A federal jury found Exxon Mobil liable for contaminating groundwater in New York City and awarded the city $104.7 million in compensatory damages. The city had sought $250 million in damages to finance construction of a treatment plant to make the water in five wells in southeastern Queens drinkable. But…
A Pfizer Inc. unit must pay an undisclosed amount of punitive damages to an Illinois woman who developed breast cancer after taking one of the drugmaker’s menopause treatments, according to a Philadelphia jury. Jurors deliberated 25 minutes before finding Pfizer’s Wyeth subsidiary was responsible for paying an award to Connie…
The state’s high court said that cigarette maker Philip Morris USA may have to pay for diagnostic chest exams so smokers can get early warning they have developed lung cancer, possibly opening a new front in tobacco liability lawsuits. In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Judicial Court said Massachusetts law…
Two more lawsuits on behalf of young women injured by the Yaz birth control pill. Yaz, as well as its precursor, Yasmin, have been associated with life-threatening cardiac events in some women, including heart attacks, blood clots and strokes. Both lawsuits were filed in the United States District Court for…
A fatal accident in San Diego raises the question: Might a vehicle’s complex electronic features make it hard for drivers to react quickly when accelerating out of control? The 2009 Lexus ES 350 shot through suburban San Diego like a runaway missile, weaving at 120 miles an hour through rush…
A recent Illinois Supreme Court ruling is a victory for patient-physician confidentiality and protects doctors from unwarranted liability exposure, according to physicians. On Sept. 24, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that a group of physicians and other health care professionals did not have a duty to prevent the murder of…
Candice Atkinson filed a personal injury lawsuit against Bayer Corporation and Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for severe side effects from the prescription birth control drug Yaz, manufactured and marketed by Bayer. The complaint was filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, where Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is located. Candice…
A $14M settlement has been reached with family members of a flight nurse and a paramedic who died last year when an emergency medical services helicopter crashed into the Laguna Madre, Texas. The settlement resolves a lawsuit that family members of Raul Garcia, 40, and Michael Sanchez, 39, filed against…
The chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission said she would ask China to help pay for the billions of dollars in damage to U.S. homes blamed on Chinese-made drywall. “I will find out if any discussions are going on in China about the costs, are they prepared to participate…
A Philadelphia jury has issued a $13.5 million verdict against Lasko Products Inc., a West Chester fan manufacturer, after a defective fan motor sparked a 2005 house fire in Mount Airy that killed a 7-year-old boy. The award was issued after a 13-day trial in the death of Joshua Foster,…