Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

October 23, 2009

Jury Awards $13.5 M in Product Liability Faulty-Fan Death

A Philadelphia jury has issued a $13.5 million verdict against Lasko Products Inc., a West Chester fan manufacturer, after a defective fan motor sparked a 2005 house fire in Mount Airy that killed a 7-year-old boy.

The award was issued after a 13-day trial in the death of Joshua Foster, who was killed on June 14, 2005, when a fan in his mother’s bedroom triggered a blaze in the home. The child died of burns and smoke inhalation.

The fire was caused by a faulty Chinese-made motor in the portable fan, built in 2000, and the defect in the model was discovered in 1999.

October 22, 2009

BNSF Railroad’s Penalty of $25.6 M for Trial Misconduct

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. engaged in a “staggering” pattern of misconduct aimed at covering up its role in the deaths of four young people whose car collided with a train largely because a crossing gate wasn’t working properly.

To punish the railroad, which allegedly began destroying evidence within minutes of the 2003 accident, Judge Maas awarded $4 million to the victims’ families and their attorneys. The award comes on top of $21.6 million from a jury that placed 90 percent of the blame for the accident on Burlington Northern.

“When encountering conduct as egregious as that of BNSF, this court … has a duty to impose sanctions of a sufficient severity in order to deter future misconduct of the same caliber,” Maas ruled.

October 21, 2009

Trial Set in Wrongful Death of Wal-Mart Slip and Fall

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A trial date has been set in the case against Wal-Mart in the death of a Chadron, Neb., woman.

David Lehman sued the corporation shortly after his wife, Julie, died after falling in the Chadron store. The case, filed in Dawes County District Court was removed to the U.S. District Court, which has scheduled a trial for Feb. 16.

Julie Lehman was in Wal-Mart July 21 with her son, Steffan, 17, when she slipped on a wet floor in the automotive cleaning products aisle on her way to the restroom. Julie received her initial diagnosis and treatment at the Chadron Community Hospital before being flown to Rapid City Regional to have a massive blood clot in her brain surgically removed. Julie never woke up after surgery and died July 27.

October 20, 2009

Metrolink Pays Out $30 M in 2005 Crash Settlements

by Dr. Shezad Malik

After years of foot dragging, Metrolink has spent $30 million to settle most of the lawsuits arising from the 2005 Glendale train crash that killed 11 and injured about 180, according to plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Among those settlements are two injury cases, one for $5 million and the other for $3.8 million, and two wrongful death cases in which the heirs will receive $3.5 million for each claim. One of those cases involves payments to the family of a sheriff’s deputy killed in the crash.

October 19, 2009

Zometa Lawsuit Against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Underway

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A lawsuit against a Swiss pharmaceutical company went to trial last week in Missoula, but a verdict in the case could have national significance for hundreds of plaintiffs suing the company in a mass tort.

Peggy L. Stevens of Missoula filed suit against Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. last year, alleging the company was professionally negligent when it failed to disclose health risks associated with one of its medications.

Stevens, who has lymphoma, developed severe dental and jaw-related problems after taking Zometa, a bone-strengthening medication manufactured by Novartis. Her attorneys say the company knew patients taking Zometa were vulnerable to a degenerative jaw disorder called osteonecrosis, particularly those patients who undergo invasive dental procedures, like root canals or tooth extractions.

October 19, 2009

Hospital Settles After Patient’s Fall in Operating Room

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The family of an 86-year-old Boston woman who died after she fell from an operating table following hip surgery has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Boston Medical Center.

The family’s lawyer, Meyer, said the hospital agreed to pay $900,000.

Meyer said the case exposed gaps in operating room procedures and hopefully will prevent future tragedies.

October 19, 2009

New Rules Opens Toxic Injury Health Claims to Agent Orange

by Dr. Shezad Malik

Under rules to be proposed this week, the Department of Veterans Affairs plans to add Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease and hairy-cell leukemia to the growing list of illnesses presumed to have been caused by Agent Orange, the toxic defoliant used widely in Vietnam.

The proposal will make it substantially easier for thousands of veterans to claim that those ailments were the direct result of their service in Vietnam, thereby for them to receive monthly disability checks and health care services from the department.

The new policy will apply to some 2.1 million veterans who set foot in Vietnam during the war, including those who came after the military stopped using Agent Orange in 1970. It will not apply to sailors on deep-water ships, though the department plans to study the effects of Agent Orange on the Navy.

October 18, 2009

Dallas Texas Yaz Lawsuits and Side Effects

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued its order on October 1, 2009, establishing MDL No. 2100 for individual lawsuits filed by women who have been injured as a result of their ingestion of Yasmin, Yaz and Ocella oral contraceptive products. All of the cases pending in federal courts will be transferred to the Southern District of Illinois. The initial transfer order includes 32 cases that have been filed by patients in California, Georgia, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and Wisconsin.

All of the cases involve allegations that the popular birth control pills containing the new progestin drospirenone increase the risk of serious life-threatening health problems, such as heart attacks, strokes, pulmonary embolisms, deep vein thrombosis, gallbladder disease and sudden death from Yaz or Yasmin.

October 18, 2009

GlaxoSmithKline Buried Paxil Birth Defect Reports, Jury told

by Dr. Shezad Malik

In the first Paxil birth defect case to go to trial, jurors heard testimony late last month that manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) was aware of reports of birth defects from mothers who took the antidepressant while pregnant but withheld the information from the FDA and consumers. (Kilker v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., No. 070201813 (Pa., Philadelphia Co. Com. Pleas filed Feb. 20, 2007).).

In his opening statement, Sean Patrick Tracey of Houston told the jurors that they would see internal GSK documents that would show the company had reports of Paxil-related congenital abnormalities that go back to the drug’s entry into the market in 1993. These were documents previously under seal that “the FDA hasn’t seen, the United States Congress hasn’t seen, and that no jury has ever laid their eyes on before,” he said.

Tracey said one of the documents would show that a GSK official discussed “burying” negative studies linking Paxil to birth defects. Another would show that GSK told officials to avoid disclosing the risks. “GSK said if there is any doubt, take it out,” he told the jury.

October 18, 2009

Paxil Birth Defects Trial Now Waiting for Jury’s Verdict

by Dr. Shezad Malik

The first of more than 600 lawsuits claiming the makers of the antidepressant Paxil hid evidence that its drug caused birth defects in order to boost profits is now waiting for a Philadelphia jury’s verdict.

The lawsuit involves allegations from Michelle David, who claims drug maker GlaxoSmithKline concealed negative study results linking Paxil to a life-threatening heart malformation in newborns of women who took the drug during pregnancy. The company marketed Paxil for treating pregnant women with anxiety, despite knowing about the apparent connection to birth defects, David contends.

David took Paxil while pregnant with her son, Lyam Kilker, who was born with life-threatening heart defects. The boy is now four and has fully recovered after being hospitalized as a newborn and undergoing multiple surgeries to repair his heart.

Glaxo’s lawyers argued during the trial that there is not sufficient evidence to prove that use of Paxil caused Lyam’s birth defects.