Defective Drugs

Pfizer Birth Control Pills Didn’t Work

Women who became pregnant while taking Pfizer’s contraceptives are now suing.  Pfizer issued a recall notice because some of the drugs were improperly packaged.  However, this has left many with pregnancies and a life-changing experience even though they were responsible.  Pfizer recalled one million packages of birth control pills, Lo/Ovral, and Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets.

The defective table packages included pills that were out of sequences or the wrong number of inert pills was included.  This left women unprotected for several days each month.  Consequently, women became pregnant.  The women who are suing are suing for the compensation necessary to deal with the consequences.  This could include doctor bills, loss of pay, baby expenses and more.

Insurance

MaineCare Cuts Inspires Federal Lawsuit

MaineCare, Maine’s version of Medicaid, cut benefits for hundreds of legal immigrants.  This measure was supported by Governor Paul LePage.  The lawsuit is now being brought forth by Maine Equal Justice Partners and the ACLU of Maine Foundation in behalf of Hans Bruns, a man who lost his benefits while battling cancer, along with 500 others.  The advocacy groups argue that MaineCare is putting people in jeopardy of dying from treatable illnesses.

Last summer, state lawmakers imposed a five-year waiting period for legal immigrants to qualify for MaineCare.  This affected the 500 people and individual mentioned above.  Bruns has been a legal permanent resident since late 2007 and began receiving MaineCare benefits in December 2010 after he became disabled.  These benefits were then eliminated in October 2011, and several months later he was diagnosed with a rare cancer.  Now, it looks as though he will die before he reaches the five-year mark allowing him to receive MaineCare benefits.

The lawsuit claims that the change in eligibility violates the US Constitution because it treats legal noncitizen residents differently from US citizens.  They reference the Equal Protection Clause which applies to every person, regardless of citizenship.

Medical Malpractice

Largest Jury Verdict Awarded for Paralyzed Mother

Five years ago, Kristin Myatt walked into the hospital with an extreme headache.  Additionally, she had dangerously high blood pressure; however, Jeffrey Updegraff, the doctor, simply gave her pain medication for a migraine and discharged her.  He did not run any further tests or do any further due diligence.  Unfortunately, she was actually experiencing a small bleed in her brain.  This could have been easily detected had the doctor performed a CT scan.  As a result of his negligence, she was paralyzed on her right side.  This mother’s life was now turned upside down as she could no longer experience a normal life or provide for her children.

Interestingly though, Updegraff did not want to go to trial, rather he urged his insurance provider, COPIC Insurance, to pay Myatt the policy limit of $1 million.  Regardless, COPIC forced him to go to trial.  Five years later, COPIC is now forced to pay $3.9 million, much more than the policy limits.  This is the largest jury verdict ever made in Larimer County, CO.  This should provide some support to the injured and her family, but will never make up for the loss of her mobility and normal life.

Natural Disaster

Black Saturday Bushfire

The class action settlement over the bushfire in Victoria’s northeast is almost complete.  The fire destroyed 38 homes and claimed 2 lives.  Residents and landholders affected sued an electricity company and government agencies over the 2009 Beechworth-Mudgegonga fire. The two lead plaintiffs, Paul Mercieca and Amelia Coombes, are claiming damages for their personal injuries and for property damage to their rented residential and farm property.

A trial was to begin on March 5, but the court was told it was likely there would be a settlement.  The proposed settlement is now substantially agreed upon.  Barrister Lachlan Armstrong said some changes still need to be made.  Then, they will send the notice to the class action members informing them of the proposed settlement and their rights.  The class action group includes all those who suffered property damage in the fire.

They are suing SPI Electricity Pty Ltd, Eagle Travel Tower Services Pty Ltd, the Department of Sustainability and Environment and Parks Victoria.

Negligence

Lawsuit against the Town of Rocky Mount

In December 2011, Steve and Brenda Agee filed a lawsuit against the town of Rocky Mount, who they claim failed to maintain its sewage system which caused it to back up in their basement in January 2011.  The town’s attorney tried to have the case thrown out citing other rulings that gave the town sovereign immunity.  However, the judge ruled that the town can be sued if the prosecution argues negligence or a lack of maintenance caused the problem.

The reason is still unclear as to what caused the back-up, as the prosecution is denied this information under the Freedom of Information Act.  Fortunately for the Agees, the case will proceed.

Nursing Home Abuse

Supreme Court Rules Can’t Sue Nursing Homes

The Supreme Court overturned a decision by the West Virginia Supreme Court to allow lawsuits against nursing homes despite binding arbitration clauses.  Three malpractice suits for wrongful death had been filed against WV nursing homes, despite the fact they or their loved ones signed a binding arbitration agreement.  The Supreme Court found that in these cases the consumer does not have the right to go to court, thus limiting the rights of injured consumers.

