Wrongful Death

November 26, 2009

Philip Morris Ordered to Pay $300 M to Smoker

A Florida jury ordered cigarette maker Philip Morris USA to pay $300 million in damages to a 61-year-old ex-smoker named Cindy Naugle who is wheelchair-bound by emphysema.

The Broward Circuit Court jury assessed $56.6 million in past and future medical expenses against the company, part of Altria Group Inc, as well as $244 million in punitive damages.

The verdict is the largest of the so-called Engle progeny cases that have been tried so far, both sides said.

Philip Morris will seek further review of the verdict because of “numerous erroneous rulings by the trial judge,” Philip Morris spokesman Murray Garnick said in a statement.

November 23, 2009

Trial to Proceed in Cintas Wrongful Death Lawsuit

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A federal judge has denied a request by Cintas Corp. for summary judgment in a 2007 wrongful death lawsuit in Tulsa, a ruling that paves the way for a jury to hear the case against the nation’s largest uniform supplier next year.

U.S. District Judge Claire Eagan wrote in a 31-page opinion that there is ”conflicting evidence” whether Cintas managers knew workers in company laundries were breaking safety rules to save time, but did nothing to stop them.

Eagan wrote that videotape evidence taken from the Tulsa plant ”shows employees routinely disregarding Cintas’ safety procedures.”
Amalia Diaz Torres is suing Cincinnati-based Cintas, claiming the company’s plant managers knew about — and even encouraged — the dangerous working practices that led to the death of her husband, Eleazar Torres-Gomez, in 2007.

November 20, 2009

Jury Awards $5.25M in Va Teenager Wrongful Death

by Dr. Shezad Malik

An Albemarle County, Va jury awarded $5.25 million to the parents and sibling of a 16-year-old county girl who was killed in a car accident in 2008.

The jury found that Don B. Swisher Trucking Corp., McCann Delivery Service and Kenneth Barbour were negligent when Barbour hit Sydney Aichs’ 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier with a tractor-trailer while running a red light on May 9, 2008.

November 19, 2009

Dominican Republic blames U.S.Power Company for Birth Defects

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Maximiliano Calcaño is 2 and was born with no arms. Maximiliano’s mother, Anajai Calcaño, lives in a small house with no indoor plumbing in a rural village in northern Dominican Republic, not far from where coal ash generated by Virginia-based AES Corp. wound up at the edge of the sea.

More than 50,000 tons of coal ash laden with heavy metals was left at a port abutting local homes for years while the company, politicians, prosecutors, environmental activists and bureaucrats argued — and residents got sick.

November 18, 2009

Widower Awarded $6 M in Medical Malpractice Trial

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The husband and estate of a woman who developed blood clots and died shortly after undergoing outpatient knee surgery have been awarded more than $6 million.

In December of 2003, Ruby Quarles, 42, was referred by her primary care physician at Fort Benning’s Martin Army Community Hospital to an orthopedic surgeon to investigate complaints of worsening pain in her left knee, according to trial documents.

The surgeon, Dr.McKenzie, gave Quarles an injection for the pain and ordered physical therapy; during a follow-up visit in January 2004, McKenzie ordered an MRI to determine whether Quarles might have a tear in the cartilage of her knee.

The MRI indicated a “cartilaginous loose body” behind Quarles’ knee, according to the pre-trial order, and on Jan. 29 she underwent less than an hour of arthroscopic surgery at Doctors Hospital. McKenzie did not find any loose cartilage or other damage, and that afternoon Quarles’ daughter, Frances, took her home.

November 13, 2009

Dallas Texas Car and Trucking Accident Lawsuit Update

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Traffic deaths on U.S. roads reached a record low in the first half of 2009, according to projections released Oct. 9. Estimates show that 16,626 people died in traffic crashes between January and June –- a 7 percent decline from 17,871 for the same period last year. Projected figures for the period also show a record low fatality rate of 1.15 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 1.23 deaths during the same period in 2008.

Read the Texas Car Accident report here.

Automobile accidents, auto collisions, car accidents, car crashes, or car wrecks, motor vehicle fender benders are an unfortunate fact of life. Auto accidents can be caused by any number of reasons including: Driver negligence, Driver impairment, Driver recklessness, Defective automobiles or parts and Dangerous road conditions.

November 13, 2009

Dallas Yaz Lawsuit Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee Appointed

by Dr. Shezad Malik

There is progress to report in the Yaz and Yasmin multidistrict litigation (MDL No. 2100) currently underway in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Judge David Herndon, who is overseeing the Yaz and Yasmin MDL, has appointed members to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee.

The Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee was appointed by Judge Herndon in an Order dated November 10, 2009.

Dr Shezad Malik will be working closely with the members of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee.

November 13, 2009

KTLA: Yaz, Yasmin Birth Control Users Report Serious Problems

by Dr. Shezad Malik

KTLA TV in Los Angeles just ran an investigation and news article into Yaz and Yasmin side effects that folks may be interesting in watching.

Click here for the link.

Read the full article here.

November 11, 2009

Toyota Lawsuits by Consumers Over Sudden Acceleration of Vehicles

by Dr. Shezad Malik

– Toyota Motor Corp. has failed to correct a problem with the throttle control system on some of its vehicles, causing them to suddenly accelerate, lawyers for consumers said in a lawsuit.

Los Angeles residents Seong Bae Choi and Chris Chan Park, who claim they experienced multiple instances of unintended acceleration, filed the suit as a class action on Nov. 5, seeking to represent all U.S. owners of certain Toyota and Lexus models.

Toyota last month said it would recall as many as 3.8 million vehicles including Lexus ES luxury cars, Camry sedans and Prius hybrids over a potential flaw in which floor mats shifting out of position could jam the accelerator pedal. The mats aren’t the problem, according to the plaintiff’s lawyer.

November 10, 2009

Dallas Texas Yaz Update: Mass Tort Status for Suits Over Yaz, Yasmin

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The New Jersey judiciary is considering a request from Passaic County judge for mass tort status for suits alleging strokes and other serious health problems from the oral contraceptives Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella.

With 13 suits filed in his court, Assignment Judge Donald Volkert Jr. wrote to Acting Administrative Director of the Courts Glenn Grant on Oct. 22 that “the case management and potential trial of this particular litigation would place a fairly substantial strain on our already limited resources.”

There are 26 suits against the contraceptives’ manufacturers pending in other counties, and Volkert said plaintiffs lawyers have told him the number could reach 1,000.

In a notice to the bar, the Administrative Office of the Courts says it will accept public comments until Dec. 31 on the proposal to centralize the cases in Atlantic, Bergen or Middlesex counties, where mass torts are heard.