Ovarian cancer is rare, accounting for just 1.3% of new cancer cases in the U.S. However, Johnson & Johnson, a pharmaceutical company worth an estimated $70 billion, is paying millions of dollars in damages to plaintiffs across the country that allege the company’s talcum powder and bathing products caused their ovarian cancer.
In February 2016, a family from Alabama was awarded $72 million after successfully bringing their case against Johnson & Johnson to trial in St. Louis. A few months later, Johnson & Johnson lost another $55 million lawsuit to a South Dakota woman who blamed the company for her ovarian cancer.
A Louisiana woman recently came forward with similar claims. Shintelle Joseph says she’s been using the product for 10 years and was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
According to The American Cancer Society, talc is listed as a risk factor, but not explicitly, or without reservation. There are many contradictory studies regarding the regular use of talc, the best of which doesn’t make any certain claim one way or the other, and therein, lies the problem.
Since the mid‑2010s, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has faced thousands of lawsuits alleging that its
talc products caused ovarian cancer. In September 2024, J&J’s subsidiary Red River Talc LLC
filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy to resolve these claims. The plan—supported by
83% of claimants—would add $1.75 billion to the settlement fund, bringing the total to about $8
billion (≈ $10 billion over 25 years). J&J estimates this will resolve 99.75% of talc lawsuits in the
U.S.
For victims, this settlement provides a clearer path to compensation without prolonged litigation.
However, accepting a bankruptcy plan also means relinquishing the right to pursue individual
claims in civil court. Anyone who may have been exposed to talc products should consult a
lawyer promptly to understand their options.
Infant mortality remains a public‑health challenge, particularly in the Southeast. The America’s
Health Rankings (AHR) 2021–2022 data show that Mississippi has the highest infant‑mortality
rate (9.3 deaths per 1,000 live births), followed by Arkansas (8.1) and Louisiana (7.3). In
contrast, Massachusetts had the lowest rate (3.3). Louisiana’s ranking (48th out of 51
jurisdictions) underscores ongoing disparities in access to prenatal care, socioeconomic
conditions, and maternal health.
Addressing infant mortality requires investing in rural health clinics, expanding Medicaid
coverage for prenatal care, and supporting programs that reduce smoking and chronic disease
among expectant mothers. Legal advocates can help families secure benefits and hold
negligent providers accountable when inadequate care contributes to poor outcomes.
For a free case review, please fill out the form to the right, or call me directly at (888) 982-1290.
Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) such as apixaban and rivaroxaban are popular alternatives
to warfarin, but they are not suitable for every patient. The Clinical Excellence Commission’s
2025 guidelines specify that DOACs are contraindicated for individuals with mechanical heart
valves or rheumatic mitral stenosis, moderate‑to‑severe renal impairment, significant hepatic
disease, triple‑positive antiphospholipid syndrome, active bleeding, pregnancy or
breastfeeding, or those taking strong CYP3A4/P‑gp inhibitors. Different drugs also have
creatinine‑clearance cut‑offs (e.g., apixaban < 25 mL/min; rivaroxaban < 15 mL/min).
Patients should inform their doctors about all medications and medical conditions before starting
a DOAC. If a physician prescribes an anticoagulant despite clear contraindications, resulting
injuries could give rise to a malpractice claim.
The U.K. study gives patients reason to question whether or not their physician in the United States is paying proper attention to contraindications when prescribing anticoagulants. Improper prescription practice has major implications for the safety of patients in the U.S. and here in our state of Louisiana.
Consider that:
If you’ve been prescribed Xarelto or another anticoagulant drug, and you believe your doctor has failed to provide adequate safety warnings or has ignored safety warnings, contact us. Fill out the form on this page and someone from the law offices of Tony Tramontana will be in touch to discuss personal injury lawsuit options if you’ve been hurt by physician negligence.
It’s a 15-hour drive from Louisiana to North Carolina, a long way home for Teresa Harmony who suffered a tibia fracture in Louisiana during the spring of 2013.
According to Harmony, after a surgery that included an intramedullary rod and screws adjoined to her tibia, she traveled back home to North Carolina. Upon her return, Harmony suffered extreme pain and sought treatment. It was at this time that North Carolina physicians informed Harmony that the rod and screws had been incorrectly placed. Harmony went through several subsequent procedures to correct her previous surgery.
Late in 2016, Harmony filed a complaint against the Louisiana doctor that performed her surgery along with the hospital where the surgery took place.
Harmony is seeking more than $75,000 in damages to cover the cost of medical procedures, lost wages, as well as pain and suffering, all of which, she alleges, occurred after the first surgery in Louisiana.
Medical Malpractice occurs when a medical professional causes harm to a patient as a result of incompetence or negligence. Medical malpractice cases may be filed against doctors not residing in a plaintiff’s home state.
