News

JULY 31, 2008 - The U.S. Senate introduces a bill to permit lawsuits brought by patients who are injured by certain medical devices. This bill is directly intended to reverse the Supreme Court decision Riegel v. Medtronic Inc., in which the Court held that medical device companies are shielded from lawsuits for defective medical devices. The bill, named the Medical Device Safety Act of 2008, was introduced by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Senator Patrick J. Leahy. Many senators, including Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton, are supporting this bill.  A similar bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr.  For details, including a summary of the bill, click here.

JULY 22, 2008 - Iraq War Contractor Litigation - Lopez McHugh represents the families of nineteen civilian truck drivers, employees of Halliburton, who were killed in Iraq. These lawsuits had previously been dismissed by the District Court for the Southern District of Texas, but the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed that decision and remanded the cases for trial.  The cases are now expected to go to trial in September of 2009. 

The Court of Appeals' Opinion can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking here. 

Full details on the importance of the Appellate decision and the history of this litigation can be found here.

JUNE 29, 2008 - In direct response to the recent United States Supreme Court decision to immunize medical device manufacturers from lawsuits based solely upon FDA approval, Representatives Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ)and Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) have introduced a bill to reverse the Supreme Court decision and preserve the rights of injured persons to seek redress from manufacturers of defective devices.  Read More

JUNE 4, 2008 - The FDA warns users of CellCept and Myfortic (medications that are often used after organ transplants) that use by pregnant women can lead to birth defects or spontaneous abortions.  Adults can also develop the nerve disorder called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a disease that attacks the nervous system and can lead to death.  Read More

JUNE 23-25, 2008 - Lopez McHugh's own Ramon R. Lopez will be chairing the Mealey's Pharmaceutical Litigation SuperConference at the Embassy Suites Chicago. Mr. Lopez will also be discussing Ketek litigation. Lopez McHugh attorney Jason Ochs will also be one of the distinguished speakers, addressing the topic of contact lens solution lawsuits.

Some of the many topics to be covered include:

     • Chantix™ (varinicline)
     • NuvaRing®
     • HRT—Ortho-Evra®
     • Bextra®
     • Ketek®
     • VIOXX®
     • Zelnorm®
     • Accutane®
     • Seroquel®
     • Contact lens solution
     • Fosamax®
     • Avandia®
     • Gadolinium
     • Trasylol® (aprotinin)

MAY 29, 2008 - Iraq War Contractor Litigation - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, sitting in New Orleans, revived lawsuits against military contractors over a deadly ambush that killed civilian truck drivers in Iraq.  The District Court had thrown out the lawsuits back in September of 2006.  Lopez McHugh represents the families of nineteen different civilian truck drivers, employees of Halliburton, who were killed in Iraq. Read More

May 14, 2008 - Actor Dennis Quaid testified before the Congressional Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in a hearing entitled, "Should FDA Drug and Medical Device Regulation Bar State Liability Claims?"  The issue was whetjher FDA approval of a drug or medical device should prevent private persons from suing the manufacturers of those drugs or devices. Read More

May 5, 2008 - Heart medication Digitek (also called Digoxin or Digitalis) has been recalled by the manufacturer because pills that are twice the regular size have been manufactured. Read More

May 1, 2008 - According to the Centers for Disease Control, each year 99,000 people die in hospitals from preventable infections. CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has written an excellent article discussing methods to prevent hospital-based infections. Read More

April 14, 2008 - Evan George of The Daily Journal interviewed Ramon Lopez and Jason Ochs regarding the growing number of cases involving Gadolinium-based contrast agents, with as many as 275 cases of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis having been reported to the Food and Drug Administration so far. Lopez McHugh is handling 10 percent of the cases nationwide. Read More

April 14, 2008 - Lisa Romines has been voted one of only 23 Super Delegates for the state of California, a role that will grow increasingly important as the Hillary Clinton-Barack Obama race comes down to the wire. Front page coverage can be found in Ocean County's OC Register. Read More