Medtronic Over the years, Rheingold, Valet, Rheingold, Shkolnik & McCartney LLP has been involved in numerous significant medical malpractice, Vioxx, personal injury and product liability cases. Below are some of our most recent achievements, click a link to read more about the case and how we were able to help:
- $9 Million Dollar Verdict - Defective Design of a Heavy Truck.
The firm represented a young widow from Arizona on behalf of her husband who was unable to escape his burning Freightliner truck. - Confidential Settlement - Defective Design of a Heavy Truck.
The firm represented the family of a long-haul trucker from North Carolina who died of severe burn injuries after he was involved in an accident. - $7.5 Million Record Settlement - Brain Damaged Infant.
Mr. Valet recently settled a medical malpractice case involving an infant whose breathing tube became clogged with mucous, cutting off her oxygen supply. - $1.5 Million Settlement - Breast Cancer Misdiagnosis.
In this medical malpractice case, the evidence of malpractice we developed was so overwhelming that the defendants felt they had no choice but to settle. - $6.47 Million Verdict - Failure to Diagnose Lymphoma.
Hunter Shkolnik tried to verdict a medical malpractice case involving the failure of three chiropractors and physicians to diagnose... - Confidential Settlement - Ephedra Wrongful Death.
Terry McCartney and Hunter Shkolnik recently settled this multi-defendant case on the eve of trial. - $4.1 Million Settlement - Negligent Management of Pregnancy.
Tom Valet and Hunter Shkolnik settled a medical malpractice case on the eve of trial involving the premature birth of our client's child. - $2.8 Million Verdict - Negligent Removal of Kidney.
Hunter Shkolnik recently tried to verdict the case of a 46 year old woman who underwent laparoscopy for the removal of uterine fibroids. - $1 Million Verdict - RSD Pain Syndrome.
Hunter Shkolnik recently tried and won a case on behalf of a woman who experienced Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD). - $750,000 Settlement - Negligent Surgery Wrongful Death.
Hunter Shkolnik and Tom Valet recently settled a case in the middle of trial for the widow of a man who died after undergoing open heart surgery. - $550,000 Settlement - Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer.
Perhaps the most common malpractice case we see involves failure to diagnose breast cancer on mammogram films. - $350,000 Settlement - Failure to Diagnose Scoliosis.
This case involved a 14 year old girl who went for regular visits to her pediatrician. - Confidential Settlement - Defective Nissan Air Bag.
Terry McCartney, acting as local counsel for Oregon attorney Larry Baron, participated in a successful mediation here in New York. - Confidential Settlement - Defective Nissan Air Bag.
Terry recently settled another Nissan air bag case for another young lady with a severe eye injury. - Confidential Settlement - Defective Chevy Blazer Seat Belt.
The plaintiff was rendered paraplegic during an accident involving the Chevy Blazer in which he was riding as a rear seat passenger.
- Mass tort cases
Also, recently Founding Partner Paul Rheingold and David Rheingold have been involved in settling groups of our cases involving Vioxx, Baycol, diet drugs (fen-phen, Redux), and ephedra. - In Atlanta, on the eve of trial, we recently settled a case of a woman who died from PPH (primary pulmonary hypertension), due to use of Redux. While the amount is confidential, we believe it to be one of the largest sums ever paid for this injury.
- We have also recently settled many mass tort cases involving ephedra and PPA (phenylpropanolamine).
- Baycol, anticholesterol drug recalled in August 2001.
- Vioxx- our firm was deeply engaged in the Vioxx (rofecoxib) litigation.
- Tequin Diabetes - We resolved several suits for persons who developed a sudden form of diabetes while taking the antibiotic Tequin (gatifloxacin), sold by Bristol-Meyers Squibb.
- Medtronic - On August 1, 2008 the court approved the disbursement of 40% of settlement funds to injured claimants further ordering that no attorneys fees be deducted from this amount. We are happy that our clients will begin to receive money they so rightly deserve.
- Bextra Litigation We have settled cases on behalf of clients who have been injured by Bextra (valdecoxib). This was the pain reliever made by Pfizer which was forced off the market by the FDA in October 2005. The litigation was much like the Vioxx litigation. Unlike the Vioxx settlements, which were being processed through a formal administrative process, Bextra cases were settled through a more informal process using a special master. Interestingly, Pfizer spent much time fighting the litigation even though "the writing was on the wall" that a settlement would eventually occur. Paul Rheingold from our firm was part of the unrelenting fight against Pfizer. He was a steering committee member in New York State propelling the litigation against Pfizer. Many suits were filed in NY as Pfizer has its corporate headquarters here. The New York litigation was essential in a two-pronged attack against Pfizer, the other attack being in federal court. Injuries included: heart attacks, strokes, and Stevens Johnson Syndrome, a serious skin disorder. The Stevens Johnson Syndrome injury (SJS) was attributed to the sulfa molecule in the Bextra formula, and presented a special risk to anyone who had a previous sensitivity to sulfa medication. SJS can produce horrible injuries to the body. One of our clients had many areas of her body, including her eyes, permanently damaged.
- Defective Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators and Pacemakers
- Implantable Cardiac Defibrillators are devices placed in the body intended to prevent cardiac arrest from a severe irregular heart beat. A wire (lead) is attached to the heart and is connected to a miniature computer that contains its own power source that is placed under the skin usually in the area in the upper chest. The device monitors the heart beat and is intended to react to it's changes. The built-in pacemaker replaces the hearts normal pacing system and restores normal heart rhythm. In some situations the device will deliver an electrical shock to the heart to either restart or reset the heart rate.
- On June 17, 2005, Guidant announced they were recalling 46,000 of their implantable defibrillators. They advised that a tiny switch inside the device was prone to malfunction and would prevent the device from providing the electrical pulse needed for proper pacing. Guidant had been the focus of multiple news stories, as well as FDA and Justice Department scrutiny as a result of its actions involving the manufacture, sale and marketing of these devices. After the initial recall, Guidant announced additional recalls covering another 75,000 devices including its Insignia brand of Pacemakers.
- We are extremely pleased that the Guidant litigation settled after a push in court by the plaintiffs. Notably, Hunter Shkolnik form our office geared up as trial attorney, winning many key motions along the way. Hunter was selected from an elite group of attorneys to represent the claims for all injured claimants, not just ones from our firm. Guidant sought to have the litigation dismissed by being protected under FDA loopholes. However, they finally decided to settle cases after extensive discovery conclusively revealed defects with their devices.
- Guidant Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator Litigation: The federal judge overseeing this mass tort appointed RVRSM partner Hunter Shkolnik to the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee and he was part of the trial and negotiating team which achieved a $250 million global settlement of the litigation.
- Medtronic Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator Litigation: Appointed to the Plaintiff Steering Committee and other leadership roles in this mass tort, RVRSM partner, Hunter J. Shkolnik, participated in the $118 million global settlement of the litigation.
*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome
