Legal News

January 2, 2023

Social Media Addiction Lawsuits

Millions of people are addicted to social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and others. A large percentage of those addicted to social media are children and young adults. For these vulnerable users, social media addiction can be very harmful and lead to things like eating disorders, depression, and in some cases suicide.

Now social media companies are facing a wave of new lawsuits alleging that they knowingly designed the algorithms of their platforms to lure young people into harmful addictions.

Our national mass tort lawyers are currently seeking social media addiction lawsuits from individuals who became addicted to social media before age 21 and suffered a serious physical injury as a direct result of that addiction. Physical injuries resulting from social media addiction could include suicide, self-harm, or an eating disorder.

December 29, 2022

Weighted Blanket Recalled by Target After 2 Babies Die at Camp Lejeune

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Target and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently announced a major safety recall of Pillowfort Weighted Blankets. The recall is prompted by recent incidents which indicate that a problem with the design of the zipper in the blankets can actually trap children and cause them to suffocate. A 6-year-old girl and a 4-year-old girl living at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina were trapped in a blanket and died from asphyxia in April 2022.

About Pillowfort Weighted Blankets

Weighted blankets have recently become very popular. They are blankets that are made to be very heavy around the edges so that they trap in warm air.

December 23, 2022

How Much Will the Deshaun Watson Civil Lawsuits Settle For?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

NFL star quarterback Deshaun Watson is defending civil tort lawsuits filed by 22 women who allege that Watson sexually assaulted them during private massage sessions. After Harris County declined to pursue criminal charges against Watson, he was traded to the Cleveland Browns who promptly gave him a new fully guaranteed contract worth – my goodness! – $230 million.

In the wake of the Watson trade and his new blockbuster contract, many people wondered if he would opt to settle the civil lawsuits and how much that settlement might be. In this post, we will offer an analysis of the potential settlement value of the Deshaun Watson sexual assault lawsuits. The cases have settled. But the amounts are confidential. But we speculate here on the terms of the Watson settlement agreement with these women.

Our estimated settlement value for the Deshaun Watson civil lawsuits is between $1.5 to $2.5 million for each plaintiff for a total of $33-55 million. The basis for this estimated settlement amount is spelled out in this post.

December 7, 2022

What is Happening With the Paraquat Lawsuits?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Paraquat is a commercial-grade herbicide used in the agriculture industry. Over the last decade, new scientific research has shown that frequent use or exposure to Paraquat can increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease. This discovery has prompted thousands of Paraquat lawsuits by individuals who used or were around Paraquat in an occupation setting and subsequently developed Parkinson’s disease.

The Paraquat lawsuits were consolidated into a class action MDL in the Southern District of Illinois (In re: Paraquat Prod. Liab. Lit. – 3:21-MD-3004). It has been almost 2 years since the Paraquat MDL was established. In this post, we will look at what has been happening in the Paraquat lawsuits and provide our best guess as to when we could expect a global settlement.

About the Paraquat Lawsuits

December 6, 2022

What is Going on in the Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuit?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

For the last several years, thousands of hernia mesh lawsuits have been pending in courts across the country. These product liability lawsuits allege that the hernia mesh implants manufactured by several different companies were defective and caused various post-surgery complications after being implanted.

The hernia mesh lawsuits involve multiple hernia mesh products made by four medical device companies: Ethicon (a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary that has just reached a settlement in most of its lawsuits), C.R. Bard (now part of Beckton Dickinson), Covidien, and Atrium Medical Corp. The hernia mesh cases against each defendant have been consolidated into separate class action MDLs.

In this post we will provide an update on the general status of the hernia mesh lawsuits involving C.R. Bard (The Bard Hernia Mesh MDL (In re: Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Lit. – MDL-2846) and offer our best estimate on when we could reasonable expect to see a settlement in these cases.

December 6, 2022

Cartiva Implant Lawsuits

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

The Cartiva toe implant is a synthetic cartilage device that is used for the treatment of arthritis in the big toe. New evidence suggests that these implants are defectively designed and prone to failures that can result in pain, further surgery, and other injuries. Cartiva toe implant lawsuits are now being filed by individuals who experienced a premature failure of their implant.

About the Cartiva Toe Implant

The Cartiva toe implant is a molded synthetic cartilage implant device made from a unique material called polyvinyl hydrogel. The Cartiva implant is made for use in the treatment of big toe arthritis, a condition which impacts over 2 million people in the U.S. Arthritis in the big toe gradually degrades the cartilage in the toe joint. This eventually causes the bones to grind against each other, which is extremely painful.

December 1, 2022

Shortages of Similac and Enfamil Infant Formulas Put Pressure on Parents

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Parents of new babies in many parts of the country are having a hard time finding infant formulas such as Similac and Enfamil in June 2022. The supply chain problems that are currently hampering the U.S. economy have created a very acute shortage of infant formula, resulting in empty shelves and understandably stressed and concerned parents.

UPDATES:

December 1, 2022: Shortages expected to continue through the spring of 2023.

November 30, 2022

Parkinson’s Disease

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative neurologic disorder that disrupts the brain’s ability to control body movements. 60,00 people are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in the U.S. each year. Recently, Parkinson’s disease has been the primary injury in mass tort cases because new evidence has shown that the condition can be caused by long-term exposure to certain chemicals. This page will provide a medical overview of Parkinson’s disease and discuss its involvement in mass tort lawsuits.

What is Parkinson’s Disease?

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a condition in which certain cells inside the brain decay and stop working properly. The specific brain cells impacted by PD are those that are responsible for the control of muscle movements. The deterioration of these cells impair the ability of the brain to send movement and coordination commands to the muscles in the body. As a result, individuals with PD suffer from non-voluntary or uncontrolled body movements such as shaking, tremors, stiffness or rigidity, and lack of coordination.

November 29, 2022

Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) is diagnosed in over 80,000 people each year in the U.S., making it one of the more common cancer types. Recently, NHL has become one of the primary injuries in a number of class action mass torts because it has been linked to chronic exposure to certain chemicals. NHL is also at issue in many medical malpractice cases involving diagnostic errors.

This page will provide a basic medical overview of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and discuss its involvement in various product liability and mass tort cases.

The Lymphatic System

November 29, 2022

Uterine Cancer

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Over 60,000 women in the U.S. get diagnosed with uterine cancer every year, making cancer of the uterus the 2^nd most common female cancer. Recently, uterine cancer has been linked to exposure to certain chemicals putting this disease at the center of several mass torts including hair relaxer lawsuits and Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuits. On this page we provide a simple overview of uterine cancer from a medical standpoint and look at how it has become involved in litigation.

The Uterus

The uterus is the largest female reproductive organ. This pear-shaped organ is often referred to as the “womb” and it is where human life begins in the form of fetal development during pregnancy. The uterus is comprised of 3 separate parts: (1) fundus, (2) isthmus, and (3) cervix.