Our lawyers handle Paraquat lawsuits in all 50 states. This page provides the latest news and updates on Paraquat lawsuits in both state and federal courts. We also give our perspective on where this litigation is heading and provide projected settlement payouts for a viable Paraquat lawsuit. Continue reading
This page is for victims considering filing a Depo Provera lawsuit. Our lawyers provide the latest updates on these claims, explain the litigation process, and predict Depo Provera settlement amounts. A new scientific study has provided stunning evidence that using Depo-Provera can cause brain tumors. Women who used Depo-Provera and subsequently developed a meningioma brain […]
Uber has been facing a growing number of allegations and civil lawsuits from rideshare passengers alleging that Uber drivers sexually assaulted them. The lawsuits against Uber allege that the company should be held liable for these sexual assaults because it negligently failed to screen its drivers properly. Recently, a growing number of sexual assault lawsuits […]
Our lawyers are handling Paragard IUD removal lawsuits in all 50 states. These lawsuits allege the Paragard intrauterine device breaks upon removal because it is made with inflexible plastic and degrades before the device expires. Over 2,500 lawsuits have been lodged against Teva Pharmaceutical and CooperSurgical by women who encountered issues such as breakage during […]
This page explores Suboxone, its associated dental complications, and the subsequent Suboxone tooth decay lawsuits in 2025. Our lawyers are seeking settlement compensation for victims nationwide who have suffered tooth decay, tooth loss, and tooth erosion from Suboxone. What is the Suboxone lawsuit about? The lawsuit is about what Suboxone does to your teeth. The […]
Our lawyers are handling AFFF firefighting foam lawsuits around the country. This page provides the most recent news and updates on the AFFF firefighting foam class action lawsuit and our prediction of the settlement amounts plaintiffs with AFFF cancer lawsuits can expect to receive. You will not get more updated news on the AFFF litigation […]
Our law firm is handling baby food autism lawsuits in all 50 states. Several popular brands of baby food contain high levels of heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic, lead, and cadmium. These heavy metals are well-known neurotoxins. Thousands of children may have developed autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders due to toxic metals found in […]
Our lawyers are investigating Tepezza hearing loss lawsuits in all 50 states. This page examines Tepezza class action lawsuits, discusses when they might settle, and describes possible settlement amounts (or jury payouts). Continue reading
This page is about social media addiction lawsuits and who is eligible to bring a claim. Our lawyers also provide the latest social media class action lawsuit news. The problem that led to social media lawsuits is that millions of people, too many of whom are children, are addicted to social media platforms such as […]
Our lawyers are handling baby powder lawsuits in all 50 states. The talcum powder lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson have been ongoing for years. The lawsuits allege that prolonged use of talcum powder (or “talc”), the active ingredient in products such as Baby Powder and Shower to Shower, can cause ovarian cancer in some women. […]
This post examines the average settlement amount in back injury car accident claims. I last updated this page on July 9, 2024.
Let’s start with a few statistics. A verdicts and settlements database found that the median plaintiff’s verdict award for motor vehicle cases that involved back injuries is $212,500.
For all car, truck, and motorcycle accident injury cases in the database that earned a plaintiff’s verdict, the median award is $300,000.
Last year, a new study by NIH revealed that regular use of chemical hair relaxer products can significantly increase the risk of uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, and other hormone-related diseases. The publication of this study has been followed by a growing wave of hair relaxer lawsuits by women who have used hair relaxer products for years and were diagnosed with one of these conditions.
This post will examine how the hair relaxer litigation has developed over the last six months. We will also explain the status of the hair relaxer class action as of July 2024 and give our predictions of what to expect from this mass tort moving forward.
Medical malpractice lawyers specialize in representing victims of medical negligence or errors in lawsuits against doctors, hospitals, nurses, and other licensed healthcare providers. Medical negligence happens much more frequently than most people think and each year thousands of patients are harmed by mistakes or malpractice in a healthcare setting.
Our civil legal system gives victims of medical malpractice the ability to get financial compensation for their injuries by bringing a lawsuit against the doctor or healthcare provider. Medical malpractice attorneys handle these types of cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning they don’t get paid unless you win the case.
There are a lot of medical malpractice lawyers out there. Hiring the best malpractice attorney for your case can be challenging. In this post, we provide a 7-step guide for how to effectively screen and hire the best medical malpractice lawyers.
