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You may have hear news reports about the Essure birth control dangerous side effects and lawsuits. You may even be someone who has been affected by Essure and its side effects.  Well these cases are moving along and as will happen the courts and lawyers and trying to iron out how these cases will proceed.

During a hearing in January of 2016, U.S. District Judge John R. Padova sounded unimpressed with some of the legal arguments submitted on behalf of five women. Padova directed the lead attorney to resubmit part of the case with more specifics. Padova stated that, “In 23 years, I can’t remember a case where I had to start by asking plaintiffs what the count is all about.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reevaluating the safety and effectiveness of Essure which is made of tiny metal coils implanted in the fallopian tubes to scar them closed,in response to more than five thousand adverse events reported since the device was approved in 2002. Complaints include organ perforation, pelvic pain, unintended pregnancies, and abnormal bleeding. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that under federal law, medical devices that receive pre-market approval from the FDA are shielded from product liability litigation in state courts.

We all use certain products each day when we get ready for work, school or any other activities. We put our trust in these products to be safe for the ones we love. However, sometimes certain products can be defective or may cause dangerous or even fatal side effects. If you or someone you know has used talcum powder and have developed cancer or other injuries, you should speak to one of our talcum powder lawyers at the Higgins Firm right away. We will listen to your case and help you get any compensation you may be entitled to for what you have been through.

According to this case, Jackie Fox developed ovarian cancer after using Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder and other products that contained talc for feminine hygiene. After she was diagnosed, she joined the several women in filing a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson or what they said was a failure to inform consumers about the dangers of talc, which is found in baby powder. She later died from the cancer and her family has been awarded seventy-two million in damages which include ten million in actual damages and sixty-two million in punitive damages.

Fox’s lawsuit claimed that the company was aware of the possible risk of using products containing talc for feminine hygienic use. According to a 1997 memo from a consultant, it was stated that, Anybody who denies the risk of using hygienic talc and ovarian cancer is denying the obvious in the face of all evidence to the contrary.” Eva Chalas, the chief of Gynecologic Oncology and Director of Clinical Cancer Services at Winthrop-University Hospital, stated that, “It’s hard to directly link ovarian cancer to talc. The information on talc powder came out many years ago when they saw talc incorporated in tissue of women with ovarian cancer. “ She went on to state that concerns over talc led many doctors to advise mothers to stop using talcum powder on their babies, and to discontinue use for feminine hygiene. Finally, she said that, “ it’s important to note that in the past talcum powder contained talc that contained asbestos, but modern powder does not.”

According to the class action Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit filed on February 15, 2016 on behalf of all the delivery drivers who work or have worked at the forty-seven of the pizza chain stores, Domino’s delivery drivers allege that they were not paid the full minimum wage rate for all hours worked up to and including forty hours per week and failed to pay overtime (time-and-one-half the full minimum wage rate) for all hours worked in excess of forty per work week, as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA. The lawsuit also claims that Domino’s required delivery drivers to use their own personal vehicles and cell phones while at Domino’s, but they failed to reimburse their delivery drivers for the mileage, fuel, repair, maintenance, insurance and depreciation involving their personal vehicles as well as the call time, data, and text messages involving their personal cell phones as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The delivery drivers also state that they were expected to perform substantial producing side work in the store for which they do not receive tips, while still being paid below the full statutory minimum wage as well work several hours off-the-clock for which they did not receive any compensation and that Domino’s failed to provide delivery drivers the correct hours pay and or reimburse delivery drivers for uniform-related expenses that they had to pay.

These types of violations to the Fair Labor Standards Act occur all too often to delivery drivers, servers, independent contractors, sales representatives, and other hard working employees because businesses find ways around these requirements or just fail to follow them completely. If you or someone you know has been wrongly denied the proper wage or misclassified as being exempt overtime pay that you were entitled to, then you should contact one of our experienced and compassionate wage and overtime pay attorneys at the Higgins Firm. We know how important your paycheck is to you and we will listen to your claim. We will address any concerns that you may have. Our lawyers will also gather any evidence that may be needed for your case and then work hard to see to it that you receive the compensation that is rightfully yours for the work that you have done. We will also make sure that the business responsible is held accountable for their actions.

Many of us go to work each day so that we can pay our bills and provide for our loved ones. However, sometimes injuries can happen on the job especially if you work around dangerous equipment. Workers’ Compensation benefits usually help those that may suffer an injury on the job. However, many states are now limiting these benefits and making it more difficult for workers to get the help they need. If you have questions about how these limits may affect your workers compensation case or if you have been injured at your workplace, you should speak to a workers compensation lawyer with the Higgins Firm. We will answer any questions or concerns you may have and help you to get the compensation you need for your injuries.

