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Personal Injury lawyer News

-Link-The Lanier Law Firm Announces $4.85 Billion National Vioxx Settlement With Merck & Co. Inc.-Link-

Mark Lanier, winner of nation's first Vioxx trial, hails settlement as 'the right thing to do'

HOUSTON, Nov. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys from The Lanier Law Firm are announcing a nationwide settlement agreement with pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) that should resolve at least 85% of the personal injury lawsuits in the U.S. over Vioxx, the company's controversial pain medication.

"This was simply the right thing to do, and we're grateful that the people at Merck recognized that it was the right thing to do," says Houston attorney Mark Lanier, founder of The Lanier Law Firm and lead counsel in the nation's first Vioxx trial. "A lot of lawyers worked hard to get this settlement, which will help thousands of our clients and every other injured Vioxx patient in the United States."

Mr. Lanier has been a national leader in Vioxx litigation since winning a $253 million verdict in the country's first Vioxx lawsuit in August 2005. That case -- decided in favor of the wife of a former marathon runner who died after taking Vioxx for only eight months -- stands as the largest Vioxx verdict in history.

Today's settlement with Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck marks the end of a series of legal battles that began after the company withdrew Vioxx from store shelves in September 2004. Vioxx was pulled from the market after a study revealed that users of the drug were more susceptible to heart attacks and strokes than people using other pain medications.

-Link-Tarrant County Resident Sues Glencrest Resources, LLC -Link-

Forest Hill landowner seeks class action status and lease rescission

FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- A Tarrant County resident has filed a lawsuit against Glencrest Resources, LLC and Leonard Briscoe, Sr., seeking termination of an oil and gas lease for failure to pay bonus payments. The petition seeks class action status for all landowners who leased their property to Glencrest Resources, LLC.

In early December 2006, Pamela Ellis, attended a meeting held by Mr. Briscoe and Glencrest Resources, LLC, in which she was provided information regarding an oil, gas and mineral lease. During the meeting, Ms. Ellis and others were told if they signed the lease agreement that they would receive their bonus payments within 30 to 45 days and that a well would be drilled and completed by April 1, 2007.

As of today, there is no indication that any of the residents who signed a lease with Glencrest Resources, LLC, have received their bonus payments. The drilling of a well has not begun.

"I believe that every homeowner and landowner is entitled to be treated fairly and paid as promised when signing an oil and gas lease," says attorney John David Hart of the Law Offices of John David Hart in Fort Worth, who represents Ms. Ellis. "We will resolve this dispute so that Ms. Ellis and others can lease their property to an oil and gas company that will meet its responsibilities."

The Law Offices of John David Hart is a group of experienced and dedicated legal professionals working to protect the rights of people wronged by the acts of others. Across the country, the firm represents individuals in cases of catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, dangerous drugs, automobile and truck accidents, oil and gas and commercial litigation.

-Link-Man Struck by Tractor-Trailer on IH 35 Awarded Six Million Dollars -Link-

WACO, Texas, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A Weatherford man struck by a tractor-trailer as he traveled on a motorcycle on IH 35 was awarded a six million dollar verdict yesterday.

A jury in the United States District Court, Western District of Texas (Waco Division), found Colonial Freight Systems, Inc. and its driver, Julie Renee Collins, negligent for causing the March 1, 2006 crash. Walter Browning, 55, was riding a 2003 Honda Shadow motorcycle southbound in the right-hand lane of IH 35, just north of Waco, when Collins, driving a Volvo tractor-trailer moved into his lane, striking Mr. Browning. He was knocked to the highway's shoulder, and suffered serious and permanently disabling injuries.

The unanimous jury found the trucking firm and Collins at fault for the crash, and rejected the defendants' theory that Mr. Browning entered an entrance ramp and drove directly into the tractor-trailer.

"I am so thankful this jury courageously disregarded the trooper's citation which was based solely on the truck driver's statement, as our client was incapacitated at the scene of the accident," said Brantley W. White, one of the trial attorneys.

David E. Harris, another attorney for the Plaintiff, said that this was an important case to bring into public view because tractor-trailer traffic is increasing along IH 35.

"We hope that others will learn from this unfortunate tragedy and strictly follow the mandatory safety regulations that are designed to protect the motoring public. We feel that the jury's award was appropriate and that justice was finally served," he said.

The case went to trial after more than a year of unsuccessful settlement negotiations.

"After eighteen months of waiting, Mr. Walter Browning was able to finally share his story to a jury of his peers since Colonial Freight Systems wouldn't listen to his pleas for help," said John Flood, a member of the trial team.

