Personal Injury

April 25, 2016

Slip and fall lawsuits

Slip and falls can cause serious injury to a person. This is why a competent attorney is crucial whenever somebody suffers an injury from a slip and fall.

In one recent case, a shopper at Lowe’s filed a lawsuit against the company after the shopper was seriously injured in a slip and fall. In this case, the shopper lost her sense of taste and smell after injuring her head.

Lowes, like most major employers, fought this case tooth-and-nail. However, the jury of the Hendrickson v. Lowe’s (case number A-13-687418-C) case ultimately awarded the plaintiff with $16.4 million. The award came as jurors concluded the company’s negligence caused Kelly Hendrickson to slip and fall in water in the garden department of its South Fort Apache Street store as she was looking at palm trees.

April 6, 2016

Bard IVC Filter Injuries – How to Avoid

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Bard IVC Filter Injuries can be avoided and I’ll detail how. C.R. Bard and Cook are the two major manufacturers of retrievable Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) filters. Retrievable Bard and Cook Inferior Vena Cava filters have come under fire over the past 6 years as more information has come to light over the increased risk with these defective medical devices.

Bard IVC Filter injury lawsuits are increasing across the United States.

Case in point, Amber Nordin, from South Dakota earlier this year filed a personal injury and defective product liability lawsuit against C.R. Bard, because of the Bard company’s Eclipse blood clot filters broke apart and embedded inside her internal organs.

April 6, 2016

Xarelto Bleeding Side Effect Death Lawsuits Increasing

by Dr. Shezad Malik

As a Dallas Xarelto Bleeding Death attorney and Texas medical doctor, I would like to update my readers about the ongoing status of the Xarelto bleeding side effects and wrongful death litigation. Most recently, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against the makers of Xarelto; Bayer Healthcare and Johnson and Johnson’s subsidiary, Janssen.

Xarelto usage is linked to uncontrollable bleeding and catastrophic injuries.

According to the personal injury and death lawsuit, Julien suffered from atrial fibrillation and used Xarelto to prevent strokes from the atrial fibrillation. Julien developed severe internal bleeding side effects while on Xarelto, which eventually led to his death.

March 7, 2016

Bad Things Can Happen With Bard IVC Filters

by Dr. Shezad Malik

If there was ever a medical device that was rushed to market and continued to be marketed after the company knew that the device was defective, look no further. Bard and other Inferior Vena Cava filter device makers are under fire for selling a grossly defective medical device that is responsible for at least 27 deaths with the Bard Recovery filter over the past 10 years.

South Dakota Bard IVC Filter Injury

Amber Nordin, from South Dakota earlier this year filed a personal injury and defective product liability lawsuit against C.R. Bard, because of the company’s Eclipse blood clot filters broke apart and embedded inside her internal organs.

March 6, 2016

Laparoscopic Hysterectomy Uterine Cancer Lawsuit Battle

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Babette Davis from Wisconsin filed a morcellator product liability lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin against Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon unit after being diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, a deadly aggressive form of uterine cancer. According to Davis, the Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon Gynecare power morcellator that was used during the laparoscopic hysterectomy caused the undiagnosed uterine cancer to be spread throughout her abdomen and pelvis.

Davis has to take expensive oral chemotherapy drugs to keep the leiomyosarcoma cancer from spreading further and she knows that beating the uterine cancer is going to be a tough battle that she may not win.

Increased Risk of Cancer Spread After Morcellator Use

February 8, 2016

FDA Launches Uterine Cancer Death Morcellator Investigation

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Michael G. Fitzpatrick, representative of the 8th district of Pennsylvania, has asked the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, to investigate whether three hospitals violated mandatory reporting policies in wrongful deaths related to the use of power morcellators during gynecological surgery.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital (of Boston); Rochester General Hospital; and the University of Rochester Medical Center are implicated in failing to report these surgical deaths, that were likely related to the use of morcellators at the hospital as part of surgical procedures there.

What are Power Morcellators?

January 4, 2016

Wright Conserve Metal on Metal Hip Replacement Verdict

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The manufacturers of the Wright Conserve metal on metal hip implant were hammered in a recent personal injury and defective product liability trial. The Georgia federal jury awarded $11 million to Robyn Christiansen, in the first bellwether Wright Conserve hip replacement lawsuit to go to trial.

$10 Million Punitive Damages

The jury awarded $1 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages, which is designed to punish the Wright Conserve hip replacement manufacturer for gross negligence for recklessly disregarding the safety of hip patients.

Over 500 Wright Conserve Hip Implant Lawsuits

Wright Conserve hip replacement manufacture is exposed to more than 530 personal injury and product liability lawsuits. Plaintiffs claim that patients suffered serious and catastrophic hip failures from the metal-on-metal design was unreasonably dangerous and defective.

