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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FDA & Prescription Drugs
A jury reached a $9 million verdict today regarding the punitive damages phase of the latest Vioxx Trial involving John McDarby and his wife. This verdict comes just days after the same jury awarded John McDarby and his wife $4.5 million in compensatory damages for his related heart attack while usi
FDA & Prescription Drugs
A new Jersey jury found Vioxx had concealed the dangers of its painkiller Vioxx and awarded one of the two plaintiff’s $4.5 million dollars in compensatory damages. A second trial for the sole purpose of determining if punitive damages should be awarded is scheduled to start today. Generally, puniti
Legal
Five of the nation’s top sunscreen manufactures have been named as defendants in a recently filed class action suit for allegedly making false and misleading claims about the effectiveness of their products. The suit claims these sunscreen producers created a false sense of security in its consumers
Legal
A 12 year-old girl driving a Ford F-250 recently ran off the road in Long County killing both herself and another 8 year-old passenger. Three other children were also injured in the accident when the vehicle overturned and landed in a nearby ditch. According to the William Goodwin of the Georgia Sta
Legal
Lawyers for Tracy Price, a Henry County school teacher, filed a lawsuit against Emory University Hospital for exposing her to the human form of mad cow disease. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or CJD as it is more commonly known, is a degenerative brain disease that causes dementia, muscle problems and e
Legal
A jury recently awarded $5.6 million to the family of Arturo Iturralde who had a screwdriver implanted in his spine after an orthopedic surgeon misplaced two titanium rods during the surgery. After cutting off the handle and placing the shaft of a stainless steel screwdriver in his patient’s back, t
FDA & Prescription Drugs
A state judge in Philadelphia approved a class action settlement against Bayer, the German manufacture of Baycol, that would re-pay unions, employers and various health plans for money spent on the withdrawn drug Baycol. The national class action suit could result in a settlement that exceeds $10 mi
Legal
The United States Supreme Court refused to review a $50 million damage award against Phillip Morris where a former 2-pack a day smoker died of cancer. The tobacco manufacture, which controls nearly half of the United States tobacco market, asked that the award be declared unconstitutionally excessiv
FDA & Prescription Drugs
The FDA recently warned several manufactures and distributors to stop selling unapproved drugs that contain steroids promising increased muscle, strength, and weight loss. The FDA expressed concerns that products such as Anabolic Xtreme Superdrol or Methyl-1-P by Legal Gear may cause long-term healt
Legal
Each year there are number of people who become entrapped in hospital beds and suffer serious injuries as a result. Entrapments can occur when a patient’s body becomes lodged between the bed rails, the mattress or various other parts of a hospital bed. Injuries suffered in this manner can lead to br
FDA & Prescription Drugs
The FDA has announced that the popular asthma medications Advair and Serevent will now contain a new “black box” warning after discovering the medications may cause an increased risk of asthma-related death. Black box warnings are the most severe warnings the FDA can require of prescription drugs. A
FDA & Prescription Drugs
In the latest round of litigation surrounding the controversial drug Vioxx, jurors in New Jersey heard opening statements from both sides today in what could be the most pivotal Vioxx trial yet. Merck, the former producer of Vioxx, has received two defense verdicts involving the pain killer to date