Illinois Injury and Mass Tort Lawyer Blog

Published on: January 26, 2016

Property Owners May Be Liable for Unsafe Conditions

Owning and investing in property can be a lucrative business. Some investors buy a property, fix it up, and then sell it for a handsome profit. Others buy property and lease it to residents or other businesses, collecting rent for the ongoing use of the property. Finally, there are those property owners who live in or run a business out of the property they own, with no intention of selling or renting the property for additional profit.

In Illinois, no matter how property owners use their properties, they must take reasonable care to ensure that the property is free of dangerous conditions. How the law defines reasonable care in part depends on the circumstances, but typically it requires that a property owner conduct necessary inspections, make timely repairs to dangerous conditions that are noted or reported, and warn guests of dangerous conditions that exist on the property.

Reasonable care also requires that property owners repair and warn guests of dangerous conditions the property owner should be aware of, even if he or she purports not to have prior knowledge of a given hazard.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 25, 2016

Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds $2 Million Verdict Against Transvaginal Mesh Maker

By Moll Law Group

Earlier this month, in Cisson v. C.R. Bard, Inc., the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a jury verdict awarding $250,000 in compensatory damages and $1.75 million in punitive damages in a product liability case alleging that the plaintiff suffered damages as a result of a transvaginal mesh product.

The plaintiff was implanted with a Bard transvaginal mesh product to treat pelvic organ prolapse, one of the most common uses of mesh products. After suffering injuries and damages, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the product manufacturer in Georgia Federal District Court, alleging multiple theories of recovery, including negligence, design defect, failure to warn, and loss of consortium.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 23, 2016

New York Rules That Hospitals Have a Duty to Inform Drivers about Effects of Medication

By Moll Law Group

In December 2015, a state appellate court held that a hospital owed a duty to other drivers to inform patients about the effects of medication administered at the hospital.

According to one news source, on March 4, 2009, a patient sought treatment at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, NY. As part of her treatment, the hospital gave the patient an opioid narcotic painkiller and a benzodiazepine drug. However, the hospital did not warn her that the medication impaired or could impair her ability to safely operate an automobile. After leaving the hospital and driving herself, the patient was involved in an accident that injured Edwin Davis. As she was driving, the patient’s car crossed a double yellow line and struck a bus driven by Davis. In Davis v. South Nassau Communities Hosp., Davis brought suit against the hospital, alleging that the crash was the result of the hospital’s failure to warn the patient about the effects of the medication.

The court held that the hospital owed a duty to other motorists to warn the patient that the medication administered to her either impaired or could have impaired her ability to safely operate an automobile. The court reasoned that the hospital’s employees were the only people who could have provided a proper warning of the effects of the medication.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 22, 2016

Consumer Product Safety Commission May Provide Employees with Power to Vote on Voluntary Guidelines

By Moll Law Group

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) is preparing to vote on whether to enact a proposed rule that would permit the Commission’s employees to participate in the numerous committees that create CPSC’s voluntary guidelines. The rule would also vest members with the ability to vote as committee members, while also authorizing them to lead committees subject to approval from the CPSC’s executive director.

The proposed rule was developed in response to a recommendation from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”), urging the Commission to investigate the feasibility of taking a more engaged and active role in the creation of voluntary standards.

The CPSC develops voluntary standards, which create safety provisions geared toward identifying the countless consumer hazards that many products pose, including goods commonly found in schools, parks, playgrounds, homes, and other prominent locations. Due to the complexity of these guidelines, a great deal of work goes into their development, revision, final proposal, and enactment. Three committees were created within the CPSC to help create standards: the American Society for Testing and Materials, the American National Standards Institute, and Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 21, 2016

Supreme Court Allows $124 Million Judgment Against Drug Company to Stand

By Moll Law Group

According to a news article, the U.S. Supreme Court recently refused to hear a drug-maker’s appeal in a case that cost the drug company $124 million for falsely marketing a prescription medication. By declining the appeal, the court affirmed a South Carolina Supreme Court ruling that reduced the company’s damages from $327 million to $124 million, but it did not overturn a jury’s verdict that the drug company had improperly marketed the medication.

How Cases Get to the Supreme Court

Cases come to the supreme court in one of two ways. First, a case can be appealed to the court from a lower federal court ruling. These courts are called federal circuit courts. Second, a case can come to the supreme court from a state’s highest court. In either case, if the supreme court does not accept the appeal, the lower court’s decision stands.

