Mass Torts

I was thrilled to hear that some of our elected members of Congress are finally working on proactive legislation that might benefit all of us.  This is especially encouraging after watching with much discouragement the high level of discord and dysfunction that has become commonplace in the Capitol. Recently, some […]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants to remind the public what a good job it’s been doing in monitoring drugs both before and after they are marketed. In a report issued over the weekend, April 21, “Advances in FDA’s Safety Program for Marketed Drugs,” the agency pats itself […]

The Judicial Panel on Multi-District Litigation issued an order on April 17, 2012, establishing MDL No. 2342 styled In Re:  Zoloft (setraline hydrochloride) Products Liability Litigation.   This order will establish coordinated multi-district proceedings in the federal court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for lawsuits that have been filed on […]

Bloomberg is reporting today that Bayer has now settled approximately 500 of the more than 10,000 lawsuits pending against the German drug manufacturer. The reports indicate that the cases were confidentially settled for the sum of $110 million, or slightly more than an average of $200,000 per case. Settlement negotiations […]

We now have a better idea of how one synthetic mesh medical device maker, American Medical Systems, Inc., plans to defend itself against the 318 lawsuits that have been consolidated in the Southern District of West Virginia before The Honorable Joseph R. Goodwin. In a Position Statement, issued and filed […]

This is the typical refrain from so many of our clients who were implanted with defective metal-on-metal hip implants made by orthopedic giants like DePuy, Stryker, Wright Medical, and Zimmer. The irony is that those who utter those words are actually very close to the emerging stereotype for these clients. […]

The “antipsychotic” class of drugs is distributed liberally in nursing homes. Antipsychotics including Risperdal, Seroquel, Zyprexa, and Abilify, are frequently given to the elderly who are suffering from dementia so they are easier to control. It’s a handy tool in a nursing home that is understaffed and needs to find […]

A newly published study finds that first-time users of a class of drugs to treat osteoporosis may be at an increased risk of serious inflammatory eye disease. Bisphosphonates such as Fosamax and Actonel, which are taken orally, are two of the most commonly prescribed drugs in that class. Published in […]

The Mentor ObTape Sling is a transobturator vaginal sling, which was manufacturer by Mentor Corporation and was implanted in thousands of women to treat Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI). Mentor’s ObTape replaced Mentor’s Uratape product. Uratape performed so poorly that Mentor quit selling it after an embarrassingly short time on the […]

We hear from them every day  – consumers who trust and believe their doctor  only to find out things like what Consumer Reports (CR) investigates in its May issue. Surprisingly, the majority of medical devices never have to pass through any sort of safety and efficacy standard with the Food […]