Blog: Product Liability

Feb 12, 2021

A statement on Apple’s support page warns users that iPhones contain magnets and radios that emit electromagnetic fields and “might interfere” with medical devices such as implanted pacemakers and defibrillators. “To avoid any potential interactions with these devices, keep your iPhone and MagSafe accessories a safe distance away from your device (more than 6 inches / 15 cm apart or more than 12 inches / 30 cm apart if wirelessly charging).” The iPhone 12 comprises...

Suicides Reported in Merck's Propecia Data

Feb 10, 2021

Internal documents from Merck & Co. reveal that the manufacturer of the anti-baldness drug Propecia (finasteride) knew about reports of suicidal behavior among people taking the drug and failed to warn doctors and patients of the risk. Last month, a federal magistrate judge in New York granted a motion to unseal a number of previously confidential documents produced in discovery in litigation alleging Propecia caused persistent sexual dysfunction and other harmful side effects. In 2009,...

Update: Toxic Cabin Air Litigation

Dec 18, 2020

Earlier this week, in an article entitled " 'We Are Slowly Being Poisoned': How Toxic Fumes Seep Into The Air You Breathe on Planes," the LA Times offered an in depth look at toxic cabin air events, including those at issue in past and ongoing lawsuits with plaintiffs represented by Littlepage Booth Leckman and Leckman Law. The article provides insight into the ventilation of "bleed" aircraft, which are airplanes that bring the cabin and cockpit...

Big Win For Injured Plaintiffs In Pennsylvania Supreme Court Personal Jurisdiction Opinion

Nov 3, 2020

On October 21, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court marked another victory for injured plaintiffs on the issue of personal jurisdiction in its 6-1 opinion in Hammons v. Ethicon, 7-EAP-2019. In Hammons, the plaintiff, an Indiana resident, was implanted with the Prolift Kit, which is a transvaginal mesh device manufactured by Ethicon, for treatment of her pelvic organ prolapse. Ms. Hammons brought suit in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas against three New Jersey companies (Ethicon, J&J,...

Trials Resuming in Allegheny County

Oct 27, 2020

In September, Allegheny County's President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark issued an administrative order announcing the resumption of both criminal and civil jury trials in the Pennsylvania's Fifth Judicial District, which covers Allegheny County and manages the state's second-highest case load behind Philadelphia County. The order establishes that civil trials will take place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, where space has been secured by the judiciary through December 2020...

Florida Lawyers Obtain $400 Million Jury Verdict on Zoom

Oct 26, 2020

Earlier this month, attorneys in Florida obtained an historic jury verdict after a Zoom trial. Although the COVID 19 pandemic has slowed the nation's civil courts to a near halt over the last 8 months, attorneys Ben Crump and Robert Cox were able to find justice after a remote jury trial stemming from a 2018 highway accident. Their client, retired Army Sergeant Dwayne Washington, was severely injured when his motorcycle was unable to stop and...

NJ Talc Verdict: $750 Million in Punitive Damages

Feb 6, 2020

Earlier today, a jury in Middlesex County, New Jersey handed down a punitive damages verdict of $750 million against Johnson & Johnson in a case involving claims that J&J's Baby Powder can cause cancer. The case was brought by four plaintiffs who were each exposed to Baby Powder as children and have since developed mesothelioma. In September 2019, a jury rendered a verdict finding that the product had caused the plaintiffs' injuries and that J&J...

$8 Billion Verdict in Philadelphia Risperdal Trial

Oct 9, 2019

Today, following a three-week trial in Murray v. Janssen, a Philadelphia jury sent a message loud and clear to pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, handing down a punitive damages verdict in the amount of $8 billion against the company. The plaintiff, Nicholas Murray, was prescribed Janssen's prescription drug, Risperdal, as a boy and developed gynecomastia (breast growth). In his 2015 trial, he alleged that the drug caused his condition, that...

Breaking News: $37.3 Million Verdict Against J&J in Talc Mesothelioma Trial

Sep 11, 2019

A New Jersey state court jury has awarded $37.3 million in compensatory damages to a group of four plaintiffs who claim their abdominal mesothelioma was caused by J&J Baby Powder. Last week, the trial was in the news when the presiding judge, the Hon. Ana C. Viscomi, reprimanded and ultimately struck the closing argument of J&J trial counsel after repeated violations of the court's order not to disparage the plaintiff's attorneys...

Risperdal Cases Revived in Two Pennsylvania Appeals Court Rulings

Aug 22, 2019

At last count, the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas is home to more than 7,000 personal injury cases over Janssen's prescription anti-psychotic medication, Risperdal. Male plaintiffs in these cases claim that their use of the drug caused the development of gynecomastia (irreversible breast growth). Two Pennsylvania appeals court rulings have reinstated cases for trial after unfavorable rulings for the plaintiffs in the in the trial court. The first case, T.M. v. Janssen, which went to...