For the first time in U.S. history, the risk of dying from an opioid overdose is greater than that of being killed in a traffic accident. Opioids also exceed slip and fall incidents, drowning, and fire as causes of unintentional deaths. Furthermore, only 13 states (including the District of Columbia) are making any progress in dealing with the crisis.

This week, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan reported that more than 500 cases of child sexual abuse were swept under the rug by the six Roman Catholic dioceses across the state. Earlier, the Church reported 185 members of the clergy who had “credible allegations” leveled against them. However, according to AG Madigan's report, the real number is 690.

One of the challenges when it comes to determining damages in injury lawsuits is putting a monetary value on intangible losses, such as pain and suffering, emotional distress, and anxiety. These are considered to be “non-economic damages,” and fall under the category of “mental anguish.” Putting a dollar figure on emotional pain is difficult, but it is nonetheless a factor that can diminish the quality of life as surely as a crippling injury.

On November 13^th, a report in Fortune magazine stated that Bayer, Monsanto's new parent company, was “doubling down” on the herbicide Roundup, despite a huge verdict against the company earlier this year.

Environmental activist groups in Canada have accused the country's health ministry, Health Canada, of being secretly influenced by Monsanto when it renewed its approval of the chemical glyphosate, the primary ingredient in the company's flagship product, Roundup^TM.

Australian researchers recently published a study that has found a link between the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and iron deficiency. When iron levels in the body are insufficient, it can lead to anemia, a condition in which the amount of hemoglobin (red blood cells) decline to dangerously low levels. Untreated, anemia puts excess strain on the heart muscle, causing a lack of oxygen and leading to serious organ damage. In extreme cases, it can be fatal.

In a recent decision by a Florida federal judge, Abilify maker Otsuka Pharmaceuticals was absolved of responsibility to preserve company e-mails that might have served as evidence for plaintiffs in current Abilify litigation.  The reason: the emails were written years ago, long before the company could reasonably have anticipated having to defend itself against lawsuits.

Cook Medical, already facing more than 3,000 lawsuits over defective IVC filters, was targeted in several more complaints filed this month by injured parties from California to New York.  The lawsuits name two different models: the Günther Tulip® and the Celect®.  At the same time, Rex Medical L.P. and Argon Medical Devices Inc. have been targeted by plaintiffs in Michigan and New Jersey over their Option^TM ELITE IVC Filter.  In both of the latter cases, the device tilted, puncturing the artery wall, and surgeons were unable to remove them.

After several years of flying under the radar, gadolinium injury litigation is once again coming to public attention.  Part of the reason has to do with film actor Chuck Norris and his wife Gena.  The couple filed a lawsuit in November 2017 against three manufacturers of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCA) after Gena Norris became seriously ill following a routine MRI scan, during which she was inj