Articles Tagged with drugs

21st Century Cures Act: Faster Approval of Devices and Drugs a Public Health Threat?

Published on: December 14, 2016 | By Clay Hodges

If you’ve kept up with politics even a little bit, you know how much gridlock exists in Congress. It’s amazing that anything can get done in Washington. However, a new law called the 21^st Century Cures Act just passed with tremendous bipartisan support; this law must be really good, right?

21^st Century Cures Act: The Good

The 21^st Century Cures Act has the potential to save lives. For instance, it will provide funding for cancer research, fight painkiller drug abuse, advance Alzheimer’s research and improve mental health treatments.

How Long Will It Take to Resolve My Artificial Hip Lawsuit?

Published on: November 8, 2016 | By Clay Hodges

I got a desperate phone call the other day. The call came from a man several states away. Let’s call him “Bill.” Bill had hip replacement surgery in 2007. The Depuy ASR artificial hip was implanted. He began to suffer pain eighteen months later, in early 2009, and blood tests showed his cobalt and chromium metal levels were rising at an alarming rate. He was suffering from metallosis. In 2011 Bill underwent Revision Surgery to remove the Depuy ASR hip. A year later he hired an attorney and filed his product liability lawsuit against Depuy Orthopaedics and Johnson & Johnson (the parent company of Depuy) in federal court in Bill’s home state. From there, the case was transferred to the Depuy ASR MDL in the Northern District of Ohio, before Judge David Katz. Judge Katz was the federal judge assigned to handle or manage the pretrial issues associated with the thousands of Depuy ASR cases that were transferred to his court after being filed across the country.

In November 2013, the first Settlement was reached between the Plaintiffs’ Committee and the Defense Team for Depuy and J&J. I have written about this Settlement and its terms here. So six years after the Original Surgery, and four years after the first onset of pain, and two years after Revision Surgery, Bill finally had the opportunity to accept the settlement offer or reject the offer and pursue a jury trial on his specific case. After much deliberation, Bill rejected the settlement offer.

Three years have now passed. Bill’s case is not on a trial calendar. In fact, as far as I am aware no case has yet been tried of any person who rejected the settlement offers. To make matters worse, this summer Judge Katz, in charge of the MDL, passed away. A new judge had to be appointed to take his place overseeing the MDL.

Bill is at his wit’s end. He told me he merely wants his day in court. He is now nine years removed from the Original Surgery, seven years removed from the onset of symptoms, five years from Revision Surgery, and over four years from filing suit. And still no trial date in sight.

Bill is not alone. Hundreds of people in the MDL rejected the settlement. And those people are waiting too.

So how long does it take to resolve your artificial hip case?

What’s the Best Way to Manage My Product Liability Settlement Funds?

Published on: August 31, 2016 | By Clay Hodges

My clients who have been injured by a failed medical device like an artificial hip or knee or a problem drug like Viagra suffer in many ways. There is the physical, emotional and psychological suffering. But there is another form of suffering that is often as traumatic: financial suffering. A failed medical device may cause a client to lose his or her job, and the lost income and extra medical expenses can be devastating. The good news is, often these clients receive a large sum of money from a settlement or jury verdict when a medical device or drug injures them.

Clients occasionally ask my advice on how best to handle the new money that has come into their lives. Frankly, this is a happy conversation. But it’s also extremely important to get the answer right. The worst thing clients can do is spend down the money quickly and have nothing left a few years down the road when they still need money.

My Challenge to Medical Device and Drug Companies: Put Me Out of Business!

Published on: April 11, 2016 | By Clay Hodges

I don’t drink the Kool-Aid. I distrust simple answers, group-think, zealotry. I can’t stand when people make sweeping generalizations about the absolute evil of one side and the unconditional good of the other side. I don’t usually spend much time with plaintiffs’ attorneys who think every corporate decision is an act of violence and malfeasance. I am convinced there are two sides to every story (even if, often, one side of the story is weaker).

Medical Devices and Drugs Have Saved Many Lives

So it is with my law practice. I do not believe major companies are evil, that they are out to hurt people, that all the conspiracy theories are true. I am convinced the life-cycle of a medical device or drug begins with a beautiful idea: to develop a product that will save lives, that will make people more active, that will help people and not hurt them. In fact, virtually all medical devices or drugs are first developed by one or a few smart people attempting a solution to a pressing health problem.

And these medical devices and drugs have saved lives. And as a society we have to create an environment where doctors and scientists and corporations have the freedom and the opportunity to build new medical devices and new drugs to solve vexing health problems.

★★★★★

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.