Featured Articles

Jury Size - Does it Matter?

Jeff Blackwell
August 17, 2011 18:26

Does the number of jurors on a panel matter?  Does it affect the fairness of the panel in deciding cases?  Moreover, does justice require a unanimous verdict?  Or, asked another way, does justice require that one lone dissenter prevent a jury panel from deciding a case?  These...

Alabama Attorney General Fires Outside Counsel Suing BP

Jeff Blackwell
January 30, 2011 20:24

Last week, news sources reported that Alabama's new Attorney General Luther Strange fired the outside law firms representing Alabama in the BP oil spill litigation.  Now, Attorney General Strange says he will personally assume the role of lead counsel for Alabama.  This is an interesting...

Recent Articles

In Alabama, Worker Safety Is A One-Way Street

Jeff Blackwell
March 20, 2012 23:24

In a February 17 post, I clearly expressed my criticism of the effort by some in the Alabama Legislature to strip our workers of the minimum protections provided by Alabama's Workers' Compensation Act. Arbitrarily cutting off some benefits and keeping other benefits below the poverty level is not...

Whistleblower Files Suit Against Takeda Over Actos

Jeff Blackwell
March 13, 2012 22:49

Actos litigation is a subject that I have addressed on several occasions. The pending claims continue to move forward. As they progress, we learn more about the manufacturer Takeda's research and marketing of this diabetes drug to the public. Last week, Bloomberg revealed that a whistleblower has...

Alabama's Wrongful Death Laws Protect All Life (Is the Alabama Supreme Court on a Collision Course with Federal Abortion Law)

Jeff Blackwell
February 21, 2012 20:17

Last week, the Alabama Supreme Court issued its decision in Hamilton v. Scott.  The case involved a claim for wrongful death under Alabama law.  Yet, this was not a normal wrongful death claim.  Instead, it was a wrongful death claim alleging that a doctor caused the death of an...

Current Efforts To Change Alabama's Workers' Compensation Laws Would Severely Harm the Families of Disabled Workers

Jeff Blackwell
February 17, 2012 19:39

It has been over 25 years since the Alabama Legislature last increased the maximum weekly benefit payable under Alabama's Workers' Compensation Act to a worker with a partial disability. At that time, the weekly maximum allowed an injured worker's family to survive slightly above the poverty...

Update -- Consolidation of Defective Mesh Claims Against Boston Scientific

Jeff Blackwell
February 07, 2012 20:08

A couple weeks ago, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) met in Miami to discuss the consolidation of claims against several transvaginal mesh manufacturers. I previously wrote about this issue. Today, the JPML issued its decision. As requested by many of the plaintiffs, the...

Plaintiffs Seek Consolidation of Defective Mesh Claims Against Boston Scientific

Jeff Blackwell
January 30, 2012 22:05

Last week, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) met in Miami.  Among the issues set for hearing were requests to consolidate pending Federal Court cases alleging product defect claims due to transvaginal surgical mesh products against American Medical Systems, Ethicon...

Actos Update - MDL Panel Consolidates Cases

Jeff Blackwell
January 02, 2012 16:35

The Federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has issued its Order consolidating all pending Actos cases in Federal Court. The cases have been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Rebecca Doherty in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. This means that Judge...

Takeda May Face Thousands of Lawsuits over Actos

Jeff Blackwell
December 02, 2011 14:31

I wrote a few days ago about the health issues being associated with the diabetes drug Actos.  Now, the headline yesterday from Bloomberg says it all: TAKEDA MAY FACE 10,000 U.S. SUITS OVER ACTOS CANCER CLAIMS Regulators in France and Germany have already pulled the drug from their...