Earlier this month, Judge Rufe issued a pretrial order scheduling the initial status conference of the MDL for July 12, at which time, attorneys for each side will “suggest procedures that will facilitate the expeditious, economical and just resolution of this litigation,” the order said.

The judge also ordered that by June 8, each side is to present a proposed case management order, as well as a brief regarding the factual and critical issues concerning the litigation.

All of the lawsuits involved thus far in the MDL allege that Pfizer failed to adequately warn consumers and physicians about the serious and potentially life-threatening side effects of Zoloft on babies, including heart defects, lung defects, cranial defects and malformations, abdominal defects, spina bifida, and persistent pulmonary hypertension in newborns (PPHN). Zoloft was approved by the FDA in 1991 as a treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and depression.

There are currently four lawsuits filed against the da Vinci surgical device in district courts in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and New York, and experts expect that number to grow. These lawsuits  allege that design defects and improper training has caused patients to suffer internal injury, and that the manufacturer has failed to provide adequate warnings regarding the risks of complications with the da Vinci surgical device.

The Mayfield’s lawsuit claims that Intuitive Surgical failed to provide hospitals with skilled da Vinci technicians as well as proper physician training, while over-promoting the device as a safe and effective alternative and failing to warn about the risks associated with the device. The lawsuit says that Patricia suffered injury to her bowels and vaginal cuff during a hysterectomy performed with the da Vinci device.

According to the motion, “An estimated four in ten hospital websites in the United States publicize the use of robotic surgery, with the lion’s share touting its clinical superiority despite a lack of scientific evidence that robotic surgery is any better than conventional operations….The hospitals employing this device have outsourced patient education content to the device manufacturer, allowing industry to make claims that are unsubstantiated by the literature.”

As many as 10,000 lawsuits could be filed against Takeda Pharmaceuticals over allegations that the type 2 diabetes drug Actos has patients to develop bladder cancer, Bloomberg reported. Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning that long-term or high dose Actos users face a 40 percent increase in developing bladder cancer. Health Canada has also issued a warning concerning the drug, and the drug is currently banned in Germany and France.

Actos has also been linked to increased heart disease and cardiovascular risks, and a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism linked the drug to an increased risk of fracture in postmenopausal women, and in men who were also prescribed a loop diuretic.

Even though Stage 4 bedsores are considered by national safety panels to be extreme events, inline with amputation of the wrong limb or patients electrocution, the state’s review of the Frazier case led to no penalties, citations, or consequences.

“The allegation of the facility failing to properly assess or treat a resident who was at risk for pressure sores was substantiated, the facility was not cited with deficient practice because the investigation did not substantiate current deficient practice,” the state’s investigation summary stated.

State investigators for Medicare also found no cause to pursue action against the nursing home, however, they did place a lien for thousands of dollars against the jury award for the wound care it paid for Frazier’s grievous wounds.

David Vladeck, director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Affairs said “Unfortunately, for the millions of people who bought Skechers toning shoes, the only thing that got a workout was their wallet.” He also said that “when comparing its toning footwear to standard fitness shoes, Skechers put its foot in its mouth by making unproven claims that its toning footwear strengthened muscles, increases weight loss, reduces body fat and improves circulation and aerobic conditioning.”

Under the terms of the settlement, Skechers will pay $40 million for the federal allegations, with most to be used for refunds to consumers who purchased the shoes, and $5 million more to settle allegations made the states, as well as an additional $5 million for legal fees associated with the class action lawsuit.

Anyone who purchased Skechers Shape-Ups and other toning shoes can apply for a refund through the FTC website at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/cases/skechers/index.shtm

Health Systems Inc., which owns the nursing home, and its affiliate Rehab Systems were also named as defendants in the lawsuit. According to government investigators, RehabCare formed an illegal business arrangement with Health Systems and Rehab Systems which included a one-time payment of more than a half million dollars, as well as continuous payments of 30 percent of therapy services. For this, the lawsuit claims, RehabCare was given a five-year therapy service contract for nursing home residents.

The federal anti-kickback statute prohibits anyone from pay for or receiving “any renumeration” for referrals of Medicaid and Medicare recipients. According to investigators, RehabCare “has received in excess of $70 million in revenue” from the illegal maneuvers since 2006.

The lawsuit seeks treble damages plus civil penalties of up to $50,000 per false claim, St. Louis Today reports.

Previously, Judge Howland Abramson dismissed a count made by the state that it could sue J&J subsidiary, and Risperdal maker Janssen Pharmaceuticals, as a “provider” under the fraud laws of Medicaid. Then, Judge Frederica Massiah-Jackson dismissed the lawsuit after a week of testimony ruling that PA did not have enough evidence for the case to continue.

Currently, attorneys for the state argue that the dismissal was in error, presenting evidence that included letters from the FDA, one of which stated, “The materials and promotional messages Janssen has disseminated contain false and/or misleading information about the safety and effectiveness of Risperdal.”

A lawyer for J&J said the state completely and totally failed to prove its case, and urged the court to let the dismissal stand.

The whistleblower lawsuit, which was unsealed earlier this year, further alleges a financial connection between Takeda and Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Steven Nissen, who authored a meta-analysis that showed Avandia, also a type 2 diabetes drug, was more dangerous than Actos. The lawsuit also alleges that Nissen was the principal investigator for the Actos phase 2 PERISCOPE trial, and that the trial used technologies invented by Nissen as part of the trial. For this, the suit claims, “payment Nissen received from Takeda through Cleveland Clinic Foundation was estimated to be $8 million to $10 million” for this participation in PERISCOPE, while Cleveland Clinic garnered over $13 million in revenue from Takeda for the Nissen invented imaging technologies.

Nissen has previously stated that he received no personal income from the drug maker, and that the funds Ge estimates that Cleveland Clinic received were off base.

The plaintiff, now 40, alleges that a priest who was ordained in 1935, began to sexually abuse him in December 1983, when he ordered him into the rectory for punishment for mistakes he made while serving as an altar boy. According to the lawsuit, the boy was given a writing assignment, however, while in the rectory, the priest coerced him into pulling down his pants. The plaintiff alleges the priest then hit him with a wooden paddle and touched his genitals, all the while telling the boys that his actions would cleanse the boys of his mistakes.

The lawsuit claims the priest sexually abused the boy in this manner on at least four more occasions.

The problem, according to the New York Times, is that the city has experienced severe cutbacks in monies allotted to the city’s tree care and safety programs, forcing pruning work to be delayed. Safety and inspection work is routinely being performed by general park workers, who have not received the special training in the science of tree care and risk management.

The New York Times reports that there are 2.5 million trees in the city’s parks and streets, and the city is in the process of planting a million more. Currently, trees are pruned on a 15-year cycle instead of a seven-year cycle, while the tree care budget has dropped from $4.7 million to $1.45 million in the last five years alone. However, the Central Park Conservancy maintains a $40 million budget and inspections are performed by professional arborists, though the number of tree caused deaths and injuries in the park suggest that not enough is being done.

The only way to assure public safety, park managers suggest, would be to remove all the trees.