Lakiesha Cannon delivers her opening statement in Santoro v. R.J. Reynolds, et al. 

Fort Lauderdale, FL—A woman’s hopeless addiction to cigarettes was driven by tobacco deceit that led to her fatal lung cancer, an attorney for the woman’s widower said during Tuesday's openings of a rare Florida state court trial against three of the nation’s four largest cigarette makers. Santoro v. R.J. Reynolds, et al., 2008-CV-025807(19).

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West Palm Beach, FL—Jury selection begins this week at trial against a South Florida hospital accused of negligence in treating a brain hemorrhage that left a patient in a vegetative state. Chan v. Tenet St. Mary's Medical Center, 2015CA008359. 

In his opening statement, William Stone empties water bottles into a bucket to demonstrate what he claimed was the massive fluid overload Shannon Trabue suffered before a pulmonary edema allegedly stopped her heart. A Fulton County State Court jury awarded $45.8 million in the case. 

Atlanta—The foundation for last month’s $45.8 million verdict against an Atlanta-area obstetrics practice was built with an eye-grabbing opening and a lineup of experts that painted a vivid picture on the broader meaning behind a doctor’s standard of care,  a lawyer who spearheaded the plaintiff's case said in detailing the trial to CVN. Trabue v. Atlanta Women's Specialists, 14-EV-001821. 

 Bart Williams delivers his closing argument for Johnson & Johnson. 

St. Louis—Jurors cleared Johnson & Johnson and its talc supplier Friday afternoon of responsibility for the ovarian cancer a woman claims was caused by years of using the consumer giant’s baby powder products. Swann v. Johnson & Johnson, 1422-CC09326-01.

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West Palm Beach, FL—A Florida biotech company settled its malpractice claim against legal giant Greenberg Traurig, one day after the trial’s judge issued directed verdicts limiting the law firm’s defenses but slashing the company’s original $700 million-plus damage claim. Dyadic International v. Greenberg Traurig, 2009CA010680.