Lawsuit Information Center

February 26, 2019

New York Statutes of Limitations for Child Abuse Victims

In February 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed Child Victims Act into law. It extends the statute of limitations for victims of child abuse. Child sex abuse victims are now allowed to file criminal charges against their abuser before they turn 28. Victims are allowed to file civil charges against their abuser before they turn 55. Previously, victims had to file both civil and criminal charges before they turned 23. The law also allows a one-year period for individuals to file cases that happened longer than what the statute of limitations would have allowed. It also requires judges to have some training on how to handle child sex abuse cases.

What are statutes of limitations, and why do we have them?

Statutes of limitations (SOL) are a predetermined period that the state is allowed to charge someone with a crime. Different crimes have different extended periods of time when one can file charges against someone. However, the same crime may have a different SOL depending on the state. There are SOL laws because of concerns that witness testimony might be unreliable. A victim may not necessarily remember enough about their abuse that the jury may not find them credible. Physical evidence may also deteriorate over time, which further questions credibility.

Why extend the statute of limitations if someone might not remember what happened to them?

DNA, audio or video recordings, emails, and texts do not disintegrate over time, making them more credible forms of evidence over a longer period. Society has also improved their understanding of the trauma that victims of child sexual abuse experience. People now understand that it can take many years or even decades before someone finally comes forward. While laws on statutes of limitations are put in place to ensure credibility, there are exceptional cases such as child sexual abuse which necessitates lengthened the statute of limitations.

October 31, 2018

MiraLAX Problems and Children (and COVID)

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has been conducting a study on polyethylene glycol 3350 (PEG 3350), the active ingredient in MiraLAX, and its effect on a child’s brain. The study came about after reports that children have been experiencing behavioral problems after taking MiraLAX.

If you are allergic to MiraLAX, you should talk to your doctor before you get the COVID vaccine (interesting article) and maybe bring an EpiPen when you get vaccinated

What is MiraLAX and how is it different?

October 16, 2018

Breast Cancer and Chemotherapy | A New Study

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Recent findings from the Trial Assigning Individualized Options for Treatment (Rx), also known as the TAILORx trial, show that chemotherapy is not beneficial to the most commonly found form of breast cancer.

Sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), researchers found that chemotherapy does not benefit 70 percent of women with estrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative, axillary lymph node-negative breast cancer. Hormone therapy combined with chemotherapy is not more beneficial than treating breast cancer with hormone therapy alone. Researchers released this data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting this year in Chicago.

Details of the study

October 15, 2018

AbbVie Androgel Lawsuits | 2022 Settlement Update

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

In June 2019, AbbVie’s AndroGel testosterone lawsuits settled for $775 million. (Our lawyers are still taking testosterone lawsuits in 2022. Just no longer involving this testosterone supplement.)

Lawsuits had been filed claiming that the makers of Androgel, AbbVie, failed to warn thousands of men about the potential side effects of the drug. These side-effects include heart attacks, blood clots, stroke, and even sudden death in extraordinary cases. As the litigation wheels start turning here, AbbVie is trying to gum them up with objections to slow down the process. You could say everything is going according to plan…

What Is AndroGel?

Androgel is a form of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). The purpose of testosterone is to increase levels of testosterone in the blood of humans. So TRT is a process to supplement our naturally occurring levels of testosterone. Why? Because some men have low testosterone production (and some just want more).

AndroGel is a synthetic testosterone gel formulation. The gel formulation was developed to give transdermal delivery of testosterone continuously for 24 hours.

Androgel Lawsuits

If you are reading this you probably already know this. But let’s recap. There were about 7,000 lawsuits against AbbVie percolating around the federal court system.

The various suits alleged that the makers of Androgel, AbbVie, neglected to warn thousands of men about the serious side effects of the “Low-T” treatment drug.

This drug has certainly been a big hit, understandably so considering that it promises men physical enhancement to counteract the forces of aging. But thousands of lawsuits -allege that low-T drugs can lead to heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, or other injuries, prompting men across the U.S. to sue AbbVie and the other manufacturers for not being adequately warned of the risks.

That really is what this is about. No one — at least not many people — was calling for a low-T recall. The risk might outweigh the benefit for some although probably not many of us. It is about giving patients and doctors a choice. Tell us what can happen and let us make the call. They are giving this warning now. They should have given it to us before. That is what these lawsuits were about.

