We focus on healing first
We help you get the proper treatment, help you understand how it will be paid for, and then we focus on what the value of the claim is.
We help you get the proper treatment, help you understand how it will be paid for, and then we focus on what the value of the claim is.
Inserra | Kelley | Sewell, Injury Attorneys are ready to help. Call us at 800.642.1242 today.
Inserra | Kelley | Sewell, Injury Attorneys have been in Omaha over 60 years. Our team has the experience you need to get the results you deserve.
INSERRA KELLEY SEWELL is a litigation and trial practice law firm dedicated to representing injured plaintiffs and enforcing the laws that hold wrongdoers and their insurance companies responsible for the harm inflicted upon our clients and their families.
“Focused On Healing, Then Results,” is a commitment we make to all of our clients. We help and guide our clients step-by- step through the initial injury, the pain and uncertainty of the healing process, and complications caused by medical bills, lost wages, and the insurance claims procedure. After all injuries have been properly documented and treated, we shift our focus to obtaining the maximum nancial result from the wrongdoer’s insurance company.
INSERRA KELLEY SEWELL has the experience and skill set to promptly and professionally resolve all types of serious and catastrophic injury claims. When you hire INSERRA KELLEY SEWELL you can be assured you will receive the following:
Johnson & Johnson: Are Patients or Profits Taking the Lead in Risperdal Lawsuits?
Over the past several years, there has been an increase in lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson for various products including NuvaRing, vaginal mesh, and even a broad recall of children’s medicines. Although each lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson has its own individual facts and considerations, what has become clear is that Johnson & Johnson has a number of dangerous products on the market leading to harmful side effects. In 2010, the antipsychotic drugs Risperdal and Invega were added to this list. These drugs, while marketed as antipsychotic medications, can cause serious side effects, including rapid weight gain and the growth of breasts in boys and young men. Over the years, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed alleging the same side effects, some of which have gone to trial and been settled.
The lawsuits surrounding Risperdal allege inappropriate marketing as well as failure to warn issues. While Johnson & Johnson alleges Risperdal helps countless people throughout the world who suffer from debilitating mental illnesses, it also has caused embarrassing side effects further contributing to the problems it claims to address. In September of 2012, Johnson & Johnson settled one such lawsuit with a 21 year old who had taken Risperdal and grown breasts which had to be surgically removed. The settlement was allegedly agreed to by Johnson & Johnson in order to avoid having the Judge in the trial order Chief Executive Officer Alex Gorsky to testify. According to court filings, Gorsky was using the increases in Risperdal sales on his resume’. The plaintiff sought to secure testimony regarding Gorsky’s role in getting psychiatrists to promote Risperdal for uses not approved by the FDA.
In addition to the lawsuits, Johnson & Johnson has also faced criminal charges from the federal government over allegations related to off-label marketing and payoffs to a nursing-home pharmacy company. In November of 2013, Johnson & Johnson agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge and pay $2.2 billion to settle allegations that it illegally promoted the use of its antipsychotic drugs for unapproved uses, including the marketing of Risperdal to children and the elderly. Although Risperdal and Invega were approved mainly for the treatment of schizophrenia, Johnson & Johnson expanded the promotion of the drugs for other medical problems to increase sales and driving the cost up for everyone in the health-care system, according to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Still, the most troublesome side effect of Risperdal is the embarrassing and abnormal growth of breasts in males, most significantly troublesome in young boys and young men. These types of claims are time sensitive and require a timely evaluation of the facts of your case. If you or a loved one has experienced this side effect and have a history of taking Risperdal or Invega, contact an attorney knowledgeable in the handling of mass tort claims.
Banged, Bumped and Bruised at Work – What are My Options?
You have a right to a safe workplace. In 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) was passed to prevent workers from being killed or seriously harmed at work. The Act created a government agency to set and enforce protective workplace safety and health standards, provide information, training and assistance to workers and employers. The purpose was to prevent and lower the number, frequency and extent of worker injuries and deaths. However, accidents at work still occur.
In Nebraska, if you are injured at work, your exclusive remedy against your employer is workers’ compensation, unless there is an express contract between the employer and a third-party to indemnify the third-party for the loss, as was the case in in the 1988 Union Pacific Railroad Co. v. Kaiser Ag. Chem. Co., 229 Neb. 160 (1988). Railroads are governed by the Federal Employers’ Liability Act of 1908 (FELA), rather than workers’ compensation, which falls under a different set of guidelines.
In a straight workers’ compensation case, however, the negligence of your employer does not give you a better case against your employer. The Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act eliminates an employee’s common law cause of action for an employer’s negligence. In return for this immunity, the employer is held strictly liable for payment of workers’ compensation benefits regardless of fault Ray v. School District of Lincoln, 105 Neb. 456 (1920). This includes any actions for an employer’s intentional tort. It is for this reason that your employer is required to carry workers’ compensation insurance if they have one or more employees in a regular trade, business or profession, with exceptions such as household domestic servants, employees of agricultural operations, railroad employees, executive officers under a certain threshold, volunteers and independent contractors. Workers’ compensation insurance is intended to provide compensation for work-related injuries, regardless of negligence, provided your injury was incurred in the scope and course of your employment.
Even though workers’ compensation is your exclusive remedy for the negligence of your employer, you may have other claims. Should your injuries be the fault of a third party, you may be able to seek compensation from the third party. In this case, the workers’ compensation carrier may still pay your bills, however they are entitled to recovery of their payments from any settlement with the negligent party. The employer is, however, protected from the third-party defendant’s attempts to seek contribution against an injured employee’s employer or co-workers.