The Zostavax vaccine lawsuits were jumping with energy. Lawyers wanted these cases which is why you saw television commercials and Facebook and Google ads (and, yes, legal blog posts) from attorneys hustling to sign up victims.
These Zostavax lawsuits alleged that the plaintiffs experienced severe complications, most notably shingles, from being administered it.
Today, these lawsuits are on life support, maybe worse in 2024, as we explain below. We have not rewritten this entire post still has some 2024 excitement in it. But these cases are likely to fall apart, and we explain this below.
The Bair Hugger is a medical device that is used to keep patients warm and regulate body temperature during surgery. New research has shown, however, that the Bair Hugger increases the risk of infections by pushing bacteria into the body during surgery. This has prompted thousands of Bair Hugger infection lawsuits which have been consolidated into a class action MDL.
July 1, 2024: There was a decent sized increase in the number of plaintiffs in the Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Devices Products Liability Litigation MDL. The number of filed lawsuits went up from 6,858 on June 1 to 7,187 in July 1, reflecting ongoing filings.
June 18, 2024: An Missouri appeals court upheld a defense verdict in a case where a woman alleged that 3M Co.’s Bair Hugger patient warming system was defectively designed and caused her postoperative infection. The court affirmed that the trial court did not err in its evidentiary rulings or abuse its discretion in limiting expert testimony.
The plaintiff had undergone knee surgery in November 2016, subsequently developed an infection, and underwent a second surgery in January 2017. She sued 3M for negligent and defective design, manufacturing, and marketing, claiming the device contaminated the air and caused her infection. A jury found in favor of 3M, and her motion for a new trial was denied.
Plaintiff appealed, arguing that the trial court improperly limited her cross-examination of 3M’s expert witnesses. She argued that this limitation prevented her from challenging the credibility of these experts. The appeals court shot down that argument, finding that her lawyers did not make necessary offers of proof to support her claims.
Additionally, the plaintiff contended that the trial court erred in allowing remote testimony from an expert due to their limited availability. Arguments like that are surefire losers.
May 1, 2024: The parties involved in the Bair Hugger multidistrict litigation are scheduled to bring six selected cases to trial in March 2025, according to a scheduling order by U.S. Magistrate Judge David T. Schultz.
Over the past year, the parties have been engaged in settlement discussions with the help of Special Master and retired judge James M. Rosenbaum. But there is no Bair Hugger settlement. So additional trials may be necessary to aid in the settlement process. Consequently, six cases have been jointly selected for trial to ensure a prompt and efficient resolution.
The scheduling order outlines that all fact discovery must be completed by September 3, 2024. Plaintiffs are required to disclose their expert witnesses by September 3, with the defense’s disclosures due by October 1. Depositions must be completed by November 1, and all dispositive motions filed by November 29. Additionally, a status conference with Judge Joan N. Ericksen is set for March 19, 2025.
April 17, 2024: Judge Ericksen remanded 28 cases to the districts where they would have originally been filed.
February 6, 2024: The MDL judge granted a motion to remand a case to a Texas court after determining that 3M Co. failed to prove that certain defendants were fraudulently joined. This decision moves the case back to the Harris County, Texas, District Court.
The case involves allegations that the Bair Hugger patient warming system caused a postoperative infection. 3M had initially removed the case to federal court and sought to stay proceedings pending its transfer to the MDL. However, the court found that 3M did not demonstrate that the plaintiff lacked a viable cause of action against the nondiverse defendants and thus granted the remand.
October 28, 2023: As we talked about in the July 14th update, The plaintiffs attempted to have Judge Ericksen recused, claiming bias due to the judge’s newly hired law clerk, a retired defense lawyer. The plaintiffs argued that the law clerk’s background and the judge’s rulings showed partiality.
The appellate court rejected the recusal effort. The court clarified that hiring decisions and the identities of law clerks do not require disclosure to the parties. The judge emphasized that the law clerk had no conflicts of interest and maintained confidentiality as required.
The plaintiffs also complained about the judge’s past rulings, but the court noted that dissatisfaction with judicial decisions does not justify claims of bias.
July 27, 2023: The latest update on the 3m Bair Hugger cases found 5,251 pending claims in the MDL. This quiet MDL is the 8th largest in the country.
We have opened up the comments section below if you want to share your experiences.
