Our firm is passionate and dedicated towards working tirelessly for our clients. Our efforts recently gained national recognition via Law360. Law360 is a popular and trusted online legal news outlet whose subscribers include: the top 100 law firms in the United Sates, corporate legal departments, and major federal and state agencies. Phillips Law Firm received its recognition for its pursuit of justice in a pharmaceutical related suit involving more than 600 claimants.
The Case of Gloria Herrera et al. v. AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP et al.
As reported by Law360, Lowell W. Finson of Phillips Law Firm is legal counsel for numerous plaintiffs in the above cited action. The action essentially pertains to the drug Crestor. Crestor is a prescription drug that belongs to a group of cholesterol –lowering medicines called statins. The drug was first launched in 2003. It was created by London based AstraZeneca LP and is distributed by the American company McKesson Corp. Crestor is the fifth-highest selling drug in the United States and accounted for approximately $2.6 billion in sales for 2013.
Mr. Finson is seeking justice against the pharmaceutical industry on behalf of a group of consumers that believe deception is intertwined with Crestor’s prescription. In particular, the consumers claim AstraZeneca and McKesson (the defendants in the action) deceived them by hiding test results linking Crestor to diabetes and other diseases. They allege that studies performed by the defendants show that Crestor is connected with higher risks of kidney damage, cardiomyopathy and heart disease. The claimants further allege that the defendants conspired to suppress or misrepresent their studies to ensure that doctors would continue to prescribe Crestor to their patients.
The complaint in the matter communicates a story of concern for patient safety. According to this document:
- “Defendants well knew that prescribing physicians would not be in a position to know the true risks of Crestor and…would rely upon the misleading information that they promulgated.”
- “Defendants sold or aided and abetted in the sale of Crestor which was and is defective and unreasonably dangerous.”
- “Defendants knew or should have known that Crestor was and is hazardous to human health.”
The claimants in this action allege that they would not have used Crestor if they were aware, or had known, about the drug’s numerous health risks.
If you haven’t guessed by now, the pharmaceutical industry is a big deal where a single drug can earn manufacturers and distributors billions of dollars. For example, McKesson reaped the benefits of pharmaceutical sales of $122 billion in 2012. As of December of 2011, AstraZeneca had a market capitalization of approximately 39.5 billion British pounds. This is the tenth largest capitalization of any company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange.
More Hard Work on the Horizon
The arduous efforts of Mr. Finson and the Phillips Law Firm in this matter are far from over. Much more work lays on the horizon; but as always, Mr. Finson and Phillips Law is committed to ensuring the work gets completed.
The above described suit was originally filed in Los Angeles Superior Court last year. As stated earlier, the entire suit involves over 600 claimants. All of the individual claims and cases involved nearly twenty judges. The plaintiffs tried to consolidate these claims so that they could all be tried together before one judge.
In response, the defendants recently tried to remove the suit to federal court. The defendants’ basis for removal is not truly understood and their basis is not compellingly supported by existing law. The defendants themselves have asked the court not to decide on the removal issue until federal court rules on a somewhat similar case.
Despite this request, however, two judges have already remanded the defendants’ removal efforts back to the Superior Court level. Time will tell whether or not the defendants withdraw their removal attempts. In the meantime, Mr. Finson continues to fight against the removal possibility and he marches on in the noble representation of his clients.
This Case is not Unique
The case of Gloria Herrera is not unique to the Phillips Law Firm. Yes, the facts of every case our firm works with may differ. However, a solidifying element within all of these cases is the hard work our firm and our attorneys put forth to ensure justice is sought and injuries are remedied.
Our unremitting work ethic is a value that we all honor and seek to uphold. This is true no matter if a case is against the pharmaceutical industry, a motor vehicle driver, a member of the medical community, or a state agency. Our attorneys work hard…each day and every day. They work hard for their clients and they work hard for just results.