South Carolina Personal Injury Law Blog

Jurors to Decide if Hospital Checked Doctor’s Credentials

A trial being held in West Virginia will decide whether Putnam General Hospital properly investigated the credentials of Dr. John King, who has been named in more than 120 medical malpractice lawsuits.  Patients contend that the doctor often performed substandard and unnecessary surgeries.  Attorneys for the hospital have said the hospital did all it could to check the doctor’s background. 

Source:  "King Credentialing Trial Begins in Putnam County" by Chris Dickerson, published in The West Virginia Record.

Teachers File Lawsuit over Investment Recommendations

Two members of the National Education Association claim, in a lawsuit filed last week, that the organization accepted millions of dollars in payments from Nationwide Life Insurance Company and the Security Benefit Group to endorse high-cost investments to its members. The lawsuit contends that by recommending the investments, the NEA violated its duty to its members. With an estimated 3.2 million members, the NEA is the nation’s largest professional organization. 

Source:  "Lawsuit Says Teachers Are Overcharged on Annuities" by Gretchen Morgenson, published in The New York Times.

Drug Companies to Pay for Overcharging

A federal district court judge in Boston, MA found three drug makers liable last week for overcharging Medicare, pension funds, insurers, and patients for certain drugs.  In a nationwide class action lawsuit, plaintiffs alleged that AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Johnson & Johnson, and Schering-Plough sold drugs to doctors at discounted prices while encouraging them to claim full reimbursement from insurers.  The judge dismissed claims against Johnson & Johnson.  A calculation of damages to be paid by the defendants is expected by August. 

Source:  "AstraZeneca, Bristol Overcharged on Drugs, Judge Says" by Cary O’Reilly, published at Bloomberg.com.

Vioxx Plaintiff Accepts Settlement to Avoid Retrial

Facing a possible retrial, a South Carolina man chose to accept a $1.6 million from Merck & Co. after a trial judge overturned the original $51 million verdict.  The plaintiff alleged that Vioxx was to blame for a heart attack he suffered in 2002.  The judge found the original award to be excessive in light of the plaintiff’s successful recovery and a general lack of economic damages resulting from the heart attack. 

Source:  "Vioxx Plaintiff Takes $1.6M Rather Than Retry on Damages" published in the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Supreme Court Delivers Another Strike to Shareholders

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court set a higher legal standard for investors to overcome when claiming fraud against companies.  In an 8-1 decision, the Court embraced strict interpretation of a provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that requires plaintiffs to show that the defendant intended to deceive, manipulate, or defraud.  The Court’s ruling will give judges more latitude to dismiss cases that cannot meet the burden set by the court.  You can read the Court's decision in Tellabs v. Makor Issues and Rights, Ltd. by clicking HERE.

Source:  "Justices Tighten Rules on Shareholder Suits" by Stephen Labaton, published in The New York Times.

State Farm Accused of Racketeering

In a lawsuit filed last week, a group of Mississippi homeowners accused State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. of a “pattern of racketeering” in the handling of claims related to Hurricane Katrina.  Attorneys for the homeowners claim that the insurer manipulated engineering reports in order to deny policyholder claims.  The use of the racketeering statute is a new tactic for attorneys pursuing Katrina-related claims against insurance companies. 

Source:  "Racketeering Alleged in Katrina Suit" by Michael Kunzelman, published in the Houston Chronicle.

Judge Orders Pet Food Maker to Stop Contact with Plaintiffs

A federal judge has ordered a pet food manufacturer to cease contact with plaintiffs who have filed lawsuits against the company over alleged contamination of its products. Judge Noel Hillman has told Menu Foods, Inc. to turn over the names and bar admissions of the attorneys who advised the company that such communications were proper. The calls were made only one day after the judge instructed the company to stop communication with plaintiffs represented by counsel. 

Source:  "Judge Seethes Over Direct Contact of Represented Parties in Pet Food Case" by Lisa Brennan,  published at Law.com.

SEC to Back Plaintiffs in Enron Case

The Securities Exchange Commission will support investors who hope to hold banks liable for allegedly facilitating fraud by Enron against its shareholders. The SEC support is expected to bolster the shareholders’ upcoming Supreme Court case. The decision marks a victory for plaintiff attorneys after intense lobbying over the issue. 

Source:  "SEC to Side With Enron Plaintiffs" by Carrie Johnson, published in The Washington Post.

Tainted Toothpaste Discovered in United States

The Food and Drug Administration advised consumers Friday to discard all toothpaste made in China after inspectors discovered toothpaste tainted with an industrial chemical in Miami, the Port of Los Angeles, and Puerto Rico. While there have been no reports of anyone being harmed by the toothpaste, FDA officials said the product posed a meaningful risk to children and persons with kidney or liver disease. In recent weeks, six other countries have discovered the toxic toothpaste within their borders. 

Source:  "Toxic Toothpaste Made in China Is Found in U.S." by Walt Bogdanich, published in The New York Times.

OxyContin Manufacturer and Executives Plead Guilty to Criminal Charges

The company that makes the painkiller OxyContin and three of its current and former executives recently plead guilty in federal court to criminal charges that it misled doctors and patients when it claimed that the drug was less likely to be abused than traditional narcotics.

The company, Purdue Pharma, agreed to pay $600 million in fines and other payments to resolve the criminal charge of ‘misbranding’ the product.  This is one of the largest amounts ever paid by a drug company in such a case. The three executives, including its president and its top lawyer, also plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of misbranding the drug. Together, they agreed to pay $34.5 million in fines.

Source:  "Narcotic Maker Guilty of Deceit Over Marketing" by Barry Meier, published in The New York Times.