Personal Injury Legal News Articles & Interviews

Salt Lake City, UT In 2016, the Utah legislature amended existing medical malpractice law to permit people who are not patients to sue a medical practitioner for medical negligence – but only in some circumstances. The amended law appears to codify the Utah Supreme Court’s 2012 decision in B.R. v. West, a particularly gruesome murder case.

Camp Lejeune, NC Since the Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022 came into effect, the floodgates have opened for veterans to file Camp Lejeune contaminated water lawsuits, along with a trail of red tape.

Santa Clara, CA 3M’s move to shift liability for military earplug injury lawsuits by placing its Aearo Technologies subsidiary into bankruptcy seems to have backfired. A federal judge has described the move as “bad faith tactics” and an “abuse of the litigation process”.

New York, NY Another CPAP lawsuit has been filed against Philips, this time by a New York man suffering from mouth and tongue cancer and other injuries. This latest lawsuit joins hundreds of other former users of Philips CPAP devices diagnosed with cancer as part of an MDL in the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Santa Clara, CA 3M Company, which manufactures toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) products, has promised to end production of ‘forever chemicals” by 2025. Critics say 3M’s move is related to its more than 3,000 firefighter foam cancer lawsuits, and attorneys anticipate more product liability complaints. Will the company make good its commitment? Will it stop making Scotchgard products?

Wilmington, NC All previously denied Camp Lejeune injury claims need to be resubmitted, according to the new Camp Lejeune Justice Act of 2022. But many plaintiffs argue that they shouldn’t have to go through the same administrative process again.

Houston, TX Gabriel Assaad has filed lawsuits against 3M and Arizant Healthcare (3M acquired Arizant in 2010) on behalf of patients who developed periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) after undergoing joint replacement surgery where a Bair Hugger warming blanket was used. If you had a knee or hip replacement surgery, suffered an infection and required additional surgery on your implant, you may be entitled to compensation.

Boise, ID Shane Ackerschott hurt his back lifting freight at work, but that wasn’t what put him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. An Idaho jury found that Ackerschcott became paralyzed from the waist down because of medical malpractice at the urgent care clinic he and his wife, Rebecca, visited. The jury in Ackerschott v. Mountain View Hospital awarded them $7.96 million.

Richmond, VA On December 6, asbestos mesothelioma claimants asked a Fourth Circuit panel for permission to pursue their claims against Georgia-Pacific, the corporate parent of Bestwall LLC, which has filed for Chapter11 bankruptcy protection. The fundamental question in Bestwall LLC et al. v. Official Committee of Asbestos Claimants is whether the complicated corporate restructuring that preceded Bestwall’s bankruptcy was done in good faith, or whether it was a ruse designed to shield corporate assets from the claims of workers who were sickened by their exposure to asbestos. There is nearly 100 years of history behind this.

Alameda, CA  On November 10, the state of California filed a perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS/PFOA) lawsuit in California Superior Court against 3M Co. and more than a dozen other defendants involved in the manufacture and distribution of these toxic “forever chemicals.” California v. 3M Company alleges that these substances, which have been widely used in the manufacture of products from firefighting foam to dental floss, have contaminated soil and water supplies and are now found in the bloodstreams of 98 percent of California’s 39 million people. Even at low concentrations, they have been linked to cancer and a variety of other health problems.