For over 30 years, BSCR has built a reputation as a leading defense firm, handling the litigation needs of the largest pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers in the country.

We serve as national counsel for a number of companies in mass tort cases and multi-district litigation. With an experienced staff of attorneys, Ph.Ds with medical backgrounds and nurses, we are skilled at unearthing facts and interpreting complicated medical concepts and legal issues. We repeatedly are successful handling mediated settlements and trials for our clients.

In addition, our attorneys are up to date on the latest federal regulations and court rulings that govern the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, allowing us to skillfully prepare witnesses for appearances before the FDA and to advise clients on product labeling, product recall, and, getting products back on the market.

We have represented manufacturers of a number of medications, including those for:

• Anxiety
• Arthritis
• Psychosis
• Blood Pressure
• Diabetes
• Depression
• Psychosis
• Arthritis
• Cholesterol

In addition, we have defended companies that manufacture a wide variety of medical devices, including:

• Catheters
• Hip replacements
• Heart valves
• Pacemakers
• Stents
• Urinary devices

Our firm and our attorneys have repeatedly been recognized by independent organizations for excellence in pharmaceutical and product liability work, including by Chambers USA in 2010 for experience “in disputes related to the pharmaceutical industry.”

For more information about the services we provide to the Pharmaceutical & Medical Device industries contact Executive Committee Member Thomas N. Sterchi at 816.448.9310.

News & Events

Stubbs Selected as Co-Chair of Medical Device Subcommittee

01.18.13 | Kara Stubbs has been selected to serve as the Co-Chair of the Medical Device Subcommittee of the ABA’s Section of Litigation, Products Liability Committee. The Section of Litigation is the largest specialty section of the American Bar Association.

BSCR Sponsors ABA Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Litigation Meeting

11.19.12 | BSCR was a law firm sponsor of the ABA Current Issues in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Litigation meeting held at Boston Scientific in Natick, Massachusetts on November 16, 2012. Co-sponsored by the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Subcommittees of the Products Liability Committee and the Mass Torts Committee of the ABA Section of Litigation, the program covered Topics from fraud and consumer protection to biopharmaceuticals and products liability litigation. . .

Stubbs to Moderate Panel on Social Media Discovery

04.27.12 | BSCR attorney Kara Stubbs will be moderating a panel at Medmarc’s Annual Meeting in June. Stubbs’ panel will address practical issues related to the discovery of social media, including how to effectively discover valuable information from social media sources and how to effectively use the information that is located. . .

Stubbs to Co-Chair ABA Pharmaceuticals Subcommittee

12.19.11 | Kara Trouslot Stubbs was the co-chair of the Pharmaceuticals Subcommittee of the ABA Products Liability Committee, which partnered with the Medical Device Subcommittee to sponsor the Annual Pharmaceutical and Medical Device CLE Workshop held at GlaxoSmithKline in Philadelphia in November.

Tinsley Speaks at Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Workshop

12.19.11 | Caroline Tinsley was a panelist at the ABA Annual Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Workshop held in Philadelphia in November. Tinsley’s panel addressed international issues arising in the litigation of pharmaceutical and medical device cases. . .

Tinsley Appointed DRI Committees Liaison

07.20.11 | Caroline Tinsley has been appointed to the position of Liaison between the DRI Drug and Device Committee and the DRI E-Discovery Committee.

Stubbs to Co-Chair ABA Drug & Medical Device Committee Meeting

10.04.10 | Kara Stubbs is co-chairing the annual CLE event of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Committees of the ABA Section of Litigation. The CLE event will take place on November 11 at Johnson & Johnson.

Tinsley Co-Authors DRI Drug and Medical Device Guide

06.01.10 | Caroline Tinsley is a co-author of “Epidemiology and Pharmaceutical Products Litigation: A Beginner’s Guide (2010)” to be published by the Defense Research Institute, Drug and Medical Device Committee.

Tinsley Gives Presentation at DRI Drug and Medical Device Annual Meeting

06.01.10 | On May 20, Caroline Tinsley gave a presentation at the DRI Drug and Medical Device Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA, entitled “Epidemiology 101: Its use in Pharmaceutical Litigation”.

Results

BSCR Obtains Complete Dismissal of Cases Against Pharmaceutical Client

In 2007, Plaintiffs began filing lawsuits against four pharmaceutical manufacturers and sponsors of gadolinium based contrast agents ("GBCAs") alleging that the GBCAs caused or contributed to cause a rare disease now known as nephrogenic systemic fibrosis ("NSF"). Close to 1000 cases were filed in various state and federal courts over a period of four years. . .

Defense Verdict Obtained on Behalf of BSCR Client in Federal Court Pain Pump Trial

After a four week trial in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon (Portland), a nine-person jury returned a unanimous defense verdict in a case involving allegations of post-arthroscopic glenohumeral chondrolysis (PAGCL) after the infusion of local anesthetics via pain pump into the shoulders of plaintiffs following arthroscopic surgeries. The case involved the claims of three plaintiffs whose individual cases were consolidated for trial against the manufacturer and distributor of the pain pumps at issue, including BSCR client DJO, LLC, the pain pump distributor, a named defendant in two of the three cases being tried. . .

Blog Posts

Buckman Preemption & State Safe-Harbor Presumptions of Non-Liability for Approved Warnings

12.27.12 | In an attempt to insulate drug and device manufacturers from the flood of tort liability in the latter half of the twentieth century, many states adopted “safe-harbor” statutes. These safe-harbor provisions created the presumption that a drug or device manufacturer was not liable for injuries in tort if the FDA approved the drug or device as “safe and effective” and the drug or device and labeling complied with the FDA’s approval. . .

Solely Updating Package Insert is Insufficient to Warn Prescriber

12.06.12 | More plaintiffs’ attorneys have adopted the recent trend of alleging that pharmaceutical companies must distribute “Dear Doctor” letters or otherwise affirmatively call attention to label changes to satisfy their duty to warn prescribers besides merely updating the package insert with new warnings. . .

Free-speech Protections May Alter Off-Label Promotions

12.04.12 | The FDA has historically prohibited pharmaceutical companies from engaging in “off-label” promotion of its products. The Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act also criminalizes misbranding by pharmaceutical companies. . .

Supreme Court to Consider Preemption of Design Defect Claims

12.03.12 | Plaintiff Karen Bartlett was prescribed the generic drug, sulindac, to treat shoulder pain. In 2005, Ms. Bartlett developed a sever skin reaction knows as Stevens Johnson Syndrome or Toxic Expidermal Necrolysis. . .