Lawsuit Information Center Blog

July 27, 2021

CPAP Lawsuits Settlement and Verdicts

The recent Philips CPAP recall lawsuit has gotten lawyers focused on CPAP machines, how they work, and the risks associated with them.

Below are settlement compensation amounts and verdict payouts in CPAP-related lawsuits.

CPAP Settlements and Verdicts

July 19, 2021

Philips CPAP Sleep Apnea MDL Class Action

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Last month, medical device company Philips issued a sweeping safety recall of its popular CPAP and BiPAP sleep apnea devices that millions of Americans use to sleep every night. The recalled devices contain a polyurethane sound abatement foam that can degrade and cause users to inhale foam particles that can cause respiratory damage and possibly cancer.

The Philips recall covered an estimated 3.5 million sleep apnea devices so many plaintiffs’ lawyers are naturally wondering whether this will turn into a new product liability mass tort with thousands of plaintiffs consolidated into a Multi-District-Litigation (MDL). In this post we will take a close look at the nature of the recall and whether we have the necessary ingredients for a full-blown MDL.

Recall of Philips CPAP and BiPAP Sleep Apnea Devices

July 16, 2021

Will Sunscreen be the Next Big Mass Tort or Just the Next Big Safety Recall?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

It’s the peak of the summer beach season, but if you drop by your local retailer to pick up some sunscreen you will likely see a lot of empty shelf space. Why? Because independent consumer product testing recently discovered that a number of major sunscreen products contained hazardous levels of benzene. Benzene is a notorious and well-known human carcinogen that is very harmful to the human body.

In response to this discovery, manufacturers and major retailers have started pulling sunscreen spray, lotion, and other products from their shelves. Now plaintiffs lawyers around the country are evaluating whether contaminated sunscreen could be the next big mass tort.

Valisure Finds Dangerous Levels of Benzene in Sunscreen Products

June 22, 2021

3M Earplug Third Trial

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

The third bellwether test trial in the massive 3M earplug lawsuits resulted in another solid victory for the plaintiffs. Last week the jury in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Florida awarded Army veteran Llyod Baker $1.7 million in total damages in his lawsuit against 3M.

Like thousands of other plaintiffs in the Combat Arms earplugs litigation, Baker claimed that he suffered hearing damage (tinnitus) during his time in the Army because 3M’s earplugs were defective and failed to protect him. Baker sought to hold 3M liable under a number of different product liability theories, including:

Strict Liability (design defect)

May 28, 2021

3M Earplugs Trials (Update $7.1 Million Verdict)

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

On May 28, 2021, 3M won their first trial in the 3M earplug lawsuits. The jury found that an Ohio Army veteran’s tinnitus was not caused by 3M’s negligence in selling and distributing the Combat Arms earplugs.

So we are now 1-1. On April 30, 2021, 3M earplug verdict enjoyed a huge win: $7.1 million for three plaintiffs. The jury kicked in $2.1 million in punitive damages. Why? They didn’t just find 3M negligent in manufacturing the Combat Arms earplugs. The jury thought 3M need to learn a lesson for what it did to these victims.

So we have one win and one loss. Our lawyers still believe in these cases. Call our 3M earplug lawyers today at 800-553-8082 or contact us online for a free 3M earplug lawsuit consultation.

May 24, 2021

Vici Venous Stent Lawsuits

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific has issued an emergency safety recall of its Vici Venous stent devices because a defect in the stents causes them to migrate once inside the body. If you had a Vici Venous stent surgically implanted and it subsequently migrated inside your body, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Our medical device lawyers are currently new Vici Venous stent cases against Boston Scientific.

About the Vici Venous Stent

Venous stents are small tubs of metal mesh that are surgically implanted inside a vein to help expand the walls of the vein and keep them open to allow blood circulation. The stent effectively functions like a reinforcing scaffold or frame that prevents the vein from closing. Stents are typically placed in larger veins. Venous stents are commonly used for the treatment of chronic blood clots (deep vein thrombosis) and similar conditions that cause the veins to narrow or compress.

May 21, 2021

How Much Compensation Can You Expect for a Hernia Mesh Lawsuit?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Right now, there are thousands of lawsuits pending in courts across the country related to defective hernia mesh implants. The plaintiffs in these lawsuits are individuals who had a defective hernia mesh implanted during surgery causing them to suffer serious post-surgical complications and injuries.

The hernia mesh lawsuits involve multiple hernia mesh products made by 3 medical device companies who are now defendants in the litigation: Ethicon (a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary), C.R. Bard (now part of Beckton Dickinson), and Atrium Medical Corp. The alleged defects and the product liability claims being asserted against all these defendants are similar enough to talk about them collectively.

As of Spring 2021, we have yet to see a trial or jury verdict in any of these hernia mesh cases. Bellwether trials are coming up this summer which should give us our first taste of how these cases might play out. In the meantime, however, we can certainly speculate on how much these cases could be worth. This post will offer a reasonable estimate of how much hernia mesh individual hernia mesh claims might be worth in the final settlement.

May 20, 2021

Roundup MDL Judge Questions $10 Billion Settlement Proposal

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

It has been over a year now since Bayer AG announced that it had reached an agreement with plaintiffs’ counsel to settle thousands of pending lawsuits alleging that popular weedkiller Roundup causes NHL cancer. The settlement agreement still needs to get approved by the MDL judge (U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria).

The hearing on whether to approve the agreement was held yesterday. On Tuesday, however, Judge Chhabria issued a set of piercing questions in advance of the approval hearing. Judge Chhabria’s questions raise major concerns about the validity of the Roundup settlement proposal and cast doubt on whether the settlement will get approved in its current form.

Roundup settlement update (video)

May 17, 2021

Paraquat Lawsuit Bellwether Trial Begins Next Month

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Paraquat is a chemical herbicide that has recently been linked to Parkinson’s disease. A growing number of lawsuits are being filed against the manufacturers of Paraquat by individuals who used or were exposed to the chemical and later diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Call our Paraquat lawyers today for a free consultation if you have a claim.

So far enough Paraquat lawsuits have been filed that the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) is expected to create a new class action Paraquat MDL.

Meanwhile, however, one of the earliest Paraquat Parkinson’s lawsuits is going to trial in state court in Illinois. The case, Thomas Hoffman, et al. v. Syngenta Crop Protection LLC, et al., (Case No. 17-L-517), was originally filed back in 2017 in the 20th Judicial Circuit Court for St. Clair County, Illinois.

April 25, 2021

What Happens to Newly Filed Roundup Cases?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Roundup is one of the most popular and widely used weed killers in the world. Roundup was first released in the early 1970s by Monsanto (now owned by pharma giant Bayer) and it eventually came to dominate the weed killer market, both commercial and residential. Roundup was everywhere and there was never any question about whether it was safe.

The end of Roundup’s success story began about 5 years ago when it was discovered that chronic exposure to the active ingredient in Roundup (glyphosate) could cause certain types of cancer. This discovery was followed by an inevitable tidal wave of lawsuits by individuals who were diagnosed with cancers such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after prolonged use of Roundup.

The Roundup lawsuits soon numbered in the thousands and were consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Northern District of California. Monsanto (and its successor Bayer) has repeatedly refused to admit that Roundup is unsafe and aggressively defended its product in the courts. After years of civil discovery and a series of “test trials” that resulted in massive plaintiff verdicts, Bayer finally gave in and announced that it was going to pay a staggering $10 billion to settle all of the Roundup lawsuits.