We have tried to be pretty balanced in addressing a number of decisions over the last few months relating to lawsuits brought by the euphemistically labeled “vaccine hesitant” and their brethren who advocate aggressively for entitlement to “alternative” medical treatments like anti-parasitic (veterinary) drugs. We have been restrained in treating these lawsuits as having been
Conclusory Allegations Don’t Cut It In External Pacemaker Case
As we age, we sometimes forget how things used to be. It is not just age-related deterioration of the synapses in our hippocampi. (We do question why hippocampi and hippopotamuses are the preferred plural forms these days and why more anatomic structures are not named for things like seahorses.) There is also a recency effect.
Exclusion of Expert Causation Evidence Sounds Familiar
After eschewing our blogging duties during a very long trial—followed by short deliberations and a verdict for the good guys—we are back at it. Normally, a significant criterion in how we select a case for a post is the length of the decision—the shorter, the better for our normally busy work lives. After trial, there
RICO Claims Whacked In Another Zantac Ruling
It has been a while since we saw a movie in a theater. That is one aspect of the oft-discussed return to normality that appeals to us. When we saw a trailer recently for The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel to old HBO mainstay The Sopranos, it piqued our interest. It even made us
Bid To Impose Liability On Trade Association Fails
In the movie Thank You for Smoking, lobbyists for the tobacco, alcohol, and firearm industries got together periodically at a DC watering hole to swap stories about the challenges of representing unpopular clients under increasing scrutiny by the federal government. Hilarity ensued, along with some other stuff we do not remember very well. Of course,
Homeopathic Drama Comes To A Climax?
First of all, get your minds out of the gutter. Second, remember two weeks ago when we noted how rarely we discuss lawsuits against FDA? We are doing it again. Third, although we have talked about the strange regulatory shadowland in which homeopathic drugs have resided, they have not seen much action in litigation. When
FDA Discretion Limited By D.C. Circuit
When we think about litigation involving the FDA, our first thought is about preemption of claims brought by product liability plaintiffs. Our second is probably the relatively recent line of cases where these plaintiffs would like no mention of FDA’s existence, let alone its requirements and actions, during the trial on their claims. However, there
Gaming The System To Pursue Claims Against Generic Manufacturers
There are some basic rules for medical product liability litigation, at least as we—and the vast majority of courts—see it. One is that the manufacturer of the medical product that the plaintiff used and allegedly injured her is typically the right defendant. Part of what a potential plaintiff is supposed to do during the statute
Spoliation Is A Two-Way Street, Or Should Be
We are careful when discussing discovery sanctions, particularly spoliation, for a simple reason. The companies we represent that make medical products tend to have allegations about failing to produce discoverable information in the course of the litigation against them. Indeed, there is a style of litigating against drug and device companies, and other corporate defendants,
Delaware Court Weighs In On Texas Law And Dismissal Ensues
Delaware is having something of a moment in the sun. Although the state’s license plates have long announced it as “The First State,” that refers to being the first to ratify the U.S. Constitution. It is the second smallest in size and sixth smallest in population of the current fifty states. The casual peruser of