For much of the past decade, doctors have been prescribing women with osteoporosis and women who are osteopenic the prescription medication Fosamax. The drug, belonging to the class known as bisphosphonates, is intended to strengthen bones and combat the effects of bone diseases like osteoporosis by regenerating the bone. However, recent evidence, reports and allegations are showing that Fosamax’s side effects are leaving patients more prone to fractures and further bone damage.

James Sikes was taking an afternoon drive on a San Diego County freeway yesterday in his Toyota Prius when things suddenly became dangerous. Sikes said that he pressed his gas pedal to accelerate while passing another car and the car just kept going. As has been reported over the past few months with a great deal of Toyota vehicles, Sikes experienced a case of sudden unintended acceleration that pushed his Prius to 94 mph.

The total of lawsuits filed against Bayer over the alleged dangerous side effects of the prescription birth control medicine Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella has reached more than 1,100, according to a recent report released by the major pharmaceutical company. The report, Bayer’s 2009 annual report, also includes the five current class action lawsuits against the drug manufacturer. Three class action suits are in the U.S. while two are in Canada.

More than 355,000 Chrysler minivans are set to be recalled, according to a recent announcement by the American auto manufacturer and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Chrysler Group LLC has called the action a “safety improvement campaign,” while the NHTSA insists that by definition it is indeed a recall. Regardless of label, the immensely popular Dodge Caravan, Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivan models are being recalled due to airbag issues.

Hyundai Motor Corp. has announced a recall of more than 47,000 2011 Sonatas, and has suspended sales of the popular vehicle in the U.S. until a problem with front door latches is corrected. The South Korean automaker has found that in some testing cases the front doors were not closing properly and that could lead to unexpected opening of front driver and passenger side doors. While the majority of vehicles involved in this recall were manufactured and sold in South Korea through December 6, there were more than 1,300 sold in the U.S. as recently as February 16.

A single-vehicle crash that occurred in 2007 has sparked the fourth wrongful death lawsuit against Toyota in conjunction with the string of recent recalls by the world’s leading automobile manufacturer. Tyrene Livingston was driving to her internship on October 26, 2007, when a defect in her car’s electronic throttle system allegedly caused the car to drive across three lanes of traffic, through a barrier and into some woods. The 21-year old college student suffered severe injuries that proved to be fatal.

According to new studies by U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials, the prescription diabetes medication Avandia poses a serious threat to users as it has been linked to heart attacks. Because of this new information – as well as a variety of other reports dating back to 2007 – the people behind the studies are urging GlaxoSmithKline to discontinue marketing and sales of this popular medication.

Over the past week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the voluntary recalls of three different brands of children’s clothing, specifically jackets and hooded sweatshirts that have waist and/or neck drawstrings. These jackets and sweatshirts pose a choking and suffocation threat to young children, and the CPSC as well as the respective manufacturers urge all consumers to stop using these brands immediately to avoid any possible injuries. As of yet, there have been no reported injuries caused by any of the recalled jackets or sweatshirts.

After announcing a fourth recall of more than 7,300 2010 Camry vehicles, Toyota is now under U.S. federal investigation after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declared that an investigation might be forthcoming and necessary for 2009 and 2010 Toyota Corollas. More than 150 complaints have been registered about these late model vehicles having issues with uneven and shaky steering.

An Atlantic City, New Jersey, jury recently awarded more than $25 million to a Birmingham, Alabama man for having developed inflammatory bowel disease as a serious side effect of taking the prescription acne treatment Accutane. Andrew McCarrell’s Accutane lawsuit victory came as a surprise in landmark fashion as a jury threw out an initial verdict awarding him $2.5 million just over 14 months ago.