Damages

Published on: May 23, 2017

Johnson & Johnson to Pay Record Amount to Woman in Talcum Powder Cancer Lawsuit

Louis Slemp, of Virginia, was successful in her lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson earlier this month. The 62-year-old Slemp brought the lawsuit due to her use of Johnson & Johnson baby powder and its connection to her cancer. Ultimately, the St. Louis jury in this recent talcum powder lawsuit awarded Slemp a record-setting amount of over $110M. The awarded payout breaks down as $5.4M in compensation and an additional $105 in punitive damages.

Presently, this is the largest amount that Johnson & Johnson has been ordered to pay out in the overall barrage of talcum based products lawsuits being filed against the pharmaceutical conglomerate. The lawsuits are based on the premise that Johnson & Johnson did not adequately warn consumers and users that their talcum containing products had a link to the causation of cancer.

Louis Slemp stated in her claim that she used the talcum containing products produced by Johnson & Johnson for over 40 years. In 2012, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Since 2012, Slemp’s cancer has spread to her liver. Similar to Slemp, thousands of individuals have brought suit against Johnson & Johnson due to their talcum based products and overall connection to cancer after years of repeated use.

Published on: May 15, 2017

GlaxoSmithKline to Pay Multimillion Sum After Widow’s Successful Paxil Lawsuit

by Naumes Law

An antidepressant drug Paxil related suicide lawsuit resulted in a multimillion dollar verdict in favor of the plaintiff. In late April, a Chicago jury awarded widow Wendy Dolin $3 Million in her lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline, the British pharmaceutical company and developer of the antidepressant Paxil.

Dolin brought the claim against GlaxoSmithKline due to their drug’s lack of proper warning labels and its connection to her late husband Stewart Dolin’s suicide. Ultimately the federal jury concluded, after an almost six-week trial, that GlaxoSmithKline was liable and failed to warn of the possible side effects of the risk of increased suicidal thoughts and behaviors to prescribing doctors and patients taking the medication.

Stewart Dolin was a Chicago lawyer at Reed Smith LLP who served as co-chair of the corporate and securities practice at the firm. He was taking the generic version of the antidepressant Paxil. Stewart Dolin was prescribed and using paroxetine, the generic equivalent to Paxil, for less than a week in July 2010 before he jumped in front of a Chicago Transit Blue Line train, taking his own life at the age of 57.

Published on: April 14, 2017

Hernia Mesh Surgery’s Unwanted and Painful Side Effects due to Atrium C-Qur Mesh and Ethicon Physiomesh

by Naumes Law

In today’s day and age there are different corrective procedures that an individual suffering from the unbearable or unwanted pain of a hernia can undertake. One of the more common procedures is to undergo hernia repair mesh surgery. When a hernia repair mesh surgery is undergone, the medical professional must choose the type of mesh that is going to be used during the procedure.

One of the mesh materials that may be used by the medical professional is the Atrium C-Qur Mesh. Atrium C-Qur Mesh is known for combining Atrium’s polypropylene mesh and an Omega 3 gel coating. Although, polypropylene may cause damage to the surface of any organ that it is contact with. Recently, the C-Qur mesh material has been under the spotlight and at the helm of injured individuals’ lawsuits, after undergoing surgery that used this type of C-Qur mesh material, against Atrium.

One of the motivations behind the lawsuits is focused of the belief that the FDA should issue a recall on the C-Qur mesh due the frequent reports of patient’s negative side effects linked with Atrium C-Qur Mesh. Atrium has recalled the C-Qur’s packaging, but has not recalled the hernia mesh itself. Many of the individuals that are pursuing lawsuits also allege that Atrium knew or should have known about the potential negative side effects of internal injuries to the patients, but chose to withhold that information from the public as well as those throughout the medical field.

Published on: April 10, 2017

Hernia Mesh Surgery and its Possible Negative Side Effects

by Naumes Law

A hernia exists when there is a hole or an overall weak area in the muscular wall that typically maintains organs located in the abdominal region in their place. In many instances, individuals will produce a noticeable bulge as a result of the push through the hole or overall weak area. For some individuals, their hernia may be painless, for others it may cause serious pain or overall discomfort and as a result must take the necessary actions to help alleviate their ultimate suffering.

Typically, an individual will have a hernia located in upper stomach, groin, belly button, high in the thigh or near a past surgical scar/incision. Those diagnosed with a hernia frequently have pain in the area, which can be found in the form of pressure or heaviness on the affected area or a burning or aching responsiveness at the affected area.

The most common leading causes of a hernia include, but are not limited to:

Published on: March 27, 2017

Should New Safer Rail Cars be Mandated Prior to 2023 Deadline?

by Naumes Law

On March 10^th, in Palo Alto County thousands of gallons of biofuel found its way to a nearby creek as spheres of flames also began to engulf the area. The area was in this condition because a mile-long train, consisting of 20 rail cars that was transporting ethanol derailed from their intended track. As a result of the derailment no one was injured, but now many are calling into question the older rail cars currently being used as well as the increased length of the trains, especially one carrying a dangerous fuel such as ethanol.

