Lawsuit Information Center

March 16, 2022

Formaldehyde Poisoning Lawsuits

Significant or prolonged exposure to formaldehyde has been linked to a number of adverse health conditions and recent evidence has shown that it can increase the risk of cancer. In recent years, dangerously high levels of formaldehyde have been discovered in various consumer products which has prompted product liability lawsuits against companies like Lumber Liquidators and Johnson & Johnson. In this post, we will look at formaldehyde product liability lawsuits and their settlement value.

Formaldehyde Poisoning

Formaldehyde poisoning is a disorder caused by chronic exposure and inhalation of formaldehyde fumes (usually with occupational exposure). Formaldehyde is a colorless chemical. However, it produces a strong, suffocating smell. Formaldehyde is commonly found in household products and materials used to make cabinets, furniture, and walls. Many people become exposed to the chemical through tools and equipment cleaned with it.

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

January 4, 2022

Example of Recent Enfamil NEC Lawsuit

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

The case of Crawford v. Abbott Laboratories, Inc. is one of the most recent examples of an NEC infant formula lawsuit. The plaintiff, Candace Crawford, brought the case on behalf of her deceased infant ZaRiyah Crawford. The Complaint was filed against both Abbott Laboratories, Inc. and Mead Johnson Nutrition in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Baby ZaRiyah was born prematurely (34 weeks gestation age) at North Florida Regional Medical Center on December 2, 2019. ZaRiyah had a birthweight of just 3 pounds and 14 ounces, making rapid weight gain very important to her health. After her birth, ZaRiyah was sent to the NICU.

For the first 3 days at the NICU, Baby ZaRiyah was fed with her mother’s pumped breast milk combined with donor human breast milk. After these first 3 days, however, ZaRiyah was fed with a combination of human breast milk supplemented with Enfamil and Similac cow-milk based formulas.

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.

November 19, 2021

Medtronic Micra Leadless Pacemaker May Have Dangerous Defect

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

According to a new public warning from the FDA, certain leadless pacemakers made by Medtronic have a defect that may cause them to poke holes in the heart resulting in life-threatening complications.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently posted a new warning regarding a potentially fatal defect in the Medtronic Micra leadless pacemaker devices. The November 17 warning advises doctors about new findings which show that patients with the Medtronic leadless pacemaker implanted have displayed a significantly higher risk of cardiac perforation and potentially deadly complications.

Transvenous vs. Leadless Pacemakers