Defective Products & Medications Blog Page 2 of 3

First of Six GM Ignition Switch Civil Lawsuits Dismissed

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on January 25, 2016 in Defective Products & Medications

The first of six “bellwether” GM ignition switch lawsuits was voluntarily dismissed by the Oklahoma man who initiated it against the automaker following a car accident in May 2014. During the trial, which took place in a Manhattan Federal Court, evidence emerged that suggested the man had provided inaccurate and dishonest testimony about his financial […]

FDA Warns of Life-Threatening Side Effects From New Diabetes Medications

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on December 28, 2015 in Defective Products & Medications

A recent safety review conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has resulted in additional warnings being added to the labels of a specific class of type 2 diabetes medication known as sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. The potentially dangerous prescription drugs can cause excessively high levels of acid in the blood, a condition […]

Bacteria-Covered Endoscope Linked to Patient Deaths in Pittsburgh Hospital

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on December 23, 2015 in Defective Products & Medications

This week, officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that a defective medical device made by the medical manufacturing company Olympus was responsible for spreading a deadly “superbug” that sickened 18 patients in a Pittsburgh Hospital and caused the deaths of 21 patients at hospitals in Seattle, Los Angeles, and North Carolina. In […]

Takata is in Trouble Once Again

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on November 09, 2015 in Defective Products & Medications

The Japanese airbag manufacturing company Takata made headlines again after The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced it had plans to take legal control over the company’s airbag recall and repair process. Takata is facing six product liability lawsuits for manufacturing and selling defective airbags, causing the auto manufacturer Honda to drop the company […]

Volkswagen Issues Recall Following Emissions Scandal

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on October 08, 2015 in Defective Products & Medications

German automaker Volkswagen admitted to installing emissions falsifying software in 11 million diesel-fueled vehicles manufactured between 2009 and 2015. The defective product scandal prompted Volkswagen U.S. CEO Michael Horn to suspend three German software engineers responsible for installing the deceptive software. By installing the falsifying software, Volkswagen was able to rig a vehicle’s emissions controls […]

Study Reveals Antidepressant Paxil Is Unsafe for Teens

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on September 29, 2015 in Defective Products & Medications

For years, the antidepressant Paxil has been considered safe for the treatment of major depression in teenagers. This is largely due to a 2001 study of the drug which tracked depression scores among teenage subjects receiving Paxil, a placebo, or imipramine, a generic antidepressant. In light of this study, antidepressant prescriptions among teenagers increased 36 […]

GM Settles Ignition Switch Criminal Investigation for $900 Million

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on September 17, 2015 in Defective Products & Medications

After a year a half, General Motors (GM) and the U.S. Department of Justice have finally settled a criminal investigation into the automaker’s defective ignition switch. GM has agreed to pay $900 million and defer prosecution for three years on one count of wire fraud and one count of engaging in a scheme to conceal […]

Salmonella Outbreak Caused by Cucumbers Affects Locals

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on September 11, 2015 in Defective Products & Medications

A salmonella outbreak that has continued to worsen across the nation has led to the death of two people. Two people in Pennsylvania have also been hospitalized for salmonella poisoning. The Food & Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control, and state and local officials are currently investigating a multistate outbreak of salmonella Poona. Salmonella Poona […]

Takata Airbag Probe Expanded

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 27, 2015 in Defective Products & Medications

The U.S. government has expanded its investigation into airbags manufactured by Takata Corp. after a recent incident involving a collision between a deer and a Volkswagen. As a result of the collision, a side airbag inflated with excessive force, causing a metal canister to blow apart. This incident, which occurred on June 7, 2015, was […]

GM Ignition Switch Defect Officially Linked to 124 Deaths

Posted on behalf of Schmidt Kramer on August 25, 2015 in Defective Products & Medications

After months of examining claims filed over General Motors’ (GM) faulty ignition switch, the company has announced that it has approved 124 fatality claims. Additionally, the company approved 275 injury claims, 17 of which were serious. The serious injury claim included those whose injuries resulted in an amputation, permanent brain damage, severe burns, quadriplegia or […]