Wright Conserve Hip Lawsuit Allegations

According to the lawsuits, the metal-on-metal hip leads to metallic debris to be released during the grinding action between the metal cup and metal ball, which causes early implant failure. Some complications include premature device failure, loosening, metal poisoning and metallosis and severe pain.

Artificial hip replacements are expected to last at least 15 to 20 years, but Christiansen’s Wright Conserve hip implant failed after only six years, resulting in the need for major revision surgery.

December 30, 2015

Bard G2 IVC Filter Injury Law Suit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Ava Langford from Missouri, has filed a lawsuit claiming that she developed serious and severe personal injuries when a Bard G2 inferior vena cava (IVC) filter fractured and broke apart.

Langford filed her complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleging that a Bard G2 IVC filter failed and fractured. Langford received the medical device to prevent pulmonary embolism.

Every year, thousands of patients are implanted with a retrieval inferior vena cava filters but they are not warned by doctors about the risk of injury from these temporary devices.

And as time passes, patients tend to forget that they had this device implanted and the first inkling that they had the device, is when they suffer serious injury from a complication.

Experts say that there is a very high failure rate with these devices, which only increases with the duration of the filter in the body, and eventually all of the devices will fail. So 100% failure of the device becomes not a question of “if” but “when.”

According to Langford, the G2 filter is defectively designed, but Bard claims that the IVC filter device had “enhanced fracture resistance” and “increased migration resistance.” Langford claims that Bard failed to perform adequate clinical testing to ensure the filter device was safe and effective.

The filter devices are used when there is a blood clot in the leg known as a deep vein thrombosis and there is a contraindication to using blood thinners, which is the standard therapy for leg blood clots.

These devices are supposed to trap blood clots from traveling from the leg to the lungs and causing a pulmonary embolism, which can be fatal.

These devices unfortunately, have been linked to hundreds of adverse event reports where they puncture the vena cava, tilt out of position or migrate or break apart and cause metallic fragments to travel to the heart or lungs, a condition known as embolization.

2 Major Manufacturers of IVC Filters

There are 2 major manufacturers of IVC filters, Cook Medical and C.R. Bard. The complaints in the Bard and Cook IVC Filter litigation have similar allegations, the injured patients claim that the manufacturers designed and sold retrievable defective devices that were unreasonably dangerous.

FDA Warnings

The FDA in August 2010, announced a warning about the risk of IVC filter injuries, noting that they had received hundreds of adverse event reports where filter devices broke apart and travelled to other areas of the body or caused perforation and migration.

Bard IVC Filter Claims Consolidated in Arizona

All filed Bard Inferior Vena Cava filter injury, perforation and migration lawsuits, are consolidated and centralized in Phoenix, Arizona for coordinated pretrial proceedings.

Existing cases pending throughout the federal court system have been transferred to U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell, who will oversee the multidistrict litigation (MDL) proceedings. Bard Peripheral Vascular is the manufacturer of these Bard IVC filters and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

This consolidation and centralization of Bard IVC filter cases only applies to cases filed in the federal court system. According to latest court data there are 100 filed Bard Recovery filter and Bard G2 filter lawsuits currently pending in Arizona federal court. As the litigation matures it is expected that the final tally will consist of several thousand injury and defective product liability cases.

Benefits of MDL Consolidation and Centralization

The MDL streamlines the trial process, by preventing duplicative discovery and all the plaintiffs and defendants are gathered before one judge.

Cook IVC Filter Claims Consolidated in Indiana

MDL has been established for all Cook Medical IVC filter lawsuits, involving injuries with the Cook Celect and Gunther Tulip filters. There are more than 200 complaints over those products centralized before U.S. District Judge Richard L. Young in the Southern District of Indiana.

Lawsuits filed against Cook Medical over their defective IVC filters are gaining traction and moving towards trial. U.S. District Judge Young recently announced that a group of 10 Cook Medical IVC filter lawsuits have been chosen for early trial dates that will begin late 2016.

MDL Bellwether IVC Filter Trials

It is common in complex multidistrict ligation involving pharmaceutical and medical device cases, to have mini trials, known as bellwether trials.

A small group of cases will be prepared for early trial dates. The outcome of these trials are designed to aid settlement negotiations, especially if the jury sides with the injured plaintiffs and awards a large damage award or in cases involving gross negligence, awarding punitive damages, which are designed to punish the company for its reckless behavior.

December 29, 2015

Risks of Cancer Spread After Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

by Dr. Shezad Malik

In the United States, Hysterectomy is the second most frequently performed surgical procedure (after cesarean section). The majority of these hysterectomies are performed laparoscopically.

What is Laparoscopic Hysterectomy?

Minimally invasive or laparoscopic removal of the uterus, is know as hysterectomy and typically performed for the treatment of fibroids or benign tumors of the uterus. During the surgery, many doctors remove the uterus in pieces using a mechanical grinding or chopping device known as a power morcellator.

