Preview Newsletter
Ethicon 11/21
-
Mass Tort Firm Nears Settlement In $110M Contractor Suit
Nov 21, 2017 | Law360
By Chuck Stanley
A D.C. law firm specializing in mass tort claims against manufacturers of transvaginal mesh devices is close to settling a $110 million lawsuit with a records collection and management company that performed services for it and subsequently filed a series of liens against it over a payments dispute, the parties told a D.C. federal judge Monday. -
Julie Knight anger after treatment at Benenden Hospital
Nov 21, 2017 | Kent Online
By Rachael Woods
A women says controversial surgery that left her vulnerable to infection and dependent on using a catheter has ruined her life.
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
Online Sources
-
Mass Tort Firm Nears Settlement In $110M Contractor Suit
Nov 21, 2017 | Law360
By Chuck Stanley
A D.C. law firm specializing in mass tort claims against manufacturers of transvaginal mesh devices is close to settling a $110 million lawsuit with a records collection and management company that performed services for it and subsequently filed a series of liens against it over a payments dispute, the parties told a D.C. federal judge Monday.
An attorney for Bramzon & Associates Specialty Litigation LLC said the firm is very close to settling its claims that Strategic Litigation Partners LP filed a series of bogus Uniform Commercial Code liens against it in June, causing prospective investors to drop out of a fundraising effort by Bramzon and allegedly leading the law firm to miss out on the opportunity to earn $109.5 million.
“I think [the champagne] is bought and I think it’s chilling,” Bramzon attorney Paul DeCailly replied when U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan asked at a status conference how close the parties were to a settlement on a scale of one to 10, adding, “Ten being champagne corks in the air.”
Bramzon claims Texas-based SLP was hired as a subcontractor through another company, The Record Co. LLC, to collect and manage medical records to support a multidistrict litigation represented by Bramzon against makers of transvaginal mesh devices, and that Bramzon never agreed to grant SLP a security interest in any of its assets as part of the subcontracting arrangement that would have allowed SLP to file liens against it in Washington, D.C., New York and Florida.
Bramzon is seeking an order nullifying the liens, an injunction against any further “false lien filings” from SLP and $109.5 million in damages for potential profits it says it missed when prospective investors dropped out of a funding round due to concerns about the filings.
But SLP says it worked directly under Bramzon to provide support services for the MDL, and that the firm has failed to pay for more than $3.1 million in services it provided to Bramzon since last summer.
Holmes Costin & Marcus PLLC’s Kathleen J.L. Holmes, who represents SLP, indicated that talks between the parties were not as far along as DeCailly suggested but agreed a settlement appeared close. “It’s now chilling, but it’s not paid for,” Holmes said, continuing the champagne metaphor.
Holmes said SLP is still working toward an agreement with third-party companies that were involved with the support services contract.
Among the third parties involved with the contract is The Record Co., a legal services provider Bramzon says was responsible for hiring SLP.
Bramzon claims it was asked by The Record Co. in February to agree to pay SLP directly for subcontract services on a contract held by The Record Co. and another contractor, Key Legal Services LLC.
The agreement to pay SLP directly for services it had already agreed to reimburse The Record Co. for, Bramzon claims, was its only direct contact with SLP.
But SLP claims it was Bramzon that initially inquired about medical records procurement and management services, and that it only signed a contract with The Record Co. after months of performing services for Bramzon without receiving agreed-upon compensation or a formal contract.
SLP also claims that The Record Co., Bramzon and Key Legal share a number of common high-level executives.
The parties are scheduled to meet for another status conference on Dec. 4, at which the parties said they hope to present a settlement agreement.
Bramzon is represented by Paul DeCailly of DeCailly Law Group PA and Lonny H. Bramzon of the Law Offices of Lonny Bramzon LLC.
SLP is represented by Ellen D. Marcus and Kathleen J.L. Holmes of Holmes Costin & Marcus PLLC.
The case is Bramzon & Associates Specialty Litigation LLC v. Strategic Litigation Partners LP, case number 1:17-cv-01753, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.https://www.law360.com/articles/987236/mass-tort-firm-nears-settlement-in-110m-contractor-suit
-
Julie Knight anger after treatment at Benenden Hospital
Nov 21, 2017 | Kent Online
By Rachael Woods
A women says controversial surgery that left her vulnerable to infection and dependent on using a catheter has ruined her life.
