnings, Milstein explained, physicians continue to use Kenalog and its equivalents for such injections in spite of the known risks, lack of FDA approval and manufacturer warnings. (Note: According to government estimates, only 1 to 10 percent of drug related complications are reported to the FDA).
“Continued off label use by healthcare professionals, who are either ignoring manufacturer warnings, or aren’t aware of them, Milstein said, “expose these physicians to liability should complications from the injections ensue. The technique employed in giving these injections also can give rise to liability.
“Furthermore,” he added, “spinal epidural steroid injections can in certain instances mask the spinal pain, delaying requisite surgery which can in and of itself cause permanent neurological damage. In the last two years alone I have been involved in many of these tragic cases.”
If you think you have been the victim of medical malpractice you should contact Mr. Milstein, or speak with another one of our top New York epidural injection malpractice lawyers for a free consultation. Call us at 212-751-8000 or visit us online @ office@dmesq.com. Our firm has recovered more than $500 million for clients we’ve represented; and has secured more than two hundred (200) verdicts and settlements of one million dollars or higher.
