Articles Posted in Product Liability

The jury finally rendered a verdict today, in a hotly contested Johnson & Johnson defective hip lawsuit, being tried in California state court, Los Angeles. Johnson & Johnson (J&J)’s DePuy subsidiary unit was found liable for defectively designed metal-on-metal hip implant, in the first of 10,750 lawsuits over the device to go to trial.

Jury: Clear Message

The California jury sent a clear message today that Johnson & Johnson and DePuy put profit over safety by awarding Loren Kransky, the plaintiff in the California case of Kransky v. DePuy Orthopedics, $ 8.3 million for damages caused by Mr. Kransky’s implantation and revision of the recalled DePuy ASR XL hip implant.

As a Dallas, Texas Defective Metal on Metal Hip attorney, I have written extensively about the problems and the lawsuits filed against the manufacturers of metal on metal hips. It appears that the problems associated with the metal on metal hips is neither unique or limited to one manufacturer.

Johnson and Johnson’s DePuy ASR and Pinnacle models, Biomet’s M2a Magnum, Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II models, Wright Conserve, Zimmer Durom cup and Smith and Nephew R3, have all been implicated as being defective, prone to early failure and subjected to revision surgeries.

The most recent recall involving Stryker hips took place quietly on July 4, 2012, while most Americans were busy with fireworks and apple pie.

The first Actos bladder cancer trial is currently underway in Los Angeles, California state court and the trial started February 19th. The plaintiff, Jack Cooper, was diagnosed with bladder cancer after using Actos for more than two years. The case was given a fast track trial date because of Cooper’s terminal condition.

According to the plaintiff, Jack Cooper, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., the manufacturer of its blockbuster diabetic drug Actos, failed to warn doctors of the cancer risk associated with its diabetes treatment. This is the first of more than 3,000 lawsuits over the drug goes to trial. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., is Asia’s biggest pharmaceutical company.

Takeda sales representatives never warned Jack Cooper’s doctor in more than 195 visits, according to Cooper’s lawyer Michael Miller in state court in Los Angeles.

I have written extensively about the current trial underway in Los Angeles state court involving the DePuy ASR hip and now I am providing this trial update. According to the plaintiff at the first of 10,750 lawsuits over the recalled hip implant to go to trial, it was Johnson & Johnson’s relentless pursuit of profit that led the multibillion dollar company to sell a defective DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip that failed faster than any similar device.

Jurors in Los Angeles heard closing arguments that J&J’s DePuy unit defectively designed its ASR hip and failed to warn of the risks. Plaintiff Kransky’s attorney Brian Panish asked for compensatory damages of $5.3 million and punitive damages of as much as $179 million.

Broken Promises and Broken Hearts

Our law firm on behalf of Judy Kay Alexander from Dallas, Texas have filed a defective product liability lawsuit against C.R. Bard over its G2 IVC Filter. Alexander’s lawsuit alleges that C.R. Bard was negligent, failed to warn, produced a defective design and manufacturing, breach of warranty, and negligent misrepresentation.

The complaint was filed on December 19 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. Alexander was implanted with a G2 filter on February 20, 2009, the IVC filter device failed and punctured her inferior vena cava vein and she also suffered damage to her right ureter.

The Bard G2 Filter is an inferior vena cava (IVC) filter used in patients for whom an anticoagulant has been ineffective or is contraindicated. The IVC filter medical device is designed to prevent blood clots from travelling to the lungs from deep vein thrombosis or blood clots usually in the lower legs and causing a pulmonary embolism.

Texas Transvaginal Surgical Mesh Attorney Dr Shezad Malik provides this timely update for women would have suffered injuries and complications as a result of Surgical Mesh. Transvaginal mesh is an invasive surgical option for patients suffering from pelvic organ prolapse (POP) and stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

What is Transvaginal Mesh Failure?

Many women with pelvic organ prolapse (POP), usually the uterus or bladder and stress urinary incontinence (SUI) undergo vaginally-placed surgical mesh. The mesh is inserted through small incisions made in the vaginal wall to support a prolapsing uterus or to support the urethra during SUI. Each mesh is surgically tailored, making it custom fit to each patient. Transvaginal mesh is made from natural material or from non-absorbable synthetic, polypropylene or polyester.

As a Texas Biomet M2A-Magnum hip metallosis injury and replacement attorney I am providing this timely update for folks who have been injured by defective metal-on-metal hip replacement implants.

What is the Problem with Biomet M2A Magnum Hip?

The Biomet M2A-Magnum Hip is a metal-on-metal hip replacement system that has been implanted in many patients throughout the United States. It was advertized heavily for being the hip of choice for active and younger patients, and according to experts, the new hip problems after implantation suggest that the metal hip implant may be susceptible to early failure within a few years of surgery.

As a Dallas DePuy ASR Metal Hip attorney and Texas medical doctor I have been reporting from the DePuy ASR trial that is currently underway in Los Angeles, California.

Over the past week of trial, the jury has heard from plaintiff’s engineering and metallurgic experts. and the videotaped testimony of Andrew Ekdahl, the president of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)’s DePuy unit. Ekdahl, told jurors the company recalled 93,000 all-metal hip implants because they “did not meet the clinical needs for the product,” not because they were unsafe.

First of Over 10,000 DePuy Lawsuits in Trial

Many defective product liability and personal injury lawsuits have been filed over the Mirena intra uterine birth control device, in various State and Federal courts nationwide. Recently, a motion has been filed to consolidate all federal cases before one federal court for coordinated pretrial proceedings as part of an MDL, or multidistrict litigation.

Mirena IUD Perforation Allegations

All of the lawsuits involve similar complaints that the intra-uterine device (IUD), caused severe complications including perforating or puncturing the uterus, and migrating to other parts of the body. The motion to consolidate requested that all Mirena lawsuits be consolidated in the Northern District of Ohio.

As a Texas medical doctor and Dallas defective drug injury and death attorney, I am providing this update for patients who have been injured by the use of the new Pradaxa anticoagulant drug. According to experts, some Pradaxa patients are exposed to deadly bleeding and stroke risks because Pradaxa has no antidote to reverse its side effects and may cause bleed-out deaths. Many injured patients have filed a Pradaxa lawsuit against Boehringer Ingelheim, the manufacturer of Pradaxa.

Federal Multidistrict Litigation

All federal lawsuits over Pradaxa in U.S. District Courts have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings before U.S. District Judge Herndon in the Southern District of Illinois. Judge Herndon has established 4 bellwether cases for early trial dates, which are expected to go to trial between August 2014 and February 2015. Bellwether trial cases may also help the parties to a settlement agreement.