Free Case Review

No Upfront Fees

Recent Results

$10,043,952.13 Personal Injury
Schmidt Kramer, P.C.partner Gerard C. Kramer won a personal injury action for $10,043,952.13 in Northumberland County on behalf of a volunteer firefighter who was the victim of Intentional Tort. The 50-year-old volunteer firefighter was seriously injured when a barn collapsed, causing a spinal injury which left him a paraplegic. The claim was brought against the arsonist who intentionally started the fire. It is believed that the verdict is the highest ever in Northumberland County.
View Results
$4,034,000.00 Personal Injury
Yesterday a Judge in Union County (Lewisburg, PA) awarded a couple from New Berlin, Pennsylvania, over $4,000,000 because the husband was shot while turkey hunting.You might ask yourself, how does a turkey hunting accident end up with that type of verdict? In order to understand the verdict you would have to know our clients. They are good people who had their life wrecked. Plus, you would have to know the defendant, who should not have been hunting with a gun because he was prohibited after a previous criminal conviction.It is a good verdict, because the Judge was able to do two things with his decision. First, he communicated to two very good people that their losses were something that those of us on the outside could appreciate and value. Mike Hobbins (our client) is a 51 year old guy who lost his sight because a convicted felon --who should not have even possessed a gun-- went hunting illegally, and broke with impunity the most fundamental rule in hunting: identify your target before you pull the trigger. The Judge accepted the financial loss Mr. Hobbins' suffered, but listened closely to the evidence of less tangible losses. When Mike broke down on the stand, because his daughter would end up walking him down the aisle at her wedding, as opposed to how it was supposed to go, the Judge was listening. When Mike could not keep it together, because of how emasculating it was for him not to be able to provide financially for his family, the Judge was listening. It was facts like these that the Judge cited to support the $2,000,000 award for non-economic damages. Second, the Judge wanted to send a message. Union County is a hunting county. Many of the residents hunt there, and people from outside the area come to Union County to hunt. It was my impression, from the Judge's statements as he rendered his decision, that he wanted to send a message to the people in Union County to protect them in their sport. The rules in place to restrict people convicted of crimes not to have a gun are not to be broken. Hunting is serious and you have to identify your target before you shoot. When you turn your back on the rules that are set to provide safety in a sport, you risk being an example. Here, the $1,000,000 punitive damage award sends that message loud and clear.When it really comes down to brass tacks, the right action was taken against a Defendant who may never truly appreciate what kind of impact his reckless choices caused.At Schmidt Kramer, we are injury lawyers. That means we work with people who were hurt in car accidents, who were hurt by the neglect of nursing homes, or those that were seriously injured because of the reckless, thoughtless acts of others. If you or a loved one have been injured in Pennsylvania, we may be able to help. While the verdict yesterday is not one that is representative of every case we do, it does show that serious and dedicated representation can bring good results.Joe ChapmanJanuary 18, 2013
View Results
$2,200,000.00 Auto Accidents
On Monday, January 6, 2014, Schmidt Kramer accident lawyer Scott Cooper obtained a verdict on behalf of his client who is the widow of a man who died in a fiery crash on Interstate 78 in Lebanon County. The awarded verdict of $2.2 million was in a nonjury proceeding before a federal judge in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. That verdict includes $100,000 in punitive damages assessed against the owner of the trucking company.Kamilah Claxton won summary judgment in November after the defendants, Sukhwinder Singh and the trucking company for which he worked, failed to file a brief in opposition to Claxton's motion, which was made in September. The verdict in Claxton v. Singh was issued after the court held a non-jury assessment of damages earlier this month."Mr. Sukhchan Singh, the employer, is liable on the basis of respondent superior, but was also grossly negligent in failing to maintain his vehicle in compliance with state and federal law, particularly with regard to having required safety inspections and correcting defects in its braking equipment," said U.S. District Judge William W. Caldwell of the Middle District of Pennsylvania in his opinion accompanying the verdict."He was also grossly negligent in entrusting his vehicle to Sukhwinder Singh, an inexperienced truck driver who had failed the written test and driving test multiple times before finally earning his commercial driving license," Caldwell said.
