North Carolina Product Liability Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Multidistrict Litigation

Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) and PFAS Litigation Update, Part 2

Published on: July 25, 2023 | By Clay Hodges

Back in June I wrote a blog post about a possible $1.185 billion settlement between several defendants in the Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFF) Products Liability Litigation MDL No. 2873 (AFFF MDL). This is a large amount of money, but given how many people and municipalities may have been harmed, this is almost a drop in the bucket when it comes to how much more money could be at stake here. In fact, just a few weeks later, there was news of another viable settlement in the AFFF MDL.

The 3M Settlement

According to its June 22, 2023 press release, 3M announced a potential settlement with public water suppliers, many of which are plaintiffs in the AFFF MDL. The settlement amount will be at least $10.3 billion. This money would be used to help public water suppliers remove perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from municipal water supplies as well as fund continued water testing.

Where to Learn More About CPAP Lawsuits

Published on: January 25, 2023 | By Clay Hodges

For the past year or so, I’ve written extensively about the Philips Respironics (Philips) CPAP, BiPAP and ventilator FDA recalls. Hundreds of CPAP lawsuits have been filed against Philips. The primary problem comes from the foam material Philips uses to reduce the sound and vibration from these machines.

What’s Wrong With the Foam?

These machines use polyester-based polyurethane (PE-PUR) foam that can break down into little bits and enter a user’s airway. The foam can also break down by off-gassing harmful chemicals that the user inhales. These can potentially cause health problems for users, such as:

MDL Created for Exactech Hip, Knee and Ankle Implant Litigation

Published on: October 18, 2022 | By Clay Hodges

Exactech Inc. (Exactech) has been having some legal troubles lately involving its hip, knee, and ankle implants. Some patients receiving these implants have suffered complications from the implant they allege are the fault of Exactech. There have been recalls for the affected products, but this hasn’t been enough to fully compensate the affected patients.

As you might expect, many of these patients have sued Exactech. Because there are a lot of cases with similar facts and issues (and they are also in the early stages of litigation), many of these cases have been consolidated into a multi-district litigation, or MDL.

One of the more recent updates in this litigation involves transferring many cases to a single federal district to centralize the legal proceedings. To better explain what this means, let’s first review what an MDL is.

Update on Paraquat Parkinson’s Disease Litigation

Published on: May 5, 2022 | By Clay Hodges

If you follow my blog, you’ve probably heard about paraquat. If you’re unfamiliar with paraquat, it’s a highly toxic herbicide that may cause Parkinson’s disease. As you might imagine, this potential link is alarming and has led to quite a few lawsuits. Let’s take a look at the current status of these paraquat cases.

Paraquat Lawsuits Begin

It’s undisputed as to the harm paraquat can cause when humans are exposed to it in large amounts over a short period of time. But much of the current litigation concerns plaintiffs who were exposed to paraquat for extended periods, such as when using it often while working on a farm. Due to this long-term exposure, plaintiffs are claiming that paraquat caused their Parkinson’s disease.

Zantac Litigation Focused on Bladder, Liver, Esophageal, Gastric, and Pancreatic Cancers

Published on: February 15, 2022 | By Clay Hodges

In any product liability litigation, the injured person must ultimately prove that the injury was caused by the defective product (legal causation). A relatively easy example is when a lamp explodes and burns an individual, and in the post-explosion investigation the plaintiff discovers the lamp’s wiring was faulty and unreasonably dangerous. In the Zantac (ranitidine) multi-district litigation (MDL), thousands of plaintiffs have come forward alleging that use of the heartburn medication caused their various cancers. I discussed how Zantac is alleged to cause cancer in previous posts. You can start here if interested. In a nutshell, however, studies have shown that Zantac may contain potentially dangerous levels of NDMA (N-Nitrosodimethylamine), which is a likely carcinogen in humans.

There are several ways that NDMA is thought to be present in Zantac medication, which you can read about here. The larger point is simple: you do not want to ingest NDMA, and you certainly do not want to ingest large amounts of NDMA, especially for months or years. Remember, millions of people have taken Zantac or the generic ranitidine, some for many years, so the potential consumer-health risk is widespread. Zantac has been recalled.

Because these studies link Zantac to NDMA, plaintiffs who used Zantac and later developed one of several cancers (reasonably) came forward and filed lawsuits against the manufacturers of Zantac. The original Master Complaint listed at least sixteen different cancers, with indications that the list was not exhaustive.

Johnson & Johnson Uses “Project Plato” to Potentially Avoid Talcum Powder Payouts

Published on: February 9, 2022 | By Clay Hodges

Claims of ovarian and other cancers due to talcum powder or baby powder use have been in the news a lot lately. There has also been plenty of litigation stemming from this possible link.

