Category Archives: Medical Device & Dangerous Drugs
Defective/Dangerous Drug Litigation Heating Up in Southern California Courthouse
A class of diabetes drugs linked to pancreatic cancer and serious or fatal forms of pancreatitis has led to a massive litigation in a southern California courtroom. Several hundred cases have been filed against drug makers Merck & Co. (Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.), Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk, Inc. and Amylin Pharmaceuticals…. Read More »
Los Angeles County Settles Medical Malpractice Case for $4.5 Million
On March 31st, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors agreed to pay $4.5 Million to a man who was paralyzed after receiving treatment at L.A. County/USC Medical Center. The County further agreed to waive $790,000 in medical bills for the treatment he received and also to cover the $200,000 he would otherwise have… Read More »
“Superbug” Lawsuits Continue Against Medical Device Company Olympus America
A litany of complaints has been filed against medical device manufacturer Olympus America in the wake of the deadly UCLA “superbug” outbreak that has left two people dead and many more potentially exposed to the bacteria. The numerous complaints commonly allege that Olympus America failed to provide the necessary cleaning instructions that would have… Read More »
60 Medical Devices Recalled by FDA in 2014
From January 6th all the way to December 31st, medical devices were recalled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014 at the average rate of five per month. Below is a brief overview of some common problems found among medical products of various manufacturers: Improperly sterilized equipment creating the possibility of… Read More »
FDA Updates Requirements for Pregnancy-Related Drug Warnings
This December, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is changing how drug companies must explain the risks of taking certain medications during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. The new guidelines are meant to replace a system that officials describe as “confusing and outdated.” How the old system worked… With the current system for labeling dangerous… Read More »
Marketing Cigarettes to Teens Lands a Punitive Damages Award of 20 Million Dollars and Fourteen Cents
Marketing cigarettes to teenagers in order to hook them as customers for life is seen by many as a particularly despicable way of doing business. To hammer this point home, the jury in Judith Berger v. Philip Morris USA Inc. awarded the plaintiff not only about $7 million in damages for her smoking-related illness… Read More »
Defective Medical Device Leads to $73.5 Million Verdict Dallas Jury Sends Huge Signal to Makers of Transvaginal Mesh Products
Boston Scientific, one of several makers of pelvic mesh or sling products currently facing tens of thousands of product liability lawsuits around the country, was hit with a $73.5 million verdict in a Texas courtroom last week, producing the biggest verdict so far in this latest round of pelvic mesh litigation. A mesh or… Read More »
Jury Awards $3.25 Million to Woman in Pelvic Mesh Litigation
Earlier this month, a federal jury in West Virginia awarded $3.25 million in a products liability case to a woman who was injured by a defective medical device – in this case a faulty transvaginal mesh or midurethral sling. This verdict sends a strong message to the thousands of other parties currently in litigation… Read More »
Supreme Court Lets Stand Ninth Circuit Decision on Defective Medical Devices
Earlier this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal in Stengel v. Medtronic, Inc. This means the 2013 decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will stand. That decision allowed product liability claims against a medical device manufacturer on the basis of a “failure to warn” product defect to proceed… Read More »
After Seven Years, FDA Releases Final Guidelines on Medical Device Database
Back in 2007, amendments to the Food and Drug Administration Act required the FDA to develop and implement a Unique Device Identification system so that medical devices could be searched, tracked and found as needed. Just last month, the FDA issued Final Guidance on its Global Unique Device Identification Database (GUDID). The GUDID is… Read More »
