Tag Archives: verdict

Widow Scores a Win in Court

Sharing evidence

While two players were stars on the court, their family member has recently earned a win in a court of law. More than two and a half years following the fatal helicopter crash that killed nine individuals, Vanessa Bryant and Christopher Chester are victorious in their lawsuit against Los Angeles County. The pair, which consists of the widow of basketball legend, Kobe Bryant, and the husband and father of two of the passengers onboard the aircraft, sued over the casual handling of crash site photos. The close-up visuals of the deceased passengers’ remains were unprofessionally passed through various channels within the sheriff’s department and fire department, and among other public officials. Continue reading →

Oklahoma Tackles the Opioid Epidemic

Alarming epidemic

Since 1999, over 700,000 people in the United States have died from drug overdoses.  In response to this seemingly uncontrollable epidemic, the state of Oklahoma is stepping up as one of the first states to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable. Earlier this week, a judge ruled that Johnson & Johnson must pay $572 million for their role in the overdose death count.  In 2017 alone, 68% of the 70,000 US overdoses were at the hands of an opioid.  This landmark case cites Oklahoma’s public nuisance law and the argument that Johnson & Johnson put people in harm by engaging in “false and misleading marketing of both their drugs and opioids.” The state of Oklahoma blames Johnson & Johnson for the influx of opioids in the state. Continue reading →

Warranted to Heal (But May Cause Cancer)

Medicinal mishap

Following the announcement of the verdict in the ongoing Johnson & Johnson baby powder case, the company’s stock shares fell 1.4%. In the Missouri joint lawsuit, 22 women claimed a direct correlation between their long-term use of Johnson & Johnson baby powder and their ovarian cancer diagnoses. A jury agreed with the evidence and testimony presented in the lawsuit and awarded $4.69 billion to the women. This compensation amount placed this lawsuit as the 6th largest product-defect verdict in the history of the US.  Johnson & Johnson is fighting back and is confident that the verdict will reverse in an appeal.  Continue reading →