Mass Torts

January 6, 2015

Benicar, Azor, and Tribenzor Lawsuits Continue

Much has been said and written about Benicar and its sprue-like enteropathy side effects, symptoms very much like that of celiac disease. Less has been said about two other Daiichi Sankyo manufactured medications, Azor and Tribenzor, though lawsuits are on the rise.

In November, an Iowa woman and her husband filed suit against the Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo Inc., claiming that after being prescribed Azor in January 2011, she continued to take the hypertension medication as directed for some time. During this time, the Plaintiff suffered several injuries, including sprue-like enteropathy “with severe, chronic diarrhea resulting in substantial weight loss and malnutrition…” sustaining severe and permanent personal injuries in addition to constant pain and suffering.

This post was written in 2015, but portions have been updated in 2024 to explain the history of the litigation and how it turned out.

April 10, 2014

More Stryker Rejuvenate Hip Replacement Settlements

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Stryker hip settlements are being reached

Settlements are being reached in more Stryker Rejuvenate hip replacement cases filed in New Jersey state court. More resolutions of these cases are likely to be imminent.

The first phase, a group of 10 cases previously selected for early mediation, has resulted in the conclusion of all 10 cases. Additionally, at least two cases from the second phase have resolved. This is a harbinger of broad agreements on the remaining cases, not only for the 950 cases pending in New Jersey state court but also for the cases pending in the MDL class action.

What are the Stryker Claims About?

Stryker Rejuvenate hip systems were removed from the market less than two years after the design was introduced. While originally designed to last 15 to 20 years, they began to fail immediately. So that was the first problem. The second problem is that the Stryker initially did little to try to cure the problem.

What was the complication with this device? Consisting of modular neck-stems with two pieces that fit inside of each other, they were designed to allow the surgeon to customize the length of the femoral component. Traditional hip implants consisted of a single femoral component. So you can see how this was an innovation. Why did it so epically fail? What happened was the rubbing of the neck and stem can release microscopic metal debris into the body as the chromium-cobalt neck rubs against the titanium femoral stem. In simpler terms, the debris is caused by the micromotion of the metal joints rubbing in the artificial hip. That’s not a good sign – or, a good product.
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October 11, 2013

Gynecomastia from Risperdal Claims

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Risperdal lawsuits have have mostly been resolved as of 2024 after a global settlement was reached. We have updated this post in 2024 to talk about the Risperdal settlements and are leaving the rest of this post up for informational purposes. Our lawyers are no longer seeking new claims.

2024 Risperdal Litigation Update

The lawsuits were primarily based on allegations that Risperdal, an antipsychotic medication, led to the development of gynecomastia in boys and young men, a condition characterized by the growth of breast tissue.

August 15, 2013

Boston Scientific Vaginal Mesh Cases

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

The vaginal mesh cases are heating up everywhere as plaintiffs’ lawyers, who frankly smell blood, are pushing with greater vigor to get and hold trial dates. Multi-million dollar verdicts will do that.

In the Boston Scientific transvaginal mesh cases, lawyers are pushing fast to get a trial date and are expected to get one soon. How do you define “soon” in tort law? Early next year.

All these federal cases have been consolidated in an MDL under a good judge in West Virginia. The class action lawsuit against Boston Scientific contents the mesh that was supposed to protect them from pelvic organ prolapse or stress urinary incontinence has done nothing but make their health problems far worse.

August 14, 2013

NuvaRing Settlements on the Horizon?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Earlier this month, the first federal NuvaRing lawsuit was delayed because there has been a lot of talk about settling not only that NuvaRing case, but all of the cases at one time. This blog post is about:

What these cases are really about?
An update on just where we are in the litigation?

January 16, 2012

Smith & Nephew Knee Replacement Defect Lawsuits

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Smith & Nephew knee replacements are failing at an unacceptable rate

Our lawyers are investigating knee replacement lawsuits against Smith & Nephew.

These knee replacements have been on the market for some time. The reason for the lawsuits is simply: the Smith & Nephew knee replacements are simply failing at an unacceptable rate. These were supposed to be knee replacements that would last for 10 to 20 years. Patients who have these devices implanted may be entitled to revision surgery, medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering damages.

December 1, 2011

All-Metal Hip Replacements: No Advantage Over Older Implants

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

We recently reported on a study that revealed that the metal-on-metal hip replacements failed three times more often than other artificial hips. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered twenty-one (21) artificial hip manufacturers to conduct studies of the Metal-on-metal (MoM) hip replacement devices, and how they can adversely affect patients, after having received close to 11,000 reports of defective hip failures from January through September 2011.

All of this concern may be for nothing, as findings of a new study reveal that the all-metal artificial hip replacements provide no advantage when compared to older types of hip implants – they just appear to carry a greater risk of problems.

FDA researchers just published a report in the British Medical Journal in which the effectiveness of a number of types of hip implants was examined. Metal-on-metal hip implants were examined, as were ceramic-on-ceramic implants, and they were compared to the older metal on polyethylene implants and ceramic on polyethylene implants. The comparative study looked at 3,139 patients in 18 comparative studies. Data from 83,000 operations worldwide was reviewed.