Merck Faces New Jersey Jury After Big Texas Loss
October 05, 2005
After Merck & Co.'s devastating loss in Texas in August in the first Vioxx case to go to a jury, the nation's eyes now turn to Atlantic City, where New Jersey's first case was set for trial on Sept. 12. There are about 5000 personal injury suits filed nationwide, about half in New Jersey, over the Merck painkiller that has been linked to increased risk of heart attack or stroke. Last month, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee, who is overseeing nearly 2500 Vioxx product-liability cases, rejected a Merck request to postpone the trial. The plaintiff's attorney, Christopher Seeger of Seeger-Weiss in Manhattan and Newark, told <i>The Wall Street Journal</i> that he was "absolutely thrilled" by the judge's action. "I just can't wait to get in a courtroom with this company," he said.
In the Aftermath of Katrina
October 05, 2005
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, people from all walks of life and from all corners of the world want to reach out to do what they can to help the victims of this unfathomable disaster. Schoolchildren are raising pennies to help those in need while relief organizations send supplies from all regions of the country. On the ground where this disaster struck in Louisiana and Mississippi, however, thousands of caring individuals have been providing emergency first aid and medical care to their neighbors in need. When licensed health care workers respond to the urgent needs of the hurricane's victims, what kinds of liability might they be opening themselves up to?
Judge Won't Stop Suit Against Clinical Lab
October 05, 2005
In a ruling that breaks new ground in the area of drug products liability, a federal judge has refused to dismiss negligence and fraud claims against a clinical laboratory for allegedly conspiring with a drug manufacturer to mislead the FDA.
Company Agrees to Pay $74 Million to Resolve Allegations
October 05, 2005
Natick, MA-based Boston Scientific Corp. has agreed to pay $74 million to the United States to resolve an ongoing investigation concerning its 1998 distribution and subsequent recall of one of its coronary stent delivery systems. In agreeing to the settlement, the company did not admit to any wrongdoing.
Dangerous Drug Trials
October 05, 2005
A federal judge in Manhattan has dismissed for a second time class action claims against drug maker Pfizer Inc. by Nigerian families who claim the company put their children in dangerous drug trials without consent.
<b>Product Review:</b> Equitrac Professional Enterprise Edition v4.63
October 05, 2005
At a firm the size of Becker & Poliakoff, with more than 110 attorneys dispersed among 15 different offices throughout Florida, plus international and affiliate offices in Europe, the Middle East and China, the willingness to embrace technology and technological innovations has been a proven key to our ability to provide cost effective, high quality legal services to our clients. That's why we were very pleased when Equitrac introduced the latest version (v4.63) of its Equitrac Professional Enterprise Edition. Its ability to automatically synchronize Equitrac's cost-recovery solution with our time-and-billing software made integration seamless and has dramatically improved cost recovery at our firm.
Intelligent e-Discovery Search Practices
October 05, 2005
As more documentation finds its way into an electronic format, companies must take into account the cost of producing and analyzing them in the discovery process. In particular, firms must address fundamental ways they conduct their pre-trial deliberations to remain in-step with recent judicial rulings and technological advances. <br>Ballooning sets of electronic files bring escalating costs as well as new priorities for managing them.
Methods of Effective Document Selection in Law Firms
October 05, 2005
The saying "garbage in, garbage out" is often familiar to computer users. It means that computer systems are only as good as the information provided to them. The saying is a reminder of how important proper document selection is for any document retrieval system a firm chooses to deploy.
