scolellawalsh – Blog Archive

Paragard IUD Alleged to Cause Serious Injuries

scolellawalsh on July 14, 2020

Category: Medical Devices, Paragard IUD

In addition to those previously filed, three new lawsuits have been filed against Teva Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of the intrauterine medical device (IUD) known as Paragard.

As we have written before, Paragard is a small plastic T-shaped device with a copper wire coiled around it. Recent lawsuits allege that Paragard is defective and causes serious complications and injuries. The IUD can break off or become dislodged upon removal, causing severe damage to the surrounding tissues and organs.

Plaintiffs’ Claims Against Gilead Permitted to Proceed in HIV Drug Lawsuits

scolellawalsh on May 14, 2019

Category: Defective Drugs, HIV & AIDS Drugs

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (“Gilead”) manufacturers the HIV drugs: Truvada, Atripla, Viread, Stribild, and Complera. After being named as a defendant in multiple lawsuits in 2018, Gilead filed a motion to dismiss all of the plaintiffs’ claims in the lawsuits, arguing that they were preempted by federal law, including the design defect allegations. Plaintiffs allege that these HIV drugs, which contain tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (“TDF”), cause kidney damage, such as chronic kidney disease, and bone damage, such as osteoporosis or osteopenia.

Bard Hernia Mesh Litigation Continues in Federal and State Courts

scolellawalsh on May 2, 2019

Category: Medical Devices

On April 17, 2019, Judge Sargus, who is overseeing the Bard Hernia Mesh MDL in the Southern District of Ohio, held a Case Management Conference. At the time of the conference, the Court noted that there were just over 1,700 cases filed in the MDL, with approximately 80-100 new cases being filed each week. The parties advised that the protocol and schedule for conducting various depositions were still being discussed, including the depositions of the treating physicians, corporate designees, and company witnesses. Paper discovery from defendants is also still being produced and reviewed by Plaintiffs’ leadership. Another conference is scheduled for early June.

Initial Court Conference Kicks Off Valsartan Litigation in New Jersey

scolellawalsh on April 22, 2019

Category: Defective Drugs, Valsartan

On March 27, 2019, the initial Case Management Conference for the Valsartan MDL was held in the District of New Jersey before the Honorable Robert B. Kugler. At the time that the cases were consolidated before Judge Kugler, for pretrial purposes, in February 2019, there were approximately 40 cases filed, but we expect thousands of cases to be filed over the next couple years.

HIV/AIDS Drug Litigation Moves Forward

scolellawalsh on April 12, 2019

Category: Defective Drugs

In May 2018, a class action, as well as multiple personal injury cases, were filed against Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead), for claims surrounding the promotion of the manufacturer’s TDF HIV/AIDs drugs.

The allegations included:

Gilead’s marketing and distribution of the TDF drugs, when a safer alternative (TAF) was known;
Failure to adequately warn of the potential risks; and,
Misrepresentation of the drugs’ safety and efficacy.

Currently, Plaintiffs allege kidney and bone injuries as a result of their use of the TDF drugs.

Pradaxa (Dabigatran) Trials Continue Nationwide

scolellawalsh on January 22, 2019

Category: Defective Drugs, Pradaxa

In an October 2018, trial in West Virginia, a federal jury found that Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. was not forthright about the risk of potential bleeding injuries with its drug, Pradaxa (Dabigatran). The jury awarded the plaintiff $250,000 for medical expenses and pain and suffering, as well as $1 million in punitive damages. This was the first trial win for plaintiffs, after the manufacturer had succeeded at three prior trials. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has appealed the verdict.

Valsartan Class Action Filed

scolellawalsh on September 24, 2018

Category: Defective Drugs, Valsartan

A recent class action was filed in New York against the companies responsible for distributing or selling drugs containing tainted valsartan. The lawsuit, brought by a woman and her husband, alleges negligence, fraud, and manufacturing a defective product, among other claims. It is expected that personal injury claims may soon follow.

Global Settlement Order Entered as Abilify Litigation Moves Forward

scolellawalsh on July 2, 2018

Category: Abilify, Defective Drugs

In May 2018, Judge M. Casey Rogers, who is overseeing the federal Abilify litigation, entered an Order to establish the “initial parameters by which the global mediation of this matter will proceed.” The parties were given 120 days (from May 1, 2018 until September 1, 2018) to finalize the framework for a mediation process. A Special Master has been appointed to assist the parties with the process.

Meanwhile, in tandem with the potential mediation process, the parties are also moving forward with the selection of a second round of bellwether cases to work up for trial in the federal litigation.

Accordingly, the Court will randomly select 100 cases by July 6, 2018. From there, the pool will be further narrowed to 40 individuals, claiming either Bipolar Disorder or Major Depressive Disorder/Depression as the diagnosis leading to their Abilify prescription and “Gambling” as an obsessive/compulsive/impulsive behavior they claim was caused by Abilify. Once the pool is reduced to 40 cases, the parties will engage in a discovery process to further reduce the pool to 10 cases by the end of 2018.

The Court is currently leaning towards the possibility of consolidating some of the cases for trial.

Visit our site for more information about the Abilify lawsuit and settlement options.

New Jersey Abilify Cases Designated As an MCL

scolellawalsh on May 21, 2018

Category: Abilify, Defective Drugs

This month, the New Jersey Supreme Court designated the Abilify litigation in New Jersey a multicounty litigation (MCL). The Notice and Order can be found here: https://www.njcourts.gov/notices/2018/n180510b.pdf.

Though Bergen County Superior Court Judge James DeLuca had been overseeing all of the Abilify cases filed in New Jersey, those cases will now be transferred to Atlantic County Superior Court for centralized management by Judge Nelson C. Johnson. Accordingly, all future Abilify complaints filed in New Jersey Superior Court, no matter where they might be venued, shall be filed in Atlantic County. While Judge Johnson will oversee management and trial issues for the New Jersey Abilify MCL cases, he may, in his discretion, return the cases to the original county of venue for disposition.

The MCL will be litigated in parallel with the multidistrict litigation (MDL) that has been pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, before Judge M. Casey Rodgers, since October 2016. Plaintiffs are cautiously optimistic about the MCL designation and the latest developments in the MDL, including Defendants recently settling the three cases set for initial trials this summer in the MDL, for undisclosed amounts (such representative cases that are worked up for trial are known as “bellwether” cases).

Visit our site for more information about the Abilify lawsuit and settlement options.

New Cialis Lawsuit Filed May Just Be the Beginning

scolellawalsh on May 1, 2018

Category: Defective Drugs

On February 12^th, a man from Arkansas filed a lawsuit against Eli Lily and Co., the manufacturers and distributors of the drug taladalafil, also known commercially as Cialis, alleging that the drug was the cause of his melanoma and that he could have avoided the risk of skin cancer if the drug had proper warnings.

In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, the plaintiff alleged that Eli Lily and Co. omitted mentioning or warning that data showed a link between an increased risk of developing melanoma with taking its popular erectile dysfunction medication.

Author: scolellawalsh