Personal Injury Blog

Lawsuit Calls for Major League Baseball to Provide Safety Netting

Negligence Comments Off

Jul 152015

A season ticket holder for Oakland Athletics, Gail Payne, has filed a lawsuit in the federal court of Northern District of California against Major League Baseball (MLB) to seek class action status on behalf of all fans who would buy season tickets in unprotected areas in MLB parks.

The lawsuit calls for the protection of baseball fans from flying balls and bats by ordering the sports association to extend safety netting the entire length of the foul lines. The plaintiff stated that they are not asking for money, but instead want MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred, to extend the screens, which just cover only a few sections behind the plate, to run from one foul pole to another.

A lawyer with the Seattle-based firm of Hagens Berman, Steve Berman, said, “I think it’s important when you have an issue like this not to monetize it, not to say it’s about people trying to get a bunch of money.” Berman is also the one who sued the US and international soccer authorities, asking them to change how they handle concussions.

Payne, who has been attending games of A’s since 1968, purchased tickets this year for the Oakland Coliseum section 211. Her lawsuit claims that 3 or 4 foul balls enter the section each game. The section is along the 1st-base line beyond the safety netting. The suit states, “She fears for her and her husband’s safety and particularly for her daughter. She is constantly ducking and weaving to avoid getting hit by foul balls or shattered bats.”

Now, the MLB Commissioner’s Office stated that they are discussing safety with the clubs, where the players’ association is becoming involved in the talks. “Fan safety is our foremost goal for all those who choose to support our game by visiting our ballparks, and we always strive for that experience to be safe and fan-friendly,” they said. “Major League Baseball is in the process of re-evaluating all issues pertaining to fan safety, comfort and expectations.”

The Merit of the Lawsuit As It Relates to Personal Injury

Payne’s lawsuit claims that there are 1,750 injuries every year that are caused by broken bats and foul balls, and these injuries could have been prevented. Aside from this, it complains that ballpark initiatives designed to attract younger fans, including video boards, mascots and Wi-Fi, are creating distractions that put children in even greater jeopardy. Moreover, it faults the sport for allowing players to switch to maple from ash bats; the former is said to be more prone to shatter.

The lawsuit also says that the sport has failed to provide its clubs with consistent guidelines for the safety of fans and failed to heed warnings from players. It adds that baseball failed to keep pace with other sports, such as NASCAR and NHL, which placed safety policies to protect fans from getting hurt with equipment and debris associated with the game.

Serious injuries and deaths at baseball parks catalogued by the lawsuit include the recent one where a Brewers fan was hit in the face by a foul ball and the old case where a 32-year-old man was killed in 1943 by a bad throw by Washington Senators 3rd baseman, Sherry Robertson. It also cites news reports where players asked for more protective netting during collective bargaining agreement negotiations from 2007 to 2012.

Xarelto Drug Lawsuits

Products Liability Comments Off

Jun 192015

Xarelto is a blood thinning agent manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Johnson & Johnson. It was primarily prescribed as treatment for atrial fibrillation, but patients with deep vein thrombosis are also targeted. Manufacturers claim that a patient taking Xarelto can forego regular blood monitoring and dietary restrictions, which is why it gained worldwide popularity. In 2013, the makers earned $1.3 billion in sales, and continued to do so before the lawsuits were filed. During its release, it was touted as a replacement for Warfarin or Coumadin, and a very good one at that.

Unfortunately, patients prescribed with the drug experienced major side effects which led to a filing of the Xarelto lawsuit, an on-going multi-district litigation (MLD). What is worse, Xarelto has no known antidote in case a counterbalancing coagulant would be required.

What led to the filing of a lawsuit against Xarelto?

Based on detailed research and worldwide adverse reports collected by the plaintiff, there are alleged 72 reported cases of death in Germany that are associated with Xarelto. According to reports in Der Spiegel, a German newspaper that highlighted the story, there are 968 reports about patients experiencing side effects, 58 of which led to deaths. This raised the red flag or “safety signal” on the blood thinning agent.

There are also reports of post-operative pulmonary embolism or blood clots in the lungs, a condition that Xarelto was supposed to treat. Apparently, treatment of the drug is supposed to be discontinued if there is a risk of bleeding associated with surgical or other procedures, and then restarted afterwards. Depending on the urgency of the situation, there should be a 24-hour delay from the last dose of Xeralto to the surgery.

Sufferers also filed Xarelto lawsuits against the manufacturer and marketers for failure to warn patients of the risk of internal bleeding, which is fatal, considering that Xarelto has no antidote for when such an event occurs. Use of the drug also raises the risks of bleeding following an injury. As a blood thinner, even a small cut can prove fatal because of the lack of an antidote. This led to doctors having no way of stopping the bleeding. Xarelto is known to cause several types of bleeding — from the rectum, in the brain, hemorrhaging, and intestinal or abdominal bleeds.

