LawSquawker • Thomas & Wan's Blawg

Yes, yes, we all know about the hot coffee case. But do you really know the truth? A documentary is in the running at Sundance Film Festival called Hot Coffee , and it explores not only that case but three other lawsuits in which seriously injured people are denied their rights under the current legal system. Many people have no idea how we as Americans are being manipulated by powerful interests, and we are losing our rights to fairness and justice under so-called "tort reform." We are giving away our 7th Amendment rights and we don't even know it. I haven't seen the movie yet, but here's a trailer and discussion: The civil justice system has been under heavy attack for over 25 years. Despite the fact that federal legislation has never been successful, big business interests have won in the hearts and minds of average people. They launched a public relations campaign starting in the mid-80’s and continuing over the last two decades to convince the...

This is a brilliant blog entry from 7th Amendment Advocate Blog about the absurd idea of federal tort reform mentioned by President Obama in his State of the Union: I'm disapppointed that the President and the sponsors of H.R. 5 have targeted this sector of the Constitutionally protected civil justice system for a federal takeover. When Pres. Obama raised it during the SOTU, conservative commentator Ramesh Ponnuru immediately called it "one of the Republicans' crummiest ideas" and added, "There's no need for a federal takeover of medical-malpractice rules." EXACTLY. But apparently the President and senior members of the GOP (the party of "limited government") now aim to limit your 7th Amendment right by using a government mandate, exactly what the GOP opposes in ObamaCare. Bizarre. ... Here are a set of reasons why Tea Partiers, Constitutional conservatives, Main Street Republicans and Blue Collars should vigorously oppose H.R. 5 ...

GlaxoSmithKline is taking a huge hit in the amount of $3.4 billion that it is charging off due to the litigation and settlement involving its diabetes drug Avandia. The drug is known to cause heart attacks and apparently GSK's former CEO knew about it way back when. When will companies learn that it is cheaper to do the right thing that get slapped for doing the wrong thing? Bnet has more: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)’s $3.4 billion legal charge on the diabetes drug Avandia probably isn’t the last of the costs the company will record against this drug. That means Avandia will probably be a loss maker for GSK, proving that former CEO Jean-Pierre Garnier’s 1999 failure to follow up on worries about heart attack deaths associated with Avandia was a strategic disaster for the company, costing it billions in actual dollars and billions more in lost-opportunity dollars. When the dust has settled, GSK would probably have been better off stashing its development and marketing costs in a saving...

This is just a funny video...and true...I feel for my colleagues on the insurance defense side...

Interesting oral argument yesterday in the Zicam litigation brought by its shareholders relating to corporate disclosures. Satan, Scalia and anosmia...quite a lively discussion. The New York Times has more: What do you think about Satan?” Justice Scalia asked a lawyer for the government, who was just starting his argument. The case, Matrixx Initiatives v. Siracusano, No. 09-1156, was a class action against Matrixx Initiatives, an Arizona company accused of committing securities fraud by failing to tell investors of reports that its main product, a nasal spray and gel called Zicam, might have caused some users to lose their sense of smell. The condition is known as anosmia . After a link between Zicam and anosmia was reported on “Good Morning America” in 2004, the company’s stock dropped 24 percent. In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration warned consumers not to use the products, which had been sold as over-the-counter homeopathic medicines, and Matrixx ...

Matrixx Initiatives, the makers of Zicam, will argue today before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding what drugmakers, medical companies and other businesses tell investors about their products. The issue involves whether Matrixx Initiatives violated securities laws when it didn't tell investors that some consumers complained that they lost their sense of smell after using Zicam Cold Remedy nasal spray and gel swabs. The case is Matrixx Initiatives v. Siracusano, and the SCOTUS info and briefing is here . The Arizona Republic has more: Drugmakers, biotechnology groups and other business interests have lined up behind Matrixx Initiatives, arguing that widespread disclosure of medical complaints from people who take drugs or use medical devices would confuse investors and consumers. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, AARP and others have sided with a Decatur, Ill.-based pension fund that sued the company. The nation's high court will hear oral arguments toda...

Following the deaths of at least 32 babies since 2000 from falls or strangulation, the Federal Product Safety Commission recently adopted new crib-safety specifications that one observer called the "strongest crib standard in the word." The new rules ban all drop-side cribs and impose tougher rules for crib slats and mattress supports, with the goal of eliminating gaps in which babies can become trapped and suffocate or strangle to death. The new rules, which take effect in about six months, will make it illegal to resell almost all current cribs, because they won't meet the new standard, the Tribune says. They will require hotels and child care centers to replace their current cribs within two years. If your baby has been injured by a drop-side crib, contact us at 713-529-1177 to learn your legal options against the manufacturers of these dangerous products.

Happy New Year--we've started the new year off in a very busy way--Matrixx Initiatives offered a settlement to our Zicam clients right before Christmas. Matrixx is offering a $15.5 million to settle the lawsuits who allege that they lost their sense of taste and smell due to the company’s recalled line of nasal sprays and gels. Zinc gluconate-containing Zicam products were recalled in 2009 after the FDA identified at least 120 adverse event reports involving loss of smell with Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel, Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs Kids Size. In the aftermath of the recall, FDA inspectors discovered 800 reports of Zicam problems that Matrixx Initiatives failed to forward to the agency, in violation of federal regulations.