Brantley W. White and David E. Harris are partners in the Corpus Christi, Texas office of Sico, White & Braugh L.L.P. The firm also has offices in Austin, Texas and Pasadena, California. Based in Corpus Christi, Texas, Sico, White & Braugh L.L.P. handles complex catastrophic personal injury and wrongful cases nationwide and has received national attention for its work in automotive and tire defect litigation, cases involving refinery and workplace incidents, and in the prosecution of other cases against some of the largest corporate interests in the world. For more information, please visit www.swbtrial.com.

-Link-The Law Offices of John David Hart: Texas Man Sues Medtronic in 'Body-Snatching' Case-Link-

Patient received stolen piece of bone during neck surgery procedure

FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- A Texas man has filed a lawsuit against the billion-dollar medical technology company Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) for fraud and negligence in a "body-snatching" scheme that left him with a stolen piece of bone in his neck.

In addition to Minneapolis, Minn.-based Medtronic, the complaint filed in Supreme Court of the State of New York also names as defendants Memphis, Tenn.-based Sofamor Danek, Inc.; Knoxville, Tenn.-based Spinalgraft Technologies, Inc.; Alachua, Fla.-based Regeneration Technologies, Inc.; Fort Lee, N.J.-based Biomedical Tissue Services, Ltd.; Michael Mastromarino and Joseph Nicelli.

In September 2005, doctors at Baylor All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth removed a portion of a cervical disc from James Livingston, 44, of Weatherford, Texas, and replaced it with a bone graft supplied by Regeneration Technologies.

Several months later, Regeneration Technologies recalled the transplanted bone due to its ties to a wider investigation into stolen and tainted body parts that made their way to hospitals around the country.

Since then, authorities have indicted the owner of Biomedical Tissues Services, former dentist Michael Mastromarino, 44, of Fort Lee, N.J., and several others on charges they removed bone and tissue from more than 1,000 human bodies without the families' permission, and then sold the body parts without proper screening for diseases such as HIV, hepatitis and cancer.

Mr. Livingston will continue to undergo testing to determine whether he has contracted these or other diseases.

Biomedical Tissue Services sold bone and tissue to Medtronic, Regeneration Technologies and Spinalgraft Technologies, which then sold them to hospitals.

"To say this is ghoulish or ghastly just isn't strong enough," says attorney John David Hart of the Law Offices of John David Hart in Fort Worth, who represents Mr. Livingston. "This is an unconscionable example of corporate profit over patient safety."

The Law Offices of John David Hart is a group of experienced and dedicated legal professionals working to protect the rights of people injured by the acts of others. Across the country, the firm represents people in cases of catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, dangerous drugs, automobile and truck accidents, workplace injuries and other matters.

-Link-Children Who Caught TB from Bus Driver Awarded $5.2 Million -Link-

ALICE, Texas, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Six school children and a chaperone who were exposed in 2004 to tuberculosis by a sick charter bus driver won a $5.25 million verdict yesterday.

A jury in the 79th Judicial District Court in Jim Wells County, Texas found that Garcia Holiday Tours was negligent in allowing the bus driver, who had been uncontrollably coughing during the trip, and in the weeks before it, to drive a commercial bus without a valid medical certificate. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations require the drivers of commercial vehicles to obtain a medical certificate every two years to ensure that they have been examined by a doctor and are in good health. The Garcia Holiday Tours driver last obtained a certificate in 1999 and had not renewed it in five years.

"We hope that others will learn from this unfortunate tragedy and strictly follow the mandatory safety regulations that are designed to protect the motoring public," said Jason P. Hoelscher, one of the trial attorneys.

Alice High School had contracted Garcia Holiday Tours to take the band to San Antonio for their year-end trip in April 2004. At the time, the driver, who had a family history of tuberculosis, was suffering from four of the six major symptoms of the disease. He was officially diagnosed with active tuberculosis nine days after exposing his passengers to the disease.

The six children and the chaperone have been diagnosed with latent tuberculosis, an asymptomatic and non-communicable form of the disease that can afflict its victims later in life without warning. It is treatable, but not curable.

The jury found that the commercial bus company and its driver needlessly jeopardized the passengers' future health.

David E. Harris, another attorney for the children, said that this was an important case to bring into public view.

"The protection of our children is non-negotiable. We feel that the jury's award was appropriate and that justice was finally served."

District Judge Richard Terrell signed a judgment late yesterday confirming the jury's verdict of $5.25 million dollars in actual damages for the plaintiffs.

Jason P. Hoelscher and David E. Harris are partners in the Corpus Christi, Texas office of Sico, White & Braugh L.L.P. The firm also has offices in Austin, Texas and Pasadena, California. Based in Corpus Christi, Texas, Sico, White & Braugh L.L.P. handles complex catastrophic personal injury and wrongful cases nationwide and has received national attention for its work in automotive and tire defect litigation, cases involving refinery and workplace incidents, and in the prosecution of other cases against some of the largest corporate interests in the world.

Posted by Ryan at June 30, 2004 04:04 PM