Recently, many personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits being filed against the manufacturers of power morcellators. The injured women claim that patients and doctors should have been warned about the risks associated with use of the medical devices during minimally invasive, laparoscopic hysterectomies.

What Are Power Morcellators?

Power morcellators are medical devices that are used during laparoscopic hysterectomy and myomectomy (fibroid removal) procedures. The device allows the surgeon to grind up the uterus or uterine fibroids and remove the tissue through a small incision in the abdomen. The medical device is used during minimally invasive surgery, and reduces recovery time, scarring and speeds up recovery time.

How Morcellator Increases the Risk of Uterine Cancer Spread

According to medical experts and the FDA, about one out of every 350 women undergoing a laparoscopic hysterectomy with morcellation may have undiagnosed sarcoma, which doctors are unable to detect before the surgery. Undiagnosed uterine sarcoma is highly malignant and is a lethal form of cancer, with poor life expectancy and treatment options. Most women die shortly after diagnosis and there are no curative treatments.

There is no bullet proof way for doctors to diagnose the uterine cancer before using the morcellator devices. Because of this, the FDA strongly urged doctors to avoid using the devices for laparoscopic hysterectomy or myomectomy procedures in April 2014. The FDA issued a BLACK BOX WARNING against the use of these devices in November 2014.

Power morcellators spread this undiagnosed leiomyosarcoma, endometrial stromal sarcoma or other cancer throughout the pelvis and abdomen during the grinding process, leading to rapid upstaging of the cancer and reducing the risk of long-term survival. As this risk becomes known, many doctors and hospitals have stopped the use of power morcellators over the past year.

Morcellators Approved Under the 510(k) Program

The controversial 510(k) program allows medical devices to be approved without pre-market testing requirements. Under the program, the manufacturer just needs to show that the devices are “substantially equivalent” to devices already on the market. Power morcellators were approved under the 510(k) process without any safety testing.

J&J Ethicon Morcellator Recall

All Ethicon power morcellators were recalled by the manufacturer, in 2014. J&J, acknowledged that the devices pose an unreasonable risk of spreading uterine cancer. Ethicon, a J&J subsidiary requested that hospitals voluntarily return all laparoscopic surgery morcellators. The company, noted that it will no longer sell the devices since there is no way to make them safe.

FDA Morcellator Black Box Warning

The FDA announced November 24, 2014 that it is adding a black box warning to uterine morcellator devices that remain on the market. A BLACK BOX WARNING, is the strongest warning that can be placed on any medical device.

Patients, doctors and hospitals are now on notice of the potential danger of increased uterine cancer spread risk associated with the use of these devices. Furthermore, the FDA announced that power morcellators should not be used with women near menopause or post-menopausal, or in women who could have tissue removed through the vagina or via a small incision.

This contraindication prohibits the use of the devices in the vast majority of women who undergo laparoscopic or vaginal uterine morcellation procedures.

Power Morcellator Litigation Centralized

Many complaints have been filed in the federal court system nationwide. These women were diagnosed with the spread of leiomyosarcoma, endometrial stromal sarcoma or other cancers following uterine fibroid surgery.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas was recently approved for the centralization and consolidation in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) court. This is centralized only against Johnson and Johnson’s subsidiary, Ethicon morcellator manufacturer.

This means that all federal morcellator lawsuits will be consolidated for pre-trial discovery and early bellwether trials in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. Federal courts consolidate lawsuits to MDLs when a large number of plaintiffs claim the same facts against the same defendant. The process allows the courts to operate more efficiently and decreases the costs for all parties involved.

All of the lawsuits filed against manufacturers of these devices claim that hysterectomy morcellators are unreasonably dangerous and that information about the risk of uterine cancer being spread was withheld from the patients and doctors.

December 22, 2015

The Scary Story About Xarelto and Pradaxa Uncontrollable Bleeding Side Effects

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The number of Xarelto bleeding injury and product liability lawsuits have exploded, with close to 2,500 cases being filed in the federal court that has been designated as the multi-district litigation venue.

Since December 2014, all federal product liability lawsuits filed against Bayer and Johnson & Johnson over the bleeding side effects of Xarelto have been centralized and consolidated before U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon in the Eastern District of Louisiana as part of an MDL, or multi-district litigation.

Lawsuits against Bayer and Johnson & Johnson are consolidated in two courts, a multidistrict litigation court in the Eastern District of Louisiana and a mass tort litigation court in Philadelphia.

The MDL in Louisiana contains 2,442 federal lawsuits as of December 15, and the state mass tortcourt in Philadelphia contains more than 500 lawsuits.

4 Xarelto Bellwether Trials Set

Judge Fallon set a series of four bellwether trials to go before juries in the Spring of 2017. The number of Xarelto lawsuits continue to be filed by individuals across the United States, alleging severe and deadly bleeding complications.