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A U.S. Senate committee reported Monday (Feb. 12, 2018) that the five largest opioid manufacturers paid more than $10 million directed, in particular, to patient advocacy groups and professional medical societies who would then encourage the use of those highly addictive drugs. In a 23-page report released by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), the ranking Democrat on that Committee, called these groups opioid “cheerleaders.” The committee has been investigating…

Plaintiffs’ counsel petitioned the court on Monday Feb. 12, 2018 for approval of a proposed settlement between Pella Window Corp. and consumers who purchased Pella Proline wood casement windows between the years 1991 and 2009 that now display wood rot. The settlement comes after several years of contentious litigation. The magistrate judge oversaw discovery, and also presided over extensive settlement discussions. The magistrate ultimately made a recommendation for settlement. The district court judge will review…

How does an airline run out of deicing fluid in the middle of February in Chicago? That was a question that thousands of people were asking this weekend when Southwest Airlines had to cancel hundreds of flights because it said it ran short of glycol, the fluid necessary to make sure that ice doesn’t build up on the aircraft to make for a safe take-off. Certainly, no one could argue with the necessity of this…

Sarah F. King, associate at Clifford Law Offices, will be speaking at the annual Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) Damages seminar on Friday, Feb. 16. King will be addressing “Proof of Traumatic Brain Injury with Direct and Cross Examination of Neuropsychological Testimony.” King, who concentrates her practice on medical malpractice cases, is a member of the ITLA Board of Managers and serves as Co-Chair of the recently formed ITLA Women’s Caucus. The ITLA seminar will…

With congressional approval of the Budget Act early on the morning of Friday, Feb. 9, 2018, Medicaid enrollees will again receive justice in reimbursement of liens. Medicaid is a state-based program that pays for medical costs for those with limited resources. This action by Congress reinstates the effect of a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that Medicaid cannot have a right of first recovery for full reimbursement of…

By Robert A. Clifford  Partner, Clifford Law Offices, Chicago, IL Representing 21 Victims of the Amtrak Derailment Near Tacoma, Washington In the past seven weeks, Amtrak train derailments and crashes in DuPont, Washington, and Cayce, South Carolina, have killed five people and injured close to 200, causing tremendous personal suffering for family members and demonstrating the tragic consequences of decades of Amtrak and rail industry ineptitude and negligence for failing to implement National Transportation Safety…

The 24th Annual Clifford Symposium on Tort Law and Social Policy will be held on April 18 and 19, at DePaul University College of Law. Patient Safety: How Might The Law Help? In 1999, the Institute of Medicine in its report, To Err Is Human made it clear that America faces a serious medical error problem, one that results in hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries each year. Recent evidence indicates that the volume…

Robert P. Walsh, Jr., partner at Clifford Law Offices, is a recipient of the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by the Marquis Who’s Who Publications Board. It is an honor bestowed on lawyers who have “achieved career longevity and demonstrated unwavering excellence in their chosen fields.” Walsh has been with Clifford Law Offices for more than a quarter of a century practicing personal injury law with a concentration on vehicular crashes. Walsh also received…

An elderly man from Nigeria visiting his family in Chicago had to spend two nights in the hospital after reportedly being injured by airline employees as he traveled Wednesday from Dubai to O’Hare Airport. The family of 72-year-old David Okesone reportedly unknowingly sat in the wrong seat on the leg of his trip on Flight EK235 from Dubai to Chicago, and his family said when he tried to move his carry-on bag to be with…