Subject to several exceptions, Rule 407 prohibits the introduction into evidence of subsequent remedial measures. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has just joined several other circuits in holding that the exclusionary rule does not apply when the remedial measures are made by a third party. Judge Smith wrote that…
They are called OSIs – other similar incidents. Plaintiffs try to get them admitted into evidence in products liability cases to show evidence of defect and knowledge of defect. The incidents must be “substantially similar” and there is (almost) always a fight over what falls within that catergory. Here is…
What do you do when you represent people who have been exposed to a dangerous substance but to date have not experienced an injury? Some lawyers have brought what is known as a medical monitoring claim, asking that the defendant be required to pay money to monitor the health of…
I wrote yesterday that a trial judge was going to permit the pathologist who performed the autopsy of the plaintiff’s decedent in the Vioxx case to testify. How important is that testimony to the plaintiff? Well, a good guage of that is that Merck has appealed the decision in the…
A New Jersey state court trial judge has certified a nationwide class action on behalf of unions and other third-party payors of health claims in a lawsuit alleging that the companies would not have paid for Vioxx had they been warned of the dangers of it. The suit is brought…
One of the big fights in the Vioxx trial underway in Texas is the cause of death. The Plaintiff has been granted permission to have the pathologist who did the autopsy testify – and she is giving great testimony that supports the plaintiff. Here is the complete article: KRISTEN HAYS…
Boston Scientific makes stents. “Stents are tiny wire-mesh tubes used to prop open heart arteries after fatty deposits have been cleared away. The devices are inserted through blood vessels and deployed by a tiny balloon that is inflated, pushing the stent in place.” The company has had a problem with…
Here is an update on the first Vioxx trial, as reported by the New York Times.
Guidant has shared more information about problems with some of its pacemakers. A news article reports that “the Indianapolis-based company, which last month recalled almost 109,000 defibrillators, released a warning that said a sealing component in the pacemakers had degraded in some cases, resulting in higher-than-normal moisture in the devices…
In Tennessee, a product that complies with government standards is presumed not to be defective or unreasonably dangerous. So, you can understand why those of us who represent consumers injured by products are more than a little concerned by this news report. The NYT reports that “[f]orty-four government scientists have…