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The Cyberbullying Story:  The website operated by Ryan’s parents, John and Kelly Halligan, states that early concerns about Ryan’s speech, language, and motor skills development led to him receiving special education services from preschool through the fourth grade. Ryan’s academic and physical struggles made him the regular target of a particular bully at school between the fifth and seventh grades. In February 2003, a fight between Ryan and the bully not only ended the harassment at school but led to a supposed friendship.

However, after Ryan shared an embarrassing personal story, the newly found friend returned to being a bully and used the information to start a rumor that Ryan was gay. The taunting continued into the summer of 2003, although Ryan thought that he had struck a friendship with a pretty, popular girl through AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). Instead, he later learned that the girl and her friends thought it would be funny to make Ryan think the girl liked him and use it to have him share more personally embarrassing material—which was copied and pasted into AIM exchanges with her friends. On October 7, 2003, Ryan hanged himself in the family bathroom. After his son’s death, John discovered a folder filled with IM exchanges throughout that summer that made him realize “that technology was being utilized as weapons far more effective and reaching [than] the simple ones we had as kids.â€

Aftermath: There were no criminal charges filed following Ryan’s death because no criminal law applied to the circumstances. Seven months after Ryan’s death, Vermont’s Bully Prevention Law (ACT 117) was signed into law by Governor Jim Douglas. John Halligan also authored Vermont’s Suicide Prevention Law (ACT 114), which passed unchanged in April 2006.

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At Hudson & Castle, we approach each case ethically, honorably, and skillfully, beginning with a free consultation, continuing with the convenience of flexible appointments, and finally, charging you nothing unless we win or settle. . Please call Hudson & Castle at (302) 428-8800 (Monday-Friday, 8:30am- 5:00pm, ET) or contact us, and we will get back to you shortly to discuss your case.  

The civil justice system plays a key role in women’s health that many people are unaware of.  Access to the civil justice system makes women’s health safer and helps keep corporate misconduct in check when regulators of medical devices have been unwilling to rank the health of women above financial profit.  Corporations have rushed products to market without properly conducting safety studies and concealing known safety issues in exchange for profit.

In addition, women historically have been underrepresented in Phase I clinical drug trials.  According to an investigative study published in Women’s Health Issues in 2009, “Although the last US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) study (published in 2001) showed that women’s participation may have been statistically large enough to determine whether the drug was effective in women, the rate of women’s participation throughout the whole process of testing a drug was variable, with women clearly underrepresented in most trials.  By 2002, studies indicated that only 24% to 25% of subjects in many phase 1 and 2 clinical trials were women.â€Â  As a result, women have suffered disproportionately from the effects of dangerous and defective drugs and medical devices.  Recently in the news lawsuits are being filed against manufacturers of NuvaRing and Essure, both contraceptive methods used by women and marketed by doctors.

Following are some historical examples of known abuses against women:

• Hormone Replacement Therapy – With the knowledge that breast cancer is the second deadliest form of cancer affecting women, pharmaceutical companies, since 1942, have marketed estrogen supplements as HRT even with known links to breast cancer, heart attacks, and blood clots.
• The Dalkon Shield – The manufacturer, A.H. Robbins knew the contraceptive caused fatal infections but it wasn’t until 1980 that, after lawsuits, the company finally agreed to issue a letter to doctors recommending the removal of the device.
• Surgical Mesh – These devices cause organ perforation, infection, and many more side effects. Many versions went to market without FDA approval and at least 70,000 women have vaginal mesh implants each year.  Johnson & Johnson stopped selling it’s product in 2012 after facing 4,000 lawsuits from injured women.
• Deputy Artificial Hips – Introduced in 2015 by Johnson & Johnson, the ASR XL Acetabular hip replacement system immediately began attracting attention. Doctors reported the device shed large portions of metallic debris and caused infection, fractures, dislocations, necrosis and nerve damage.  The device stayed on the market for 5 years until sales were halted in 2010.  Johnson & Johnson payed over $4 billion to settle thousands of cases.

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At Hudson & Castle, we approach each case ethically, honorably, and skillfully, beginning with a free consultation, continuing with the convenience of flexible appointments, and finally, charging you nothing unless we win or settle. . Please call Hudson & Castle at (302) 428-8800 (Monday-Friday, 8:30am- 5:00pm, ET) or contact us, and we will get back to you shortly to discuss your case. 

A lawsuit seeking an injunction requiring automakers to install automatic shut-off features on all existing and future vehicles sold with keyless ignitions was filed in Los Angeles on August 26, 2015 against ten of the world’s biggest automakers.

Toyota, Nissan, Honda, GM, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and Ford are some of the automakers facing a class action lawsuit on behalf of millions of Americans who drive cars with keyless ignitions.

The automakers sold keyless “fobs†without instituting safeguards, warnings, or other safety features including audible engine-on alerts or “auto off,†which would automatically turn off the engine of a car left unattended.  There have been at least 13 deaths and numerous injuries from carbon monoxide poisoning after drivers failed to manually shut off their engines.

Such a device can be implemented without significant cost, but automakers refused to make the repair, recall the cars or provide an auto-off software update.  GM and Ford even took steps to patent a shut-off feature.

27 complaints have been logged with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since 2009 concerning keyless ignitions. 

The lawsuit seeks to hold the automobile industry liable for defects that make driving unsafe, similar to the Takata airbags cases and ignition switch lawsuit against GM motors.

Click here to contact us to schedule a free consultation to see if you have a case.

At Hudson & Castle, we approach each case ethically, honorably, and skillfully, beginning with a free consultation, continuing with the convenience of flexible appointments, and finally, charging you nothing unless we win or settle. . Please call Hudson & Castle at (302) 428-8800 (Monday-Friday, 8:30am- 5:00pm, ET) or contact us, and we will get back to you shortly to discuss your case.  

