Products Liability & Mass Tort Defense

Overview

OUR Practice
Stradley Ronon has represented national and international corporations in products liability and mass tort actions for decades. Our attorneys have a wealth of experience defending major pharmaceutical, medical device, consumer products and manufacturing companies in sophisticated products liability cases tried in state and federal court, as well as in alternative dispute resolution forums. Our clients frequently benefit from our attorneys’ unique industry-based background. For example, two of our team’s partners are pharmacists, and their insights on pharmaceutical, chemical and medical procedures lend invaluable support to our defense efforts.

Products Liability & Mass Tort

OUR Trial Team
Stradley Ronon’s trial team stands ready and able to handle every aspect of a products liability or mass tort case, up to and including trial and appeals. Our team consists of many active and well-known trial attorneys, including several who have been honored as members of the American Board of Trial Advocates and the International Association of Defense Counsel’s Trial Academy faculty, among others. By way of example, we served as trial co-counsel and obtained a defense verdict for a large pharmaceutical company in the first PPA case tried in Pennsylvania – which was also the fourth case tried to verdict nationwide (PPA is a decongestant in cough and cold medication alleged to cause strokes). This is but one example of our trial success in products cases and our ability to work seamlessly with co-counsel and our client to meet and exceed our client’s goals and objectives.

OUR Diverse Capabilities
Our products liability attorneys have represented clients in virtually every industry, and our team has served in every capacity as needed by our clients, including as national counsel, trial counsel, science counsel and local counsel. From rarely used medical devices and industrial machinery to toxic torts and pharmaceutical products, our attorneys have effectively advocated and counseled clients involved in:

Products

  • aerospace equipment 
  • analogue coding machines 
  • chemical defoggers 
  • cosmetics 
  • cranes 
  • drain and oven cleaners 
  • elevators 
  • garages 
  • hair dyes 
  • heavy-duty truck wheels 
  • HVAC systems 
  • industrial equipment and machinery 
  • loading docks 
  • metal halide bulbs 
  • paints and adhesives 
  • spiral staircases 
  • treadmills

Medical Devices 

  • artificial hip, knee and shoulder joints 
  • fluid management systems 
  • infant nasal cannulas lasers 
  • latex gloves 
  • medical device implants 
  • medical scales 
  • neonatal respirators
  • pain pumps 
  • plates, screws and rods 
    prosthetic devices 
  • respiratory humidifications 
  • spinal implants 
  • surgical equipment 
  • surgical instruments

Pharmaceuticals (including both brand names and generic, and both over-the-counter and prescription drugs) 

  • antidepressants 
  • anti-fungal drugs 
  • asthma medications 
  • birth control pills 
  • cardiac medications 
  • clinical stage cancer vaccines 
  • cold medications 
  • combination products, including bovine organ replacements and clinical stage organ augmentations 
  • epilepsy drugs 
  • food supplements, including enhanced water, electrolyte beverages and dietary supplement beverages 
  • gastrointestinal drugs 
  • irritable bowel syndrome drugs 
  • nasal decongestants 
  • oral anti-diabetic agents 
  • post-operative ileus drugs 
  • short bowel syndrome drugs 
  • zinc nasal sprays
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Representative Matters

Stradley Ronon’s recent client successes for our products liability & mass tort clients include:

  • Serving as co-national counsel to a global pharmaceutical company in defense of mass tort complaints alleging personal injuries from hormone therapy products.
  • Managing a multi-year document review project for a major pharmaceutical company with multi-district products litigation, including review and production of millions of client documents nationwide.
  • Representing a manufacturer of spinal implants subject to strict liability, negligence and breach of implied warranties claims. In a case of first impression, the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas sustained our preliminary objections and applied the doctrine of “unavoidably unsafe” products under comment k to Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) Torts to a medical device for the first time in Pennsylvania state court.
  • Obtaining dismissal of an unfair trade practices class action case on behalf of an international pharmaceutical company.
  • Obtaining a defense verdict for the largest manufacturer of spiral staircases in the United States.
  • Obtaining defense verdicts in multiple mass tort products liability cases in both the damages and liability phases of reverse-bifurcated trials.
  • Obtaining a summary judgment in favor of a paper press manufacturer in a lawsuit alleging personal injuries, including loss of limbs, due to the failure of a press safety device.
  • Representing a riding lawnmower manufacturer in a suit alleging death of a child due to the purported failure of a safety device.
  • Assisting in defense of a pharmaceutical company with respect to a governmental investigation into the death of a patient in a gene therapy clinical trial.
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