Indiana Legal News Articles & Interviews

Indianapolis, IN: Since 2003, thousands of IVC Filters lawsuits have been filed nationwide. If you have an IVC Filter claim, however, file sooner than later: Cook Medical claims were dismissed in the current bellwether case because they were filed more than three years after the device was delivered. But thousands more cases are set for trial.

Chicago, ILOn the advice of her doctor, Barbara Kaiser had Prolift pelvic mesh implanted in 2009 to treat her pelvic organ prolapse. She then began to suffer from low pelvic pain. It was only years later that she learned that this was likely a transvaginal mesh complication. Her doctor never told her about this and he, himself, claims to have not been aware of all of the risks, including the danger of severe and irreversible injury to his patients.

Miami, FL: Yesterday, The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) heard from Onglyza and Kombiglyze patients regarding whether to consolidate all federally-filed cases before one court for pre-trial proceedings.

New Orleans, LA:With three federal bellwether cases having gone to the defendant and a fourth in state court favoring the plaintiff, the judge heading up the 18,500 consolidated cases in federal court has signaled he is looking for guidance from the various parties involved, with oral arguments on the docket for the end of the month following a status report. The Xarelto Lawsuit MDL is under the guidance and management of US District Judge Eldon Fallon in US District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana.

Ocala, FL: A Florida premises liability lawsuit that stemmed from a slip and fall incident in 2011 came down to the weight of the evidence, together with the legal definition of the plaintiff as a visitor to the premises – an issue that had a bearing on the unsuccessful bid to have the finding of a lower court stayed, and a petition for a new trial denied.

St. Louis, MO: Does a win by Cook Medical in a recent bellwether IVC filter lawsuit, together with the release of a study suggesting that IVC filter use is beginning to trend downwards after thirty years of growth, point to the beginning of a sea change for the inferior vena cava filter industry, and IVC filter patients?

Indianapolis, IN: One of the manufacturers of inferior vena cava filters facing lawsuits is Cook Medical, the enterprise behind the Cook Celect line of IVC filters. The devices are placed into the inferior vena cava, the primary artery returning deoxygenated blood from the lower extremities up to the heart and lungs. The devices by Cook and other manufacturers have been known to fracture, or become dislodged and drift towards vital organs. Designed to be removed, they often can’t. One Cook Celect IVC filter lawsuit filed last April alleges negligence and a defective design.

Indianapolis, IN: On October 23, 2017, Hill v. Cook Medical, Inc., et al, 1:14-cv-6016 will go to trial in the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. This will be the first of three IVC filter lawsuits to be heard in the brewing multidistrict litigation (MDL) against Cook Medical, Inc. That MDL now includes approximately 1,900 individual lawsuits. Although the outcome of the Hill bellwether lawsuit will not be binding in the other cases, IVC filter patients and their attorneys are paying close attention. The outcome will affect the settlement value of similar cases.

Washington, DC:Alicea et al v. DePuy Orthopaedics Inc. et al, the fourth bellwether defective hip implant lawsuit involving DePuy’s Pinnacle Ultamet implant will go to trial on September 5, 2017 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Indianapolis, IN: At least two additional lawsuits with regard to allegedly defective IVC filters have been filed in the month of March against Cook Medical Inc., one of the primary manufacturers of the inferior vena cava filter along with competitors such as C.R. Bard. There are likely more, as presently in excess of 3,000 IVC filter lawsuits are consolidated in multidistrict litigation.