HOLIDAY BREAK IS OVER

Back to work and the keyboard after the Holidays....

Couple of noteworthy items caught my attention over the last couple of weeks...First, a family claiming toxic mold in their home caused brain damage to their infant reached a settlement against a lumber company and 16 other defendants. The parents alleged the baby became ill due to mold on framing studs that had developed because the lumber had been improperly stored. The defendant lumber company settled the day after the trial court had barred 10 of 17 defense experts. The court found that defense counsel was late in his disclosure and then backdated court documents to cover up the tardy filing. Oops. Bad day at the office for defense counsel. (Source: December, 2005 issue of VESTED INTEREST, Newsletter for the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association).

Also, on Monday, December 12, 2005 a federal judge declared a mistrial in the first federal lawsuit against Merck for injuries allegedly attributable to Vioxx. A nine person jury was unable to come to a unanimous verdict whether Vioxx had contributed to the 2001 heart attack death of Richard Irvin, a Florida man. The jury had been deliberating for several days. Irvin had been taking the drug for a month prior to his death for back pain. According to the Reuters Online, Merck faces over 7000 other lawsuits claiming that it had hidden data for years showing that there was a link between the drug and heart attacks and strokes. In August, a Texas jury found Merck liable in a wrongful death case, while a New Jersey trial had found for Merck in another death case. Merch pulled the drug from the market in September of 2004.