Before we turn to today’s case, a quick update: when last we spoke, we were about to board a plane for Peoria – our first work trip in sixteen months. We were excited about it. We regret to report that we stepped out of the plane into something resembling a weird post-apocalyptic Mad Max movie.
Warnings
Learned Intermediary and Alternative Design Causation Knock Out Claims in Texas

Today’s case was decided back on April 23rd, but just showed up on our radar. That made us look back to see first what we were posting about on that date (answer: Lone Pine) and second, what was the world talking about on that date (answer: Chauvin guilty verdict, surging Covid-19 cases in…
Dog Bites and Good Deeds

No good deed goes unpunished. One of our very first cases was a pro bono case for the Red Cross following a Northern California earthquake. The Red Cross gave a local homeowner money to repair her home. It was a gift. No strings attached. Please, take our money and fix your house. Live long and…
MDLs Are Not Vegas – What Happens There Does Not Stay There

Lots of cases get parked in MDLs. There is no denying it. It’s built into the system. Individual cases get brought together in a single court for the purpose of consolidated pretrial proceedings. For the most part, except for cases selected as bellwethers, that means MDLs are focused on general discovery, general experts, and general…
We Report on FDA-Based Failure-To-Report Claims – A Fifty-State Survey (Part 3)

Now that all three parts of our 50-state survey examining the state of state law concerning allegations that a defendant can state a common-law cause of action where the allegedly liability creating conduct is failure to make a statutorily mandated report to a governmental agency has been published, we have consolidated all fifty states under…
Zofran Preemption Victory – Entire MDL To Be Dismissed

We’re old enough that we remember the pre-Daubert Bendectin litigation. Bendectin was the only FDA-approved drug indicated for nausea and vomiting from pregnancy. Yellow journalism (the National Enquirer) and scientific fraud (deliberately falsified scientific data) fanned a birth defect scare, which led to an avalanche of factually baseless litigation – Daubert was…
Quasi-Guest Post – Feel the Brr: Cryotherapy Manufacturer Wins in Florida
What follows is another “guest post” by our sixth (actually seventh)-man poster, Dean Balaes. It features litigation that the good guys won the old-fashioned way – with warnings that were adequate as a matter of law. Take it away Dean.
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Legal professionals know all too well that building a healthy and active lifestyle…
We Report on FDA-Based Failure-To-Report Claims – A Fifty-State Survey (Part 2)

Now that all three parts of our 50-state survey examining the state of state law concerning allegations that a defendant can state a common-law cause of action where the allegedly liability creating conduct is failure to make a statutorily mandated report to a governmental agency has been published, we have consolidated all fifty states under…
Great Results, if Wobbly Reasoning, in Taxotere “Warnings Causation” Decisions

We are feeling happy and grateful this week. On Sunday, we were able to hug the Drug and Device Law Dowager Countess for the first time in fourteen months and to share a Mothers’ Day meal with her and our siblings, all fully vaccinated and past the waiting period. The Countess is closer to 90…
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…