Drugs/Medical Legal News Articles & Interviews

Dayton, OH While the first Bard hernia mesh bellwether trial is described by legal experts as a “crushing blow” to plaintiffs, others opine that it will likely have minimal impact on the overall outcome of the hernia mesh litigation. Round two is now underway.

Newark, NJ A proposed class action filed in a New Jersey federal court accuses Dutch manufacturer Royal Philips of knowing for months that its CPAP sleep machines posed a serious health hazard but “unreasonably delayed” the recall. Philips also faces a securities class action lawsuit—and remember the COVID-19 ventilator debacle? That too was Philips.

Columbus, OH It took the jury only hours to come back with a resounding victory for C.R. Bard in first bellwether surgical mesh lawsuit in the Multidistrict Litigation consolidated in the Southern District of Ohio. On September 8, the jury in Johns v. C.R. Bard, et al found in the defendants’ favor on all of Steven Johns' claims against them. No damages were awarded to Johns.

St Louis, MO Philips CPAP sleep machine recall has caused a rude awakening for thousands of users who rely on the sleep machine to get them through the night – alive. Meanwhile, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will discuss next month the future of sleep machine lawsuits throughout the federal court system.

Santa Clara, CA Philips “regretfully” told its investors of a foam problem with certain sleep and respiratory care products, including DreamStation CPAP Machines, but consumers weren’t told of the serious problem until the recall—issued 49 days after investors knew. Consequently, CPAP sleep machine lawsuits alleging failure to warn are mounting.

Columbus, OH More than 8,000 hernia mesh patients and their attorneys who filed Ethicon physiomesh complaints are likely watching closely C.R. Bard’s first bellwether trial, which is expected to last five weeks and two days.

West Palm Beach, FL On June 14, the Southern District of Florida, where Zantac cancer lawsuits have been consolidated for pretrial motions, issued an amended case management schedule. The Order anticipates that bellwether trials will begin in 2023.

Santa Clara, CA Patients treated at ER, sometimes for minor issues, say they aren’t told their insurance is out-of-network and that emergency room fees, including certain tests and procedures, will wind up costing them thousands and thousands of dollars.

Arley, AL Catrina arrived at the hospital emergency room bent over in pain--three days later she was sent home after having her gallbladder removed. The surgery went well--until the bills arrived. Particularly galling was a CT Scan charge about three times more than the national average cost--a typical example of ER overcharges. (Granted, scans are typically more expensive when ordered in an ER.) Her total bill rings in at 86,381.04.

Santa Clara, CA Although the “No Surprises Act” will be in effect January 1, 2022, the first regulations are slated for July 2021. If all goes according to plan, patients to emergency rooms will no longer be hit with outrageous ER overcharges or receive surprise bills in the mail, mainly due to out of network treatment.