Articles Posted in Legal News

The CPAP recall lawsuits against Philips have spawned a new group of related satellite lawsuits against SoClean, Inc. SoClean is a company that makes a product specifically used to sanitize the recalled CPAP devices.

Lawsuits have been filed against SoClean alleging that the company falsely marketed their product as “safe” and “healthy” for sanitizing CPAP machines and other breathing devices.

According to the lawsuits, SoClean’s product was unsafe because it emitted harmful levels of ozone gas, which exceeded the maximum safe limits set by the FDA.

Zoloft has been associated with an increased risk of birth defects in infants whose mothers took Zoloft during pregnancy. These Zoloft birth defects run the gambit from minor problems to life-threatening problems that could lead to permanent injury or death.

Zoloft birth defects were filed. So far, every one has failed. This is the story.

An Overview of the Association Between Zoloft and Birth Defects

Over the last 10 years, SSRI’s like Zoloft have been accused by plaintiffs’ lawyers of causing everything from Akathisia to Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. I’m making up the latter, but you get the idea. Zoloft has been a controversial drug with a lawsuit target on its back. Some of these allegations have stuck, others have been thoroughly dismissed, and some we still just don’t know. The evidence of an association between Zoloft and birth defects, however, has been growing at an accelerated rate.

Zoloft (Sertraline) is one of the most prescribed drugs in the world for the treatment of various problems. It belongs to a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). It is used to treat several conditions, including depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) social anxiety disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Sertraline works by increasing the amounts of serotonin, a natural substance in the brain that helps maintain mental balance.

Back in July 2006, the FDA issued an alert after a study reported that infants born to mothers who took SSRIs after the 20th week of pregnancy were 6 times more likely to have persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) than infants who were born to mothers who did not take antidepressants during their pregnancy. PPHN causes newborns to have increased pressure in the blood vessels in their lungs. As a result, they cannot get enough oxygen into their bloodstream. The risk of a woman having a child with PPHN in the general population is about 1 to 2 infants per 1000 live births.

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Every aspect of litigation is based on time. Litigants only have a certain number of days to respond to motions, answer discovery, or serve a summons. Perhaps the biggest time-related concern in litigation is the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations is the due date for a lawsuit. If a claim is brought outside the statute of limitations, it is generally almost always barred and must be dismissed.  Americans are now appreciating more how harsh limitations can be seeing Bill Cosby not being asked to account of the allegations against him.

How Statutes of Limitation Work

A statute of limitations should be thought of more of a time frame and less of a deadline. The right to bring legal action accrues whenever the subject matter of the claim occurred. For example, in a car accident case, the right to bring a claim begins right when the accident occurred. In a medical malpractice case, the period begins when the malpractice occurs or when the victim discovers it. Once that period has officially started, the clock on the potential claim has begun ticking. The relevant statute of limitations will then lay out a period during which that claim must be brought. For example, in Maryland, the statute of limitations on most personal injury actions is three years. This means that a lawsuit for a car accident must be brought within the three years that begins when the accident occurs. If the case is not brought within that time, it can never be brought.

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This blog deals with big personal injury lawsuits across the country. These lawsuits typically involve class actions, multidistrict litigation, and mass torts against corporations for their defective products, medications, or their general negligence. But we also talk about motor vehicle accident and malpractice claims, too.  For all of these cases, you are almost invariably going to need an expert to testify if you want to get your case to a jury.  Experts are obviously different from the typical fact witness. This post should give you a basic understanding of the nuances of expert witnesses and testimony.

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Once a jury hands down their verdict, the case is over, right? Sometimes, but not always. At the close of trial, both sides generally have the ability to appeal certain issues or things that may not have gone their way. Most important to remember here though: parties can only appeal legal issues, not factual ones. So an appeal should not be thought of as another opportunity to try a case. Instead, appeals are there to correct mistakes or misapplications of law. Should they determine that a new trial is warranted, appeals courts have the ability to order one. But they are strictly there to determine legal issues, not factual ones.

Framework For Appeals

Every state is different, meaning every court system is different. Since this blog covers issues pertaining to the national personal injury community, I will use the federal appeals process to lay out how things work. Granted, the federal appeals courts share some similarities with many states (especially Maryland), so this should give you an idea of how things work from state to state.

The federal court system is three-tiered. There are the trial courts, which are referred to as Federal District Courts. There are the intermediate appeals courts, which are called Federal Circuit Courts. And the “court of last resort” in the federal system is the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS). The state of Maryland has a similar system with trial courts, an intermediate appeals court, and a state court of last resort.

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Jurisdiction and venue often arise in the context of “forum shopping” when filing a lawsuit.

Unquestionably, it is better to file a lawsuit in some places compared to others and good lawyering requires careful consideration of venue and jurisdiction and the distinction between the two.

In many jurisdictions, like Maryland and Virginia, one or two places tend to be the preferred stop for plaintiffs’ lawyers for personal injury lawsuits.

To better understand  “forum shopping,” you have to understand the concept of a “forum” in the first place, which requires an understanding of the difference between personal jurisdiction and venue. Before we distinguish jurisdiction from venue, let’s talk about them both.

What Is Jurisdiction?

Personal jurisdiction is an incredibly important piece of the puzzle when putting together a lawsuit. It boils down to is a court’s ability to exercise its power over an entity, whether that is a person, business, trust, etc.

For example, say you are a Maryland resident, it would feel unfair if an Oklahoma court could render a judgment over you if you have no connections to that state. That is where the doctrine of jurisdiction comes into play: it is all about the court’s ability to bring you under its power.

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The American civil justice system allows for one type of recovery in personal injury cases: damages. Damages, or compensation, can manifest themselves in a few different forms in personal injury cases. People tend to throw around terms such as “general damages,” “special damages,” “non-economic,” and “economic” damages, so this post should help you differentiate between these various types of damage awards.

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I’ve written a lot about how personal injury lawyers have to and should deal with medical and other liens. When I go back and look at the web traffic generated by these posts, it typically gets low page views, probably from the same 20 lawyers that read all of our nitty-gritty details on handling personal injury cases stuff.

Not so with Haro v. Sebelius, a new opinion from Arizona that may dramatically alter the relationship between Medicare (and Medicaid, but I lump Medicaid into Medicare for grammatical ease). I think the big difference in the impact of Haro v. Sebelius is something car accident and medical malpractice lawyers are feeling right now.

Here’s the deal in a nutshell. Haro v. Sebelius is a lawsuit filed by two Medicare beneficiaries for whom Medicare benefits were paid for treatment that was ostensibly needed as the result of a car accident. Interestingly, the car accident lawyer in this underlying case is also a named plaintiff.

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President Obama got 12 stitches after being elbowed in the lip during a basketball game. Who elbows the President of the United States? What an idiot! (Unless, of course, the President tried to drive the lane. In which case, he had it coming.)
I’m bringing a class action against the person who fouled President Obama. I have estimated his time is worth $10 million an hour to the American people. These stitches cost us 45 minutes!