Ten ranking Democrats on key Senate and House committees are urging the Labor Department to respond to changes in state workers’ compensation laws that have limited protections and benefits for injured workers over the past ten years. In a letter addressed to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, the lawmakers cited an investigation by NPR and ProPublica, which found that thirty-three states have cut workers’ comp benefits and made it more difficult to qualify or given employers more control over medical care decisions.

This letter also discusses NPR and ProPublica stories last week that detailed an emerging trend that allows employers to drop out of state-regulated workers’ compensation programs, and allows them to write their own injury plans and limit benefits on their own. The letter is signed by Bernie Sanders, the Democratic presidential hopeful and ranking minority member of the Senate Budget Committee; Patty Murray, the ranking member of the Senate Labor Committee; Bobby Scott, the ranking member of the House Workforce Committee; and seven other senior Democrats on House and Senate Budget, Finance, Employment, Workforce, Ways and Means, and Social Security committees.

It isn’t just factory workers or office staff that is protected by the Fair Labor Standards Act.  The act can also apply to the adult entertainment industry.  In fact, there has been a string of lawsuits against strip clubs across the country because they fail to pay the dancers in accordance with the minimum hourly wage laws.

According to this lawsuit, two former exotic dancers at the Red Garter Saloon strip club are suing the company and its owner Mark Rossi over unpaid wages. Michea Dixon and Rebecca Wiles claim in a seventeen page complaint that Red Garter Saloon, Rossi, and his company, Keys Productions, Inc., violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying them an hourly wage or overtime. Their lawsuit states that the women claim their only form of compensation was by way of tips and that the business failed to pay the plaintiff any wages whatsoever, throughout her employment.

Their legal representation wrote in the complaint that the business has a “longstanding policy of misclassifying their employees as independent contractors.” He alleges in the complaint such a classification is illegal. This lawsuit is very similar to several other lawsuits filed by exotic dancers alleging wage theft as per the independent contractor classification, which appears to be the common theme in other litigation.

In December of 2008, the Food and Drug Administration made requirements for drug companies and manufacturers to conduct studies to show that new diabetes drugs do not increase cardiovascular risk compared with current treatments. The guidance was developed amid growing concern about the safety of many diabetes drugs. AstraZeneca sponsored a trial of over sixteen thousand patients known as SAVOR previously showed patients taking Onglyza, also known as saxagliptin, had an increased risk of hospitalization due to heart failure. The company claims that it conducted the SAVOR study in accordance with the 2008 guidance and that the results met the objective of showing that patients taking Onglyza were not at greater risk as measured by a composite benchmark comprising cardiovascular death, non-fatal heart attack and non-fatal ischemic stroke.

The Food and Drug Administration’s analysis revealed that the heart failure was valid. It also showed a possible increased risk of death from all causes. The Food and Drug Administration’s review stated that, “The overall trial results did not reveal a higher death risk, but a more detailed analysis examining only patients who took the drug suggests a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality.” The agency stated that the causes of death were often multifactorial and some patients may have had several serious medical conditions in the days and weeks prior to death. The agency state that it is not reassured by the risk, however, and does not necessarily view this pattern of variable causes as evidence the mortality signal is due to chance.

An analyst for Leerink stated that the Food and Drug Administration’s concerns over all-cause mortality were unexpected and could lead to a cut of up to 50 percent in his $1.8 billion peak annual sales estimate, if Merck & Co’s rival drug Januvia does not show similar problems.

According to the ruling, the Tennessee Supreme Court decided to set aside the decision made last March by  Hamilton County Judge, Neil Thomas, who ruled a 2011 state law, which was a “tort reform” initiative of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, capping certain personal injury damages at $750,000 is unconstitutional. Judge Thomas had issued a well reasoned decision explaining how the law violates Tennessee’s Constitutional Right to have a jury decided all issues at trial. Regardless, the Supreme Court set the decision aside because they stated that the case did not proceed far enough yet to warrant such a ruling. A move that will simply delay a ruling that will have to be decided at some point.

The case in which the first decision was made involved ruling by Circuit Judge W. Neil Thomas III on a $25 million-plus negligence lawsuit filed by Donald and Beverly Clark against several divisions of AT&T and one of its employees, Aimee Cain. The suit also named then-Tennessee Attorney General Robert Cooper because of the constitutional issues being raised. The couple filed a lawsuit against AT&T because of an automobile accident that injured Clark. The lawsuit sought a ruling on the constitutionality of the state law that caps non-economic damages at $750,000 for certain personal injury cases. Non-economic damages are applicable when pain and suffering is involved or there is a physical impairment or other similar injury.