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- Wood County WV Doctor Sued For Infant Wrongful Death
Posted on 4/24/2009 - Virginia’s Peanut Corporation Of America Faces First Wrongful Death Lawsuit After Salmonella Outbreak
Posted on 2/3/2009 - Wrongful Death Claims Settled in Two Sago Mine Disaster Cases in West Virginia
Posted on 2/3/2009 - $5 Million Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against Grafton Group Home In Virginia
Posted on 12/22/2008 - Brevard Man Shot To Death By Deer Hunter in Accident – Charges Pending
Posted on 12/22/2008
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Wrongful Death
- Alcohol and prescription medication can seriously impair a driver's cognitive ability potentially leading a serious car accident. To learn more, please continue reading...
- Internet and Social Networks Add New Tools for Attorneys to Strengthen Client’s Case in Court
- We've represented family members who lost a loved one in an accident. Below are some of the case results. After you review them, give me a call at 1-800-752-0042 for a free case analysis.
Fentanyl Patch Drug Manufacturers Hammered Again by Wrongful Death Verdict
Posted on Nov 24, 2008
Fentanyl Patch Drug Manufacturers Hammered Again by Wrongful Death Verdict
In what appears to be at least the third plaintiff's victory in a suit over Fentanyl patches (also called Duragesic patches), a jury ordered $13.3 million to the family of a Florida woman who died when a faulty pain patch leaked and flooded her bloodstream with Fentanyl medication, killing her. The verdict was returned in the state circuit court in Seminole County, Florida. In the case, the attorney for the family called two toxicology experts, as well as an expert in the field of absorption of chemicals by the skin of the body. Also, the family's lawyer had a videotaped deposition of one of the production machine operators employed with a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, called Janssen Pharmaceutica products LLP. The operator was asked what precautions he and workers at the plant would take when testing the patches and he replied that they wore two sets of gloves. The family's attorney emphasized that the workers wore a double set of gloves because they didn't want the gel to get anywhere on their skin. The jury verdict was returned after 17 days of trial and six hours of deliberations according to Lawyers Weekly USA. The suit also include allegations against a physician's assistant who was called in the middle of the night when Susan Diane Hodgemeyer, the 34-year-old who died of the overdose, had stomach pains. The physician's assistant told her to take Pepto Bismol and try to go back to sleep. She died that night however. The jury also found the physicians assistant partly at fault along with the drug manufacturers.
Since that verdict was returned, a Chicago state court jury returned a $16 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson and one of its Fentanyl manufacturer subsidiaries. In that case, a mother also overdosed on Fentanyl because of a faulty patch and because of problems associated with this incredibly dangerous drug/medication. We also have posted other articles on this toxic, lethal drug, and I have blogged on this topic on this website.
Depending upon which expert you believe, Fentanyl is more than 100 times more powerful than morphine. The patches are designed to have the medication very slowly absorbed into the skin, but if for any reason an excess amount of medication leaks onto the skin, it can be lethal and cause death. Multiple wrongful death lawsuits are pending against these manufacturers, and our law firm has accepted at least two wrongful death cases that we are currently investigating on behalf of families whose loved ones died from sudden and unforeseen overdoses of the fentanyl medication.
There are numerous allegations not only against the manufacturers, but against medical providers who are prescribing Fentanyl patches in circumstances that are questionable. Because of the dangers of this medication, the medication is supposed to only be prescribed in cases of chronic pain and originally was used only on cancer victims. The manufacturers have pressed to have these patches applied in a wide array of other circumstances, and that is why sudden overdoses have become more prevalent.
If you or a family member have a question about whether you have a case involving a fentanyl patch overdose or wrongful death, fill out our quick contact form and or call our toll-free number on this website. About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the NE North Carolina (NC) border and handles car,truck,railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.
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Our Injury Lawyers Have Been Selected For Many Achievements Outlined Below:
Several Injury Attorneys With Our Firm have been included among the "Best Lawyers in America" 2010 Edition (Lewis-Injury Law, Shapiro-Railroad Injury Law) and been Named As Virginia "Super Lawyers" For Personal Injury Law (Lewis, Shapiro - 2009 Ed.)(Less than 5% of Outstanding Lawyers are Chosen); also selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum (Lewis, Shapiro - 2009); named among the Top 100 Lawyers in Virginia by ATLA (Shapiro - 2009), and our law firm was the first Injury Law Firm in Virginia Invited to Join Primerus, a select group of Highly Ethical, Respected Law Firms .
In October, 2000 our law firm and co-counsel obtained, what was then, the largest record verdict in Virginia's history for an injured person (46 Million Dollar Verdict, with Interest, 60 Million Dollars, Settled confidentially during appeal). Click on icons for more details.
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Our personal injury lawyers handle personal injury cases throughout the eastern USA, and work closely with lawyers in other states on signficant injury cases.
As to Virginia (VA), this includes: Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Richmond (entire area), Petersburg, Roanoke/Salem, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, all areas of the Eastern Shore, including Accomack, Onancock, Chincoteauge, Wachapreague, and Cape Charles, Bloxom, Eastville, Exmore, Greenbackville, Machipongo, Mappsville, Melfa, Nassawadox, Onley, Tangier, Temperanceville, Wachapreague, and Wallops Island, Ashland, Big Stone Gap and any other city/ounty.
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Case Results
DISCLAIMER: PLEASE NOTE THAT EVERY CASE IS DIFFERENT, AND THE VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS MENTIONED ON THIS WEBSITE, WHILE ACCURATE, DO NOT REPRESENT WHAT WE MAY OBTAIN FOR YOU IN YOUR CASE.
Wrongful Death
- Wrongful Death-Car Struck By Tractor Trailer
- Car Accident-Death of Minor/Child-Wrongful Death Settlement
- Wrongful Death settlements-Asbestos/Mesothelioma Cases
Awarded: $2,400,000.00
FAQs
Wrongful Death
- My wife died in a car accident in Virginia. Am I entitled to bring a wrongful death claim against the driver who caused the accident?
- I think I have a wrongful death claim in Virginia as my wife died from injuries in a car crash, but how does a court calculate loss of comfort, sorrow, mental anguish and solace?
- My husband died from injuries in a Virginia car accident, what damages may I claim from a wrongful death case?
- What if an individual dies from the injuries in an accident while the case in pending?
- What is a wrongful death claim?