The opioid epidemic continues to rage across rural California, but the California Department of Justice has not yet certified a database that could stop doctors from overprescribing opioids. This lag has angered consumers and law enforcement groups who argue that the California Department of Jus...
A report by Altarum examined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s mortality data through June of 2017. The report concluded that the opioid epidemic plaguing the U.S. has cost the country more than a trillion dollars since 2001 and may increase by another $500 billion over the ...
The Huffington Post reported that the opioid epidemic plaguing the nation isn't showing signs of slowing down. Officials in government and victims of the epidemic are attempting to bring legal action against opioid manufacturers. The national headlines are currently focused on an ongoing federal...
Last week, the Washington Post reported that three Indian tribes in South Dakota have filed a lawsuit against the nation's top opioid manufacturer. According to the report, the tribes accused the manufacturer of concealing and minimizing the risk of opioid addiction in tribal communities. These ...
A pharmacy company has come under fire after a long-standing cancer medication's price increased by 1,500 percent in the last four years. The drug, originally known as CeeNU, has no generic alternative and was originally priced at $50 a pill. The price increase comes after a change in ownership....
A new study has found that opioid addiction may start in the family medicine cabinet. According to research conducted by a postgraduate fellow of Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, while the 1% risk is small, taken in context with the number of opioids that are increasingly being prescribed ...
Opioid addiction has been on the rise in America. From 2010-2016, insurance companies reported that the number of patients addicted to opioids increased by 493%. With such a mind-blowing increase, it's unfortunate that a good number of addicts will not receive appropriate treatment for their add...
America's opioid addiction epidemic is one of the worst emergencies we have faced in modern history. The crisis has affected almost every aspect of our society. Hospitals are constantly treating overdose victims. Law enforcement officers are being exposed to ultra-powerful opioids while conducti...
On April 20 , 2010 perhaps one of the most catastrophic events in offshore drilling occurred. The DEEPWATER HORIZON a vessel operated by Transocean for deep sea drilling violently exploded leaving 11 men dead, over 100 injured and causing one of the largest manmade disasters. Scott Bickford was ...
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards discussed the value of legal training, along with current challenges facing the state, with a standing-room-only audience at Tulane Law School on Oct. 26. A lawyer who started his career in his family's small-town practice, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards told Tu...
Martzell Bickford & Centola is currently screening Taxotere (docetaxel) cases. Taxotere, a chemotherapy drug used to treat breast cancer, has been linked to permanent hair loss. Approximately 9 percent of breast cancer survivors who took Taxotere have suffered alopecia for a decade or more. Sano...
Martzell, Bickford & Centola, along with Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson and the Gould Law Firm, filed a class action lawsuit against the Louisiana Department of Revenue for the failure to pay solar credits to over a thousand Louisiana residents who qualified for the tax credit. Before June 2015, tho...
Attorney Spencer Doody of Martzell, Bickford & Centola, representing Plaquemines Parish in its separate lawsuit against BP, said in the article information released about the BP settlement raises a series of questions about its treatment of the parish. This includes whether the compensation cove...
An official press release has gone out detailing a meeting to be held on October 22. Plaquemines Parish will be making a formal appearance at a meeting held by the Justice Department on the State of Louisiana's proposed settlement with BP. Concerns arose that the settlement agreement reached by ...
Martzell, Bickford & Centola is currently investigating Volkswagen Emissions Fraud cases on behalf of Louisiana Volkswagen drivers. On Tuesday, September 22, Volkswagen admitted it had rigged software on 11 million of its diesel cars around the world so that they would pass emissions tests when ...
Martzell, Bickford & Centola client, Plaquemines Parish, to ask the court to set its matter for trial. According to a recent article on NOLA.com, BP must complete its payments by August 26 to local governments that have accepted settlement terms for losses experienced as a result of the 2010 Dee...
Offer was too small to compensate for losses. BP recently let out an offer to Plaquemines Parish in order to pay for the damages caused during the Deepwater Horizon disaster and oil spill, according to an article on NOLA.com. However, Plaquemines Parish has declined the settlement offer from BP ...
Martzell, Bickford & Centola client Plaquemines Parish turns down proposed BP offer as inadequate and failing to address the damages suffered by the parish. Public agencies in the New Orleans area have now agreed to accept a total of more than $240 million in BP settlements stemming from the Dee...
City of New Orleans to Criminal Defense Lawyers: “No more plea deals for traffic violations.” This morning, the New Orleans Advocate reported what local criminal defense firms, including Martzell, Bickford & Centola lawyers, have realized in recent weeks: the City Attorney's office has ended the...
Balance Billing Explained: Martzell, Bickford & Centola has filed numerous class action lawsuits against healthcare providers throughout the state for their “Balance Billing” practices. “Balance Billing” is a policy of not submitting an injured patient's claim to his or her health insurance comp...
Exposure to asbestos can cause a rare form of lung cancer other than mesothelioma. We just reached a favorable settlement for a client diagnosed with pseudomesotheliomatous adenocarcinoma, a rare cancer that can be caused by exposure to asbestos. Our client was a life long insulator and worked f...
On May 5, 2015, the Louisiana Supreme Court agreed with Martzell, Bickford & Centola that class actions are proper in cases where there are numerous claims that may be small or nominal in nature. Class actions are often used when the actions of a company or person are violating the law but the i...
Deepwater Horizon Disaster 5 year anniversary: Remembering and honoring, with continued hope for future solutions and prevention. On the fifth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, we remember the 11 men who gave their lives as well as their families. Although it may be many lifetimes f...
PEMEX OIL PLATFORM EXPLOSION IN GULF OF MEXICO Martzell, Bickford & Centola extends our thoughts and prayers to those injured and the families of those killed by yet another explosion of an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. “How many more people need to die from oil platform explosions before...
Martzell, Bickford & Centola recently filed a lawsuit against the manufacturers and distributors of Xarelto for the wrongful death of a client. The client's death was a direct result of taking Xarelto. Xarelto is a blood thinner (anticoagulant) used to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embo...
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