Before becoming LegalReader's Editor-in-Chief, Jay W. Belle Isle worked as a freelance copywriter with clients on four continents. Jay has a degree in Business Administration from Cleary University and a Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Jay has also worked as a contracts administrator for a DOD contractor specializing in vehicle armor.
As Texas continues its recovery from Harvey and Florida is just beginning its recovery from Irma, it looks as though history may repeat itself in that it will be necessary to catalog vehicles damaged by these two immense storms. This is a vitally important project, as flood damaged vehicles may not be safe, even though they appear fine.
Vicki Hill’s 2007 Jeep Liberty was rear-ended on Monday, August 28, 2017. Ms. Hill, an Elyria, Ohio resident, was stopped at a traffic light on her way to work when her vehicle was struck from behind by a 2003 Buick Century, driven by Kristi Fitch. Elyria police Captain Phil Hammonds said that Ms. Hill’s vehicle was on fire when officers arrived on the scene.
It may be true that “that which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet,” but the same cannot be said of “friends,” at least not on Facebook, according to a Florida court. There has been a question of whether our social media pals, or “e-friends,” as I used to call them, are really “friends,” according to some of the commonly accepted definitions. Personally, I long ago abandoned the distinction between “e-friends” and friends IRL. In my opinion, a friend is a friend is a friend, regardless of how we are connected. The issue is less clear when one looks at how friendships can impact the legal field, specifically, those between judges and the lawyers appearing before them.
What do you get when you blow hot air around a surgical patient? If you’re 3M Co., the maker of the Bair Hugger Forced Air Warming Device, you get over 2,600 lawsuits. You also get a letter from the FDA telling healthcare providers that the device is actually cleared for use. The Bair Hugger was designed to “promote post-surgical healing and cut down on infections by maintaining a patient’s body temperature in surgery.”
On August 22nd, I reported on a huge verdict for the plaintiff in a case against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) over the company’s talc-based baby powder. The plaintiff, Mrs. Eva Echeverria, is currently undergoing aggressive treatment of ovarian cancer; a disease she (and the jury) believes is the result of years of using J&J’s baby powder for feminine hygiene. Mrs. Echeverria was awarded $417M ($70M in non-economic damages and $347M in punitive damages). The total in talc-related verdicts against J&J is now over $720M. All for want of a simple warning label.
This is a case of facing the music. Aaron Davis, a patent attorney in Minneapolis, Minnesota recently learned that, if you’re gonna dance, you have to pay the band. The former partner at Patterson Thuente was recently ousted from his post after being outed as the owner of Behold Barbarity, a record label catering to the tastes of a small subset of black metal/death metal fans. Note: This article contains strong, hateful language.
Yesterday, a jury in Los Angeles handed down a verdict for the plaintiff in a suit against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) over the company’s talcum powder and its connection to the plaintiff’s ovarian cancer. The $417M verdict ($70M compensatory damages and $347M punitive damages) is the largest award in this type of suit thus far.
Remi Walden died in a horrible vehicle fire in March, 2012. He was safely seated in the rear of a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee when it was struck from behind. The fuel tank, mounted behind the rear axle of the Jeep, exploded engulfing the vehicle in flames. It’s estimated that then four-year-old Remington lived for approximately one minute. The jury in the original case found that Chrysler knew the location of the fuel tank was dangerous and awarded the family $150M ($120M in compensatory damages and $30M in pain and suffering). The judge later reduced the award to $40M ($30M compensatory and $10M pain and suffering). Not content to face its responsibility, Chrysler appealed. The appellate court upheld the verdict and award. Now, Chrysler has taken its appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court.
Despite Bayer’s strident claims to the contrary, regulators in Ireland aren’t exactly certain the German company’s Essure “permanent” birth control device is a safe option. That uncertainty prompted the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) to decline renewal of Essure’s CE marking – the commercial license that allows the device to be sold in the EU.
There are two things you don’t want to see being made – sausage and legislation. ~ Otto von Bismarck. This axiomatic quote says it all: you don’t want to see these things being made because the process will likely turn your stomach. The latest effort by Washington’s true masters is no less disgusting. Lobbyists for the insurance and medical industries are proudly – and loudly – claiming responsibility for a recent medical malpractice reform bill.