One of the plaintiffs also experienced firsthand the damage that Xarelto can do to an unsuspecting patient. He started treatment in January 2013 upon the advice of his physician. 2 years and a few months later, he was hospitalized due to internal bleeding which Xarelto has no known antidote. He also alleged that the manufacturers knew or should have known that the drugs have associated risks, yet they failed to properly warn patients and physicians of all the dangers linked with the drugs.

Because multiple claims is often necessary to effectuate maximum exposure of defendants in product liability cases involving prescription drugs, the plaintiff made further claims, including negligence, fraud, violation of consumer protection laws and punitive damages. The very idea that they misrepresented their product is also part of the numerous claims filed against the defendants.

The motion to centralize the MLD 21 Xarelto lawsuits was approved on December 12, 2014. Claims were consolidated into MDL and the Eastern District of Louisiana was chosen as the appropriate venue. The case was finally settled in May 2014 for $650 million.

Now, as new blood thinning agents are out in the market, similar lawsuits are seen to be filed, especially now that patients are more wary of such drugs and are fully aware of their rights in personal injury lawsuits.

References

http://injurylawyer-news.com/2015/05/xarelto-lawsuit-added-multidistrict-litigation/

Prior Excessive Force Allegation Could Have Saved Victim

Police Misconduct Comments Off

Apr 102015

North Carolina man says excessive force allegation about a police officer should have been taken more seriously and may have saved a life.

According to the Washington Times, “In September 2013, Mario Givens filed a complaint against North Charleston Police Officer Michael Slager for allegedly slamming him on the ground, dragging him and using a stun gun on him as officers searched for a burglary suspect inside Mr. Givens‘ home, Reuters reported.

“The complaint was dismissed after a brief investigation, but Mr. Slager was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder of 50-year-old Scott, bringing renewed interest to Mr. Givens‘ case.”

Social Media Posts Protected by Privacy Settings Are Admissible in Court

Invasion of Privacy Comments Off

Mar 262015

Even though you’ve meticulously adjusted your privacy settings on Facebook so that only “friends” can see your posts, pictures and activities, this doesn’t mean that they aren’t admissible in court.

This was the case in Nucci v Target Corp., et al where the District Coourt of Appeal of the State of Florida, Fourth District upheld the order of a lower court necessitating that plaintiff Maria Nucci provide photographs originally posted on her Facebook page. According to the court, there is little right to privacy in photos posted on Facebook or any other social networking site.

Nucci is claiming personal injuries against Target when she slipped and fell on a foreign substance in one of their stores. Although she was claiming injury, the photos posted to her Facebook showed otherwise, and that was the issue on appeal. Nucci posted over 30 photos to her Facebook but subsequently deleted them after the pictures were brought up during her deposition.

Nucci didn’t agree with the request of Target to produce the photos because her use of privacy settings meant she had a right to privacy and that the federal Stored Communications Act disallowed the disclosure of her Facebook photos. However, the court argued against that because the photos goes against her damages claim.

This decision by the court isn’t the first of its kind. In Tompkins v Detroit Metro. Airport, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan ruled that material shared to friends on a private account and is not viewable by the public is not protected by common law or civil notions of privacy.

Another similar decision was made by the New York Court of Appeals in the case Patterson v Turner Constr. Co. stating that posts made to a Facebook account, if relevant, are not exempt from discovery just because the plaintiff has restricted access to them.

The United States District Court for the Central District of California in the Mailhoit v Home Depot USA Inc case noted that content posted to social media are neither privileged or protected and requests for information should be reasonably calculated in order to lead to admissible evidence.

Going back to the Nucci case, the Florida Appellate Court agreed that discovery requests should be reasonably tailored in order to lead to discovery of admissible evidence. Meaning, Target’s request met that standard.

With regards to the SCA, the court maintained that the SCA disallows providers of communication services from releasing private communications of users, but it doesn’t apply to the individual users themselves.

The court also rejected the relevance objections of Nucci stating that when personal injuries and quality of life are discussed, what one posts on their social networks equals “a day in the life” and are relevant to the damage claims.

Lessons are to be learned for both the defense and the plaintiff’s defense in this case. For the former, they can use social media content as evidence whenever there is a personal injury claim so they can check relevant information regarding the physical injuries and quality of life of the plaintiff.

The latter can check on the social media posting of their client so they can develop a more accurate picture of the scenario that is to come – the challenges, etc. The last thing any lawyer wants is to defend a client who claims to have suffered emotional and physical injuries only to have a photo of them climbing up a mountain presented during deposition.

External Resource

http://www.law360.com/articles/623032/privacy-settings-won-t-keep-social-media-posts-out-of-court

Woman Wins 50 Shades of Grey Lawsuit

Fraud Comments Off

Feb 232015

An Arlington, TX woman has won a fraud lawsuit including royalties estimated between $10 – $20 million regarding the blockbuster book “50 Shades of Grey.”

