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…
The Bair Hugger forced-air warming blanket originally seemed like a great idea. Developed by an anesthesiologist, Dr. Scott Augustine, Bair Hugger was a forced-air warming blanket that is draped across a patient during and after surgery. The theory is that warm air against the body stimulates faster recovery and reduces…
In April 2016 the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation created a multi-district litigation (MDL) court for lawsuits against Pfizer, the maker of Viagra. That MDL is No. 2691. Plaintiffs in those cases allege that taking Viagra increased the risk of developing melanoma, a potentially deadly skin cancer. MDLs are created when…
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…
I have written about the maddening ways a product liability case can go on (seemingly) forever. An injured person may wait years to get to a jury trial. And then, if the individual wins the trial and the jury awards a substantial amount of money for the plaintiff’s injuries, the…
Let me get right to it: Judge Clay Land has a point. On September 7, 2016, Judge Land issued a blistering Order in the Mentor Corporation ObTape Transobturator Sling Mesh multi-district litigation. In a nutshell, he wrote that he was fed up with frivolous claims. Judge Land stated that he…
Communications between pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers and physicians are highly regulated by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but the agency, as much as it may want to be, does not have the final say in all regulation. These companies have First Amendment commercial free speech rights…
1. Stop Taking Viagra. This is the safe and correct call. If you are diagnosed with melanoma, you need to focus on getting back to health. I suggest you stop taking the drug and schedule an immediate appointment with your dermatologist. In fact, I would say that even without a…
California is a beautiful, diverse state. It has everything from wide, sandy beaches to snow-capped mountains, deserts, thick forests, wide open spaces and massive cities. It also has laws and a court system that’s seen as friendly to those injured by prescription medications. And after a recent court decision, more…
My clients who have been injured by a failed medical device like an artificial hip or knee or a problem drug like Viagra suffer in many ways. There is the physical, emotional and psychological suffering. But there is another form of suffering that is often as traumatic: financial suffering. A…