$29.4 million verdict in Johnson & Johnson talcum powder case

On Wednesday March 13, 2019 a California jury awarded Teresa
Leavitt $24.4 million and her husband, Dean McElroy $5 million in a trial
brought by them against Johnson & Johnson. 
Teresa Leavitt believes her mesothelioma, a terminal disease caused by
asbestos exposure, is linked to her regular use of Johnson & Johnson’s
talcum powder. 

The Leavitt case is the first case to be tried since a
bombshell report by Reuters and the New York Times about the contamination of
baby powder with asbestos.  Both reports
sighted leaked internal documents showing Johnson & Johnson knew about the
problem as far back as 1971.

Johnson & Johnson said they were disappointed in the verdict and they would pursue an appeal. Johnson & Johnson’s spokesperson, Kimberly Montagnino said, “we will pursue an appeal because Johnson’s Baby Powder does not contain asbestos or cause cancer.”  She also stated, […]

Phone-related driver distraction still on the rise

Cellphones have been a root cause of distracted driving since they first became popular in the 1990s.  However, cellphone manipulation while driving continues to change.  A 2018 study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in Virginia found that drivers were 57% more likely to be found manipulating or using a cellphone than a survey conducted in 2014.  According to the IIHS, cellphone use was a contributing factor in over 800 crash deaths in the United States in 2017 alone.  But while drivers were less likely to be seen simply holding or talking on a cell phone in 2018 than 2014, they were more likely to be observed actually manipulating their phones.

                In 2014, only
2.4% of Virginia drivers were observed using their cellphones.  However, in 2018 this number rose to
3.4%.  This is compared to the 4.1% of
Virginia drivers observed talking on a cellphone in 2014, […]

Jury awards $3M to plaintiff in IVC filter lawsuit

On February 1, 2019, a jury in Indiana announced their verdict in the month-long Brand et. al. v. Cook Medical Incorporated et. al. trial.  This bellwether case saw plaintiff Tonya Brand suing defendant Cook Medical Inc., alleging that the medical company’s IVC blood clot filters are defective and have the potential to injure their patients.

                In
2009, a “Celect” model inferior vena cava or IVC filter was implanted in Tonya
Brand in preparation for an upcoming spinal-infusion surgery.  These filters are intended to catch blood
clots and prevent them from travelling up to the patient’s heart and
lungs.  In May 2011, Brand began to
experience pain in her right thigh, and a month later she was able to see
something protruding from her skin.  She
pulled the object out, and realized it was part of her vein filter.  A full body scan revealed that the filter had
fractured, […]

Gov’t shutdown halted investigation of deadly crashes

Amid the 35-day partial government shutdown earlier this year, NTSB investigations of deadly crashes were put on hold. At this point, crucial evidence may be lost forever.

On December 22, 2018, the United
States government came to a grinding halt in what would become the longest
government shutdown in U.S. history.  The
shutdown, which was temporarily brought to an end on January 25, 2019, not only
left government workers furloughed or working without pay for 35 days, but also
negatively impacted several federal agencies and organizations.

                One
such agency is the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).  The NTSB is responsible for determining the
probable cause of transportation accidents, promoting transportation safety,
and assisting victims of transportation accidents and their families.  Any delay in investigations has the potential
to prevent insurance companies from paying claims to victims and their families
as well as preventing justice from being served in the event of criminal cases. […]

Trucking app promises progress, but raises safety questions

Technology has the capacity to transform the trucking industry and improve truck drivers’ way of life. Of course, that technology comes with questions about highway safety and to what extent tech companies can be held liable as their products become increasingly central to our lives.

The trucking industry is a fast-paced, competitive environment worth hundreds of billions of dollars. This market, combined with the overall unavailability of a direct and easy way for truckers to arrange the loads they haul, leaves a gap for the ever-growing technological advancement of our modern age to creep in. In 2013, Drew McElroy and Jonathan Salama took advantage of this gap to create the app “Transfix.” This app aims to make it easier for independent truckers to schedule loads, thereby decreasing the amount of time a truck may sit empty, losing money. Typically, independent truck drivers rely on freight brokers to schedule the loads they haul. […]