What Happened in This Case?

The drug at issue in the South Carolina case is called Risperdal. Risperdal was introduced in 1994 for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It is also given to patients with autism who suffer from irritability and aggressiveness. Side effects of the medication include diabetes, stroke, and weight gain.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 20, 2016

FDA Initiates Class I Recall of Stryker Pleural Drainage Devices

By Moll Law Group

Medical devices are some of the greatest inventions of modern medicine and have helped countless sick individuals overcome painful conditions. Despite this, however, there are far too many instances in which a medical device manufacturer fails to ensure that its device is safe for its intended use. When this happens, the injured patients can bring a product liability claim against the device manufacturer to recover damages for their injuries. In some instances, plaintiffs can even successfully obtain punitive damages against the manufacturer, which are intended to punish a manufacturer whose conduct is found to be willful, reckless, and malicious and to serve as a deterrent for other manufacturers.

To prevail in a product liability claim, the plaintiffs must prove that the device was designed in an unreasonably dangerous manner or that the specific devices that the plaintiffs received suffered from a manufacturing defect that caused them to be unreasonably dangerous.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 19, 2016

Discovery and the Art of Preparing for Trial

By Moll Law Group

When a person is injured, and another party is to blame for his or her injury, the injured party can file a lawsuit to recover compensation for their injuries. Whether the defendant is liable or not depends on if he or she took reasonable care under the circumstances. If they did not, the defendant was negligent and may have to pay compensation to the injured party.

Unlike on television, where trials often appear to happen just days after an accident occurs or a crime is committed, real trials are preceded by a somewhat lengthy period of what is known in legal terms as “discovery.” Generally speaking, discovery is a process by which the plaintiff and defendant exchange information about a case prior to a trial.

During the discovery phase of a personal injury case, the plaintiff and defendant are entitled to ask the other party written questions about the accident. These questions are called interrogatories.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 18, 2016

Harvard Study Suggests E-Cigarettes Contain Harmful Chemical Diacetyl

By Moll Law Group

E-cigarettes, or vapor cigarettes, have become an incredibly popular alternative to traditional tobacco products, with over 250 different companies currently selling the devices. Many tout the electronic apparatuses as a better alternative to using traditional tobacco products because they produce less odor, cost less than traditional tobacco products, and are less dangerous when it comes to creating fire hazards.

Despite these alleged benefits, some researchers have dug into whether the new alternative provides fewer health risks than using traditional tobacco products. Last month, Harvard University researchers produced results from a study in which they examined a few different types of flavored electronic cigarette products. The study involved testing over 50 varieties of flavored products and liquids marketed by the most common brands. The tests looked for a variety of chemicals, including diacetyl, acetoin, and two varieties of pentanedione.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 16, 2016

Illinois Protects Police with Partial Immunity in Police Misconduct Cases

By Moll Law Group

2015 was not a good year for the police. The news was rife with allegations of excessive force, and in many cases included videos that backed the claims up. It seemed that no city or state was spared: Baltimore, Cleveland, Ferguson, New York, Texas, Chicago. The list goes on.

In response to what they saw, citizens took to the streets, demanding accountability and a change in police tactics. There were calls for resignations. The Department of Justice jumped in to investigate. Some officers were put on leave or suspended, while others were cleared of wrongdoing.

Many police departments promised change. They vowed to look inward. Some even sent officers abroad to study police tactics in foreign countries that have been successful at limiting excessive force. The verdict at home is still out.

In some cases, civil lawsuits were filed against the officers and police departments accused of excessive force. For families who lost a loved one, like a young son, lawsuits like these are often their only vindication, especially if criminal charges are not brought or a jury acquits the police of criminal conduct.

Continue reading →

Published on: January 15, 2016

FDA’s Final Warning Letter of 2015 Targets Seafood Processing Facility

By Moll Law Group

Food safety has become a major issue and subject of public concern recently, with widespread foodborne illness outbreaks hitting the headlines on a regular basis. In its final warning letter of 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has issued a warning to Edo Sushi Express, a seafood processing company, claiming that it found “serious violations” of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (“HACCP”) standards applicable to seafood.

HACCP is a system designed to ensure food safety is addressed throughout the food production chain. It requires the analysis and control of certain physical, chemical, and biological hazards associated with turning raw materials into final products intended for human consumption. When it comes to seafood, pathogens and parasites present particular risks.

Continue reading →