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Propofol is typically used as a surgical anesthetic for a patient who is receiving mechanical ventilation. Because of well known side effects, doctors and nurses in a hospital operating room or a comparably equipped medical facility must continuously monitor the patient’s heart rate and breathing. For any ethical doctor, it would be unthinkable to use [...]

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Lawsuits against manufacturers of anti-depressants have been filed in all 50 states following a study that found children whose mothers took selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Paxil and Zoloft during pregnancy were twice as likely to have a diagnosis of autism or a related disorder. However, the jury is still out on whether the [...]

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At least 20 DUI and vice cases have been dismissed in Contra Costa county as a sordid and shocking tale of corruption involving three local police departments unravels. Christopher Butler, a former police officer and private detective was at the center of an elaborate entrapment scam that discredited men going through divorce trials. Butler would [...]

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Late last week, a jury ordered Contra Costa County to pay $11.7 million to the family of William Tindall, who was killed in a crash on Marsh Creek Road in August 2008. The jury found that the County had created, and had notice of, a dangerous condition of public property at the accident location while the road was being resurfaced. Luke Ellis of this firm represented the Tindalls in their lawsuit against the County and the California Highway Patrol.

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The past few years have been marked by a shocking number of high-profile recalls of medical devices that were previously approved by the Food and Drug Administration’s abbreviated investigation process, dubbed 510(k). Last summer’s DePuy Orthopedics hip implant recall, for example, followed an abnormally high number of revision surgeries caused by thousands of artificial hips. Late last week, the journal Institute of Medicine released a report criticizing the FDA’s loopholes that allow medical devices to go to market if they are “substantially equivalent” to other models that have been approved in a complete FDA review.

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Last September, a PG&E pipeline explosion in San Bruno killed eight and left many more injured. Five years earlier, a Walnut Creek blast killed five workers and led to about 20 Contra Costa County lawsuits. GJEL partners Luke Ellis and Jim Larsen helped the family of Tae Chin Lm, a victim of the Walnut Creek pipeline explosion, recover $10.65 million. But in a report this week for the San Jose Mercury News, Ellis expresses concerns that California could see another tragic blast due to the location of dangerous liquid pipes. “There are a lot of lines where people don’t know they are near their schools or homes or hospitals,” he said. “You hit one of these things and you can have a catastrophic event.”

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In September 2008, a train accident near Chatsworth California killed 25 passengers and injured more than 135. Since commuter Metrolink was so clearly at fault for this accident, observers have said the company could have been on the hook for nearly $400 million in damages if not for a 1997 law that limits the liability for train accidents at $200 million. While this is great for Metrolink, it leaves hundreds of wrongful death and catastrophic injury victims out of the funds they deserve. This week, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Peter D. Lichtman Jr. concluded the case with a ruling that emphasizes the incredibly difficult task of allotting funds to victims that deserve much more.

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For decades, pregnant mothers were told that the best way to avoid developmental complications were to take vitamins during pregnancy, avoid alcohol and smoking, and obstain from strenuous activity. But in a set of studies published this month in the Archives of General Psychiatry, scientists have indicated that other environmental factors can lead to the development of child autism, and has suggested a link between the use of antidepressants during pregnancy and autism.

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People who follow the news in the United States are not strangers to disturbing legal stories that often dominate the headlines. From the Casey Anthony trial that concluded last month, to the Scott Peterson verdict years before, and even the controversial O.J. Simpson murder case nearly 20 years ago, it’s often difficult to avoid the day’s most followed legal stories. But there are thousands of legal stories that go unnoticed each year by much of the general public, or are nearly forgotten years later. In the four following examples, documentary film makers have exposed and revitalized those stories to create powerful documentary films discussing a variety of troubling legal issues. We’ve compiled the trailers for the films Hot Coffee, Capturing the Friedmans, Deliver Us From Evil, and Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, along with short descriptions and reviews.

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A new study published in the Archives of General Psychiatry indicates that mothers who were prescribed popular antidepressants during pregnancy are twice as likely as mothers who did not take the prescriptions to give birth to a child diagnosed with autism. The class of antidepressants in question are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which includes Zoloft, Prozac, Luvox, Celexa, Paxil, and their generic versions. Since medications pass through the placenta, the researchers believe that taking these antidepressants during pregnancy can impact the child’s brain development.

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