Articles Posted in Legal News

According to a new public warning from the FDA, certain leadless pacemakers made by Medtronic have a defect that may cause them to poke holes in the heart resulting in life-threatening complications.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently posted a new warning regarding a potentially fatal defect in the Medtronic Micra leadless pacemaker devices. The November 17 warning advises doctors about new findings which show that patients with the Medtronic leadless pacemaker implanted have displayed a significantly higher risk of cardiac perforation and potentially deadly complications.

Transvenous vs. Leadless Pacemakers

Paraquat is a highly toxic and poisonous chemical that is banned in over 32 countries. It is also one of the most widely used herbicides in the U.S. agriculture industry. Recent studies have linked paraquat exposure to early onset Parkinson’s disease, leading to a wave of paraquat lawsuits against the companies who make the chemical. In this post we will take a detailed look at a recent paraquat lawsuit (Barbara Kelly v. Syngenta Crop Protection, et al., S.D. Ill., Case No. 3:21-pq-1415) by deconstructing the allegations in the Complaint.

Kelly v. Syngenta

On November 11, Barbara Kelly (acting as Personal Representative of the estate of Andrew Eble) filed a paraquat lawsuit in the Sothern District of Illinois. The named defendants in the case are Syngenta Crop Protection LLC, Syngenta AG and Chevron U.S.A., Inc. The case alleges that the decedent, Andrew Eble, developed Parkinson’s disease after years of occupational exposure to paraquat.

Earlier this year, millions of Philips CPAP and BiPAP devices were recalled after it was discovered that foam used in the devices was degrading and causing users to inhale harmful chemicals. This has prompted a wave of CPAP recall lawsuits against Philips, but most of earlier complaints have only alleged consumer fraud claims.

Earlier this month in New York, one of the first CPAP recall lawsuits was filed in which the plaintiff is alleging that inhaling the foam caused physical injuries. Specifically, the plaintiff claims that 6 years of using a Philips CPAP device caused him to develop CPOD, asthma, blood clots, and a tumor in his throat. In this post will we carefully review and deconstruct the specific allegations in this complaint.

• Video on CPAP lawsuits: a recent update and what a plaintiff needs to do to win their lawsuit (or earn a successful settlement)

This post has the latest news in the 3M earplug lawsuits.

November 30, 2021 Update: The latest 3M earplug trial (Finley) started yesterday.  (Get the full story on Finley.)

November 23, 2021 Update: Last month, 3M filed a motion seeking to compel one of the bellwether plaintiffs (Steven Wilkerson) to submit to genetic testing. At his deposition, Wilkerson testified that he had 2 cousins who were born deaf. 3M wanted to test Wilkerson to see if his hearing loss could be caused by genetics rather than defective earplugs. Magistrate Judge Gary Jones denied the most last week. Judge Jones said that hearing loss in Wilkerson’s parents or siblings might justify testing, but deafness in “distant relatives” did not. Wilkerson was substituted in as a bellwether plaintiff following the dismissal of Chad McNeal. Wilkerson’s case is scheduled for trial in March 2022.

If you have been the victim of sex abuse or a sexual assault you have the right to file a civil lawsuit against your abuser (or the organization that enabled the abuse) and get justice with financial compensation. Almost any type of criminal sexual conduct or unwanted sexual contact can form the basis for a sexual abuse or sexual assault lawsuit. The type of conduct commonly seen in sex abuse lawsuits includes:

• Sexual abuse of child
• Rape

Last week, product safety testing discovered dangerous levels of benzene in several major brands of spray-on deodorant (and body spray). Benzene is a notorious human carcinogen that has been shown to cause leukemia. Unsafe levels of the carcinogen were found in some of the most popular deodorant brands including Old Spice, Secret, Suave, and Tag.

The discovery of benzene in spray-on deodorants could have major ramifications similar to those seen after benzene was found in sunscreen earlier this year. We could see sweeping product recalls before the end of 2021, followed by hundreds of product liability lawsuits against the deodorant manufacturers.

Valisure Drug and Product Safety Testing

GEICO (“Government Employees Insurance Company”) is the second-largest consumer auto insurer with over 15 million insured drivers. In Maryland, GEICO is actually the biggest auto insurance carrier. Our Baltimore accident attorneys have handled thousands of claims with GEICO over the years. In this post, we will go over the top insider secrets for how to deal effectively with GEICO on accident claims.

GEICO SECRET #1: Be Wary of GEICO Claims Adjusters

When you are handling an accident claim with GEICO your main point of contact will be a GEICO claims adjuster. The claims adjuster is the GEICO representative responsible for processing and administering your claim.

Birth injury malpractice lawsuits have the highest potential settlement or verdict value of any type of personal injury tort lawsuit. The median and average verdict and/or settlement in a birth injury lawsuit is around 30% higher than the average value of other medical malpractice claims and three times the average of personal injury cases in general. Maryland birth injury cases are worth even more, with an average payout closer to 50% higher than other medical malpractice cases.

In this post, we will take a closer look at the value of birth injury malpractice cases. We will review some sample settlements and verdicts in various types of birth injury claims and we will discuss some of the factors that drive the value of birth injury lawsuits so high.

Average Value of Birth Injury Malpractice Lawsuits

Chlorphyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide that has been very widely used in the agriculture industry, specifically in the production of fruits and vegetables. Chlorphyrifos is known to be toxic to humans and scientifically linked to neurologic damage in children. In August 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned the use of chlorpyrifos on all consumable food grown in the U.S.

Many chlorpyrifos insecticide lawsuits have already been filed against the manufacturer Corteva Inc. (formerly Dow Chemical) The lawsuits are expected to be the first of many and they allege that chlorpyrifos degrades into a chemical residue that is much more toxic than its original form and remains in clothing, walls, and other surfaces. The lawsuits also allege that exposure to this residue during fetal gestation or early childhood can cause a host of neurologic and developmental disorders.

About Chlorpyrifos

Thousands of Roundup lawsuits have been filed over the last 5 years by individuals alleging that the popular weed killer caused them to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (or other cancer types). The overwhelming majority of these Roundup lawsuits have ended up in federal court based on diversity jurisdiction and then consolidated into the Roundup MDL. To date, only a small percentage of Roundup cases have been litigated in the state courts and those have been limited to California.

Last week, the Roundup MDL Judge remanded a Roundup lawsuit back down to state court in Virginia because a local supplier was named as a defendant, thereby defeating the basis for diversity jurisdiction in federal court. This marks one of the first occasions in which a Roundup case has been remanded outside of California. After 3 bellwether test trials (with disastrous results for Bayer) and a rejected global settlement proposal, the Roundup MDL is currently in holding mode as Bayer has been settling large blocks pending cases. Now, for the first time, Bayer may face increased pressure as it becomes forced to litigate Roundup cases in state courts across the country.

Roundup Litigation