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Our lawyers are investigating toxic baby food autism lawsuits.

What triggered our involvement in these cases was a congressional investigation last year that revealed that many popular brands of baby foods in the U.S. contain dangerously high levels of toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and arsenic. Scientific evidence and studies have shown that consumption of these metals during infancy and early childhood can cause neurologic damage and autism.

Product liability lawsuits are now being filed nationwide against baby food manufacturers. These baby food autism lawsuits allege that the manufacturers knowingly sold their products with unsafe levels of toxic metals and that the plaintiffs developed autism spectrum disorders from consuming them in their baby foods.

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Nexium, or esomeprazole, is a drug that is used to treat heartburn and excessive amounts of acid in the stomach. Specifically, it is used to treat duodenal and gastric ulcers, esophagitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Nexium is a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) that decreases the amount of acid produced in the stomach. Other drugs that are in the same class as Nexium include Prevacid and Prilosec. Approximately 15 million Americans use PPIs that are sold both as prescription and over-the-counter. Nexium sales exceed $3 billion a year.

Nexium Class Action Lawsuit Updates 

March 2023: The bellwether trial in the Nexium PPI litigation that was supposed to get started this month has now been postponed to June 5, 2023. Two additional bellwether trials will follow in July and September. No explanation for the postponement was given, but many believe that was done because the parties are close to a settlement. 

August 2022:  Defendants in the PPI MDL had moved to dismiss all failure to warn claims in the PPI class action lawsuit because they are preempted. The argument, and it is a weak one, is that because the FDA (a federal agency) approved the warning labels, state law claims cannot be brought. 

Our lawyers talked about this in the last update in June – this motion is crucial because the crux of this class action lawsuit is that you knew of this problem with kidney injuries yet you did not change their product, instructions, guidelines, or, most importantly, warn doctors of the risk. 

The Special Master in the MDL likely put this issue to bed in the Prilosec-Nexium class action lawsuit. issued a report to the MDL Judge recommending that this argument be rejected because the defendants cannot show that the FDA would have rejected proposals for stronger warnings about kidney damage. The first bellwether trial in the MDL is set for November.

June 2022: The defendants in the Nexium-Prilosec PPI class action MDL have filed motions for summary judgment in the upcoming bellwether test trials. The primary legal argument in this motion is based on a doctrine called federal preemption. The preemption doctrine holds that victims are blocked from bring tort lawsuits under state law if there is a federal law that protects the defendants from liability. The Special Master in the MDL recently allowed both parties to submit additional briefing to address how a recently decided case on the preemption issue (In re Fosamax Alendronate Prod. Liab. Lit.) could potentially impact the issues in the Nexium-Prilosec cases. Our lawyers have read the Fosamax case (which rules in favor of defendants on a preemption argument) and in our opinion it is not applicable to the issues in the PPI cases.

April 2022: There are around 13,500 lawsuits pending in the Nexium-Prilosec PPI class action MDL.  The first trial will be in October.  The hope is that a few trials will set settlement amounts for Nexium kidney lawsuits. But many class action lawsuits – at least lately – have had trials and the parties still could not agree to a settlement amount for the victims.  So the judge, in this case, wants to keep the pressure on the lawyers.  So if a global settlement is not reached, the MDL Judge has identified a group of 200 cases that the parties will be preparing for trial over the next 16 months.

  • These drugs have had a troubled history.  Zantac, which was long considered a great and safe drug, has now been associated with cancer.

Problems with Nexium

Nexium is a controversial drug.  At one point, bone fracture lawsuits were all the rage because there was data suggesting Nexium, particularly the long-term use of Nexium, would cause bone fractures and breaks.  Our lawyers believed many of these lawsuits were meritorious.  But the litigation did not get very far.