There is one exception to the exclusive remedy provision, however. If an employer who is subject to the Workers’ Compensation Act fails to carry workers’ compensation insurance or an acceptable alternative, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-145(3) provides that an employee can either elect to proceed under the act’s benefits or to seek to recover damages in a common-law action against the employer.
Workers’ compensation claims have a shorter time period in which to bring your claim than a normal negligence suit in Nebraska as well. You should consult with an attorney knowledgeable in worker injuries to evaluate all potential claims as a result of the particular facts of your injury.
Do Side Air Bags Pose a Risk to My Children?
Front air bags have been required in all passenger cars since 1998. Since that time, automakers have capitalized on the safety of adding side-impact air bags as a selling point. Are side impact air bags really necessary? Side impact air bags offer protection from fast-moving chunks on metal and glass which can fly freely in a side impact. The majority of side impact deaths are a result of head injuries from a driver or passenger striking their head against a window. Side air bags are designed to protect your head and/or chest in an automobile accident stemming from the side of your vehicle.
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety reports side impact air bags can decrease deaths from side-impact crashes up to 45%. Luckily, side impact airbags are designed to stay inflated longer than a front air bag, adding additional protection in a roll-over accident. Side air bags, like front air bags, still provide a risk to small children or infants at high speeds. Children are most vulnerable to injuries from air bags in the neck and head area. Although many cars are now equipped with side airbags, there are no guidelines requiring them as standard equipment in new cars. Never allow children under the age of 12 to ride in the front passenger seat of the car. Air bags are designed to work with the lap and shoulder belt to protect an occupant in the event of a crash so all passengers age 13 and older should wear both a lap and shoulder belt when riding in the front seat.
Some side air bags are mounted from the roof of the vehicle, which position has not indicated a risk to children. These airbags are tested by a Technical Working Group (TWG) and will have an “M” (meets requirement) in the column labeled “SAB Out of Position Testing” in your owners’ manual and are considered safe for children. However, very few cars sold in the United States have this type of side airbag. If you cannot determine if your side air bags have been deemed safe for children, you can call your car manufacturer for information regarding the type of air bag which comes standard in your make and model of car.
For more information or for additional tips about air bag safety, visit the American Academy of Pediatrics website.
Lexapro Effectively Treats Depression, but Is the Cure Worse Than the Disease?
Major depressive disorder affects approximately 14.8 million American adults or about 6.7 percent of the United States population, age 18 and older (Archives of General Psychiatry, 2005 June; 62(6): 617-27). It’s not surprising that pharmaceutical antidepressants have become such a big business. Unfortunately, all synthetic medications come with side effects. Prozac, Paxil, Lexapro and Zoloft are Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which increase the extracellular level of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which can alter a person’s mood.
Lexapro was first introduced by Forest Laboratories in 2002, with generic versions approved in 2012, when the drug’s patent expired. The drug received a black-box warning from the FDA regarding the increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in patients younger than 25 in 2004. In 2006, Lexapro was given a grade C by the Food and Drug Administration for its level of safety when used during pregnancy. Even so, the benefits of the drug sometimes outweigh the risks for some expectant mothers, therefore its use continues to gain approval. In June of 2013, Lexapro (Escitalopram – generic version) was added to the MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program of the Food and Drug Administration.
Dangers to an unborn fetus, however, have led to birth defects including Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of Newborns (PPHN), Cleft Palette and/or Cleft Lip, heart defects, neural tube defects, limb defects, spina bifida and cranial defects. Lawsuits stemming from the use of Lexapro allege a lack of warning about the dangers of the medication. In 2010, Forest Laboratories was ordered to pay more than $300 million for illegally marketing Lexapro, as well as two other drugs. The lawsuits are filed in two multidistrict litigation lawsuits in federal court in Massachusetts and Missouri. Other lawsuits have been filed separate from the federal mass tort litigation for both increased risks of suicide and birth defects occurring after taking the drug during pregnancy.
If you or a loved one have experienced adverse reactions after taking Lexapro or Escitalopram, contact an attorney knowledgeable in mass tort litigation for an evaluation of your case.
Can I Protect My Parents from Elder Abuse and Nursing Home Negligence?
As our parents begin to age, we are reminded of our responsibility to protect them. Elderly persons are at risk for bullying, being taken advantage of financially through scams, falls, and even neglect by those to whom we entrust their care. We see them become more physically frail, sometimes even suffering dementia or other mental deficiencies as a result of age. They will often lose their memory, eyesight, hearing or just not be able to think as clearly as they once did. How do we detect elder abuse? We try to keep in touch with our parents in order to avoid physical abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, abandonment or financial exploitation.
We must even be wary of healthcare fraud and abuse. Some of the ways elderly people can be taken advantage of are by healthcare professionals not providing heathcare, but charging for it, overcharging or double billing for medical care and services, overmedicating or undermedicating, Medicaid or Medicare fraud, or even recommending fraudulent remedies for illnesses or other medical conditions.
Nursing homes are a primary location for elder abuse or nursing home neglect. Some of the warning signs you should watch for are:
Classic examples of nursing home negligence include falls, medication errors and chronic bedsores. If you suspect a loved one has been subjected to elder abuse or nursing home negligence, contact an attorney experienced in nursing home negligence.