Lawsuit Information Center

July 7, 2020

What Are My Legal Options if My Car Accident Claim Is Denied?

We buy car insurance hoping we never need to go through the process of submitting a claim. When accidents happen, we hope the claims process is smooth and simple. Seems like a reasonable expectation because you or the at-fault driver paid your premium every month in a way that made it smooth and simple for the insurance company. But it does not work that way, right?

There are several reasons that your claim may be denied. This denial can often cause a significant financial strain on you and your family. . If you’ve recently been in a car accident, you may be counting on the money from the insurance claim to pay medical and other bills.

If your claim has been denied, you need to figure out quickly why and what you can do to get the money you deserve.

June 28, 2019

The Opioid Settlement (and what it means to you)

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

An opioid settlement is coming. How much money is in it for you? If you have suffered, it is a fair question. But this is a different kind of opioid settlement.

Thousands of counties, townships, and local jurisdictions across the country are currently suing pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and sell prescription opioid painkillers. The local jurisdictions are seeking money to reimburse them for the billions of dollars they have been forced to spend in response to the opioid abuse epidemic. After months of little or no movement in this matter, reports suggested that a global settlement proposal may finally be in the works.

Opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies have collectively paid more than $50 billion in settlements. These funds are earmarked for a range of programs and initiatives designed to tackle the opioid crisis, such as:

February 26, 2019

New York Statutes of Limitations for Child Abuse Victims

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

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 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 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.

January 4, 2018

Do I Have a Birth Injury Claim?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Parents of newborns are quick to ask whether something happening during the birth process that caused harm to their child. Sometimes, there are signs that are a reasonable cause for concern. Of course, there are also instances where we fear for our children without a lot of foundation.

Ground Zero for Concern

The most reasonable cause of concern for parents of a newborn with a birth injury is if they were told that their child suffered a loss of oxygen. Birth injury cases have a lot of different fact patterns. But, the most common thread our birth injury lawyers see is oxygen deprivation during the birthing process. If you are told that your child was deprived of oxygen for any significant period, there is a reason to fear a birth injury that could impact your child. Still, it does not mean that your child suffered any injury.

August 4, 2015

What is the Statute of Limitations? | Learning About Lawsuits

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Every aspect of litigation is based on time. Litigants only have a certain number of days to respond to motions, answer discovery, or serve a summons. Perhaps the biggest time-related concern in litigation is the statute of limitations. The statute of limitations is the due date for a lawsuit. If a claim is brought outside the statute of limitations, it is ~~generally~~ almost always barred and must be dismissed. Americans are now appreciating more how harsh limitations can be seeing Bill Cosby not being asked to account of the allegations against him.

How Statutes of Limitation Work

A statute of limitations should be thought of more of a time frame and less of a deadline. The right to bring legal action accrues whenever the subject matter of the claim occurred. For example, in a car accident case, the right to bring a claim begins right when the accident occurred. In a medical malpractice case, the period begins when the malpractice occurs or when the victim discovers it. Once that period has officially started, the clock on the potential claim has begun ticking. The relevant statute of limitations will then lay out a period during which that claim must be brought. For example, in Maryland, the statute of limitations on most personal injury actions is three years. This means that a lawsuit for a car accident must be brought within the three years that begins when the accident occurs. If the case is not brought within that time, it can never be brought.

August 4, 2015

What Is An Expert Witness?

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

This blog deals with big personal injury lawsuits across the country. These lawsuits typically involve class actions, multidistrict litigation, and mass torts against corporations for their defective products, medications, or their general negligence. But we also talk about motor vehicle accident and malpractice claims, too. For all of these cases, you are almost invariably going to need an expert to testify if you want to get your case to a jury. Experts are obviously different from the typical fact witness. This post should give you a basic understanding of the nuances of expert witnesses and testimony.