Johnson & Johnson Responsibility For Risperdal Limited To 3 Years Retroactive

The South Carolina Supreme Court cut more than half of a $327 million penalty levied on a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary for whitewashing links between its anti-psychotic drug Risperdal and diabetes, limiting claims to a three-year statute of limitations. The state high court cut the penalty to $136 million, limiting claims to three years from a January 2007 tolling agreement between the subsidiary and the state.

The court agreed with Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s argument that the trial court erred in granting the state’s motion for a directed verdict on the statute of limitations on claims over alleged labeling violations. 

The state supreme court rejected Janssen’s argument that the statute of limitations bars all the state’s claims over the Risperdal labels. The court’s opinion stated further:

We reject Janssen’s position, for Janssen misapprehends the statute of limitations and the concept of continuous accrual of this … cause of action. The labeling claim presents a series of discrete, independently actionable wrongs that are at the core of the typical unfair trade practice action.

Janssen also argued that the statute of limitations applied to claims that it violated the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act by sending “dear doctor” letters that glossed over diabetes risks from Risperdal. The November 2003 “dear doctor” letter spurred the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to send a warning letter to Janssen in April 2004, according to the ruling. The court ruled that until the FDA sent its letter, Janssen’s deceptive conduct couldn’t have been discovered before then.
Janssen introduced Risperdal in 1994. Starting in the mid-1990s, evidence began to emerge that Risperdal and other atypical anti-psychotic drugs were associated with diabetes and other metabolic side effects, according to the ruling. The state of South Carolina filed suit in 2007, arguing that Janssen sent misleading letters to more than 7,000 to protect billions of dollars in Risperdal sales. The trial court ordered Janssen to pay $327 million in 2011. States such as Louisiana and West Virginia launched cases against J&J after the FDA ordered the company in 2003 to revise prescribing information for Risperdal to include a warning for an increased risk of diabetes among users

Boston Scientific Mesh Case hit with $73.5 million jury verdict

 

 

 

How the mesh case verdict was decided!

A jury hit Boston Scientific with $73.5 million in damages this week in one of thousands of suits the device maker faces over an implant intended to treat incontinence.

The verdict in a Dallas court is part of a recent overload of product-defect and failure-to-warn litigation the device industry faces over similar products. Boston Scientific, which had won two similar suits in Massachusetts, has 23,000 more pending against it.

 

The plaintiff in the Texas case, 42-year-old Martha Salazar, is the first to win an award against the company over alleged defects with its Obtryx sling. Salazar said she suffered nerve damage and persistent pain and infections from the vaginal implant.

 

“I think it’s a really big case,” said David Matthews, the Houston personal-injury lawyer who represented her in the two-week trial. “A woman’s life was turned upside down because of a device she was using for a minor issue of urinary incontinence.”

 

Boston Scientific, which has a large workforce in the Twin Cities, said in an e-mailed statement that it was disappointed in Monday’s ruling and vowed to appeal.

The company argued at trial that doctors’ continued widespread use of the devices shows that they understand the benefits and risks.

 

“Devices like the Obtryx serve an important public medical need,” company attorneys wrote in legal filings.

“The prevalence of their usage in the medical community demonstrates that mesh slings are beneficial to patients.”

 

Seven companies are sued

 

A total of seven companies are facing lawsuits over alleged defects in vaginal mesh devices, including C.R. Bard and Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon subsidiary, Reuters reported. Last April, a subsidiary of Dublin-based Endo International agreed to pay $830 million to settle about 20,000 defect lawsuits without admitting wrongdoing.

 

The devices are designed to treat incontinence and the shifting of organs from pelvic-floor prolapse, which can occur with age and after childbirth. Mesh slings are supposed to support weakened or damaged internal tissues, and may be removable or permanent.

 

Salazar accused Boston Scientific of negligence for designing and marketing the flawed Obtryx device even though it had a safer alternative design before January 2011, when her doctor implanted her device. The jury agreed, and awarded Salazar and her husband, Felix, $23.5 million in compensatory damages and an additional $50 million in punitive damages.

 

The jury verdict form said the Dallas jurors decided that the company’s actions amounted to gross negligence because executives knew of the risk from the product and sold it “with conscious indifference to the rights, safety or welfare of others.”

 

Company lawyers strongly dispute the strength of Salazar’s evidence at trial. They said she failed to show the device was “unreasonably dangerous” and never proved that the company failed to warn doctors of the risks inherent in the device.

 

“As explained by Ms. Salazar’s treating surgeon, Dr. Lopez, the Obtryx is recognized by the medical community as the standard of care,” company lawyers wrote in court filings before the verdict, referring to stress urinary incontinence.

 

 

Johnson &Johnson Ordered To Pay Oregon $4 Million To Settle Hip Implant Marketing Claims

 

DePuy Orthopaedics Inc., a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, has agreed to pay $4 million to the state of Oregon to settle a lawsuit filed by the state. It was alleged that DePuy failed to disclose to physicians and patients that its hip implants had a high rate of failure. According to the Oregon Department of Justice, this is the first settlement of its kind. DePuy has previously settled thousands of suits over the ASR XL implant, which was recalled in 2010. DePuy still faces thousands of lawsuits in both federal and state courts.

Symptoms & Causes

ASR patients who required revision surgery have reported a variety of symptoms before having the revision surgery, including pain, swelling and problems walking. These symptoms are not unusual immediately after hip replacement surgery. If the symptoms continue or come back, you should consult with your surgeon.

Possible Causes

Symptoms such as pain, swelling or problems walking might be caused by:
   • Loosening
     The implant does not stay attached to the bone in the correct position.
   • Fracture
     The bone around the implant may have broken.
   • Dislocation
     The two parts of the implant that move against each other are no longer aligned.

 

JOHNSON AND JOHNSON WHISTLEBLOWER CASE NOVEMBER 2013

 Settlement with pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson means a record payout for whistleblowers.The $167.7 million award is one of the largest whistleblower awards in U.S. history. It will be divided among an unspecified number of whistleblowers in three states, according to the Justice Department.

 

The $2.2 billion settlement between Johnson & Johnson
& authorities settles charges that J&J marketed drugs for unapproved uses and gave kickbacks to doctors and nursing homes. Attorney General Eric Holder said Johnson & Johnson and two subsidiaries "lined their pockets at the expense of American taxpayers, patients and the private insurance industry."
The settlement addresses both state and federal charges in criminal and civil courts.

The sum includes $112 million for whistleblowers in Pennsylvania, nearly $28 million in Massachusetts, and $28 million in California.
Joe Strom, a former employee of Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Scios, will receive the entire $28 million awarded in California. He first brought suit against J&J in 2005 and ultimately helped government attorneys prepare for depositions and build their case. Strom worked for Scios for 9 months in 2003 and 2004.

 It's because of brave people like this group that BIG COMPANIES are exposed. It's got to be tough to come forward with information that not only could change your employment, but every area of your life. We need more advocates that are brave enough to face the wrongdoing in this world today!

Thank you for everyone who has stood up for what is truly right and not what will make you rich!