Audet & Partners, LLP has learned that Covidien, a medical device manufacturer that supplied material to C.R. Bard that was incorporated into transvaginal mesh products, recently announced that they will set aside $180 million to cover losses expected in connection with transvaginal mesh lawsuits. Thousands of vaginal mesh lawsuits are currently pending against C.R. Bard in federal multidistrict litigation centered in West Virginia.  There is speculation that C.R. Bard may soon settle many of these claims, and the company would then be... Read More

Audet & Partners, LLP reports that a judge in Pennsylvania overseeing hundreds of Risperdal lawsuits has ruled that the plaintiffs in these lawsuits will be barred under New Jersey law from asserting claims for punitive damages.  This ruling, that upheld an earlier ruling in May 2014, in no way affects claims for compensatory damages to cover medical expenses, reconstructive surgery, and the costs of other physical problems caused by Risperdal. As we have previously reported, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson &... Read More

Audet & Partners, LLP reports that, in what may be the first class action lawsuit of its kind, a California nursing home has settled claims brought on behalf of 305 current and former residents that the hospital overprescribed antipsychotic medication to residents.  The lawsuit brought against the Ventura Convalescent Hospital in 2010 alleged that the facility engaged in the practice of  administering a variety of "extremely dangerous" antipsychotic drugs as an illegal means of chemically restraining seniors.  The facility agreed to pay... Read More

Audet & Partners, LLP reports that on June 23, 2014, the California Supreme Court upheld the enforceability of mandatory arbitration clauses in employment contracts that, in most cases, effectively deprive employees of the right to bring class action lawsuits against their employers for legal violations in the workplace.  The case, Iskanian v. CLS Transportation Los Angeles, LLC, No. S204032, overturned earlier opinions that had held the arbitration clauses to be unenforceable. The Court in Iskanian, however, carved out one exception that would... Read More

Audet & Partners, LLP reports that hundreds of Risperdal lawsuits now pending in Pennsylvania state courts are moving forward.  A conference is next scheduled for July 15, 2014, at which the parties will further discuss the further of the Risperdal litigation. In the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas (Risperdal Litigation, Case Number 100300296), more than 500 Risperdal lawsuits have been joined in multidistrict litigation (MDL) to facilitate factual discovery and other litigation procedures common to most of the pending lawsuits. Audet &... Read More

The Federal government has accepted a $124 million settlement from Omnicare to resolve several claims initiated by company employees who reported illegal kickbacks and other improprieties to regulators.  Omnicare is the largest provider of pharmaceuticals and pharmacy services to nursing homes in the United States. The whistleblower lawsuits, brought under the federal False Claims Act, challenged Omnicare's practice of offering below-cost contracts to supply pharmaceuticals and pharmacy services to skilled nursing facilities to secure provider contracts with these facilities.  According to... Read More

As reported earlier, Audet & Partners, LLP recently settled claims brought on behalf of hundreds of women injured after implantation of transvaginal mesh devices manufactured by American Medical Systems (AMS). Similar transvaginal mesh settlements are now being considered by other manufacturers of transvaginal mesh devices. The parameters of the AMS settlements may lay the groundworks for settlements by other manufacturers of transvaginal mesh including Boston Scientific, CR Bard and others. In particular, the following wide range of criterial in the AMS... Read More

Plaintiffs in consolidated Risperdal lawsuits now pending in Pennsylvania have argued that a New Jersey statute barring punitive damages in lawsuits brought involving FDA-approved drugs does not apply when the injuries alleged result from off-label or uses unapproved by the FDA. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the division of Johnson & Johnson that manufactured and distributed Risperdal, had argued that insofar as the antipsychotic medication had been approved by the FDA, the plaintiffs in hundreds of lawsuits coordinated in Pennsylvania could not prevail... Read More

Plaintiffs in consolidated Risperdal lawsuits now pending in Pennsylvania have argued that a New Jersey statute barring punitive damages in lawsuits brought involving FDA-approved drugs does not apply when the injuries alleged result from off-label or uses unapproved by the FDA. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the division of Johnson & Johnson that manufactured and distributed Risperdal, had argued that insofar as the antipsychotic medication had been approved by the FDA, the plaintiffs in hundreds of lawsuits coordinated in Pennsylvania could not prevail... Read More