According to the Star-Telegram, “The jury deliberated for about 10 hours over three days before determining on Thursday that Pedroza was defrauded by Amanda Hayward, her Australian partner in an e-publishing business that originally released what would become a New York Times bestseller.

“State District Judge Susan McCoy will determine how much Pedroza eventually gets after an accounting of the financial records connected to book sales is completed. Records on the royalties have been sealed, but earlier estimates were that her share could be $10 million to $20 million.”

Texas Whistleblower Gets $28,000 Settlement and Old Job Back

Whistleblower Comments Off

Jan 142015

A Texas whistleblower at the Smith County Sheriff’s department received a settlement for $28,000 and her old job back. She had been seeking $1 million for being demoted for questioning the validly of a document.

The Tyler Morning Telegraph states, “According to her lawsuit, which was seeking $1 million, Ms. Monroe stated she was demoted by Sheriff Larry Smith after she continued to bring up the degree, how she felt it was fraudulent, and her belief that Caulkins was committing theft by using it to garner higher wages.

“However, the document was pushed through, and Caulkins received a pay raise totalling more than $4,000 due to the degree, which proved to be invalid.

“Caulkins and his wife Krista, who also worked for the sheriff’s department and allegedly submitted the invalid degree on her husband’s behalf, entered an agreement with the Smith County District Attorney’s Office last week to avoid prosecution on a second-degree felony of tampering with a government document and public corruption charge.”

Two California Women Bring Lawsuits Against Bill Cosby

Abuse, Defamation of Character Comments Off

Dec 102014

On December 2, 2014, Judy Huth of Riverside County, California brought forth a lawsuit against Bill Cosby for childhood sexual abuse. On Wednesday, December 10, 2014, Tamara Green of Fallbrook, California brought forward a lawsuit against Mr. Cosby for defamation of character. This lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts near the home of the comedian.

According to the National Law Review, “Tamara Green, who accused Cosby of sexually assaulting her in the early 1970s, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, claiming the comedian, through his lawyer and publicist, has defamed her by denying the assault ever happened …

“… On Dec. 2, another woman, Judy Huth, sued Cosby over alleged childhood sexual abuse. Huth, who lives in Riverside County, Calif., claims she met him in 1974 at a film shoot when she was 15 years old. He invited her and a friend to his tennis club, she alleges, where he offered them alcohol, led them to the Playboy Mansion and then sexually molested her in one of the mansion’s suites.”

Virginia Women’s Prison Cruel and Unusual Punishment Healthcare Lawsuit Settled

Negligence Comments Off

Nov 262014

At the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, 5 inmates brought forth a federal lawsuit saying that they healthcare was so bad that it violated the ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

According to the Times Dispatch, “Five inmates at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women filed the lawsuit in July 2012 against several Virginia Department of Corrections officials and the private contractor they hired to provide medical care. The plaintiffs alleged that prisoners suffer prolonged pain and deterioration of their health, and that some have even died because their medical needs were unmet.

“U.S. District Judge Norman Moon certified the lawsuit as a class action covering all of the prison’s 1,200 inmates last week … He also ruled in the inmates’ favor on two points — that state prison officials can’t abdicate their responsibility to provide adequate health care by hiring a contractor, and that the plaintiffs had serious medical needs.”

School Discrimination Lawsuit in Virginia Proceeds

Discrimination Comments Off

Oct 162014

At Bailey’s Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia three educators are alleging racial and gender discrimination against their principal.

According to the Washington Post, “Filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, the lawsuit claims that Rachel Charlton, Yolanda Calhoun and Shyrone Stith faced racial and gender discrimination while working with Principal Marie Lemmon, who joined Bailey’s in 2012. Charlton alleges that Lemmon discriminated against her during and after her pregnancy — insulting her for breast-feeding, forcing her to work while on bed rest and limiting her opportunities — and Calhoun and Stith say that the principal treated them unfairly because they are black.

“Bailey’s, located near Falls Church, is the county’s largest elementary. Many of its nearly 1,400 students qualify for training in English as a second language and free or reduced-price meals, a measure of poverty. It receives federal Title I funding because of its high poverty rate.”

Kansas Woman Gets $1 Million for DJ Remarks

Defamation of Character Comments Off

Sep 292014

A Kansas women was awarded $1 million for the remarks of two DJs at 96.5 The Buzz radio station. The DJs asserted that Ashley Patton, of Olathe, Kansas was a local porn star.

According to ABC News Denver, “Patton received $250,000 for actual damages and $750,000 in punitive damages. During jury deliberations, attorneys for both sides agreed to a high-low settlement, which means Entercom will not appeal the verdict and pay the award in 45 days.

“Patton said she was surprised and encouraged by the verdict.”

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