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Tampa, FL— Attorneys Wednesday debated why a Florida man continued to smoke for decades, including roughly a dozen years after he was diagnosed with respiratory disease, as trial opened against R.J. Reynolds over his death. Hancock v. R.J. Reynolds, 2009-CA-018859.

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Woburn, MA— A Massachusetts state court jury Monday awarded $4.2 million to the family of a woman who died of lung cancer following years of smoking, after finding tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds responsible for her death. Hunt v. R.J. Reynolds, 1881-CV-00446. 

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Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect a continuance in the case. 

Brunswick, GA— What would have likely been a first in-the-nation state court trial over private plaintiffs’ claims related to the opioid epidemic was continued on Monday, when jury selection was scheduled to begin. Trial in the case is now expected no earlier than the second half of 2022. Poppell, et al. v Cardinal Health Inc., et al., CE19-00472. 

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Decatur, GA— As jurors deliberated whether a car seat manufacturer was to blame for the catastrophic injuries a toddler suffered in a 2018 wreck, and after closing arguments in which attorneys for the child’s family suggested jurors should award well over $100 million, the parties settled the case last Friday. Terms of the agreement are confidential.  Trice v. Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc., 18A70731. 

Orlando, FL— Jurors handed down a $12.35 million verdict at trial against Life Care Centers of America Friday after finding the company largely responsible for the bone-deep pressure sore a Florida woman says she developed at one of its facilities. Reed v. Life Care Centers of America, et al., 2018-CA-013297-O.