July 14, 2023: While 3M is unhappy with every judge within ten feet of the 3M earplug lawsuits, it has a different take on the Bair Hugger lawsuits. The plaintiffs’ lawyers have raised objections about a potential conflict of interest, as the magistrate judge had previously owned 3M shares and his wife had an association with the company. 3M wants to keep the judge in place.
The Bair Hugger plaintiffs’ lawyers have also tried to disqualify the main MDL judge, too. Why? The reasons for this remain confidential. But confidential or not, that motion was rejected as this new one will likely be as well. The reality is it is not comforting to return to the same judge that tried to dismiss your cases and was overturned on appeal.
June 1, 2023: The Supreme Court has rejected 3M’s petition for review concerning the re-establishment of consolidated litigation over its Bair Hugger surgical warming blankets. 3M had argued that the Eighth Circuit had employed an excessively lenient standard in allowing expert witnesses for patients who underwent joint-replacement procedures. But the Supreme Court has no interest in even hearing the case.
Despite the court’s decision, there is honestly not abundant enthusiasm regarding these lawsuits. Nonetheless, the possibility of settlement remains. Not long ago, the presiding judge in the MDL appointed retired Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan as a mediator. Renowned for his ability to navigate complex legal disputes through mediation, Boylan’s involvement offers a glimmer of hope. His role is to guide negotiations and dialogue among the parties, aiming to find a solution that everyone finds acceptable.
April 17, 2023: As of today, the latest update is there are 5,173 plaintiffs are in this warming blanket class action lawsuit.
April 17, 2023 Update: Plaintiffs in a case against 3M have filed a disqualification motion against US District Judge Joan Ericksen of Minneapolis and Judge David Schultz, the federal magistrate in the multidistrict litigation (MDL). The motion alleges that Ericksen engaged a retired products liability defense attorney as an adviser while considering a critical 3M motion and relied on his legal theories in her decision, which was later overturned by the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals. The plaintiffs also claim that Schultz’s financial adviser bought and sold 3M shares during the MDL. 3M opposes the disqualification of Ericksen and Schultz and refutes the plaintiffs’ causation claims.
March 13, 2023 Update: a new Bair Hugger infection lawsuit (Jones v. 3M Co., et al., 23-cv-603) was filed in the MDL in the District of Minnesota today. The plaintiff, Cheryl Jones, is an Alabama resident who underwent knee replacement surgery in April 2021 during which the Bair Hugger device was used. She subsequently developed a deep joint infection which required her to undergo multiple additional surgeries on her knee.
February 12, 2023 Update: the first status conference in the newly reopened Bair Hugger class action MDL was held this week before Judge Joan Ericksen.
December 16, 2022 Update: the Bair Hugger class action MDL has formally been reopened. On December 14, 2022, 3M sent a letter to MDL Judge Joan Ericksen asking that the MDL proceedings be reopened and resumed. In the letter, 3M claimed that nothing has really changed and urged Judge Ericksen to fast-track a new round of bellwether trials for the start of 2024. Today, the plaintiffs responded with their own letter saying that new evidence has emerged (specifically a new study published in JAMA in 2022) that strengthens their position on causation.
November 26, 2022 Update: 3M will get some insurance coverage for Bair Hugger claims. A federal court in Minnesota ruled this week that 3M must only pay a single deductible for more than 5,000 Bar Hugger lawsuits. But the insurance company – Federal Insurance Co. is not on the hook for all of 3M’s attorneys’ fees and other defense costs in the warming device lawsuits because only a fraction of the claims fall within the insurance policy period.
May 18, 2022 Update: The Supreme Court rejected 3M’s appeal.
August 23, 2021 Update: Last week a federal appeals court reinstated 5,000 claims that had been dismissed and this litigation is back on. But few lawyers are taking new claims.
Should you bring a Bair Hugger lawsuit if you believe you suffered an infection from a Bair Hugger during surgery? Decide for yourself. But despite some early punches to the face for plaintiffs, there is still a reasonable chance these cases end well for plaintiffs. Let’s talk about these cases, what there are, where they are going, and what are the prospects that the 3M Bair Hugger cases reach a settlement.