Although talcum powder studies are ongoing, it has been established that some products that use talcum powder may contain small amounts of asbestos. And there’s a well-known link between asbestos and cancer (especially mesothelioma).

So where does Johnson & Johnson come in? Well, they’ve been one of the more prominent defendants in these talcum powder/asbestos cancer lawsuits. Let’s take a quick look at the baby powder litigation and then examine how Johnson & Johnson is planning to use something called “Project Plato” to deal with their recent legal and financial losses.

CPAP Machine Recall, Injuries, Lawsuits

Published on: December 22, 2021 | By Clay Hodges

There are as many as four million machines affected by the CPAP recall. The Philips CEO has stated that it may take a year or longer to fully repair or replace the affected machines. When he says repair he’s talking about replacing that problematic foam or replacing the entire machine for a brand new machine, so it’s going to take a while. And that’s one of the problems that a lot of the people that are calling my office are saying, and that is, that they use this machine to sleep and some of them are worried that they will have to use the recalled machine to sleep. So they’re in a tough position. Again, I’m not a doctor and I don’t give medical advice, but I would say if you can find a replacement machine quickly, set aside your recalled CPAP machine and don’t use it and beyond that, you just have to talk to your doctor about what’s going on and what you should do next.

Potential Injuries from the Recalled CPAP Machines

What are the potential injuries from the recalled CPAP machines? These injuries would include somewhat modest problems like irritation to the eyes or skin, a cough, headache or dizziness. These are not unimportant issues, they can be serious problems, and they run from the gamut from headaches and nausea to sinus infection. More serious injuries include organ damage, asthma and even cancers. The medical community is looking at this aggressively and quickly and trying to figure out all the many problems that can result from inhaling these particulate foam pieces from the CPAP machines or getting exposed to the off-gassing.

CPAP Machine Recall and the Health Threat of PE-PUR Foam

Published on: December 17, 2021 | By Clay Hodges

Millions of people use the CPAP and BiPAP machines to alleviate symptoms of sleep apnea, so there’s a lot of people that should be interested in this topic. I’m going to move pretty quickly through this information, but I do want to start from the very beginning:

What is a CPAP and a BiPAP machine?

CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure. This machine is programmed to produce pressurized air at one steady air pressure level. The way this works is if you want to change the air pressure on any CPAP machine, you have to reset the device’s settings. CPAP machines are extremely common. There are millions of CPAP machines in use and they’re used to treat obstructive sleep apnea.

Herbicide Paraquat Linked to Parkinson’s Disease: Studies

Published on: October 27, 2021 | By Clay Hodges

There are many reasons to become educated on the herbicide Paraquat: it’s very dangerous, very toxic, and unfortunately studies are starting to indicate that it can cause serious disease if you’re exposed to it in any length of time.

What is Paraquat? / Why is it used?

Paraquat is a toxic chemical that is widely used in this country, particularly in the eastern half of the United States where there’s a lot of farmland, orchards, agricultural areas. It is used as an herbicide, a plant killer primarily for weed and grass control.

Product Liability Lawyers Discuss Tenofovir Injuries, Lawsuits (Part 2)

Published on: October 11, 2021 | By Clay Hodges

My tenofovir discussion with Attorney Whitney Butcher continues:

Clay: What are some of the brand names for a TAF tenofovir drug?

Whitney: So the first TAF drug that was approved was called Genvoya, and it was approved in late 2015. And then Odefsey is another TAF drug that was approved in 2016. And then one that maybe is the most well-known is called Descovy, and that was also introduced into the market in the US in 2016. Truvada was perhaps one of the most well-known of the TDF drugs. Descovy is exactly the same as Truvada except it has TAF instead of TDF. So then it has also been approved by the FDA for PrEP. So, for prophylactic treatment of patients who are currently HIV-negative and as a preventative measure. So Descovy is one of the biggest TAF drugs on the market right now.

Initial Consultation919-546-8788

★★★★★

I was involved in a case for the faulty hip replacements. Clay Hodges represented me. I can't say enough about how much he has helped me. Clay was able to win multiple settlements on my behalf with most of them being the maximum amount able to be awarded. Matt J.

Clay, thank you sir for making a disheartening experience at least palatable, you and your staff were honest, caring and understanding through the entire process of my wife’s hip replacements, while monetary settlements never make the pain and suffering end, it sometimes is the only way people can fight back to right a wrong. J. V.

We are absolutely pleased with how Clay Hodges handled my husband’s hip replacement claim. He always kept us informed of the progress. And, his work resulted in a settlement which we are extremely pleased. Thank you, Clay! Carol L. & Norm L.