Aug. 15, 2019

Congratulations to our 9 HGD attorneys who were named to the 2020 Best Lawyers in America by US News and World Report:  Chris Hood, Taylor Bartlett, Honza Prchal, Bill Bross, Lew Garrison, Brandy Robertson, Erik Heninger, Steve Heninger, and Callen Sparrow.

Best Lawyers®, the only purely peer-review™ guide to the legal profession, announced the 2020 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America on August 15, 2019. Lawyers named to The Best Lawyers in America© publication were recognized by their peers in the legal industry for their professional excellence in 146 practice areas.

For the 2020 Edition of The Best Lawyers in America, 8.3 million votes were analyzed, which resulted in the inclusion of more than 62,000 lawyers, or approximately 5% of lawyers in private practice in the United States. In addition, we are pleased to recognize the 2020 “Lawyer of the Year” recipients. “Lawyer of the Year” honorees receive this award based on their extremely high overall feedback within specific practice areas and metropolitan regions. “Lawyer of the Year” recognitions were awarded in 137 practice areas across 182 metropolitan regions. “Best Lawyers was founded in 1981 with the purpose of recognizing extraordinary lawyers in private practice through an exhaustive peer-review process. Almost 40 years later, we are proud to continue to serve as the most reliable, unbiased guide to legal talent worldwide,” says Phil Greer, CEO of Best Lawyers. The process begins when lawyers are nominated for consideration. They are divided by geographic region and practice area, and are evaluated by their peers on the basis of professional expertise. Those who receive high peer reviews undergo an additional verification process to make sure they are currently practicing and in good standing. Only then can these top lawyers be recognized by Best Lawyers.

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HGD Welcomes Mary Ashton Jones as a new Paralegal in the Birmingham Office!

HGD is excited to welcome Mary Ashton Jones to our team as a paralegal in the Mass Tort/Class Action group in our Birmingham office. Mary Ashton grew up in Mountain Brook and graduated from MBHS in 2013. She attended the University of Alabama majoring in business. While at the University, Mary Ashton was an active leader in her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Her work background is in the customer service, hospitality, food and beverage industry, where she was most recently the general manager at Olexa’s Café and Catering and enjoyed being an active member of the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce. She is a also a member of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. Mary Ashton resides in Birmingham and in her free time enjoys spending time with friends and family, exercising and karaoke.

Welcome to the team!

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JUUL e-Cigarettes Allegedly Causing Addiction, Lung Injuries, and Seizures Among Users

Two vapers from California and Alabama have sued JUUL over injuries to their lungs caused by the JUUL e-cigarette. The two Plaintiffs, Timothy Malaney and Brendan Gorman, allege that they were deceived by JUUL about the risks of addiction and permanent harm from the JUUL nicotine vape, and that their injuries were caused by that deceit.

The Plaintiffs seek compensation and medical monitoring for a national class of vapers suffering similar injuries. Their suit, the first of its kind in the country, was filed in Los Angeles on October 26th.

Attorney Francois M. Blaudeau, MD, JD, who heads the Southern Institute for Medical & Legal Affairs, represents the Plaintiffs, together with Heninger Garrison Davis LLC partner Lew Garrison. The Plaintiffs’ Los Angeles attorney is Steven Ritcheson of Insight PLC.

The Plaintiffs claim that JUUL failed to investigate and/or warn of the potential negative health consequences of its e-cigarette. The company knew or should have known that chemicals and nicotine from the JUUL vape can cause a severe hypersensitivity reaction in the lungs, producing pneumonia and requiring hospitalization in otherwise healthy teenagers and young adults. Additionally, daily JUUL use can lead to restrictive airway disease and permanent lung injury. In patients who never smoked, or only occasionally smoked, the nicotine “hit” of JUUL can lead to nicotine addiction and behavioral dependency.

The suit asks for medical monitoring, because damage from vaping can be assessed by advanced pulmonary function testing and bronchoscopy which identify young adults at risk for long-term injury.

The Plaintiffs demand that JUUL establish a fund to medically monitor all JUUL users within the United States. That will allow the medical community, the FDA, and the world to fully understand the negative health consequences of this vaping epidemic.

Vaping and vape products have become a global phenomenon with the United States vaping market expected to exceed 5.5 billion dollars in 2018. JUUL is expected to capture 70% of this market. Recently, medical research into vaping has begun to catch up with the industry, with new medical literature being released every day illustrating the negative health effects of e-cigarettes.

While vaping was believed to be a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, the new studies being released paint a much different picture. Not only is JUUL use found to have similar health consequences to traditional cigarette smoking, it also carries with it risks of distinct and permanent injuries not seen in regular tobacco smokers. These facts indicate that JUUL falsely advertises its product as a trendy, fun and safe alternative to traditional cigarettes.
If you or a loved one have used JUUL, we would like to talk to you. Please contact the JUUL Litigation Hotline: 855-347-8590.

The lawsuit is Malaney et al. v JUUL Labs, Inc. et al., Superior Court of the State of California (Los Angeles County), No. 18 ST CV 02948

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HGD’s 3rd Annual “Red, White, and Brew!” Event Raises $7500 for Birmingham Education Foundation!