A Bair Hugger device is a temperature management system that is used during surgery. The purpose of the invention is to help the body regulate the appropriate temperature. Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Device is designed, manufactured, and marketed by Defendants 3M Company and Arizant Healthcare, Inc. There are more than 50,000 Bair Hugger FAWs in the United States.How does it work? The Bair Hugger is a portable heater/blower connected by a flexible hose to a blanket, typically positioned for the patient getting surgery. The Bair Hugger pushed hot air through a hose into a blanket specially made to work with the device. The hot air produced by Bair Hugger accumulates under the surgical drape covering the patient. This hot air escapes under the surgical drape below the level of the surgical table or over top of it.
So the Bair Hugger is designed to keep a patient’s body temperature normal during surgery by blowing hot air through a blanket. Keeping a patient warm is particularly useful during knee and hip replacement surgery because the procedures tend to be very long. The body loses heat increasingly throughout the surgery.
Another thing about metal hip and knee replacement surgery is that your body is particularly prone to infection. Why? The metal helps spread the infection.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuits argue that the device disrupts the air ventilation in the operating room, leading to infections, particularly in hip and knee surgeries, which have resulted in amputations and multiple surgeries. They also allege that 3M has been aware of the contamination issue since 2009.
Our lawyers handle Elmiron vision loss lawsuits throughout the country.
This page provides the latest news and updates on the Elmiron class action lawsuit and provides our prediction of the settlement amounts, vision loss, and blindness victims who bring an Elmiron lawsuit will ultimately receive.
Elmiron settlements are happening in 2024. Many victims have agreed to settlement amounts and will receive settlement checks shortly if they have not already. Many Elmiron lawyers have stopped taking new Elmiron clients, including us. We keep this information up to keep you updated because we are still committed to victims. We have July 2024 updates below.
Sun Bum, Paul Mitchell, and Batiste, leading manufacturers of dry shampoos, are facing proposed class action lawsuits following reports of dangerously high benzene levels in some of their products. Benzene is a widely recognized carcinogenic impurity linked with leukemia and other forms of cancer. As we discuss below, there was a settlement in the Batiste consumer class action lawsuit of $2.5 million.
UPDATES:
$3.1 Million Settlement in Batiste Dry Shampoo Consumer Fraud Case
This page will look at auto accident injury lawsuits involving compartment syndrome as one of the plaintiff’s primary injuries. We will also look at the settlement value of compartment syndrome as an injury in car accident cases.
Compartment syndrome is a serious medical condition that occurs when there is increased pressure within one of the body’s anatomical compartments, typically in the limbs. This pressure increase can decrease blood flow, which can prevent nourishment and oxygen from reaching nerve and muscle cells.
Electric pressure cookers such as the Instant Pot have become very popular recently. Unfortunately, however, many of these devices have design flaws that make them potentially dangerous. They can malfunction and eject boiling liquid causing severe burns and disfigurement.
Recently, one of the pressure cooker brands that has been the subject of a growing number of injury lawsuits is the Instant Pot pressure cooker which is manufactured by Instant Brands. In this post, we will look at the problems that have arisen with the Instant Pot and how these issues have led to injuries and lawsuits.
Our product liability attorneys are currently seeking new pressure cooker injury cases from individuals who have been seriously burned or injured by an Instant Pot pressure cooker. If you were burned or injured by an Instant Pot pressure cooker call us today at 800-553-8082.
This page is about spinal cord injuries in car accidents and their settlement value. Our lawyers have handled over 1,000 spinal cord injury claims. We dig down in every one of those cases deeply to maximize the compensation for our clients. Through that process, our spinal cord injury attorneys have learned a lot about spinal cord injuries and their settlement amounts, and we pass that knowledge along to you on this page.
Our lawyers have had spinal cord injuries in low-impact collisions. They can happen. But they are rare. Most injuries to the spinal cord are in more significant impact car and truck accident cases. Spinal cord injuries are common in auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, and other serious accident cases. If a spinal cord injury has destroyed your life, the spinal cord injury lawyer you hire will impact how much money you recover. There is no question about that. You need a skilled, experienced, and aggressive spinal cord injury lawyer to fight for the maximum level of compensation in your case.
The personal injury lawyers at Miller & Zois have spent the last few decades fighting for spinal cord accident victims. We are a nationally recognized personal injury firm that other law firms often turn to when they need someone to handle their most significant and complicated cases. If you want to talk to a spinal cord injury attorney about your claim and how to maximize your settlement payout, call today at 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation.
