November has been a tragic month for air travel. Three separate private planes have already been in the headlines this month. The first plane crash, killed two Oklahoma State University coaches and all passengers on board. The second plane crashed in Arizona, tragically killing an entire family. The third plane…
Last week, the Senate proposed a bill purporting to accelerate the FDA’s review times for medical devices. The proposed legislation would relax current conflict of interest rules that apply to FDA advisers, reversing an existing law. Currently, federal law prohibits an expert with a financial stake in medical device companies…
A Colorado-based melon farm issued a recall last week after its cantaloupes tested positive for listeria, a deadly bacteria. The contaminated cantaloupes have been linked to at least two deaths and 22 illnesses in Colorado and New Mexico. State authorities believe that this number could increase in more states pending…
The Louisiana Supreme Court recently held in McGolthlin v. Christus St. Patrick Hosp. that a Medical Review Panel’s finding is not subject to mandatory admissibility when the Medical Review Panel exceeded its statutory authority by making its determination based on of a finding of credibility. In Louisiana, a plaintiff suing…
A recent untreated wastewater spill in the Pearl River killed thousands of fish. State officials are not certain how the contamination will impact the surrounding community’s drinking water; however, some officials are optimistic that the damage will not affect citizens because the Pearl River is not a source of drinking…
Tobacco companies will now have to pay $270 million for the implementation of a smoking cessation program after the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated a Louisiana court order that was unilaterally blocked by Justice Scalia last September. The Court also denied the tobacco companies’ appeal. Louisiana smokers first filed a class…
The Supreme Court insulated generic pharmaceutical companies from state failure to warn claims concerning inadequate labeling last week. The Court held that federal law preempted generic drug makers from consumer state law claims that assert generic drug makers’ failure to include adequate warning labels about possible side effects. In its…
The U.S. Supreme Court revived a West Virginian state-class action lawsuit against Bayer Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of the cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol. The Supreme Court held that a Minnesota federal court exceeded its authority under the Anti-Injunction Act by banning a West Virginian state-class action suit. The federal court issued the…
In Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act preempts all state law design-defect claims brought by plaintiffs seeking damages for vaccine-related injury or death against vaccine manufacturers. The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 is a statute that provides administrative remedies…
The U.S. Department of Interior recently released a report showing the results of a federal investigation of the Deepwater Horizon blowout preventer (BOP). The Department of Interior hired a team of forensic experts to salvage the BOP from the gulf floor and to study the cause of its malfunction. According…