The Essure System was approved and marketed as a non-incisional approach to permanent birth control by the FDA on November 4, 2002.  The Essure procedure involves placing a small, flexible device called a micro-insert into each of your fallopian tubes.  The inserts are made from polyester fibers and metals (nickel-titanium and stainless steel).  Once the inserts are in place the body tissue grows into the inserts, blocking the fallopian tubes.  Blocking the tubes is intended to prevent sperm from reaching and fertilizing the egg, ultimately preventing pregnancy.

From November of 2002 to present, it is reported that the FDA has received more than 4,000 adverse event reports on Essure and that the original manufacturer has received 16,047 complaints.  Complaints received by the FDA range from symptoms such as nausea, chronic fatigue, hives, abdominal pain, pain during and after intercourse, headaches, and abnormal menstrual bleeding to misplaced and protruding coils.  The side effects have been severe enough to warrant surgical removal of the coils or total hysterectomies.

It was reported in April of 2015 that the FDA opened an investigation of the Essure system after allegations that the company falsified and altered medical records during clinical trials, failed to report adverse events, deceived the public and the FDA about the device’s safety and efficacy and used defective materials in manufacturing.  In 2002, Essure was given premarket approval which shielded the manufacturer from product liability and litigation.  If Conceptus violated the conditions of its premarket approval, they may lose their protective status.

Click here to contact us to schedule a free consultation to see if you have a case.

At Hudson & Castle, we approach each case ethically, honorably, and skillfully, beginning with a free consultation, continuing with the convenience of flexible appointments, and finally, charging you nothing unless we win or settle. . Please call Hudson & Castle at (302) 428-8800 (Monday-Friday, 8:30am- 5:00pm, ET) or contact us, and we will get back to you shortly to discuss your case. 

AARP reported in an article dated October, 2012 that an elderly patient, Jean Arnua, spent five days in the hospital for a fractured spine following an emergency room visit.  Neither she nor her family was aware that Jean had never been “formally†admitted to the hospital.  The stay was recorded as “observation†and not “in patient†by the hospital.  Once discharged, the family wanted to place Jean in a Skilled Nursing Facility for post-hospital rehabilitation care.  This is when they discovered she was never fully admitted to the hospital.  The financial consequences were staggering.

Medicare will only pay for post-hospital care in a Skilled Nursing Facility after the patient has been an “in patient†at a hospital for three consecutive days.  They will pay for the full twenty days in a Skilled Nursing Facility if the patient meets this requirement.  If they do not, the patient is financially responsible for the entire bill at the Skilled Nursing Facility.

Another example is Amau, an 84 year old widow, who received a bill for $3,900 from a Skilled Nursing Facility for a two week stay.  Medicare did not cover her stay because she did not meet the three day “in patient†hospital stay requirement.

Are elderly patients being financially exploited?  Experts believe hospitals are using the observation status in order to protect themselves against new policies that penalize hospitals for unnecessary admissions and frequent readmissions of the same patient.  Medicare is auditing hospitals where they believe the hospital is admitting patients unnecessarily.  Elderly patient are caught in the crossfire between hospital administration and Medicare policies.  Due to these policies, elderly patients have suffered negative health consequences and substantial financial loss.

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At Hudson & Castle, we approach each case ethically, honorably, and skillfully, beginning with a free consultation, continuing with the convenience of flexible appointments, and finally, charging you nothing unless we win or settle. . Please call Hudson & Castle at (302) 428-8800 (Monday-Friday, 8:30am- 5:00pm, ET) or contact us, and we will get back to you shortly to discuss your case.  

The Washington Post recently reported that a Vienna, Virginia man pressed the “record†button on his smartphone prior to the start of his colonoscopy with the intention of recording post-op instructions the doctor would give him following the procedure. The man’s phone, which was left in his pants, was placed beneath the surgical table and therefore recorded the conversation between the medical staff during the procedure in its entirety.

After he awoke from the general anesthesia and recovered enough to safely drive home, he hit the “play†button on his phone and listened to much more than post-op instructions from his doctor. He was shocked to find that the surgical team had mocked and insulted him throughout the procedure. While the patient was sedated, the female anesthesiologist was recorded as saying to him, “After five minutes of talking to you in pre-op, I wanted to punch you in the face and man you up a little bit.†When an assistant noted that the patient had looked queasy while watching a needle administered to his arm, the anesthesiologist was recorded as saying, “Well, why are you looking then, retard?â€Â There were also disparaging comments made about a rash on his genitals, suggesting he had syphilis or tuberculosis.

In addition to these unwarranted remarks, the doctor, in order to avoid the patient after the colonoscopy, instructed an assistant to lie to the patient after he awoke from the anesthesia.  The assistant was to tell the patient that the doctor had already discussed the findings with him, but the patient just couldn’t remember. If that was not enough, a false diagnosis of hemorrhoids was entered into the patient’s chart even though none was detected.   Why would he do this? Evidently, the doctor felt, “People are into their medical problems. They need to have medical problems.â€

The patient rightly sued the two doctors and their practices for defamation and medical malpractice and after a three-day trial,  a Fairfax County jury awarded him $500,000.

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At Hudson & Castle, we approach each case ethically, honorably, and skillfully, beginning with a free consultation, continuing with the convenience of flexible appointments, and finally, charging you nothing unless we win or settle. . Please call Hudson & Castle at (302) 428-8800 (Monday-Friday, 8:30am- 5:00pm, ET) or contact us, and we will get back to you shortly to discuss your case.