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. Plaintiffs came back three weeks later with a $1.7 million verdict in the Baker case.
Earlier this week, WJLA News 7, an ABC affiliate station in Los Angeles, released an investigative spotlight story on the hidden problems with a popular birth control device called Paragard IUD. Earlier this year the station reported finding over 3,200 women who had their Paragard IUD fracture during removal, often leaving sharp pieces inside their bodies.
Reporters for the station continued their investigation and uncovered evidence that the manufacturer of Paragard knew about the problems and may not have done enough to inform consumers.
There is now a Paragard class action lawsuit because of the problems women have experienced with Paragard.
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 lawsuits could be the next big mass tort.
To date, thousands of lawsuits related to defective hernia mesh implants have been filed in courts across the country. These suits claim that defective surgical implant devices were the cause of chronic pain, serious infections, obstructed bowels, perforated abdomen lining, and the development of adhesions. Some plaintiffs’ injuries were severe enough that they needed further surgeries to correct these issues.
In my mind, the biggest update in the Roundup lawsuit is that their expected settlement value keeps rising. Here is what else is happening.
In a recent study, researchers found that the drug methotrexate may increase the risk for skin cancer as well as other adverse side effects such as gastrointestinal complications and lung problems.
Methotrexate-based drugs are immunosuppressants which help treat inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center estimates that about 60 percent of rheumatoid arthritis patients are currently using or have used these medications. Methotrexate-based brands include Otrexup, Trexall, and Xatmep.
A federal jury this week found that exposure to Roundup, the popular weed killer product, caused a California man to develop cancer. How much money did they award? They have not given an award because the case was bifurcated. There will be another phase to determine damages.
In phase 2 of the trial in San Francisco, the jury determines Monsanto’s liability and decides how much money to award in damages. Hardeman v. Monsanto is the bellwether case for the Roundup MDL (what is an MDL?) which includes thousands of similar suits from federal courts around the country. The ultimate outcome of the Hardeman trial will dictate how the remaining Roundup cases are resolved and things are looking good for the plaintiffs so far.
Last week I read speculation that the Roundup lawsuits might bankrupt Bayer because the cost of the settlements and verdicts they will have to pay will destroy the company. Do I believe this? No. But, boy, it makes me more interested in every tidbit of information about the Roundup lawsuits pending in federal court.
The judge overseeing all the federal lawsuits involving the weed killer Roundup has granted Bayer’s request to have an upcoming trial split into two phases. This order prevents plaintiffs from introducing evidence that the company tried to influence regulators and manipulate the public into thinking that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, was safe. Roundup plaintiffs’ attorneys opposed Bayer’s proposals because they felt that their evidence proves Monsanto’s intent and misconduct.
In July 2018, 3M settled a lawsuit with the federal government over its Combat Arms Earplugs, Version 2 (CAEv2), which it had sold to the US military. The lawsuit alleged that 3M knowingly supplied them with defective earplugs that may have resulted in the hearing loss and impairment of hundreds of thousands of military personnel.
I do not think this will be the last Combat Arms Earplug lawsuit that 3M will have to settle.
In June 2019, AbbVie’s AndroGel testosterone lawsuits settled for $775 million. (Our lawyers are still taking testosterone lawsuits in 2022. Just no longer involving this testosterone supplement.)
Lawsuits had been filed claiming that the makers of Androgel, AbbVie, failed to warn thousands of men about the potential side effects of the drug. These side-effects include heart attacks, blood clots, stroke, and even sudden death in extraordinary cases. As the litigation
wheels start turning here, AbbVie is trying to gum them up with objections to slow down the process. You could say everything is going according to plan…
Androgel is a form of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). The purpose of testosterone is to increase levels of testosterone in the blood of humans. So TRT is a process to supplement our naturally occurring levels of testosterone. Why? Because some men have low testosterone production (and some just want more).
AndroGel is a synthetic testosterone gel formulation. The gel formulation was developed to give transdermal delivery of testosterone continuously for 24 hours.
If you are reading this you probably already know this. But let’s recap. There were about 7,000 lawsuits against AbbVie percolating around the federal court system.
The various suits alleged that the makers of Androgel, AbbVie, neglected to warn thousands of men about the serious side effects of the “Low-T” treatment drug.
This drug has certainly been a big hit, understandably so considering that it promises men physical enhancement to counteract the forces of aging. But thousands of lawsuits -allege that low-T drugs can lead to heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, or other injuries, prompting men across the U.S. to sue AbbVie and the other manufacturers for not being adequately warned of the risks.
That really is what this is about. No one — at least not many people — was calling for a low-T recall. The risk might outweigh the benefit for some although probably not many of us. It is about giving patients and doctors a choice. Tell us what can happen and let us make the call. They are giving this warning now. They should have given it to us before. That is what these lawsuits were about.
Lawsuit Information Center