In 2013, a comparable accident took place in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, Canada. Unfortunately, this Canadian area was heavily populated in comparison to the Palo Alto County area of the March 10^th derailment. As a result of the 2013 crash, 47 individuals lost their lives when a train carry crude oil exploded in the heavily populated Quebec area.

The most recent March 10^th derailment reminds the public of just how dangerous these mile-long freight trains carrying explosive matter, such as ethanol, can be. The costs of shipping are able to be cut down drastically through the use of these elongated “rolling pipelines” freight trains. Although, the issue is that the length of the trains as well as the type of rail cars being used may actually be more harmful when a crash or derailment takes place. This is in large part because these rail cars do not have added safety measurements of the newer rail cars because they are outdated.

Published on: March 20, 2017

Newly Unsealed Documents Raise Major Questions and Concerns Regarding Monsanto’s Roundup Weed Killer

by Naumes Law

Recently, a federal court has unsealed documents that cast a dark shadow on the research and safety practices of the chemical company Monsanto. Monsanto’s primary product is Roundup, which is currently being used from large farms to everyday home gardens across the world in order to help kill weeds.

For many years, the use of this product was thought to be moderately safe. Although, recent events in federal court have led the court to the findings of an international panel that claimed the use of the weed killer Roundup, due to its key ingredient glyphosate, may be linked to causing cancer.

The documents were unsealed by Judge Vince Chhabria. He is presiding over a current matter in court where an individual has claimed that their exposure to glyphosate caused the development of their non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Published on: March 20, 2017

Xarelto Negative Side Effect Leading to Major Lawsuits

by Naumes Law

Xarelto (rivaroxaban) is commonly marketed in the United States as a blood-thinner generally prescribed to combat blood clots. Although, the serious nature of the side effects caused by Xarelto are leading to a staggering number of lawsuits.

Current and former users and their families are claiming that the risks and side effects of Xarelto were not made clear when they were prescribed the drug. Also, those who have used Xarelto are alleging that they were not properly warned about the negative effects of Xarelto prior to their usage of the drug.

Those bringing suit found that the drug caused them to suffer from harmful side effect(s) due to their consumption of the drug. Xarelto side effects may include, but are not limited to:

Published on: March 17, 2017

4 Dead and Over 35 Being Treated After Train and Bus Collide

by Naumes Law

Biloxi, Mississippi was the scene of a gruesome collision between a charter bus and a CSX freight train on the morning of March 7. As a result of this accident, four individuals passed away during the collision, as confirmed by the local coroner’s office. Additionally, more than 35 passengers were injured and were hospitalized as a result of their injuries.

The total number of passengers on the character bus, during the collision, was around 50. The majority of the passengers were elderly individuals from Bastrop Senior Center, located near Austin, Texas. It has been reported that the charter bus was heading towards the Boomtown Casino as a part of their casino charter trip.

Biloxi Police Chief John Miller addressed this matter at a press conference. Miller explained the crash as a “terrible, chaotic scene.” He was also quick to add that the Biloxi police department was doing all that it could in order to assist those passengers of the bus.

Published on: March 6, 2017

Most Recent Talc Lawsuit Against Johnson & Johnson Rejected by Jury

by Naumes Law

On Friday, a St. Louis jury chose to reject a woman’s claim that Johnson & Johnson baby powder played a role in her cancer diagnosis.

Nora Daniels, a 55-year-old woman from Tennessee, brought the unsuccessful claim against Johnson & Johnson. Daniels based her claim against the company around her usage of Johnson & Johnson baby powder from 1978 to 2013 in alleged connection with her cancer. Daniels stopped using the Johnson & Johnson powder product in 2013 when she was diagnosed with both ovarian and uterine cancer. As part of her treatment, she underwent a hysterectomy and was forced to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed. Also, Daniels made a claim that Johnson & Johnson refused to warm the public of the potential link between their product and major health concerns.

Before Friday’s decision, Johnson & Johnson had lost the previous three lawsuits brought against the company for similar types of claims regarding their talc powder products. The previous three decisions, also made by Missouri juries, awarded an overall amount just under $200 million. Last year, in those three previous judgments, plaintiffs and plaintiff’s families were awarded $55 million, $70 million and $72 million.

Published on: February 24, 2017

Major Defect Causes Recall of Boston Scientific Heart Valve

by Naumes Law

On Thursday, Boston Scientific Corporation issued a statement in which it recalled all of its Lotus Valve heart devices in Europe. This recall consists of both clinical and commercial sites. Also, the Lotus Valve has been removed from all clinical sites in the United States, where the valve is not yet approved for sale.

Overall, the recall is due to major manufacturing defects that have found to be present in the device.

The serious defects that has caused this recall are centered around a manufacturing problem that is linked to the premature release of the mechanism containing a pin that is used to implant the device into the heart in patients. The recall was made voluntary by the company. This is similar to mechanism issues that resulted in the Lotus recalls of 2014 as well as 2016.