BCBS Anti-Trust Case in the News

The Alabama BlueCross BlueShield anti-trust case has received some press in the local news this week. The case has been consolidated into an MDL in front of Judge Proctor, in Birmingham, Alabama. Although the case has garnered plenty of local interest, it has ramifications nationwide. The story is mostly about the provider-side of the lawsuit. There is a separate, although closely related, subscriber track. Pittman, Dutton & Hellums is representing plaintiffs on the subscriber side. 

To read the story, click here.

This is not the only bad press BlueCross BlueShield has received lately from the local media. The non-profit was recently ridiculed for ramming a bill through the state legislature which made executive pay confidential. In the past, the mega-insurer had to disclose the salaries of its executives. Not anymore.

To read that story, click here.

UPDATE: ZIMMER WINS FIRST NEXGEN CASE

The Zimmer defendants have won the first bellwether trial in the NexGen knee MDL. Late last Friday, an Illinois jury reached a defense verdict in favor of Zimmer Inc.

The trial lasted three-and-a-half weeks and began on October 13th in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Hon. Rebecca R. Pallmeyer presided over the trial. 

The first trial was the plaintiff’s side's first pick from the pool of filed cases in the MDL. The next trial, scheduled for early next year, will be picked by the defendant’s lawyers.  

Jury Is Still Out in First Bellwether Zimmer Nexgen Trial

The first bellwether trial in the Zimmer NexGen MDL is now in the hands of the jury. The Plaintiff claims the company negligently designed a series of NexGen knee replacements and failed to properly warn surgeons of the possibility that the devices could come loose from the tibia, or shinbone. Zimmer’s main defense is surgeon error.

There are roughly 1,000 cases pending in the MDL. The first trial was set to begin in January of this year, but for numerous reasons, the first did not begin trial until October. The next bellwether case will be one of Zimmer’s choosing, with four cases in total set to try.

The case is Batty et al. v. Zimmer Inc. et al., case number 1:12-cv-06279, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The MDL is In Re: Zimmer Nexgen Knee Implant Products Liability Litigation, case no.1:11-cv-05468 in the same court.