Bloomberg News (6/18, Feeley) reported, “Pfizer Inc. faces a Texas trial over its hormone-replacement drugs after a court overseeing lawsuits over the medicines sent 200 cases back to their home courts.” At issue in the suit is whether “the Prempro [conjugated estrogens and medroxyprogesterone] menopause drug helped cause” the plaintiff’s…
A Florida couple who fled their dream home because of foul-smelling, ruinous Chinese drywall was awarded $2.4 million in damages in the nation’s first jury trial over the defective wallboard that could have legal ramifications for thousands of similar cases. The defendant, drywall distributor Banner Supply, is named in thousands…
Merck & Co. lost the second trial to reach a verdict over claims its osteoporosis drug Fosamax causes so-called jaw death. The jury set damages at $8 million. A jury in New York ruled against Merck today in the case of Shirley Boles, 72, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Boles…
Camden County, Penn., has agreed to a $15 million settlement with a man who lost his leg and part of his arm when his car crashed into a guardrail and the railing snapped off, cutting through the vehicle. In 2004, Nicholas Anderson was driving on Raritan Road when he was…
The Legal Intelligencer (6/23, Elliott-Engel) reports, “Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to settle almost 200 cases in which plaintiffs allege the use of the antidepressant Paxil caused birth defects.” GSK “decided to settle Kilker v. SmithKline Beecham Corp. d/b/a GlaxoSmithKline along with another 190 cases, according to an order signed by…
The AP (6/4) reported, “A former physician-owner and two former employees at a Las Vegas-area colonoscopy clinic were indicted on 28 felony charges, including racketeering, negligence and insurance fraud stemming from a 2008 hepatitis C outbreak. A judge in Las Vegas issued arrest warrants for physician Dipak Desai and former…
The National Law Journal (6/11, Bronstad) reports, “Dozens of sudden-acceleration lawsuits filed against Toyota Motor Corp. in California’s state courts will be coordinated in Los Angeles. California Chief Justice Ronald George issued an order to that effect on Tuesday, following a hearing on May 21 when Los Angeles County, Calif.,…
The Wall Street Journal (6/11, B4, Whalen, Mundy) reports that David Graham, an FDA drug-safety official argues in a new study that the diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitazone) may have led to thousands of heart problems that could have been prevented if patients had been using a different medication. The agency…
Federal officials investigating Johnson & Johnson over the massive recall of children’s medicine earlier this year have said that the drug maker is stalling their investigation. New York Rep. Edolphus Towns said that J&J has provided the Congressional committee false information and is being much less cooperative than other companies…
More than 5,400 battery packs used in some automated external defibrillators have been recalled due to a defect. The recalled was issued by the FDA because the batteries had the potential to falsely detect an error condition during charging for a shock and then cancel the charge. The batteries were…