Defective Products Legal News Articles & Interviews

Washington, DC The U.S. Government Accountability Office recently reported that the price tag to clean up per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from nearly 700 military bases nationwide will probably exceed -- and cost taxpayers-- $2.1 billion. According to the Department of Defense (DOD) that price is up from $1.1 billion last year.

San Francisco, CA Monsanto has been hit with another lawsuit claiming its Roundup product causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other cancers. Plaintiff Michael Langford of Sacramento was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2007 and later developed other cancers. Langford’s Monsanto lawsuit filed in late June comes on the heels of a claim also filed in June. An Ohio resident filed suit in Delaware Superior Court claiming her non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was also the result of many years’ exposure to Roundup in the care of her home garden.

Pensacola, FL In the third 3M earplug bellwether trial a federal jury determined that the company failed to provide adequate safety warnings about their combat arms earplugs. The plaintiff, veteran Lloyd Baker, was awarded $1.7 million.

Wilmington, DE On May 17 Syngenta, the manufacturer and distributor of paraquat-based herbicides, filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware seeking a declaratory judgment that would compel nearly 100 insurers to undertake Syngenta’s defense in the growing number of product-based personal injury lawsuits. The underlying lawsuits focus on the link between the herbicide and Parkinson’s disease, which appears with disproportionate frequency in professionals who used the product under license and according to the manufacturer’s directions. Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC v. Travelers Casualty and Surety Company also seeks damages against insurers who, according to the company, also breached other contractual provisions. Some of these breaches allegedly occurred decades ago.

Washington, DC Twenty women who sued Johnson and Johnson, claiming its baby powder was key in their ovarian cancers, stuck to their guns: the U.S. Supreme Court won’t overturn a $2.1 billion against J&J, which was cut from a 2018 Missouri Court verdict of $4.7 billion. These women persevered through an exhaustive and harrowing court battle including the company’s last ditch appeal in March. But nine women have died from ovarian cancer since the trial began six years ago.

Charleston, SC On May 26, Jeffrey Clark filed a lawsuit against 3M and a host of other corporate defendants citing his exposure to perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS/PFOA) firefighting foams as the likely cause of his kidney cancer. Clark v. 3M Company will be consolidated for pre-trial proceedings into the Multidistrict Litigation now currently before the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

San Francisco, CA  In the wake of the Northern District of California’s rejection of a proposed settlement that would have limited Monsanto’s future liability for glyphosate lawsuits, Monsanto has announced that it will reconsider reformulating Roundup products marketed for residential use. Bayer AG has looked to limit its potential financial exposure to Monsanto glyphosate lawsuits ever since it acquired the company in 2018.

Pensacola, FLThe second 3M earplug lawsuit ended with a win for the defense.  The Combat Arms Earplug manufacturer lost the first bellwether trial that ended with a $7.1 million win for veterans. Now, hundreds of thousands of victims with hearing loss allegedly from defective earplugs await the third and final trial on June 7th in Pensacola.

Lancaster, SC Ruth underwent three abdominal mesh surgeries in the last few years, all of them unsuccessful. She now lives with an ugly scar and constant pain. She replaced her addiction to prescription painkillers with Suboxone (prevents painful addiction withdrawal) and trips to the emergency room with visits to the addiction center. 

San Francisco, CA On April 2, Russell Denes filed a personal injury Paraquat lawsuit in the Northern District of California, alleging that his Parkinson’s disease was caused by his decades’ long, low-dose exposure to Paraquat. Denes, a certified pesticide applicator, allegedly used the herbicide according to safety regulations, and was aware that Paraquat was acutely toxic.