Product Liability Lawyer Blog

December 5, 2013

Atwell v. Boston Scientific Corp. Addresses Jurisdiction in Large Transvaginal Mesh Claims

For anyone involved in a civil lawsuit, the question of whether the case should be removed from state to federal court is an important one.

Technically, both parties should be able to expect a fair legal proceeding no matter the venue in which the case is heard. However, civil case defendants in large tort actions, such as transvaginal mesh claims, tend to view a federal court venue as a strategic advantage. They will often fight very hard to have a case removed from state court to federal court if there is an opportunity to do so.

When transvaginal mesh claims are filed as a class action or a mass action, it can improve the defendant’s odds of having the case removed to federal court, per the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005. The law expanded the criteria under which such claims must be removed to federal court.
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December 3, 2013

GranuFlo Lawsuits Continue to Be Filed

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

More than 300 lawsuits have been filed against Fresenius Medical Care arising from problems with GranuFlo and NaturaLyte dialysis products. Both GranuFlo and NaturaLyte were subject to a Class I Recall after serious risks arose and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) became concerned about the link between GranuFlo/NaturaLyte and patients suffering cardiac arrest.

Our Boston dialysis drug lawyers know that the Class I Recall occurred in March of 2012 and included a voluntary change of the labels on both the NaturaLyte and GranuFlo products. This recall occurred months after an internal memo was sent out by Fresenius Medical Care on November 4, 2011, alerting physicians at Fresenius’ own dialysis clinics that GranuFlo and NaturaLyte could result in excess bicarbonate in the body if doctors did not specifically adjust for the fact that GranuFlo and NaturaLyte reacted differently than other alkaline substances used in dialysis treatment.
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November 30, 2013

Mediation Scheduled to Work Towards Stryker Hip Settlements

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Plaintiffs throughout the United States have filed lawsuits against Stryker because of its Rejuvenate hip implant product. Many of these cases have been consolidated into a multi-county litigation in New Jersey State Court, and there are currently more than 430 cases pending in coordinated litigation before the New Jersey judge. Approximately ¼ of those cases were filed within the past three months.

In October, Judge Brian R. Martinotti issued a case management order to try to work towards resolving some of these pending cases. Our Boston defective hip implant lawyers know that defective medical device cases often settle outside of court if the device manufacturer and plaintiffs are able to agree on the value of the cases and the defendant offers to pay a reasonable sum to victims. The judge’s case management order is designed to help facilitate the parties reaching a settlement, as it outlines the process by which mediation will occur.
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November 27, 2013

DePuy Announces U.S. Settlement to Compensate Hip System Victims

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Metal on metal hip implants manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. caused serious complications for patients and had a high failure rate. Thousands of patients filed lawsuits against DePuy because they experienced metallosis, failure of their hip implant or replacement system, pain and discomfort, or other harm as a result of the metal replacement joint.

hip implant lawyers in Boston know that many patients were required to have a revision surgery performed within five years after the metal hip implant was installed, thus incurring significant expenses and suffering both economic and non-financial loss. Now, Johnson & Johnson has announced that DePuy Orthopaedics has agreed to a settlement to compensate eligible ASR patients in the United States who had surgery to replace their ASR hip implant as of August 31, 2013.
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November 24, 2013

Transvaginal Mesh Litigation Update: Next C.R. Bard Trial Scheduled

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Transvaginal mesh caused thousands of women to experience serious complications after the surgical mesh was implanted in procedures designed to treat stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP). As many plaintiffs filed lawsuits against transvaginal mesh manufacturers, cases were consolidated into multi-district litigations.

Our Boston transvaginal mesh lawyers know that these multi-district litigations allow for a single judge to rule on issues that are relevant to all TVM cases, so that claims can move through the courts more quickly and plaintiffs won’t have to wait as long to get their cases resolved.

