4 Product Liability Class Action Lawsuits to Watch, February 2022
Written by Cooper & Friedman PLLC on February 14, 2022
Plaid’s Privacy Breach Reaches Settlement
Plaid Inc., a financial software company that links user’s bank accounts to apps, agreed to pay $58 million in settlements last Thursday in a significant class action lawsuit. First filed in March 2020, this lawsuit alleged that Plaid accessed user’s “private transaction history, investment history, salary information and other personal identifying information” on apps such as Venmo, Credit Karma, and Coinbase. If you believe that you me be entitled to payout in the case, visit www.plaidsettlement.com/ for important dates and submit a claim.
Roundup Lawsuit Marches On
If you read our product liability update in November 2021, you know that there have been many substantial settlements in the ongoing class action lawsuit that has tied the popular weed-killing agent, Roundup, to cancer cases. In November, Bayer/Monsanto, the makers of Roundup, had just reached a major $11 billion settlement, but still hadn’t paid over 80% of plaintiffs. This left around 20,000 open claims out of the 124,000 total claims originally leveled at the company.
In early December, Bayer/Monsanto attempted to appeal the Supreme Court, citing federal EPA laws. Surprisingly, the Supreme Court asked the Biden administration to offer their opinions on the appeal before moving forward. Despite this notable development, the Supreme Court has yet to either reject or accept the appeal, leaving Bayer/Monsanto in a stalemate as they continue to pay off massive multi-million dollar settlements.
The Beginnings of an Elmiron Case
Since 1996, Elmiron has been prescribed to millions of patients, being the only FDA-approved oral medication to treat internal cystitis, a bladder condition. In 2020, a former Elmiron user filed a case against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Elmiron, reporting vision loss and eye damage, aka “maculopathy” A multi-district litigation is now in the works as hundreds of others have begun to come forward with their cases. One Kentucky woman cited vision loss in both eyes following use of the medication. While these cases still await trial, it’s reasonable to assume that the settlement could be substantial.
3M Earplugs: The Saga Continues
When we wrote in November about the ongoing 3M class action lawsuit, five trials had reached a settlement, the largest reaching $8.2 million in damages. In December, a veteran who suffered from tinnitis and hearing damage after using Combat Grade earplugs for eight years was awarded $22.5 million. While that may seem like a lot, an additional $110 million was awarded to two veterans, Roger Sloan and William Wayman, later in the month. This was the 10th and largest bellwether trial, marking 3M’s total damages payout at over $161 million. If you think that you or a loved one has suffered hearing damage due to the 3M earplugs, don’t hesitate to seek legal counsel–there’s still time to get involved in the case.
If you or someone you love has suffered due to a faulty product or device, the experienced team at Cooper and Friedman PLLC can help. We have decades of experience fighting for the rights of accident victims in Louisville, Kentucky and across the state. We handle your case personally and you can always be sure that our attorneys will be responsive to your phone calls and inquiries. For more information, or to schedule a free case consultation with a Kentucky injury attorney, give us a call at 502-459-7555 or contact us by email today.