Virginia: Medical Malpractice – a Lawyer’s Opioids

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The Trial Lawyer is the quarterly legal journal of The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers.  Its issue for Spring 2016 has two feature articles involving medical malpractice and the special case of product liability: “OPIOID EPIDEMIC SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL,” id. at 30-32, and “FILTERS & FRACTURES: THE ONGOING SAGA OF IVC FILTERS” (concerning Cook and Bard filters).  Id. at 26-28.

 

The Trail Lawyer sub-heads: “MORE THAN 17,000 PEOPLE ARE DYING EVERY YEAR IN THE U.S. FROM OPIOID OVERDOSES.”  It explains, “Narcotics have made a comeback for two reasons:  younger clinicians lacked the addiction awareness of their older peers and Big Pharma has churned them.”  Id. at 30.

 

The Spring 2016 issue also highlights the “largest automotive recall in US history” – the Takata airbag recall estimated to affect 25,000,000 vehicles (thought to be linked to warm humid climates) – in “AIRBAG DEBACLES CONTINUE TO ENDANGER CONSUMERS”.  Id. at 18-21.  That potentially deadly defect and its recall has hit close to home:  in March, 2016, Mr. Waterman’s BMW X3 was included in the expanded Takata recall for the driver’s airbag, and the local BMW dealership will provide him a loaner BMW X3 free-of-charge until there is a non-defective airbag to install for him – with no ETA for the replacement airbag in sight (and likely at least months away).

 

Also covered in Spring 2016 The Trial Lawyer are three product liability reports: (1) The Ovarian Cancer Culprit: Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder,” id. at 22-23; (2) “FDA Requires New Warning on Essure Contraceptive Device Injuring Tens of Thousands of Women,” id. at 23; and (3) “Did the FDA Allow A Faulty Device To Endanger Patients and Skew Study Results?”.  The last article concerns the ROCKET-AF trial for Xarelto.  Id. at 23-24.

 

Mr. Waterman is a charter member of The National Trail Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Virginia.  He handles medical malpractice, vehicle accident, and other cases of wrongful death and serious personal injuries.