In addition to allowing one judge to make decisions on common issues in cases, multidistrict litigations also provide another benefit. Bellwether trials can be scheduled and can allow for plaintiffs and defendants to get a better idea of the strength of their respective cases so that there is a better chance of an out-of-court settlement being reached. The bellwether trials in transvaginal mesh cases have been moving forward, and the next case against C.R. Bard has been scheduled.
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November 19, 2013

Bayer Spends Billions on Yaz Settlements While Cases Still Pending

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Bayer Pharmaceuticals has announced in the company’s stockholder newsletter that the company has spent almost $1.6 billion in settling cases arising from Yaz complications. Bayer manufactured both Yaz and Yasmin, two “fourth-generation” birth control pills that have been demonstrated to have serious unexpected side effects that Bayer failed to warn patients about. More than 10,000 women have filed lawsuits already, and despite the $1.6 billion settlement, estimates indicate that there are 9,873 claims still pending.

Bayer’s past settlements are good news for plaintiffs who wish to pursue claims against the drug company with the help of a Boston defective drug lawyer. Individuals who experienced harm as a result of Yaz or Yasmin can still come forward and take legal action against Bayer if they can prove that they were injured due to the use of these dangerous birth control products.
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November 13, 2013

Stryker Lawsuits Moving Forward as Defective Device Allegations Mount

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Stryker hip replacement products continue to fail at high rates and cause serious complications for patients implanted with a hip replacement system that turned out to be much more dangerous than expected. Even as more patients continue to experience serious problems with Stryker products, cases are moving forward across the country with injured victims seeking to hold Stryker accountable for the damage the medical device company’s products have done.

The cases moving forward include claims that have been consolidated both into multi-county litigation and multi-district litigation. Our Boston Stryker hip lawyers know that many of these cases are proceeding on schedule and that plaintiffs may soon have the chance to be fully compensated for problems including metal toxicity, severe pain and failed hip replacements resulting in the need for revision surgery.
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November 11, 2013

Massachusetts Plaintiffs Seek Compensation for Defective Dialysis Products

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Fresenius Medical Care is the largest provider of dialysis services in the United States. The company not only operates its own clinics but also manufactures equipment and dialysis drugs for others used throughout the United States. Because Fresenius produces drugs and medical products that are used in so many different clinics for patients undergoing dialysis, the company is required to ensure that its products are safe and the company must warn patients and physicians of any unexpected dangers, risks or side-effects that may occur due to product use.

Evidence indicates, however, that Fresenius failed to live up to this basic and important obligation. As a result, our Boston dialysis injury lawyers know that hundreds of dialysis patients experienced cardiac arrest, sudden heart attacks or death. Hundreds of cases have been filed already against Fresenius Medical Care and more than 312 of those cases are moving forward as part of a consolidated multi-district litigation in Massachusetts.
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November 9, 2013

Transvaginal Mesh Cases Move Forward After Ruling on Expert Witness

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Thousands of transvaginal mesh lawsuits are moving forward within courts throughout the United States as injured women seek to hold manufacturers accountable for complications from dangerous surgical mesh products. In one case against transvaginal mesh manufacturer American Medical Systems (AMS), a recent judicial order was issued. The order addressed the request of plaintiffs to disqualify one of the witnesses that the defendant intends to present as an expert.

Our Boston transvaginal mesh lawyers know that mesh cases are heavily influenced by whose expert witnesses are most credible and by how convinced the jury is by the testimony of each expert witness. Mesh cases center on highly complex facts including whether the mesh product was the actual cause of harm when used as intended by the patient. Expert witnesses distill key facts for the jury, and having the right experts can make or break the case.
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November 7, 2013

Defective Airbags Lead to Vehicle Recall

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Air bags are supposed to protect you in the event of an accident and if an air bag does not deploy when it is needed, serious or even fatal injury could result. At the same time, an air bag deploys at high speeds and if it deploys at the wrong time, it could cause a devastating accident. Because it is so important for air bags to work correctly, vehicle manufacturers must exercise care in the design and installation of air bags to ensure there are no problems.

Unfortunately, issues have arisen with air bags in certain Toyota vehicles including the 2012 and 2013 Toyota Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid and Venza vehicles. Our Boston defective products lawyers know that Toyota has recalled 885,000 vehicles worldwide as a result of potential air bag problems. An estimated 803,000 of the vehicles affected by the recall, including both crossovers and sedans, were sold in the United States. Drivers need to be sure to check if their vehicle is among the cars being recalled by Toyota so you can follow the manufacturer instructions and avoid injury from the dangerous vehicle defect.
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