On Wednesday, July 3, Heninger Garrison Davis held their 3rd Annual “Red, White, and Brew” Food Truck Fest and community fundraiser at Avondale Brewing Company. Over 1500 guests attended the all ages event which included the best food trucks in town, live music from bands Legal Limit, Bailey Ingle, and The Lamont Landers Band, Avondale’s fabulous cold craft beer, and a multitude of fun activities.

HGD team presents $7500 check to Birmingham Education Foundation’s J.W. Carpenter and Brad Jennings.. L-R: Katie Wagner, Lori Prince, Cheryl Thomas, Tim Davis, J.W. Carpenter, Erik Heninger, Brad Jennings, Mary Phillips, Pam Putman, Tzena Gauldin, and Bill Bross.

For the third year in a row, the Birmingham community turned out in force and $7500 was raised and donated to Birmingham Education Foundation (Ed) to support their mission of “increasing the number of students in the Birmingham City Schools that are on the path to college, career and life-readiness.” At HGD, we are community!

Special Thanks to our community partners for their support: BTS, Maestro Maintenance, ITAC Solutions, Stewart of Alabama, Southern Med Law, AT&T, Southpoint Bank, Pepsi, InteriorScapes, GoPro Events, and Avondale Brewery.

 

 

 

 

See more photos here.

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Tim Davis is Guest Speaker at The American Association for Justice Annual Convention in San Diego

HGD’s managing partner, Tim Davis, was an invited guest speaker at The American Association for Justice Annual Convention in San Diego on July 30. Tim presented during the Business Torts Section CLE Program and his topic was “Survey of Consumer Protection Laws: Tips and Pitfalls.”

Tim has been a courtroom lawyer for his entire legal career. Having begun his career with one of the leading litigation firms in the Southeast, Tim stepped immediately from the classroom to the courtroom.  He was soon representing individuals in tort actions against major corporations and, by 31 years of age, had been lead counsel in Robins vs. National Security Insurance Company and Williams vs. Arrow International, Inc. He was soon thereafter appointed by the U.S. District Court to the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee representing hemophilia patients who had received HIV-contaminated blood products.

Tim’s legal practice has broadened dramatically from his initial focus on individual personal injury cases. Along the way, his practice has included representing entire communities harmed by toxic waste. Today, a substantial portion of his practice is in the area of business litigation and in protecting the rights of intellectual property owners.

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Juul Faces Class-Action Lawsuit for Allegedly Marketing Vapes to Teens

Many of us grew up hearing that smoking cigarettes is bad for your health. They cause 80% to 90% of lung cancer cases, raise your blood pressure and increase your chances for developing heart disease. For decades, cigarette companies have searched for an alternative to lower health risks while providing the same effect. Enter Juul, an e-cigarette company founded in 2015 that markets itself as an alternative to cigarettes.

HGD AND SOUTHERN MED LAW HAVE FILED A CLASS ACTION SUIT AGAINST THE MAKERS OF JUUL.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE LAWSUIT.

The company has come under fire recently in the wake of three lawsuits alleging the devices have caused Juul users to become addicted to nicotine. One of the Juul lawsuits was filed by the parents of a 15-year-old boy who they claim is addicted to the vaping device and the nicotine it provides. In addition, the Massachusetts Attorney General opened an investigation into Juul to determine if the company is targeting minors with their products.

Although Juul vaping devices are intended for adults 21 and older, they have become popular among teens, particularly high school students. In fact, the devices are so trendy many kids use the word as a verb, often referring to the act as “juuling.” There’s growing fear that vaping will become the next generation’s version of smoking, a concern supported by a 2017 CDC study which found high schoolers and middle schoolers use e-cigarettes more often than regular ones.

Heninger Garrison Davis is currently looking for people who vape who may have experienced any of the following:

1. Addiction – with or without treatment.
2. Any person, and especially High School or College Students, who have been diagnosed with Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis or Pneumonia or a Eosinophilic Pneumonia  that required medical treatment including hospitalization.  JUUL smokers can develop very quickly a significant pneumonia that may require ICU care including mechanical ventilation.  There won’t be many of these cases, but there will be some.  This can progress to death.
3. Any person who has developed COPD or advanced Asthma after using JUUL products.
4. Any person that has a heart attack (myocardial infarction) after using JUUL products.

If you or a loved one have experienced any of the medical side affects after using JUUL products, please contact one of our attorneys at HGD. Even if you feel you are not ready to file a suit, consult one of our qualified lawyers as soon as possible so that you will know your options. We do not charge any fees upfront. In fact, we will only charge attorney’s fees if we obtain a financial settlement for you. If you don’t win, we won’t get paid a legal fee. Call us today for your free case evaluation 1-855-347-8590.

HOW DO CLASS ACTION LAWSUITS WORK?

CLICK HERE TO CONTACT US

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SIX HGD ATTORNEYS NAMED TO B-METRO 2019 TOP WOMEN ATTORNEYS

HGD congratulates our six attorneys who have been named to B-Metro Magazine’s 2019 Top Women Attorneys in Birmingham.  The criteria for selection include education, community service and professionalism. Congratulations to Gayle Douglas, Kathryn Harrington, Caroline Hollingsworth, Brandy Robertson, and Amanda Williamson.

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