Personal Injury Roundup No. 76

Reform, Legislation, Policy

• Vermont legislature considers whether doctors should disclose receipt of free drug samples. (Pharmalot)
• House committee investigates recall of childrens' Tylenol and other over-the-counter childrens' medicines.  (WaPo)

New Suits

• Lots of lawsuits filed over BP oil spill in the Gulf (About Lawsuits, National Law Journal/law.com), including several wrongful death suits on behalf of the workers killed in the original explosion.  (National Law Journal/law.com)
• Illiniois woman files suit against vacuum manufacturer alleging that defective vacuum sucked the hair out of her scalp. (Abnormal Use)
• "Tea is hot, too."   Suit against Starbucks for too hot tea.  (Overlawyered)
• Utah sues Johnson & Johnson and Astra Zeneca, alleging that both manufacturers failed to disclose side effects of their antipsychotic drugs.  (Pharmalot)

Appeals

• California appellate court revives Franklin Mint's malicious prosecution case against Manatt.  (The Recorder/law.com)

Damages 

• John Day points out the impact of the federal damages cap for oil spills on the BP suits.  (Day on Torts)

Trials, Settlements and Other Ends

• Links to WTC settlement and other documents (Mass Torts Profs)
• "Wyeth seeks new trial in Nevada Preempro case."  (AP/law.com)
• Comedian wins defamation suit based on mother-in-law jokes.  (ABA Journal)
• Merck wins second Fosamax trial.  (Pharmalot)
• Nevada jury finds drug manufacturer liable for hepatis-C transmission to plaintiff.  (CNBC/AP)

Miscellaneous

• Walter Olson leaves the Manhattan Institute and joins CATO.  Ted Frank replaces Olson as editor of Point of Law. (Overlawyered, Point of Law)

-SBS