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
A class action has been filed against Kentucky Fried Chicken because of its menu with contains a staggering amount of trans fat. Insiders close to the case explain the suit is not about money. Instead, it is more about educating the public about the dangers of trans fat and to get the attention of t
Legal
Tort reformers say caps need to be placed on punitive and non-economic damages because there is a crisis in the litigation areas of personal injury and medical malpractice. What these pro-tort reformers often fail to realize or do not care about at all is that at its very essence, tort reform punish
FDA & Prescription Drugs
The Federal Drug Administration recently issued a health advisory warning against over the counter dietary supplements designed to treat erectile dysfunction. Some of the drugs specifically listed in that advisory are: Zimaxx, Libidus, Neophase, Vigor-25. Actra Rx, and 4Everson. The problem associat
FDA & Prescription Drugs
The FDA recently issued a warning against the use of Bismacine, also known as Chromacine, which is reportedly used to treat lime disease. The drug which is mixed by druggists and not considered a pharmaceutical, is usually proscribed and administered by doctors of alternative health or by others cla
Legal
Fentanyl patches, first made Johnson and Johnson under the brand name Duragesic, have increasingly become an area for concern in recent years. Primarily designed for cancer patients and others with chronic pains, these prescription only patches are causing an alarming number of deaths in the United
Legal
David Baier, a 67 year old man, and his wife sued Ford Motor Co. in 2004 alleging his 1967 Ford Mustang’s gas tank was defective and caused the fire that left Baier permanently deformed. Baier’s vehicle was hit from behind in an auto accident and burst into flames shortly thereafter because of a def
Legal
Insurer Conseco Inc., has agreed to a $100.3 million class action settlement for a suit filed against it in 2004. The suit alleges the insurer charged consumers desiring life insurance policies excessive premiums or forced others to surrender their existing polices for cash in order to increase the
Legal
A Jury in the Newport News Circuit Court awarded $10.4 million to the widow of a shipyard worker who died from lung cancer after four years of exposure to asbestos containing products. The wrongful death lawsuit was brought against three companies that manufactured the materials: John Crane Inc., De
FDA & Prescription Drugs
The federal Court of Appeals recently found the second of Pfizer’s patents on Lipitor to be invalid. This could cost Pfizer, the world’s biggest drug manufacture, billions of dollars in lost sales. The federal court ruling essentially shortens the mega manufacture’s exclusive right to sale Lipitor b
Legal
In a follow up to my previous blog from yesterday concerning Dr. Frederick Schwaibold’s negligence in causing 13 separate radiation treatments to be conducted on the wrong side of his cancer patient’s face, a Fulton County jury awarded $250,000 to Dariel Hunt in compensation for her injuries. Hunt h
Legal
In Florida, the state medical licensing board has decided against stricter discipline for surgeons who operate on the wrong body part or the wrong patient. Wait, did you read that right? Yes unfortunately you did. Does that seem right? Without question, this writer can hardly imagine how. A through
Legal
A Seattle jury awarded $1.75 million to a woman after Dr. Jeffrey Gabel, an osteopathic physician, performed a hysterectomy on her without informed consent in 2003. The jury found that Dr. Gable failed to suggest alternative, less invasive, treatments to the 22 year old before she signed a consent f