Verdict puts Clark County on list of ‘judicial hellholes’
An unprecedented $500 million jury verdict rendered against two pharmaceutical companies in May was good enough to land Clark County on a pro-business organization's list of "judicial hellholes" in America.
Clark County has been a frequent guest on the list in recent years.
"Las Vegas courts are known for jackpot justice," according to the executive summary of the American Tort Reform Association's annual list, which placed Clark County in sixth place.
Citing the verdict, which came on the heels of the first trial related to the Las Vegas hepatitis scare in 2008 connected to a trio of endoscopy clinics, the editors wrote: "This year, a pharmaceutical manufacturer and distributor found themselves on the receiving end of a half-billion verdict. Considered 'deep pockets,' they took the fall for the horrific conduct of a health care clinic that was shut down by health officials, and saw its top doctor (Dipak Desai) indicted and charged by prosecutors, for reusing needles and keeping an unsanitary environment."
What isn't mentioned: Jurors were convinced Teva Parenteral Medicines Inc. and Baxter Healthcare Corp. were aware clinics such as Desai's were using larger vials intended for a single user during major surgeries on multiple patients undergoing colonoscopies.
Robert Eglet, the attorney for plaintiff Henry Chanin, a headmaster at The Meadows school, and Will Kemp, the attorney for Chanin's wife, Lorraine, demonstrated that the companies urged clinics to purchase the larger vials because they were less expensive, and were aware of misuse.
The case is under appeal, but the pro-tort reform group left no doubt where it stands; citing unnamed legal observers as saying the "astronomical verdict came as no surprise given the area's reputation for plaintiff-friendly judges and skillful plaintiff's lawyers."
The group did find five places it considers more in need of reform: Philadelphia; all of California, particularly Los Angeles and Humboldt counties; West Virginia; South Florida; and Cook County, Ill., home of Chicago.
