Blog Posts in May, 2019

J&J Says Key Witness in Talcum Powder Case Made Falsities in Testimony

A jury in New York City’s controversial asbestos court reached a $25 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson. J&J also faces the possibility of punitive damages. Jurors will reconvene next week to deliberate whether punitive damages should be awarded as well. This is the first time since the 80s that a New York City asbestos case has had a jury deliberate punitive damages. So far, defendants ...

5 States File New Opioid Lawsuits

On May 16, 2019, state attorneys general in Kansas, Iowa, Maryland, Wisconsin, and West Virginia filed lawsuits against Purdue Pharma—the Oxycontin manufacturer—for contributing to the opioid epidemic that is now the leading cause of accidental fatalities throughout many states in the country. With the addition of these five states, a total of 45 states have now filed lawsuits in recent years ...

Monsanto Loses 3rd Trial, Ordered to Pay $2 Billion in Punitive Damages

Monsanto Co. was recently slammed by an Oakland jury that ruled the company must pay $2 billion dollars in total punitive damages to plaintiffs who sued after prolonged use of Roundup weedkiller caused them to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), a rare form of cancer. In particular, the jury ruled $1 billion in punitive damages be paid to Alva Pilliod and another $1 billion to Alberta Pilliod, ...

Plaintiffs’ Attorney Challenges Expert Witness Testimony in Roundup® Lawsuit

In the third case to go to trial against Monsanto, and its parent company Bayer, the lawyer for the plaintiffs exposed contradictions in statements given by an expert witness who was called in to testify against claims that Roundup® causes cancer. Dr. Celeste Bello, a hematologist-oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center, testified that glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup®, does not cause ...