Health Law

Vioxx Settlement Amended to Allow Attorney Advice to Clients

Attorneys overseeing a proposed $4.85 billion settlement with Merck & Co. over its withdrawn Vioxx drug have reportedly amended a controversial provision that could have required some plaintiffs’ lawyers to advise all or none of their clients to take the deal. Initially, some attorneys expressed concern about language barring lawyers…

Jan 18, 2008 11:12 PM CST

Citizen-Launched Kan. Grand Juries Pursue Abortion & Porn Cases

An almost-forgotten law in Kansas that allows citizens to convene grand juries reportedly has become a tool for local conservatives to use to force prosecutors to pursue abortion and pornography cases. A citizen petition drive, for instance, impaneled a grand jury earlier this month to investigate Dr. George Tiller, who…

Jan 18, 2008 6:29 PM CST

Homeless Man Sues Calif. Hospital Over Patient Dumping

A paraplegic man has filed a tort claim against a Southern California hospital, seeking damages for being dumped, without a wheelchair, on a local skid row in a condition in which he allegedly could not care properly for himself. The February incident, which was recorded on a nearby video camera…

Jan 17, 2008 7:42 PM CST

Court Turns Down Drug Access Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case that asserts terminally ill patients have a constitutional right to experimental drugs, SCOTUSblog reports. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had found there was no right of access in an en banc August opinion. The plaintiffs had…

Jan 14, 2008 3:41 PM CST

Tort Reformers Blast Trial Lawyers’ Websites

A national tort reform group is highlighting a recent study by a medical think tank that criticizes Internet sites created by trial attorneys, contending that they are a significant source of inaccurate medical information, and they are calling for increased regulation of the websites. A newly issued report (PDF) by…

Jan 10, 2008 8:43 PM CST

Thousands of Fla. Tobacco Suits Filed as Deadline Looms

When the Florida Supreme Court in 2006 invalidated a $145 million punitive damages award in a class action case against the tobacco industry, it gave the plaintiffs a year to file individual claims, starting on Jan. 11, 2007. At the same time, the court also made it easier for the…

Jan 10, 2008 6:35 PM CST

$1.2M Paid in R.I. Lead Paint Suit

More than two years after DuPont agreed to pay $12 million and clean up 600 homes in order to settle a lead paint lawsuit brought by the state of Rhode Island, the first of the money is being distributed. Several children’s health and educational projects will split $1.2 million of…

Dec 18, 2007 11:26 PM CST

Suit Blames Infant’s Death on Cold Medicine

A suburban Chicago law firm says it has filed a lawsuit on behalf of an infant who died after taking cough and cold medication. The suit claims 6-month-old Ashanti Webber died of intoxication caused by pseudoephedrine and dextromethorphan, ingredients that have not been tested in infants, according to a press…

Dec 13, 2007 4:20 PM CST

Appellate Court Orders Man’s Pot Stash Returned

In a major victory for medical-marijuana patients, a state appellate court has ruled that Garden Grove, Calif., police must return a stash of drugs confiscated during a traffic stop. “This is a huge case for us,” the man’s attorney, Joseph Elford, is quoted by the Recorder (sub. req.) as saying.…

Nov 29, 2007 9:57 PM CST

Tests Reveal Lawyer’s Fellow Air Travelers Free of TB

Tests reveal no one was sickened with tuberculosis while flying alongside an Atlanta trial lawyer in May. About 250 passengers from the Atlanta-to-Paris Air France flight were tested, the Associated Press is reporting, citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Canadian health officials reportedly made similar findings…

Nov 29, 2007 12:03 AM CST

Cuomo’s Doctor-Ranking Model Gains Political Traction

Top lawmakers in New York have agreed to support state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s efforts to codify a doctor-ranking system. The Doctor Ranking Model Code is meant to be a consumer protection mechanism that also sets standards for insurers. “It is imperative that New Yorkers aren’t steered to certain ‘preferred’…

Nov 26, 2007 11:01 PM CST

Judge Bars Some Celebrex Claims

A federal judge has ruled that there is not enough evidence to prove the painkiller Celebrex causes heart attacks or strokes at the most common dosage. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco ruled yesterday that the evidence linking a 200-milligram dose of the painkiller with such health problems…

Nov 20, 2007 11:25 AM CST

New Florida Plan for Mentally Ill Inmates: Community Treatment

An ambitious effort to treat mentally ill Florida residents who have been clogging the state’s prison system after they commit crimes has been jointly announced by the governor and the head of the supreme court. The plan, discussed in a 170-page report released yesterday, calls for diverting money now spent…

Nov 16, 2007 7:28 PM CST

Payouts Unclear in $4.85B Vioxx Settlement

The expected payout to plaintiffs in a $4.85 billion Vioxx settlement may not be high enough to satisfy some of their lawyers. The deal allows Vioxx maker Merck & Co. to pull out of the settlement if 85 percent of the plaintiffs do not agree to it. Boosting that prospect…

Nov 12, 2007 2:44 PM CST

$4.85B Vioxx Settlement to End Merck’s $600M Annual Legal Fees

Merck has agreed to settle 27,000 lawsuits over its pain medication Vioxx for $4.85 billion. The settlement is one of the largest ever in a civil suit, the New York Times reports. Merck had pledged never to settle, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.), but its legal defense fees…

Nov 9, 2007 11:34 AM CST