View Results
$1,200,000.00 Personal Injury
A Dauphin County jury has awarded a $1.2 million verdict to the parents of a 5-year-old who had an anoxic brain injury and stopped breathing after he had a tonsillectomy.2012-06-26 10:00:00 AMDate of Verdict: June 19. 2012Court and Case No.: C.P. Dauphin County No. 2009-CV-14003-MMJudge: Scott EvansType of Action: Medical malpracticeInjuries: Anoxic brain injuryPlaintiffs Counsel: Terry S. Hyman, Schmidt Kramer, HarrisburgPlaintiffs Experts: Dr. Anna H. Messner, liability; Lucille Packer, Pediatric Otolaryngology, Palo Alto, Calif.; Terry P. Leslie, vocations and earning capacity, Lancaster; Dr. Hilary B. Berlin, pediatric psychiatry, Great Neck, N.Y.Defense Counsel: Andrew H. Foulkrod, Darlene K. King, Foulkrod Ellis, Camp Hill, PADefense Experts: James C. Reilly, Pediatric Otolaryngology, Wilmington, DEComment: A Dauphin County jury has awarded a $1.2 million verdict to the parents of a 5-year-old who had an anoxic brain injury and stopped breathing after he had a tonsillectomy.The entire verdict came against Dr. Andrew M. Shapiro, the doctor who plaintiffs Reginald Graham and Tykeisha Metz alleged chose to have the boy monitored at a pediatric ward. The plaintiffs argued Shapiro failed to tell nurses caring for the baby about, and how to care for, the boy's enhanced risk for respiratory failure.The jury came back on June 19 and awarded Reginald Graham and Tykeisha Mets $500,000 in non-economic damages and $686,170 in loss of future earning capacity, according to the plaintiffs counsel.According to the statement, the baby's mother brought him to Shapiro because she was "'afraid that he might stop breathing during his sleep,'" the plaintiffs' pretrial statement said. Shapiro performed a sleep study and observed the baby's Apnea Hypopnea Index to be 43 — four times higher than what's considered severe. A tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy were performed.According to the plaintiffs, the baby's sleep study results put him at an increased risk for post-operative respiratory complications. Despite this, they argued in the statement, Shapiro ordered the pediatric nurses at the Harrisburg Hospital general pediatric ward to observe the boy as they would any other patients — about once every four hours.The pretrial statement said that one in four children who have an AHI in the 40s and oxygen desaturation below 80 have some type of respiratory problem. The younger the child, the greater the risk of a respiratory problem, the statement said.According to the statement, Shapiro took off the child's pulse oximeter, the finger-mounted device used to measure blood oxygen, and ordered a heart and respiratory rate monitor. The child was 11 months old at the time.The plaintiffs pled that the baby was last seen at 4 a.m. There was no record of his oxygen saturation for the next hour and 45 minutes. He stopped breathing a 6:40 a.m., and his brain was without oxygen long enough to cause demonstrable injury on an MRI."Immediately prior to his surgery, [the child] was a normal child, who could say mama, eat finger foods, and was just on the verge of walking," the statement said. "After his code, [he] was like a newborn. He could not lift his head or sit up. He could not talk. He could not move."In his pretrial statement, Shapiro argued that he recognized the child's pre-operative sleep study showed he was driven to breath by decreased blood oxygen saturation, which he said was typical in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.He argued the American Academy of Otolaryngology dictates that admission to the intensive care unit is not the standard of care. In the statement, he said nurses did not observe signs of respiratory distress. No alarms sounded until the child arrested, the statement said.He said the baby likely arrested as a result of hypoglycemia and/or an acute aspiration, which he argued would not have been identified by blood oxygen saturation.— Ben Present, of the Law Weekly
View Results
$1,024,040.80 Auto Accidents
Scott Cooper settled a wrongful death case on behalf of the widow of a police office who was killed in a car accident in the line of duty for $1,024,040.80. The claim against the other driver was amicably resolved before suit was filed for the entire available policy limits for the other driver. The case took place in Adams County, PA.
View Results

Testimonials

Greg W
Badreddine Saadoune
Michael Kosik was great, I couldn't have asked for a better lawyer. He worked to make sure my medical bills were adjusted appropriately to state law (since I was a victim) and worked hard to make sure I got an appropriate settlement. He is a very kind and understanding person who took the time to explain everything to me in great detail.
Darryl
Jessica Mitchell is lovely, she took care everything in a wonderful way. Definitely I would recommend her.
Mogart Febres
Abbie Trone!! I love her!! She’s amazing! She made everything easy. She was very nice to me! She took very care of my case & If need be i will use her again!!
Desiree Cannon