North Carolina Product Liability Lawyer BlogJudge Catherine Blake, who is overseeing the Smith & Nephew Birmingham hip multi-district litigation in Baltimore, Maryland, recently issued an order setting out the bellwether trial schedule for the Birmingham Hip Resurfacing (BHR) cases. Just to recap: there are two tracks of cases in the Smith & Nephew Birmingham hip litigation: BHR and THA. BHR […]
Search Results for: bellwether
DePuy Pinnacle Hip Bellwether Trial: Accusations of Witness Tampering
By all accounts, each of the three bellwether trials in the DePuy Pinnacle artificial hip MDL has been contentious. In the fourth bellwether trial, which should wrap up this week, the litigants have been in a fierce battle again. The most recent skirmish has centered on allegations by plaintiffs suggesting that lawyers for DePuy Orthopaedics […]
After Noisy August, Fourth Depuy Pinnacle Hip Bellwether Trial Underway
Some of my clients have been asking me what is going on with the fourth Depuy Pinnacle bellwether trial. Non-clients have also been calling to inquire about the status of the trial. Did it start this week? Was it postponed? What is the deal with Depuy and Johnson & Johnson trying to stop the trial? […]
Zimmer NexGen Knee: Judge Boots Second Bellwether Case Before Trial
October 2016 was set to be an important month for thousands of people injured by the Zimmer NexGen artificial knee. The second “bellwether” trial was scheduled. Bellwether trials involve representative cases that are used to educate the defendants and the plaintiffs on what certain juries thinks may be proper results for these kinds of cases. […]
Depuy Pinnacle Hip: Third Bellwether Trial Underway in Texas
The latest Depuy Pinnacle Hip bellwether trial is underway in Dallas, Texas. All bellwether trials are important, but this one is more important than most. After all, this trial follows an astonishing result in the second bellwether trial, where a jury awarded five plaintiffs more than $500,000,000.00 in damages for injuries caused by the Depuy […]
Cook IVC Filter: “Bellwether” Cases Selected for 2017 Trials
A “bellwether” is someone or something that leads others or shows what will happen in the future or is an indicator of trends. In the legal world a bellwether case is very important because it leads the way in how a large number of lawsuits may be litigated or settled. Too Many Cases, Not Enough […]
Update on Paraquat Parkinson’s Disease Litigation
If you follow my blog, you’ve probably heard about paraquat. If you’re unfamiliar with paraquat, it’s a highly toxic herbicide that may cause Parkinson’s disease. As you might imagine, this potential link is alarming and has led to quite a few lawsuits. Let’s take a look at the current status of these paraquat cases. Paraquat […]
17: Smith & Nephew Birmingham Artificial Hip Litigation Update
Metal-on-metal artificial hip devices have been available for more than twenty years. Years ago, product manufacturers thought that metals like titanium, cobalt, and chromium used in the construction of artificial hips would last a lot longer than the regular shelf life of other artificial hips using plastics and ceramic materials, particularly for athletes and active […]
Paraquat and Parkinson’s Disease: What You Should Know
These are just a few of the studies finding a link between Parkinson’s disease and paraquat. So it’s no surprise that there have been lawsuits alleging that the herbicide has caused people to contract Parkinson’s disease.
Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) and Cancer: What You Need to Know
Firefighters have a host of tools available to them to fight fires. Some of these are simple, like high-pressure water. Others are more state-of-the-art, like forward-looking infrared handheld cameras and aerial drones. One of the special tools in a firefighter’s arsenal is aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF. This “fire foam” has served as a highly […]