This ruling affirms the 1925 Federal Arbitration Act, which gives businesses almost unlimited rights to include arbitration clauses in their contracts.  Discovery of these clauses are often limited and most do not think of going to court when signing papers to stay at the nursing home.  Often times, residents are in pain and distress, coming straight from a hospital, when they sign a nursing contract.  This is clearly an infringement on everyone’s constitutional rights in the 7th Amendment and many do not even know it.

Other

Half a Million Plus Awarded for Personal Injury

A Wisconsin 39-year-old woman was awarded one of state’s largest settlements ever in a personal injury case involving only soft-tissue injuries.  Attorney Will Pemberton of Pemberton and Englund Law Offices, LLC said his client received a $535,000 settlement from the case completed March 15.  She received $60,000 for past pain and suffering, $175,000 for future medical expenses and $300,000 for future pain and suffering.  The only soft-tissue case to receive more was awarded in 2010 for $677,094.

Pemberton said that he and his client tried to settle the case, but could not reach an agreement with the other side. Thus, they had to go to trial.  Going to trial is always a hit or miss as you never know what the people on the other side of the bench are thinking. This case was different too in the fact that it included soft-tissue injuries, which you can’t see.  This can make it hard for a jury to understand the pain and suffering the victim went through.

Paralysis

Lifeguard Runs over Woman

Last year, a lifeguard ran over a woman in Daytona Beach Shores and is now being sued by her and her family.  The plaintiff was sunbathing when the lifeguard ran over her in a pickup truck.  She has facial paralysis on the left side of her face as a result.  Both orbital bones were broken and her eyes were black for several months.  Furthermore, she has hearing loss and is going to need hearing aids or surgery.

The suit seeks more than $15,000 in damages.  It seeks damages for the injuries, the losses of consortium and emotional distress by her husband and children.  Additionally, it seeks to prevent county employees from driving and making U-turns in pedestrian areas.

Paxil

Depressing Anti-Depressants

Paxil is an antidepressant drug that began in 1992 by, now, GlaxoSmithKline.  It is used to treat major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder and Posttraumatic stress disorder in adults.  However, many side effects include, but are not limited to, birth defects, suicidality and withdrawal.  While GSK claims that this drug is “not habit forming,” numerous experts and one court found this to be false.  Even the World Health Organization found it to be the most difficult antidepressant to withdraw from.

Several lawsuits have been filed to recover damages for people who committed suicide while taking the drug.  For example, one was filed in 2005 in California by the grandparents of a 20-year-old man whose symptoms only worsened after taking the drug, until he ultimately committed suicide.  This case claimed that GSK failed to warn about the dangers of increased suicidal thoughts and behaviors.  Additionally, Paxil has settled several lawsuits, but always prohibit plaintiffs from revealing their story after.  This lack of information is detrimental to potential users and current users of the drug.

Privacy

Lawsuit over Google’s Privacy Change

Google recently changed their privacy policies and it has upset customers all over the United States.  This recent change aggregates the data from 60 separate services into one database.  The purpose is to gain a more complete picture of consumer’s interests, but many claim that this is a felony.  As a result, two new class-action lawsuits were filed on March 20, 2010 on opposite sides of the U.S.  The suits claim that they came to depend on separate services without worrying about someone, or one company, having too much comprehensive data on them.

One class-action suit was filed in San Jose, California.  This one claims that Google compelled users to forfeit their privacy when buying Android phones.  In order to use the phone, the user had to set up their Gmail accounts.  This is not the first time complaints have arisen over this issue.  On February 22, a letter from 35 state attorneys general warned Google about the Android/Gmail connection and how it forces customers to trust Google with private information that they would otherwise not.

Another class-action suit was filed in Manhattan.  This suit accuses Google of violating the Computer Fraud Abuse Act, the Federal Wiretap Act and the Stored Electronic Communications Act because Google has eliminated separate privacy policies and combined them into one data set.  It further alleges that while Google had access to all of this data before, the various privacy policies led consumers to expect different levels of privacy.  Additionally, it cites the October Consent Order between Google and the FTC.  The FTC found that Google deceptively claimed it would seek the consent of consumers before using their information for a purpose other than for what it was collected for.  Furthermore, it claimed Google misrepresented customers’ ability to exercise control over their information.  The FTC states that Google should have honored their promise.

Google claims that you can control your privacy through their privacy tools to edit or turn off your search history, YouTube history, etc.  Additionally, they discuss how you can keep information separate with different account or do things on Google still without signing into your account.  However, it seems that Google has not honored their privacy protection statements and this suit will be interesting to follow over the ensuing months.