South Carolina Personal Injury Law Blog

Settlement Reached in Defibrillator Lawsuit

The maker of a commonly used heart defibrillator has agreed to settle lawsuits filed by thousands of patients who claim they were not informed of potential defects. Parties involved in the cases announced the settlement just two weeks before the first trial involving the defibrillator was set to begin. The $195 million settlement will cover about 4,000 claims filed against the device’s manufacturer Boston Scientific. 

Source:  "Maker Settles Suit on Device for Hearts" by Barry Meirer, published in The New York Times.

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.

Settlement Reached in Dental Death

An Illinois dentist and the dental clinic where he practiced have agreed to pay $1.135 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of a 73-year-old man who died while having a tooth pulled.  The man's family claimed that the dentist failed to render appropriate care when the man stopped breathing after being administered an intravenous sedative.  Terms of the settlement did not force the dentist or clinic to admit wrongdoing.

Source:  "Dentist, Family Settle Lawsuit" by Michael Higgins, published in the Chicago Tribune.

Microsoft Settles Consumer Lawsuit For Overcharged Software

Iowa consumers, who claim they were overcharged for software since 1994, will receive a $180 million settlement from Microsoft in the form of cash and vouchers. According to the class-action suit, the company used its position to overcharge for operating systems and applications software. The settlement is the largest for Microsoft in similar cases.

Source:  "Microsoft to Pay Iowa Consumers $180m" by Bloomberg News, published in the Boston Globe.

Family Settles Wrongful Death Suit Over Towel Left Inside Patient's Chest

The family of a woman who died seven years after a surgeon left a rolled-up towel inside her chest has reached a settlement with the Cleveland Clinic two weeks into a jury trial.  Her family sued claiming the towel caused her to suffer serious complications.

Attorneys for the clinic disagreed and said the towel did not affect the woman's health.  In fact, the doctor in question had actually written in a letter to the medical school that he did not think the towel affected the length or quality of the woman's life. 

Source: "Suit Settled Over Towel Found in Patient" published in The Washington Post.

Toyota Settles Class-Action Lawsuit

A federal judge in Louisiana is expected to give final approval in the next few weeks to a settlement  in a class-action lawsuit brought against Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc.  In this case, owners of select 1997-2002 model-year Toyota and Lexus models complained their car engines were damaged by oil sludge.

Under the terms of the proposed nationwide settlement, the automaker will reimburse vehicle owners for the cost to repair oil sludge damage as well as other incidental costs for up to eight years from the date their vehicle was sold or leased. 

You can read more about this settlement at www.oilgelsettlement.com.

Source:  "Toyota Settles Class-Action Lawsuit over Engine Oil Sludge Problem" by Alec Viega, published in The Buffalo News.