Product Liability Lawyer Blog

December 24, 2013

Topamax Birth Defect Lawsuits and Cleft Palate Treatment Costs

The anti-seizure medication Topamax is one of the top selling medications in its class, and by 2008, had U.S. sales in excess of $10 billion. The medication, however, may be very dangerous for pregnant women and infants. Medical studies have shown that the risk of a child being born with a cleft palette increases drastically if a baby is exposed to Topamax in the womb during fetal development. The FDA also recognizes the link between Topamax and birth defects and, on March 4, 2011, informed the public of data showing that Topamax was linked to cleft palates.

topamax plaintiff lawyers know that a cleft palate can have serious implications for a child. A cleft palate occurs when the baby’s natural body structures do not fuse correctly during gestation, resulting in a fissure or opening in the lip and palate. Children with a cleft palate can experience speech difficulties; hearing loss; dental problems; nasal problems and difficulty feeding. Multiple surgeries are often required to correct the cleft, which can be very costly. As a parent of a child with a cleft palate, it is important to take action to get money for cleft palate treatment. Many parents already have, and hundreds of Topamax lawsuits are pending.
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December 22, 2013

FDA Expands Control Over Compounding Pharmacies

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In previous posts, we have discussed the dangerous nature of compounding pharmacies, including the lack of federal regulation, the risk of counterfeit, and the general threat to consumers in Massachusetts and nationwide. Last year a meningitis outbreak and other events involving compounded drugs lead to serious infection and in many cases resulted in death. Since the outbreak, Congress has been working to pass comprehensive legislation to give authority to the FDA to properly regulate compounded drugs. According to an official statement from the FDA, a new law may help to properly regulate the industry and keep consumers safe.

The risk of dangerous or defective drugs produced by compounding pharmacies is significant. Our Boston injury attorneys are dedicated to protecting the rights of individual clients as well as consumers nationwide. We will take necessary action against compounding pharmacies and are committed to staying abreast of legal developments that may have a positive impact on the health of our nation. The Drug Quality and Security Act is a positive step in this direction.
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December 19, 2013

Families Affected by Topamax Birth Defects Awarded Millions in Damages

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of Topamax and a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, is facing more than 134 pending cases in a single court, as well as other claims nationwide, because of birth defects linked to the anti-seizure medication.

The company has had bad news in recent weeks as two claims that were brought to trial resulted in multi-million dollar jury verdicts for the plaintiff. The verdicts provide hope for plaintiffs with pending claims, but likely make Janssen Pharmaceuticals very nervous about the extent of liability that the company faces.

Our Topamax attorneys in Boston know that the FDA has warned of the increased risk of an oral cleft palate in infants whose mothers take Topamax during pregnancy. The outcomes of the recent claims against Janssen Pharmaceuticals suggest that juries recognize the link between and expectant mother’s dosage and facial defects in newborn infants land seek to provide sufficient compensation for families to cover medical costs and other losses caused by the dangerous drug.
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December 13, 2013

Topamax Lawsuit Ends in $11 Million Verdict for the Plaintiff

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A woman whose infant was born with facial deformations has successfully sued the maker of an anti-seizure drug she was prescribed while pregnant.

The case, Gurley v. Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceutical is part of a larger mass tort action in the Philadelphia district courts against the makers of Topamax, a drug used to treat epilepsy and migraines. The master case is In re Topamax Litigation.

The bellwether cases here involved a stay-at-home mother who was prescribed the drug Topamax for treatment of epilepsy. She continued to take the drug through her pregnancy, as she had been told by doctors was safe. However, what she didn’t know was that the manufacturer, Janssen Pharmeceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, had long known that the drug caused serious birth defects. The plaintiffs would later argue that this was information that Janssen intentionally kept from both doctors and patients.
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December 10, 2013

Transvaginal Mesh Defendant Accused of Destroying Evidence

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Bloomberg news service reports that court documents filed recently In Re Ethicon Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation, a U.S. District Court Case in the Southern District of West Virginia, allege that a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary destroyed or misplaced documents related to its vaginal mesh implants.

As a result, transvaginal mesh plaintiff attorneys are requesting that the the subsidiary, Ethicon, be barred from launching certain types of defenses in a series of upcoming trials.

If you aren’t familiar, Ethicon was responsible for the manufacture of a type of implant known as the Gynecare Prolift. It was one of the four types of mesh products, used to treat urinary incontinence, that Johnson & Johnson decided to stop selling back in June of 2012. That decision came after two large groups of lawsuits were filed by women who claimed that implantation of the devices had caused them serious injury.
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December 5, 2013

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

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

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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