By letter dated June 10, 2014 to the Acting Secretary of the U.S Department of Veteran Affairs, and the Acting Director of the Phoenix VA Health Care System, Audet & Partners, LLP has initiated formal action to prevent the destruction of documents related to potentially illegal "wait lists" maintained in connection with medical treatment provided to veterans in the Phoenix, AZ VA Health Care System. To review complete letter, please click here. On behalf of families considering lawsuits against the VA hospital... Read More

A recent meeting of the American Urological Association ("AUA") included extensive debate by surgeons and experts about the risks and benefits of transvaginal mesh slings which have been widely used in recent years for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women.  The longstanding, official position espoused by the AUA is that the synthetic mesh devices are important treatment options for women affected by urinary stress incontinence, a condition that leads to bladder leakage in women due to pressure from... Read More

A lawsuit brought on behalf of more than 30,000 Arizona prison inmates has been allowed to proceed as a class action by a Federal court judge.  The class action lawsuit, filed more than two years ago, has alleged substandard medical care provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections that has led to serious illness and death of inmates in a way that rises to the level of "cruel and unusual punishment" under the Federal constitution. Attorneys for the Department of Correction... Read More

A Report released by the Office of the Inspector General ("OIG") has substantiated many of the alleged improprieties in the handling of veterans needing emergency care alleged in a recent lawsuit brought by a former employee. In its Report dated May 28, 2014, the OIG reported findings from its ongoing review of the Phoenix Health Care System ("HCS") as related to improper maintenance of a national Emergency Wait List ("EWL"), resulting in delayed, and in some cases, non-existent emergency medical... Read More

In the wake of mounting lawsuits against manufacturers of transvaginal mesh devices implanted in women to treat a litany of internal conditions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") is now moving to heighten the risk label associated with transvaginal mesh specifically used to treat pelvic organ prolapse ("POP").  The risk label for mesh devices used to treat POP will be heightened from "low" to "intermediate." If the new standard is adopted after a mandatory 90-day public comment period, manufacturers of... Read More

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson  that manufactured and marketed the antipsychotic drug Risperdal to adolescent males, asked a Pennsylvania court in a Motion for Summary Judgment dated May 19, 2014, to hold that hundreds of personal injury claims connected to Risperdal administration should be time barred by the applicable statute of limitations.  In its Motion, Janssen has argued that plaintiffs have filed injury claims years, and in some cases, decades after developing a condition called gynecomastia, and... Read More

Audet & Partners, LLP reports that consolidated Risperdal birth defect lawsuits now being heard in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas (Risperdal Litigation, Case No. 100300296) are moving forward.  Issues related to the litigation against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, will be discussed in court on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. To learn more about pending Risperdal lawsuits, contact Audet & Partners, LLP by calling (800) 965-1461, or by completing and submitting our confidential inquiry form on... Read More

In recent years, there has been a groundswell of misinformation largely designed to dissuade individual consumers from joining together to bring class action lawsuits against large corporations based on various issues including consumer fraud, illegal bank lending practices, personal injuries resulting from defective products, and similar theories. The truth is that it is only through class action lawsuits that many larger corporations, product manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, etc., are motivated to modify their practices in a way that protects ordinary consumers from... Read More

Audet and Partners, LLP is now representing several males who have been diagnosed with Gynecomastia after having taken the antipsychotic drug Risperdal.  If you have suffered this or a similar injury, you may be wondering whether you may have a valid claim for damages. The FAQs below are intended to better help you understand and assess how you might proceed in bringing a Risperdal lawsuit. (1) What is the basis for the current Risperdal lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson? For over a decade,... Read More

Audet & Partners, LLP is now investigating potential legal claims that may form a class action lawsuit against Pella Corporation.  If you have experienced problems with windows manufactured by Pella, we have presented some information below to help you assess whether your claim may qualify for the class action lawsuit against Pella Corporation. (1) What products are involved in this class action lawsuit against Pella Corporation? The current class action lawsuit against Pella Windows specifically involves Pella's Designer and Architect Series Windows. (2)  What... Read More

Whistleblower claims, or "qui tam" lawsuits, brought under the federal False Claims Act, increased to 753 in 2013, an increase of almost 20% over the previous year.*  These claims resulted in aggregate net recoveries to the federal government of $3.8 billion last year.  For the past four years, whistleblower lawsuits have produced recoveries to the federal government exceeding an aggregate amount of $3 billion. What is driving the rise in whistleblower lawsuits under the False Claims Act?  False claims involving healthcare... Read More