Lawsuit Information Center

June 11, 2022

Cauda Equina Syndrome Settlements and Verdicts

Cauda equina syndrome is a neurological disorder that stems from an injury to the nerve root bundle that exits the spinal cord.

Symptoms of CES include severe back pain, weakness or numbness in the legs, bowel or bladder dysfunction, and sexual dysfunction. If not treated promptly and adequately, CES can lead to permanent nerve damage and even paralysis.

When a patient presents with symptoms of cauda equina syndrome, healthcare professionals must recognize the condition promptly and provide appropriate treatment. Unfortunately, medical malpractice can occur when healthcare providers fail to diagnose or properly treat CES, leading to permanent nerve damage, paralysis, and other long-term injuries.

If you or a loved one has suffered from CES due to medical malpractice, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Our experienced malpractice attorneys can help you understand your legal rights and pursue justice via a medical malpractice lawsuit on your behalf.

The treatment for cauda equina syndrome is generally immediate surgical decompression. The sooner this can be achieved, the better. You usually have a 48-hour window of opportunity to reverse the symptoms. The malpractice lawsuits occur when the symptoms were there to be seen during that window but were missed, usually in the ER or by a primary care doctor, or by the surgical staff after spinal surgery.

Cauda Equina Syndrome Causes and Symptoms

CES is caused by compression of the cauda equina nerves located at the base of the spinal cord. The condition can result from a variety of underlying factors, including:

Herniated disc
Trauma to the spinal cord
Tumor or lesion on the spinal cord
Spinal stenosis
Infection or inflammation

Symptoms of cauda equina syndrome can include:

Severe back pain
Weakness or numbness in the legs
Loss of bladder or bowel control
Sexual dysfunction
Numbness in the groin or genital area
Loss of sensation in the buttocks, inner thighs, or back of the legs

June 5, 2022

Uterine Cancer

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Over 60,000 women in the U.S. get diagnosed with uterine cancer every year, making cancer of the uterus the 2^nd most common female cancer. Recently, uterine cancer has been linked to exposure to certain chemicals, putting this disease at the center of several mass torts, including hair relaxer lawsuits and Camp Lejeune toxic water lawsuits. On this page we provide a simple overview of uterine cancer from a medical standpoint and look at how it has become involved in litigation.

The Uterus

The uterus is the largest female reproductive organ. This pear-shaped organ is often called the “womb” and is where human life begins in the form of fetal development during pregnancy. The uterus is comprised of 3 separate parts: (1) fundus, (2) isthmus, and (3) cervix.

April 23, 2022

Reglan Lawsuit

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Reglan is a pharmaceutical drug used to combat heartburn and slow gastric emptying in diabetes patients. The question is whether tardive dyskinesia (also known as TD), a neurological disorder with symptoms including repeated involuntary movements, is connected to Reglan use.

Below is a question and answer for about the Reglan lawsuits. This will read a little odd in places because much of it was written thirteen years ago. But it has 2022 additions as well, including a discussion of the possibility of a new Reglan lawsuit over the undisclosed stroke risk.

What Is Reglan?

March 10, 2022

Royal Rangers Sex Abuse Lawsuit Settlement

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

The Assemblies of God recently settled a sexual assault lawsuit filed by a group of men who claimed that they were abused as children while participating in the Royal Rangers Christian youth program. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed. This case marks a continuing trend in which various religious organizations have had to settle lawsuits for clergy sex abuse occurring in one of their youth programs.

Surgimesh Hernia Mesh Lawsuits

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Surgimesh is a new type of hernia mesh implant made from non-woven polypropylene microfibers. The use of individual fibers of polypropylene was intended to make the Surgimesh smaller than other hernia mesh products and less prone to biocompatibility problems and other post-surgery complications. The design of the Surgimesh is therefore distinct from the design of many other hernia mesh devices that have generated thousands of product liability lawsuits in recent years (e.g., Ethicon Physiomesh, Atrium C-Qur, etc.).

A recently filed product liability lawsuit in New Mexico alleges that the Surgimesh has the same dangerous design flaws as the other polypropylene hernia mesh implants. This new Surgimesh lawsuit could potentially be the first of many and open a new front in the hernia mesh mass tort ligation.

About Surgimesh

February 11, 2022

Infant Formula Manufacturers Request MDL for NEC Lawsuits

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

New research has revealed that cow-milk infant formulas can increase the risk of a deadly neonatal condition called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in premature infants.

This has prompted a growing number of lawsuits against the manufacturers of infant formulas Similac (Abbott Laboratories) and Enfamil (Mead Johnson) by parents of premature infants who were fed with formula and developed NEC. The lawsuits allege that Abbott and Mead negligently failed to warn parents and doctors about the NEC risk their products posed for preemies.

There are currently around 60 NEC infant formula lawsuits pending in both state and federal courts around the country, but hundreds and possibly thousands more are expected to be filed in the near future. This has prompted both Abbott and Mead to request that all NEC lawsuits in federal courts be consolidated into a new MDL. In this post, we will look at the MDL requests and speculate on the most likely venue and what it might mean for the NEC litigation moving forward.

February 9, 2022

Montana Supreme Court Medical Malpractice Opinoin

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

The Montana Supreme Court decided Higgins v. Augustine yesterday. This lawsuit involved a dispute over whether a doctor had breached the standard of care during a circumcision.

The lawsuit alleged that the doctor was negligent in performing the procedure, causing the child to suffer an injury, and sought damages. The case went to trial, and the jury returned a verdict in favor of the doctor. However, the plaintiff appealed the District Court’s decision to exclude specific evidence related to a witness’s expert testimony.

During the trial, the expert witness testified that the injury suffered by the child was not consistent with the use of the correct tools and suggested that the doctor may have used incorrect scissors or misused the correct scissors. However, the plaintiff had not adequately disclosed the witness’s opinion promptly, leading the defendant to move for its exclusion. The District Court agreed, and the plaintiff appealed this decision.

February 7, 2022

Knee Replacement and Implant Lawsuits

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Knee replacement and knee implant lawsuits allege that devices loosened or did not last as long as they should. Zimmer faced over 15,000 Biomet lawsuits over its NexGen implant. DePuy Synthes Attune Knee implant lawsuits were also a big thing. Now Exactech recall lawsuits will be getting filed in massive numbers in 2022 after a big recall.

There have been a lot of questions about hip and knee replacements in recent years. DePuy, Exactech, Stryker, and Zimmer have had – to put it mildly – concerns raised about their products. These companies would argue that the problems are mostly with patients who are having bad outcomes and blaming the insurance companies.

Continue reading

January 16, 2022

Emergency Room Malpractice in Georgia

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Many states are trying to carve out malpractice caps and different standards of care for emergency room doctors in medical malpractice cases.

The thinking starts out okay. Emergency department doctors should be given the benefit of the doubt because things are happening so quickly. But ER doctors are always getting the benefit of the doubt from jurors. There is statistical evidence of this.

More importantly, the standard of care already bakes in the fact that things are sometimes happening at the speed of light in the ER. That is why reasonableness is always based on all the facts and circumstances. Continue reading

December 30, 2021

Shampoo & Conditioner Benzene Recall

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Procter & Gamble issued a recall of 30 dry conditioners and shampoos because these products may contain benzene, a cancer-causing chemical P&G recalled aerosol spray products will familiar names such as Aussie, Pantene, Herbal Essence, and Waterless. dry shampoo products from Old Spice and Hair Food.

The products were made by Proctor & Gamble and distributed nationwide through online sales like Amazon and through traditional retailers.

Is this a big deal or a little deal? Is the Benzene risk real? This post talks about the recall and what it means.