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This post looks at the scientific evidence of as to whether acetaminophen/Tylenol can cause asthma in light of a new study.
Does acetaminophen cause asthma?  It is one of those “everyone uses this at some point” products. Tylenol, known by its generic name acetaminophen, is a popular pain reliever and fever reducer. It is estimated that 23% of Americans use acetaminophen in any given week. Concerns regarding liver injury have been raised. Other side effects, such as asthma and eczema and autism and ADHD have also recently been gaining notice from scientists and lawyers. The potential risk for asthma when administered to children and used during pregnancy is a concern that was first raised over 10 years ago.
Several studies have suggested that acetaminophen use in pregnancy, infancy, later childhood, and adulthood may be associated with an increased prevalence of asthma. Two extensive observational studies have demonstrated that increased use of acetaminophen in children has occurred due to concerns of Reye’s Syndrome and allergy/asthma to aspirin or other NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).
How would Tylenol cause autism?  No one knows.  One theory is that acetaminophen may cause an imbalance in the body’s immune system, leading to an increased risk of asthma. Another theory is that acetaminophen may reduce the levels of a natural antioxidant in the body called glutathione, which could increase the risk of asthma.  But there are more questions than answers.

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Within the past year, many lawsuits have been filed against Teva Pharmaceuticals. These Paragard IUD lawsuits allege that suits allege that Teva’s IUD fractures upon removal, resulting in fragments being left in the uterus. The plaintiffs claimed this caused them to undergo additional removal procedures, which would have been unnecessary had this defect not occurred.  The purpose of this page is to provide a status update on the current state of the Paragard lawsuits as of late February 2023.  Other Paragard law firms and websites are providing updates on this litigation, and I would encourage you to follow them here, here, and here.

Indeed, the biggest news in the short history of this litigation was last month when these lawsuits were centralized into an MDL in Georgia federal court.  This means there will be a class action in which all federal court cases will be consolidated in Georgia under one judge.  So if you have a federal case in California, Texas, Florida, or anywhere, it will end up.

Let’s start out by talking about some of the science behind these cases.  Usually, what fuels litigation is that studies come out, and lawyers jump on these studies to bring lawsuits.  In this litigation, it might be a little bit backward.  It took a while for plaintiffs’ lawyers to pick up on the problems with Paragard.  Now a new study this year further supports the contention Paragard lawyers are making.

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3M Company, a multinational conglomerate based in Minnesota, faces over 200,000 lawsuits in federal court in Florida in February 2023.

The lawsuit alleges that 3M knowingly sold defective earplugs to the U.S. military from 2003 to 2015 without disclosing the defect, which caused the earplugs to loosen and not adequately protect the user’s hearing. The lawsuit further claims that the company was aware of the problem for years but continued to sell the earplugs and even falsified test results to maintain its lucrative contract with the U.S. government.

As a result of this defect, thousands of military service members and veterans have suffered from permanent hearing damage, which has led to significant hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and other related conditions. The lawsuit seeks compensation for the affected individuals and damages for the company’s alleged fraud and negligence.

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A federal class-action lawsuit on Elmiron was filed in October 2020. Its plaintiffs allege that it causes pigmentary maculopathy. This comes after recent studies have reported on Elmiron’s association with retinal damage.

These Elmiron eye damage lawsuits are expected to explode as people are learning that their eye injuries may be associated with Elmiron.  This could be an extremely large mass tort and it has earned the interest of drug injury lawyers everywhere.

Elmiron

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The Gardasil HPV vaccine was developed by Merck & Co. and pushed onto the market in 2006. Since then, the Gardasil vaccine has been administered to millions of adolescent girls in the U.S. Recent research has established that the Gardasil HPV vaccine can induce a host of autoimmune disorders including Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), Orthostatic Intolerance (OI), and many other conditions. These women are now bringing Gardasil vaccine lawsuits against Merck.

February 2023 Gardasil Lawsuit News

This week, Merck filed a motion seeking dismissal of all Gardasil claims based on design defect theories. Design defect claims against vaccine manufacturers are barred under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act. If granted, the relief sought in this motion would significantly narrow the scope of the claims in the Gardasil MDL.

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On July 13, 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalled Valsartan because they contain the contaminant N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). The FDA noted that Valsartan products pose an unnecessary risk to patients.

Before we get to the 8 things you need to know, let’s get the latest Valsartan lawsuit update for February 2023.