October 2, 2018

Michigan Jury Awards $130 Million in Cerebral Palsy Case

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

In Oakland County, Michigan, a jury awarded a $130 million settlement on behalf of a boy suffering from cerebral palsy. The jury found two medical technicians liable for causing the child’s severe and permanent brain damage that resulted in cerebral palsy. The $130 million incident was one of the largest jury settlements in Michigan history.

The Facts of the Case

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the boy and his mother in 2016. The child was 2 months old when the injury occurred in 2006. According to the plaintiff’s attorney, the child requires help to get in and out of the bathtub. The boy’s mother is a full-time caregiver for her son. These are tough cases. You can hear about 1,000 of them. But every time, it is like you are hearing the facts for the first time. It is heartbreaking.

October 1, 2018

Invokana Lawsuit Update

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

In August 2018, the FDA warned that sodium-glucosecotransporter-2 (SLGT2) inhibitors such as Invokana can cause a rare but serious infection that could cause an amputation of the genital area.

This is a big deal because Invokana is a commonly used diabetes medication. The list of diabetes drugs that have let patients down is long. The money in these drugs is unreal. To make the most money, you need to rush your product on the market without fully testing the drug. That is the biggest problem.

Long before the FDA got involved, I have been looking at potential Invokana lawsuits. These are the 11 questions victims have about Invokana and the Invokana litigation.

October 1, 2018

$31 Million Awarded for Circumcision Malpractice in Georgia

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

This post is about a significant verdict in Georgia after an awful circumcision mishap caused a boy severe and permanent injuries. In this post, I talk about this tragic case and take a deep dive into the statute of limitations in Georgia in birth injury cases.

The Big Verdict

A jury in Clayton County, Georgia, awarded a mother and her four-year-old son $31 million for a circumcision gone wrong. This malpractice incident occurred at an OB/GYN and pediatric clinic. This is a significant verdict for the most common surgical procedure in the country and one that is rarely the subject of a malpractice lawsuit.

September 27, 2018

Can Glucocorticoids Treat Infant Brain Injuries?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

A study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences concludes that glucocorticoids can treat hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) by reducing the amount of brain damage. This can prevent cerebral palsy (CP) and other brain injuries from becoming more severe.

What is hypoxic-ischemic-encephalopathy (HIE)?

HIE is a brain injury resulting from a lack of oxygen. This can happen prior to birth, during birth, or even well into childhood.

September 20, 2018

Detecting Brain Injury in Infants

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

A team of researchers at University College London has developed a device known as a broadband near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) that uses light to detect brain damage in infants. They are now planning a clinical trial of the NIRS.

The first month of a baby’s life is critical. If there is a brain bleed or oxygen deprivation, you want to know the extent and scope of that injury for early intervention.

Brain injuries that occur immediately after childbirth are life-altering. In recent years, cooling has made a big impact on lessening the impact of a brain injury. So anything we can do to act sooner to mitigate damage can make a real difference.

July 20, 2018

Essure Lawsuit

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Bayer announced today that after thousands of reports of injuries from women and repeated safety restrictions by regulators said Friday that it will stop selling the device in the U.S.

What is the deal with these medical devices, and what is happening with the lawsuits in these cases?

The Essure Permanent Birth Control System was to provide women with a safer, less involved (and painful) tubal ligation alternative. This medical device was triumphantly marketed as the “[only] FDA-approved permanent form of birth control with a procedure that can be performed in an office setting without general anesthesia.” Unfortunately for the 750,000 women who have used this system since the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approved it in 2002, both new scientific research and anecdotal evidence suggest that Essure has caused substantial injuries to thousands of patients, motivating calls among consumer advocates for the drug’s recall and spurring legal action.

This page was written many moons ago (2018 actually) but we do provide a 2023 Essure litigation update at the bottom of this page.

How Essure Works and Why the System Appeals to Women

The Essure system consists of two flexible coils that are inserted into the Fallopian tubes to produce permanent sterilization. Both patients and doctors have liked Essure, at least conceptually, because the system offers a less-invasive solution than tubal ligation and other birth control surgeries, ostensibly with shorter healing time and fewer side effects. Premarket studies tracked women’s pregnancies before and after Essure implantation, leading Bayer to assert that the device is 99.83 percent effective at preventing pregnancy and that “mild to moderate pain” and “spotting” are the most common side effects.