Weekly Mass Torts Bulletin 2021-Aug-02

In the latest IVC lawsuit, Jurors in Dallas federal court have concluded that C.R. Bard's IVC blood clot filter design is defective, which resulted in injuries and complications for the users. It is the fourth lawsuit since May.

The lawyer representing the plaintiffs has informed Bard about the defective products and indicated that the cases would be continued in trials until the company takes responsibility for the products. Ben Martin overlooks lawsuits representing several hundred individuals who claim that Bard's line of IVC filters resulted in severe injuries and complications for them. The products include Denali, Meridian, Eclipse, G2, G2X and recovery. The filters prevent blood clots from moving to the hearts and lungs when inserted into the inferior vena cava (IVC).

The lawsuits allege that the filter perforates and fractures vein walls. It also causes the metal pieces of the device to displace and move into internal organs and other structures in the body of the user. There is not even any evidence that claims the device prevents pulmonary emboli. It is difficult or impossible to remove the filter even though Bard claims that the filters are easily removable.

Earlier, Bard faced more than 8,000 similar lawsuits, which were consolidated in multidistrict litigation in Phoenix. The lawyer even rejected a proposed settlement citing that it was inadequate, and eventually embraced a more aggressive strategy by scheduling individual trials across the U.S.

Jurors of the Dallas case ordered a verdict of $386,250 in damages as they found that Bard's Recovery IVC filter caused serious medical complications to the users.

Earlier, a woman was awarded a $3.3 million verdict by a Wisconsin federal jury in an IVC filter lawsuit against C.R. Bard that claimed a part of the filter became embedded in her heart.

The jury held the company responsible for not issuing an appropriate warning of the risks associated with the device. The plaintiff had implanted the filter in 2013 as a preventive measure for varicose veins. 

The jury found that the woman was not at all liable for her fracture and the complete blame is to be put on the manufacturer for negligence and design claims.

As per the court documents, the woman started experiencing abdominal pain just after three days of the implant as the filter had tilted and one strut had perforated her inferior vena cava, as indicated in the CT scan. A year later x-ray revealed that the filter was even more tilted and had fractured two struts, with one strut in the inferior vena cava and the other in the right ventricle of her heart.

In 2014, a surgeon tried to remove the filter but did not succeed, but four years later another surgeon managed to remove the filter and a strut, but one of the struts remained in her right ventricle.

The woman is suffering from extreme anxiety about the possible harm she might suffer due to the remainder of the strut in her body. She would require to undergo open-heart surgery to get the strut removed from the right ventricle, which could result in significant morbidity and death.

Bard argued that considering the separate finding on liability, U.S. District Judge William M. Conley should not reward punitive damages to the plaintiff as there is no clear evidence about the manufacturer being negligent about the product.

The attorney for the plaintiff said that the verdict was for compensatory damages and in the past 90 days he along with other attorneys obtained three jury verdicts in Texas, Oregon, and Wisconsin in similar vein lawsuits.

The plaintiff even argued that three different juries in three different states have consistently claimed that the Bard IVC filters caused serious harm to the users due to their unacceptable safety profile.
Bard faced three bellwether trials in the MDL in 2018 where one of the trials ended up awarding $3.6 million to the plaintiff.

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge of Arkansas announced a deal with opioid manufacturers and distributors that requires the drugmakers to pay $216 million to Arkansas in the opioid MDL.

Three major pharmaceutical distributors, Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, along with opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson (J&J), will pay the settlement amount to Arkansas. The agreement will settle a number of opioid litigations faced by the companies and will also prevent the future opioid crisis.

The Attorney General said that opioid overdose has resulted in several deaths in Arkansas during the past decade. Many families from the state have lost their loved ones because of the opioid crisis. The settlement will not bring back the lost lives, but it will surely help to prevent opioid addiction problems among the people of Arkansas. The settlement amount will be used to educate and treat people suffering from opioid addiction problems.

Nearly 4000 opioid lawsuits have been filed in federal and state courts across the country, and the agreement would resolve those claims. States can sign the agreement in 30 days, whereas the local governments have up to 150 days to participate in the deal.

Arkansas will sign the agreement after reviewing the final documents of the deal. The state would receive $216 million as a settlement for the opioid crisis.

The settlement is a part of the $26 billion deal announced by a federal judge to tackle the opioid epidemic throughout the nation. J&J will pay $5 billion, and the distributors will pay the remaining amount of $21 billion.

Kentucky will receive $460 million as a settlement in opioid abuse litigation against opioid manufacturers like Johnson and Johnson (J&J) for the epidemic fueled by the drug-making companies.

Attorney General Daniel Cameron informed in a press release that the settlement amount would be helpful to treat people addicted to opioids and conduct programs that will control the opioid epidemic in the state.

As per the reports, so far, 180 people have died in the Louisville Metro area because of opioid overdose compared to 218 in the last year.

The Substance Use Disorder Strategy Coalition (SUDS) will hold a community panel to discuss the harm reduction of opioids in Shelbyville to deal with the epidemic. The program will discuss education about HIV and Hepatitis C testing, along with a needle exchange program to alert the individuals and communities about substance abuse.

A doctor of North Central Health District informed that substance abuse had been a matter of concern for many years in the state. These funds allocated for controlling substance abuse would be a positive thing amidst the current pandemic.

Officials of the Kentucky Coroners Association showed concern by stating that the number of people affected because of opioids is rising continuously. The president of the association even informed that an adjoining county recently reported three overdosing cases in a day which is a serious issue.

Earlier J&J and drug distributors Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen agreed on a deal to pay $26 billion to settle the nationwide opioid lawsuits. J&J even faces several talcum powder lawsuits from women across the country alleging that the company's baby powder causes ovarian cancer.

Earlier, McKesson Corporation, Cardinal Health Inc., and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation were ordered by New York Attorney General Letitia James to pay up to $1.1 billion to New York state to tackle the opioid epidemic.

The agreement will eliminate the three opioid distributors from the ongoing opioid trial, which is advancing in Suffolk County State Supreme Court. It is one of the largest settlements handled by the attorney general, James. The companies will start making the payments in two months and will continue to settle the amount for the next 17 years.

James issued a press release stating that the opioid epidemic has affected several communities throughout New York and across the nation for more than two decades. It has affected a large number of families by killing hundreds of thousands of individuals and addicting millions more.

A base payment of $1.1 billion is guaranteed in the settlement, and further amounts may be levied in case of future litigation. A part of the settlement amount will be used to combat the effects of the opioid crisis. The settlement will even cover compensation for the private practice attorneys as a lawyer's fee.

Attorney general James said that no amount of money could compensate the families affected because of the crisis and people addicted to opioids. She even said that the settlement amount would play a vital role in tackling the opioid crisis of New York.

James even directed to change the ways of collecting and analyzing data in the opioid litigation.

U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster is overlooking the National Prescription Opiate Litigation MDL No. 2804 (In Re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation), formed in October 2017.