Possible Federal Investigation of New York Governor over Misreporting of Nursing-Home Deaths

Earlier this month, we wrote about New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s defense against claims of a cover-up regarding COVID deaths at nursing homes, following the New York Attorney General’s January 28, 2021 report. Since then, the criticism of Gov. Cuomo’s handling of the nursing homes during the pandemic has only increased. New York Assemblyman Ron Kim has alleged that Gov. Cuomo called him at home and threatened to “destroy” his political career unless he helped mitigate the damage from the scandal. Assemblyman Kim has since…
Continue reading...

Do Plaintiffs’ Counsel Perceive New Jersey MCL Judge Harz as a More Favorable Jurist?

Earlier this month, we wrote about some changes to New Jersey’s MultiCounty Litigation Program–specifically the retirement of Middlesex County MCL Judge James Hyland and the appointment of Judge Bruce Kaplan to succeed him. As we noted, Judge Kaplan has now taken over management of those MCL litigations that have been assigned to Middlesex County (with the exception of the asbestos litigation assigned to Judge Viscomi). After we wrote about those changes, the New Jersey Supreme Court has posted the most recent application submitted for designation…
Continue reading...

Hotel Business on the Risk of Toxic Exposures for Hospitality: Q&A with Sean T. Stadelman

“In the hospitality industry, many cleaning products that are used contain potentially toxic substances that pose both acute and long-term risks to employees and/or customers,” Goldberg Segalla’s Sean T. Stadelman said in an interview with Hotel Business. “With the increased use of sanitizing products due to the pandemic, the potential for toxic exposure has increased and thus it is important that the hospitality industry be prepared to mitigate those risks.” In the article, Sean, a partner in Goldberg Segalla’s Toxic Tort group, discusses the…
Continue reading...

New York’s Gov. Cuomo Continues to Defend Claims of Cover-up Regarding COVID-19 Nursing Home Deaths

On January 28, 2021, New York’s Attorney General Letitia James released a report on her office’s investigation into nursing home responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The investigation found that more nursing home residents died from COVID than the New York State Department of Health (DOH) had made public. It found nursing home deaths from COVID may be undercounted by New York’s DOH by as much as 50 percent and found the DOH misstated in-facility deaths at many nursing homes as well. A complete copy of…
Continue reading...

New Judge for New Jersey’s Multicounty Litigation Program

This week saw a major snowstorm for parts of New Jersey, bringing more than two feet of snow in some areas of the state (including my driveway). This week also saw the assignment of a new judicial face to New Jersey’s Multicounty Litigation cases. Many of you are likely aware of the federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, or JPML, which can decide to consolidate and transfer cases pending in the federal district courts for consolidated pre-trial management by a single District Judge. There have…
Continue reading...

New Year, New Administration, New Issues?

Much of the nation is watching the transfer of power from the outgoing Trump administration to the incoming Biden administration. Each new administration brings many things, but one constant is change. Obviously, COVID-19 has been the dominant issue for nearly all of 2020, impacting everything, from the drug and medical device industries to our legal system. We expect that while the new Biden administration will continue some of the policies and programs from the Trump administration relating to COVID-19, others will change or be modified,…
Continue reading...

A Farewell to 2020 and a Look Ahead at Life Sciences in 2021

What a year 2020 has been. The COVID-19 pandemic has been spewing death and economic destruction, and as scientists predicted, is now resurrecting itself in a second wave―just as it seemed there was light at the end of the tunnel. Now, we have news from the United Kingdom and elsewhere that the virus is mutating in a way that makes it more contagious. Yet, for the life sciences field, 2020 was a year of breathtaking achievement and innovation (e.g., ventilators, changes in standards of medical…
Continue reading...

New Jersey Appellate Panel Reverses Trial Court’s Detailed Exclusion of Unreliable Expert Testimony

Although COVID-19 remains a dominant topic in America, there are still some non-related COVID-19 developments worthy of note over the past few months. Don’t worry, this is not a comment on the recent presidential election or the post-election legal battles to overturn the results. We’re providing a brief discussion of something near-and-dear to most, if not all, of those who litigate in the life sciences arena―especially in the product liability realm: expert admissibility. In 2016, Judge Nelson Johnson, the New Jersey Superior Court judge then…
Continue reading...

New York Nursing Home Residents May Receive COVID-19 Vaccine Before End of Year

On December 6, 2020, the Trump administration provided a timetable for the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Moncef Slaoui, chief science adviser of Operation Warp Speed, announced the administration’s program for distribution and deployment of the COVID-19 vaccine and advised that residents of long-term-care facilities will receive the first round of vaccinations by mid-January, perhaps even by the end of December. Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said: “If things are on track the advisory committee…
Continue reading...

OIG Issues Rare Special Fraud Alert Targeting Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Speaker Programs

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a Special Fraud Alert on fraud and abuse risks “associated with the offer, payment, solicitation, or receipt of remuneration relating to speaker programs by pharmaceutical and medical device companies.” The OIG generally defines speaker programs as company-sponsored events at which a physician or other health care professional (HCP) “makes a speech or presentation to other HCPs about a drug or device product or a disease state” on behalf of a manufacturer.…
Continue reading...