Mum-of-three Julie Knight decided to speak out as a warning to other women to avoid the surgery that she says has robbed her of her health.
She thought she was getting state-of-the-art treatment at Benenden Hospital when she was fitted with a trans-vaginal mesh.
The 56-year-old needed the surgery to treat a prolapsed bladder, which occurs when the organ moves out of place, a condition affecting women who have given birth when muscles and ligaments are weakened.
Julie, who lives in St Michael’s, Tenterden, had her first operation at Benenden Hospital in 2009, when she says she was informed she was taking part in a medical trial.
“I was told I was lucky to be offered the surgery as it cost twice as much as traditional surgery, but it was the new, modern way of doing things. I felt good about it.”
Julie quickly signed up for the surgery but some months later she experienced bladder leakage and soon found herself back on the operating table at Benenden, under the care of the late surgeon Mohammed Mossa.
The mum said that when she signed the consent form, the procedure was described as “TVTO” but while she assumed she was having corrective surgery, in fact a second piece of mesh, which looks like a net, had been fitted inside her.
After the second operation the problems worsened and Julie returned to the hospital to learn the implant had started to break away.
“The mesh was eroding out of me,” said Julie.
"I was besides myself to learn that another piece of mesh had been inserted.”
The part-time worker said the surgery affected her relationship and that intimacy was nearly impossible because of the razor-like mesh inside her.
She was referred to a London hospital and had the two implants removed in November 2016, with her surgeon describing the mesh as “hard, breaking up and curling up” inside her.
Julie returned home with a catheter in place and unable to pass urine.
Although she is now able to pass urine normally, Julie began to get infections as her bladder does not fully empty, so she still has to catheterise herself two or three times a day.
Julie complained to Benenden’s medical director John Giles about her treatment but says she felt belittled when Mr Giles referred to her experiences as a “tale of woe”.
She said: “I wish I’d never had the operation done. I now have to self catheterise several times a day and I will do for the rest of my life.
“It affects trying to have a relationship and it’s on my mind from when I get up to when I go to bed.”
She added: “I was told I was the lucky one to be offered the surgery but it has ruined my life.”
A woman who experienced complications after being fitted with a trans-vaginal mesh at Benenden Hospital by Mr Mossa has got the go-ahead to sue the estate of the dead surgeon.
The woman was fitted with the mesh to treat an incontinence problem in 2007 but later developed serious problems after the mesh eroded, resulting in her having a hysterectomy in 2013.
Despite that, she continues to suffer ongoing symptoms, London’s High Court heard last month.
The woman brought a claim for damages against Mohammed Mossa alleging the doctor failed to provide enough information about the mesh product used and didn’t give advice on alternative treatment options.
After Mr Mossa died in 2015, she continued her lawsuit against his estate – which is contesting the claim.
"I wish I'd never had the operation done... it's on my mind from when I get up to when I go to bed" - Julie Knight
Defence lawyers argued it was “too late” for her to sue, particularly as Mr Mossa was no longer alive to defend himself.
But, despite “gaps” in the evidence, Mrs Justice Yip has opened the way for her to press ahead with her claim.
Trans-vaginal mesh surgery hit the headlines earlier this year when it was revealed hundreds of women were bringing legal action against the NHS and the makers of the products after suffering complications.
The implants are used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence, mainly after childbirth, but some can become embedded into the vagina, causing severe pain and discomfort.
Claire Harley, left, director of patient services, said: “Benenden Hospital Trust are aware of the issues in relation to vaginal mesh and are pro-actively working with our patients to assist them by providing all relevant information as part of the concerns that have been raised nationally.
"Should any patient be concerned about procedures they have undergone at Benenden Hospital, they are able to call us on 01580 240333.
“While we are not able to discuss individual cases due to patient confidentiality, we are sorry to hear that Julie Knight does not feel that she was treated sympathetically, with care and understanding.
"We would like to reassure any former patients that patient care and welfare is always top of our agenda – and that we would welcome those who have concerns to get in touch.”
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/tenterden/news/surgery-ruined-my-life-135583/
Client Attorney Privileged/Attorney Work Product/At Request of Counsel
Online Sources
Add recipients
Suggested