A partner with Childers, Schlueter & Smith, LLC,, Brandon Smith has devoted his practice to pharmaceutical litigation, mass torts, products liability and serious personal injury. A frequent guest spea
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Legal
The Florida Supreme Court recently over turned a $145 billion verdict rendered against big tobacco in a class action suit. The court in its 79 page decision held that the case should not have been certified as a class action suit on behalf of hundreds of thousands sick Florida smokers. The ruling ho
FDA & Prescription Drugs
Over the last year or so the connection between so called “independent” researchers and the pharmaceutical companies they review have drawn a lot of attention and criticism. The main reason for this is because of the fear of biased reports and reviews from well known researchers who receive benefits
Legal
In San Jose, California, a mother has initiated a lawsuit against a nail salon on behalf of her deceased daughter after a serious infection contributed to her death in June of 2004. Jessica Mears, 43, developed a bacterial infection after receiving a pedicure at a nail salon. The infection developed
Legal
According to a recent article by the Journal of the American Medical Association, many patients utilizing automated external defibrillators are largely unaware of the high recall rates associated with these products. An automated external defibrillator, or AED as it is commonly referred to, works by
Legal
The New Jersey Court of Appeals recently overturned a $105 million dollar verdict against a beer vendor who allegedly served a patron too much alcohol at a Giants game. The drunken patron, Daniel Lanzaro, was continually served alcohol by Aramark Corp. despite obvious signs he was already heavily in
FDA & Prescription Drugs
The Food and Drug Administration has requested that manufactures of leading anti-depressants add warnings to their labels to address recently discovered risks in newborns and migraine sufferers. The FDA’s concerns stem from a life threatening condition called serotonin syndrome, which has been linke
Legal
Atlanta Police officer Peter Faatz, 29, has died from the injuries he sustained as a result of motor vehicle accident after colliding with a Grady Hospital ambulance. Both Faatz and the ambulance were responding to a double shooting 911 call near Turner Field when the accident occurred. Faatz sustai
FDA & Prescription Drugs
Ever wonder why some doctors prescribe one particular brand of drug over another similar drug in the class? The answer may very well be because of incentives the drug manufacturers are providing to doctors and their offices to encourage it. In a recent article in the New York Times, drug manufacture
Legal
The Food and Drug Administration recently rejected approval of Cephalon Inc.’s newest drug Sparlon, an attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder drug, after it was found to trigger Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), a serve allergic reaction that often times is fatal. The debilitating drug induced react
Legal
Officer Jesse Higgins, employed by the Grantville Police Department, arrested a suspect after he was found to be driving on a suspended license. The suspect reportedly told Higgins he could have a relative come and get the car but officer Higgins had another idea. Higgins decided to remove the car h
Legal
A Clayton County State Court jury just warded $4.2 million to Katoria Lee, who was shoot at a local Wal-Mart. Lee, who stopped by the local retail giant on March 8, 2001, was approached by a gunman as she was exiting the store around 1:30AM. The gunman demanded her keys and stole her vehicle shortly
Legal
An Atlanta man was recently attacked by a pit bull owned by an Atlanta Falcons player earlier this week while he was walking innocently in his neighborhood. Ric Howard, said he was walking his leashed dogs Monday evening when all of a sudden a pit bull chased after him and mauled him. Howard suffere