March 18, 2016 / by Brett Katsma / NFL Concussion Lawsuits
For years, the NFL has refuted evidence that there was a connection between football and the degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). However, at a recent Congressional hearing involving experts on CTE, Jeff Miller, the NFL’s senior vice president for health and safety policy, acknowledged that there is a link. Faced with evidence from Boston University Neuropathologist, Ann McKee, and asked whether or not there was a link between football and degenerative brain disorders like CTE, Miller’s response was “certainly, yes.” His response is a complete reversal for the NFL, which, up until this point, has been accused by former players of having hid the dangers of head injuries from them for years. Some likened Miller’s admission to twenty years ago when tobacco companies confessed that smoking can cause cancer and heart disease. Attorneys for former NFL players hope Miller’s statement will lead to compensation for all players diagnosed with CTE now and in the future, instead of just former players diagnosed before the current settlement was approved a year ago.
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NFL Taking Page from Big Tobacco Playbook?
March 25, 2016 / by Brett Katsma / NFL Concussion Lawsuits
An investigatory report published by the New York Times shreds the legitimacy of research papers produced by an NFL committee which downplayed the danger of head injuries. While the report chronicles the league’s use of faulty data in its reports (for example, the Dallas Cowboys didn’t report one concussion from 1996-2001, but I think Troy Aikman might disagree with that assessment,) even more interesting is the insight that the NFL shared a number of lobbyists, lawyers, and consultants with Big Tobacco. You might be asking yourself why a professional sport would be entangled with Big Tobacco. Without coming right out and admitting it, I think the Times is trying to get the readers to draw their own conclusion that the NFL borrowed Big Tobacco’s strategy of using questionable science to downplay the danger of its product. Depending on how you interpret the facts in the article, it certainly seems like the NFL could have learned a thing or two from Big Tobacco about dealing with a product crisis, but something tells me I doubt it was during a smoke break.
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NFL’s Flawed Concussion Research
March 25, 2016 / by Brett Katsma / NFL Concussion Lawsuits
An investigative report done by the New York Times revealed the National Football League’s concussion research was far more flawed than was previously known and that a long relationship existed between the league and Big Tobacco. The report focuses on research done by a committee formed by the NFL in 1994. This committee released numerous research papers that downplayed the danger of head injuries. These research papers all stated the data used in them was a “full accounting of all concussions diagnosed by team physicians from 1996 through 2001.” The NFL stood by the legitimacy of these papers for the past dozen years and argued they were scientific evidence which proved that brain injuries did not cause long-term harm to players. However, information obtained by the Times’ reporters showed that more than 100 diagnosed concussions were left out of the league’s studies and that some teams failed to report even one concussion over this five year span. These omissions had the effect of skewing the NFL’s concussion rate lower than it actually was, making the game appear safer for players.
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Cowboys Owner Says Not Enough Data to Link CTE to Football
March 24, 2016 / by Brett Katsma / NFL Concussion Lawsuits
On the heels of an NFL executive admitting that there is a link between football and degenerative brain disorders, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys made some comments that seemed to disagree with that assessment. Jerry Jones came out recently and said that he didn’t believe there was enough research or data to link the degenerative brain disease CTE to football. When pressed by a reporter to clarify his view, Jones stated “There’s no data that in any way creates a knowledge. There’s no way that you could have made a comment that there is an association and some type of assertion.”
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Questioning the NFL CTE Admission
March 18, 2016 / by Brett Katsma / NFL Concussion Lawsuits
The NFL has spent decades trying to discredit evidence that showed a link between playing football and the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, also known as CTE. After years of denial, and untold millions of dollars in marketing to promote the safety of the game to parents of children who play the game, why would the league suddenly reverse course and admit there is a link between football and CTE? The most likely answer is to save itself money in future settlements.
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NFL Executive Acknowledges Link to CTE
March 18, 2016 / by Brett Katsma / NFL Concussion Lawsuits
For years, the NFL has refuted evidence that there was a connection between football and the degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). However, at a recent Congressional hearing involving experts on CTE, Jeff Miller, the NFL’s senior vice president for health and safety policy, acknowledged that there is a link. Faced with evidence from Boston University Neuropathologist, Ann McKee, and asked whether or not there was a link between football and degenerative brain disorders like CTE, Miller’s response was “certainly, yes.” His response is a complete reversal for the NFL, which, up until this point, has been accused by former players of having hid the dangers of head injuries from them for years. Some likened Miller’s admission to twenty years ago when tobacco companies confessed that smoking can cause cancer and heart disease. Attorneys for former NFL players hope Miller’s statement will lead to compensation for all players diagnosed with CTE now and in the future, instead of just former players diagnosed before the current settlement was approved a year ago.
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New Genetic Insights Into Mesothelioma
March 15, 2016 / by Brett Katsma / Mesothelioma
A press release issued by Brigham and Women’s Hospital stated that a study done by physician-researchers from the International Mesothelioma Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in collaboration with colleagues from Genentech, provides new genetic insights into diagnosing and treating patients with mesothelioma. Studies of other cancers have uncovered mutations which have allowed for a much more targeted approach to treatments. This recent study uncovered more than 2,500 alterations and 10 significantly mutated genes. These discoveries suggest that targeted therapies could be matched to an individual patient’s tumor. It is hopeful that these discoveries will aid in an accurate diagnosis of mesothelioma and predict which patients will have poor or better treatment outcomes. Right now, the five year survival rate for patients diagnosed with mesothelioma is between five and ten percent. This study hopes to find ways to raise that number and reduce the mortality rate of mesothelioma.
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Troubling Allegations in Risperdal Trial
March 14, 2016 / by Brett Katsma / Risperdal Lawsuits
The most troubling aspect of a recent case decided against Johnson & Johnson (J&J) concerning its antipsychotic drug Risperdal is the allegation that the company deliberately withheld data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. An expert witness testified that J&J knew about the risk of gynecomastia associated with Risperdal but failed to show the complete extent to which young people may develop it when using the drug. This is troubling because it appears to be proof that the company is putting its bottom line ahead of the health and wellbeing of our country’s children. Apparently J&J decided its revenues were more important than the psychological trauma suffered by young men who took Risperdal and had their lives turned upside down when they began to develop breasts. These companies should be held liable for their actions and it was good to see a Philadelphia jury decide accordingly.
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Jury Awards $2.5 Million in Risperdal Trial
March 14, 2016 / by Brett Katsma / Risperdal Lawsuits
The Wall Street Journal reported that a Philadelphia jury held Johnson & Johnson (J&J) liable for failing to warn that its antipsychotic drug Risperdal could cause gynecomastia and ordered the company to pay $2.5 million in damages. The family of an autistic boy who took Risperdal between 2002 and 2006 and later developed size 46DD breasts brought the suit, claiming J&J hid the risks of male breast development with the use of Risperdal in young boys and men. While J&J settled a number of these claims over the past few years, this was the first one to go to trial where J&J was accused of hiding data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as well as prescribing doctors and parents. One law school professor from the University of Richmond commented that the verdict “doesn’t bode well for the company,” but cautioned that J&J would most likely want to see more jury verdicts before seriously considering settlement negotiations for the 1,200 similar lawsuits filed against the company. For its part, J&J said it would consider its options going forward, including a possible appeal of the verdict.
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