What's New at Davis & Norris

The firm recently obtained a jury verdict in the United States District Court in Birmingham finding Pharmacia (formerly known as Monsanto) negligent in its handling and disposal of PCBs at its Anniston, Alabama PCB manufacturing plant. This jury verdict represents a significant victory that will have wide-ranging implications for our thousands of clients with pending cases in state court in Birmingham. Now our task is to begin trying the state court cases, with Monsanto facing the unenviable task of defending thousands of claims without any hope of escaping liability for damages caused by the PCB contamination in Anniston.

The Vioxx cases against Merck & Co. continue to be tried throughout the country. Merck was forced to withdraw its lucrative prescription pain-killer Vioxx from the market after its own research proved that Vioxx causes heart attacks and strokes. While Merck has managed to obtain jury verdicts in some cases, in those numerous cases where Merck has lost, juries have awarded millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages. Davis & Norris LLP has one of the largest inventories of Vioxx cases of any plaintiff law firm in the nation, with over 500 clients who suffered heart attacks or strokes while taking Vioxx. We believe it is only a matter of time before Merck is forced to begin settling these cases rather than continue to be hit with verdict after verdict of millions or tens of millions of dollars.

Davis & Norris LLP recently settled a single-plaintiff eighteen-wheeler wreck case for $1.1 million. Our client, a long-time sufferer from emphysema, was run off the road by the driver of a tractor-trailer rig and her automobile flipped over several times. Fortunately for her, she escaped alive and with relatively minor injuries. The worst part for her was the pain in her legs from the wreck which caused her to be unable to get around like she used to. Just before trial, we took the case before an impartial mediator and were able to negotiate this very favorable settlement for our client.

In October 2006, we obtained a jury verdict of $375,000 against Brookwood Hospital for nursing malpractice. Our client, a 72-year-old gentleman with multiple health problems, fell and broke his hip. He was taken to Brookwood hospital where surgery was delayed for four days. During that four days, the nursing staff at Brookwood failed to turn and re-position our client as required by ordinary nursing principles. As a result he laid on his back for four days and developed an enormous decubitus ulcer (bedsore) on his backside. The bedsore grew to the point that parts of our client's tailbone had to be surgically cut out. He lived for almost three months before succumbing from complications of his various medical conditions, including numerous infections. The jury awarded $375,000 to his estate to compensate for the pain and suffering he went through before his death.

In late 2006, HealthSouth settled a class action claim brought on behalf of shareholders who were defrauded by false financial statements. Davis & Norris LLP represents shareholders owning over one million shares of HealthSouth stock. We do not believe the class action settlement adequately compensates the victims of the fraud perpetrated by HealthSouth and its former management and accountants, and so we have advised our clients to opt out of the settlement. We hope to have our clients' cases tried sometime in 2007.

Davis & Norris LLP is lead counsel in the class action case against Dow, Monsanto, and others for Agent Orange contamination in Vietnam. We represent a class of the Vietnamese citizens who were injured by exposure to dioxin contained in Agent Orange. Dioxin is the most toxic man-made poison every made. The chemical companies supplied Agent Orange to the U.S. military, who sprayed millions of gallons of it across the Vietnamese countryside. We have asserted that the chemical companies conduct violated the laws of war relating to the use of poisoned weapons.