Our Product Liability Lawyers in DC

In re: JUUL Labs, Inc. Products Litigation: Case No.  (N.D. Cal.). M&R was appointed as co-lead interim class counsel in action brought on behalf of a nationwide class arising from marketing and sale of electronic cigarettes by JUUL, the world’s largest e-cigarette manufacturer, which is valued at several billions of dollars. A class action lawsuit against JUUL on behalf of purchasers of JUUL e-cigarettes or JUUL pods was filed April 24, 2014. Plaintiffs allege JUUL engaged in false and deceptive sales, marketing, labeling, and advertising of JUUL e-cigarettes and JUUL pods. Despite being portrayed as an alternative to traditional cigarettes, Plaintiffs allege that JUUL’s nicotine salt formulation delivers an exceptionally potent dose of nicotine, rendering JUUL products even more addictive than traditional cigarettes. In this case, JUUL poses serious health risks as nicotine is a carcinogen as well as a toxic chemical which adversely affects, for example, the heart, eyes, reproductive system, lung, and kidneys. In addition, plaintiffs contend JUUL specifically targeted young people with its advertising and marketing efforts in order to encourage JUUL use, driving today’s teen vaping epidemic – described by former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb as an “addiction crisis.” As of November 2022, The Court granted our motion for class certification and the class action trial is slated for early 2023. Visit our blog for more information here.

In re: Valsartan N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) Products Liability Litigation: MDL Case No. 1:19-md-02875-RBK-SAK (D.N.J.). Migliaccio & Rathod, as an appointed member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee and co-lead of the Medical Monitoring group, represents plaintiffs in multi-district litigation arising from worldwide recalls of generic Valsartan. Certain batches of Valsartan, a generic blood pressure medication, were found to be contaminated with known carcinogen N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). A lawsuit has been filed against Zhejiang Huahei Pharmaceuticals and several other defendant pharmaceutical companies. Migliaccio & Rathod LLP seeks compensation for plaintiffs’ losses and injuries relating to defendants’ negligence, failure to exercise due care in the manufacturing, testing, distribution, labeling, marketing of, warnings and disclosures about, and sale of Valsartan throughout the United States. As of November 2022, pretrial proceedings are ongoing as the multi-district litigation awaits its first bellwether trial. For more information or if you have taken Valsartan, visit our blog here.

In Re: Philips Recalled CPAP, Bi-Level PAP, and Mechanical Ventilator Products Litigation: MDL Case No. 2:21-mc-01230-JFC (W.D.Pa.). This multi-district litigation suit against Philips hopes to hold them accountable to their consumers who were negatively impacted by a much delayed recall of defective CPAP machines which emit dangerous VOCs and particles directly into users’ airways. Migliaccio & Rathod LLP was one of just twelve firms appointed to the plaintiff steering committee in this case, with partner Jason S. Rathod serving as the co-chair of the Science and Experts Committee. Three separate complaints have been filed that cover different components of the case including a class action medical monitoring complaint, a class action economic loss complaint, and a set of personal injury suits. The medical monitoring and economic loss class action lawsuits each include all consumers who used the defective devices and respectively request that Philips fund a program for monitoring future medical impacts of users’ exposure to dangerous toxins and monetarily reimbursing all users for defective machines which, were consumers aware of the defect, they otherwise would not have purchased and used. The personal injury suits include users who have already suffered a personal injury from their exposure to the machine’s dangerous chemicals. The parties are currently in discovery, which is the fact gathering phase of the case. The New York Times offers further context here.