February 2023 Valsartan Lawsuit Update

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Zometa is a brand name for the medication zoledronic acid, which is used to treat various conditions, including osteoporosis and certain types of cancer. Zometa was targeted for a small but signfiicant number of lawsuits alleging that it causes osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ).

What Is ONJ?

ONJ is a condition where the jawbone begins to die due to a lack of blood supply. The biggest symptoms of OJN are pain and difficult eating or even speaking.  ONJ is linked to the use of bisphosphonates, a class of drugs that includes Zometa. The first reports of ONJ in patients taking bisphosphonates appeared in the early 2000s.  Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against Novartis, the manufacturer of Zometa, claiming Zometa caused their ONJ.

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Super Poligrip, an adhesive denture cream produced by GSK Consumer Healthcare, has been the subject of multiple lawsuits in the past. These lawsuits were brought by individuals who claimed that prolonged use of the product resulted in adverse health effects, including nerve damage and iron deficiency anemia.  This post will look back no these very successful lawsuits.  To be clear, we are not taking these lawsuits in 2023. But there is a strong interest in how previous successful MDLs have played out so we are providing this information here.  Some of this – most of this – is fresh content but some was pulled for 15 years ago.

Denture Cream Lawsuits

The history of denture cream lawsuits dates back to the late 2000s, when individuals who had used denture creams, including Super Poligrip, for an extended period of time began to experience adverse health effects, including nerve damage and iron-deficiency anemia. This prompted a number of class action lawsuits to be filed against the manufacturers of denture creams, including GSK Consumer Healthcare, the maker of Super Poligrip.

In these lawsuits, plaintiffs claimed that the zinc in the creams caused nerve damage and anemia due to excessive zinc absorption. The lawsuits further alleged that the manufacturers failed to adequately warn consumers about the potential risks associated with long-term use of the creams.

So GSK has faced a number of class action lawsuits elated to the safety and effectiveness of Super Poligrip and other denture creams. In some cases, plaintiffs claimed that the zinc in the creams caused nerve damage, while in others they claimed that the creams caused anemia due to excessive zinc absorption.

In response to these lawsuits, GSK has issued warnings and changes to the labeling of its denture creams, including Super Poligrip, to advise consumers of the potential risks associated with long-term use and to provide information on proper usage. In addition, GSK has agreed to settle certain lawsuits, including class action lawsuits, brought against the company for a lot of money.

Denture Cream Class Action MDL

The history of the denture cream multidistrict litigation (MDL) refers to a legal proceeding that consolidated multiple individual lawsuits related to the safety and effectiveness of denture creams, including Super Poligrip, into a single case for pre-trial proceedings.

MDLs are often used when there are a large number of lawsuits that involve similar factual and legal issues, such as those related to denture creams. The purpose of an MDL is to streamline the litigation process and avoid duplicative discovery and other pre-trial proceedings.

In the denture cream MDL, the lawsuits were consolidated before a single judge in the Southern District of Florida. The proceedings included evidence and expert testimony related to the potential health risks associated with long-term use of denture creams, including Super Poligrip, and the manufacturers’ warnings and labeling practices.

It’s important to note that the MDL proceedings did not result in a final resolution of the individual lawsuits. Rather, the MDL was used to efficiently manage the pre-trial proceedings, with the individual lawsuits being returned to their original venues for trial or settlement.

Warning Change

The manufacturers of Super Poligrip, the zinc-containing denture adhesive that can cause numbness, decrease in strength, tingling, balance problems, and other issues, have updated its product with a new warning.

Now, consumers are warned that the denture adhesive contains zinc and that they should talk with their doctor if they are taking zinc supplements because of the potential for zinc-toxicity. It also warns that excessive amounts of Poligrip can cause serious health effects.

Finally, diagrams are included detailing proper use, and the labeling informs consumers about how long a tube should last. This is a good step forward. The problem with the adhesive up to now has been that many consumers with ill-fitting dentures use prodigious amounts of adhesive, causing extensive neurological injuries. These warnings may go a long way to prevent further problems.

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