Legal news affects our everyday lives, whether we notice it or not. Here’s a summary of a few of this month’s major cases.
Lawsuit Accuses Kentucky School District of Failure to Prevent 2018 Shooting
A lawsuit has been filed against a Kentucky school district alleging it did not do enough to prevent a school shooting in Jan. 2018. Marshall County School District has been named as the defendant in the lawsuit filed by a number of the shooting’s victims. The lawsuit alleges the shooter exhibited dangerous tendencies that the school district should have known about prior to the fatal incident.
Kentucky Teenager Subjected to Strip Search at School, Lawsuit Filed
A Kentucky father has filed suit after his 12-year-old daughter was strip-searched at school. The lawsuit was filed against Clark County Public Schools and alleges the child’s rights were violated by the school’s actions. As detailed in the lawsuit, the young girl was subjected to the search by a counselor and an assistant principal. The school has been accused of not adequately training the employees on investigating students and the legal rights of children.
Purdue Pharma Owners Engineered Opioid Crisis, Says Massachusetts AG
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and the family who owns the company. According to the lawsuit, the owners are “personally responsible” for deceptively selling OxyContin. In addition to Purdue Pharma, the lawsuit names as defendants eight members of the family that own Purdue Pharma. They are accused of using their power to create a “deceptive sales campaign” to engineer the opioid crisis.
United Airlines Accused of Covering Up Cause of Alleged Near-Death Experience
United Airlines is facing a lawsuit by a passenger who claims to have suffered a near-death experience on a flight from Chicago to London. The lawsuit alleges the coverup of the incident which “nearly resulted in the loss of all life aboard.” According to the lawsuit, a few hours into the flight, the cockpit windshield shattered forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Canada. Following the incident, United claimed that the crack was the result of hitting a bird. However, the lawsuit alleges the issue was more likely due to a failure by a plane mechanic.
Top 5: Mass Tort Litigations
A status update on the top 5 mass tort litigations to watch in 2019. 1. Opioids: As a result of the ongoing opioid crisis, lawsuits related to injuries arising therefrom have increased substantially, as have the progression of the suits. This month U.S District Judge Story ordered each party in the Ethicon MDL cases to select 5 from the initial discovery pool to proceed with discovery. Talc, RoundUp, and Risperdal are also involved in several mass tort cases.
Judge Grants Monsanto’s Request to Limit Evidence in Cancer Lawsuit
A federal judge has granted a request to limit evidence in a lawsuit filed against Monsanto alleging Bayer AG’s glyphosate-based weed killer causes cancer. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco has granted the defendant’s request to split an upcoming trial into two phases. This will prevent the plaintiff’s attorneys from presenting evidence that the defendants attempted to influence regulators and manipulate public opinion.
$26M Awarded in Bad Faith Insurance Lawsuit Against Aetna
Nearly $26 million has been awarded to the family of a woman who was diagnosed with advanced nasopharyngeal cancer. The lawsuit was filed after her insurer, Aetna, refused to cover the cost of the proton beam therapy recommended by her physician. According to Aetna, the treatment was “experimental or investigational.” The bad faith insurance lawsuit was filed by the woman’s husband after her death.
Our attorneys at McCoy, Hiestand & Smith strive to keep our community informed so check back with us monthly for a Legal News Update!
