Blog: Product Liability
- $2 Billion Roundup Verdict Against Monsanto
May 16, 2019
Earlier this week, plaintiffs in the Roundup litigation struck another huge blow against defendant Monsanto, with a jury returning a $2 billion verdict against the company over its prized weedkiller product. Plaintiffs Alva and Alberta Pilliod, a married couple in their 70s, had used Roundup on their Northern California farm for decades, and were represented at trial by lead counsel Brent Wisner, of Baum Hedlund. Both were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma just several years apart,...Read More - $120 Million Verdict in TVT-O Trial
May 15, 2019
Just several weeks ago, in late April, J&J's medical device subsidiary, Ethicon Inc., was tagged with yet another trial loss in the transvaginal mesh (TVM) litigation. After a three-week trial in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas before the Honorable Kenneth Powell, the jury in McFarland v. Ethicon, Inc., returned a verdict for the plaintiff of $20 million in compensatory and $100 million in punitive damages. The plaintiff, 68-year-old Susan McFarland, was implanted with the...Read More - Boeing's Woes Continue: North Charleston Plant Under Scrutiny
Apr 20, 2019
A New York Times article today reported on a troubling trend of potential safety concerns and whistle-blower reports coming out of the Boeing factory in North Charleston, South Carolina, where the company's 787 Dreamliner is manufactured. The Times' investigation, which involved review of internal documents and interviews with current and former employees, shows evidence that the company might have been attempting to rush Dreamliners to market at the expense of safety. John Barnett, a former...Read More - Boeing 737 Diverted After Passengers Get Sick from Odor on Board
Mar 30, 2019
Early yesterday morning, United Flight 1675 from Baltimore-Washington International to San Francisco International was diverted to Washington Dulles International after a strong odor in the cabin caused passengers to fall ill. On arrival into Washington, D.C., emergency medical and rescue personal transported a number of passengers to local hospitals. The plane was a Boeing 737, and this is not the first such incident with this type of aircraft. Leckman Law and and its joint venture,...Read More - $80 Million Verdict Against Monsanto in Latest Roundup Trial
Mar 27, 2019
Last week, the jury in the first phase of Hardeman v. Monsanto found that exposure to Monsanto's weedkiller, Roundup, had caused the plaintiff to develop Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Following that "causation" phase, the trial moved into the liability and damages, which completed today with the jury awarding $80 million in damages. The jury heard evidence about what the company knew and when, and is now the second jury in the country to reach a verdict against Monsanto...Read More - Oklahoma Opioid Settlement: $270 Million
Mar 26, 2019
In 2017, the state of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit against thirteen opioid manufacturers, asserting claims for fraud, consumer protection violations, public nuisance, and Oklahoma Medicaid violations. All of the claims stemmed from what the state attorney general characterized as the companies' "deceptive and misleading prescription opioid marketing campaign," which the complaint alleged was the cause of a devastating public health crisis and financial burden on the state of Oklahoma. In short, Oklahoma was seeking recovery...Read More - Xarelto Litigation: $775 Million Settlement
Mar 25, 2019
The blockbuster, billion-dollar blood-thinner, Xarelto, has been the subject of thousands of lawsuits in both state and federal courts over the last few years. The lawsuits allege that the drug's joint-owners, Bayer and J&J, failed to adequately warn physicians about the risks of serious and uncontrolled bleeding injuries -- mainly gastrointestinal and brain bleeding injuries. Today, court documents showed that the two pharmaceutical titans have reached an agreement to settle the litigation for $775 million...Read More - Boeing 737 Max 8 Grounded, Allegedly Lacking Key Safety Features
Mar 21, 2019
In the wake of two tragic crashes of flights involving Boeing's 737 Max 8 -- one in Indonesia in October 2018 and more recently, the March 2019 crash in Ethopia -- over 80 countries and dozens of airlines have grounded or banned the airplane from international air spaces. In addition to an investigation by the FAA, the FBI has allegedly launched a criminal investigation. Sources report that several key safety features -- involving software and...Read More - Another Plaintiff Verdict in Monsanto Roundup Litigation
Mar 21, 2019
Earlier this week, the plaintiff in Hardeman v. Monsanto prevailed in the first phase of of the first bellwether trial In re: Roundup Products Liability Litigation (MDL No. 2741). A unanimous jury found that Monsanto's prize weed-killer, Roundup, caused the plaintiff to develop Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The trial now proceeds to a second phase, where the jury will decide whether Monsanto is liable for the injuries and, if so, the extent of the plaintiff's damages. This...Read More - Another Plaintiff Verdict ($29 Million) in California Talc Trial
Mar 15, 2019
Another jury has found healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson liable for the dangers of its Johnson's Baby Powder, rendering a verdict earlier this week in favor of Plaintiff Teresa Leavitt. The case was venued in California state court and involved claims that Ms. Leavitt developed mesothelioma from asbestos in the baby powder. This is just the latest in a number of plaintiff victories in the talc injury litigation, which has seen somewhere over 13,000 cases...Read More