In a case like Harmony’s, it is recommended to attain legal counsel in the state where the medical malpractice occurred—medical malpractice laws, statutes of limitations, and damages, vary on a state-by-state basis.
Medical malpractice lawyers in the state of origin will be the ones most capable of navigating their state’s respective laws and regulations.
Although states differ in how they handle medical malpractice cases, these types of claims are challenging to litigate across the board. Moreover, a patient’s displeasure with the results of a surgery or medical treatment doesn’t inherently translate to medical malpractice.
Nevertheless, Louisiana paid out more in medical malpractice cases than any other state in 2015.
Surgical errors are a common type of medical malpractice. Errors during surgery include mistakes during the procedure itself, operating on an unaffected body part, or leaving surgical equipment inside a patient.
Post-surgery mistakes can also result in harm to a patient; this may include prescribing incorrect treatments or medications or failing to give the patient the proper information to ensure their care upon returning home.
More common than surgery errors are medication errors. Medication errors can occur for several reasons including accidentally swapping patient medications in a hospital, poor handwriting on a prescription form, or not knowing how certain medications may interact with others.
It has been estimated that prescription drugs account for more than 200,000 deaths in the United States every year. This number seems high, but not when nearly 70% of Americans are taking at least one kind of prescription medication.
If you suspect medical malpractice, there are a couple steps you can take to make assessing a medical malpractice case a little easier.
Medical malpractice can have profound effects on a patient’s quality of life, as well as their lives of their family. This is why it’s important to seek qualified legal representation that understands the sensitivity of these cases as much as the laws that determine the validity of a medical malpractice case.
If you have any questions about medical malpractice or injury caused by a negligent doctor or medical professional, we at the Monroe law office of J. Antonio Tramontana, Attorney at Law, want to hear from you.
For a free case review, please fill out the form to the right, or call me directly at (888) 982-1290.
Louisiana’s medical malpractice cap of $500,000, enacted in 1975, has never been adjusted for
inflation. By 2024, cumulative inflation increased 474.72%, meaning the cap would be roughly
$2.87 million if it kept pace with general price levels. Health‑care costs have grown even faster
(up 1,152.63%), and physician salaries have risen 733%, eroding the cap’s real value.
According to National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) data compiled by Physicians Thrive,
Louisiana paid $625.63 million across 2,685 claims between 2014 and 2023. Six
states—including Louisiana—impose statutory caps on malpractice awards.
Victims of medical negligence often struggle to obtain full compensation under these caps.
Advocates are urging lawmakers to reconsider the cap or adopt inflation adjustments. If you or a
loved one has suffered harm due to medical negligence, consult an attorney to explore your
legal options.
Until any bills are passed, Louisiana’s medical malpractice award and filing time caps remain the same. To understand how a change in these caps would affect any litigation that may be currently ongoing should the measures pass, it’s best to speak directly with your attorney.
Right now, the introduction of the bills and the Committee’s delay serve to bring attention to matters that many think deserve greater investigation. But, until anything changes, plaintiffs in Louisiana medical malpractice cases are subject to laws that do include strict filing times and award limits.
If you feel you have a medical malpractice case that you would like a Personal Injury Attorney to look into, fill out the contact form on this page and someone from the office of Tony Tramontana Law will be in touch with you promptly.
Louisiana has the 3rd highest number of medical malpractice lawsuits per capita in the United States: 3.4 reports per 1,000 people, according to new data analyzed by the U.S. Government's National Practitioner Data Bank.
With a population of 4.6 million, there were 15,716 medical malpractice actions taken in Louisiana between 2004 and 2014. That's an average medical malpractice action rate of 3.4 per 1,000 people (.34%) - the 3rd highest in the U.S. It's lower than Oklahoma (.41%) and Vermont (.39%), but still almost double the national average of .19%.
We define Action Taken as Medical Malpractice Payment + Adverse Action + Reinstatement Restore.
There are safeguards in place to help practitioners avoid fraudulent claims:
In 2013, three Louisiana physicians lost their licenses due to claims filed by patients. That same year, 1,706 complaints were filed, and according to the review panel, only a quarter of them required action. Of these cases, 60 percent were determined in favor of the physician.
In other words, while the patient compensation fund is quite large, the annual claim payouts are not. In fact, the average payout for most Louisiana medical malpractice cases is $368,841.
And we already know the dire straights of Louisiana's Nursing Homes.
However, Medical malpractice caps in Louisiana have not deterred patients from seeking compensation from providers. About 1,600 Louisiana patients per year ask a medical review panel to examine complaints.
Many complaints settle before the panel has a chance to review them, often when a claim is legitimate enough to avoid going to trial. The panel’s responsibility to patients and providers is to determine if there was a breach in standard care, and to award compensation from Louisiana Patient’s Compensation Fund (PCF), a fund of more than $930 million.
Back in 2009, malpractice made headlines in Louisiana when an 8-year-old girl from Orleans Parish named Chela Butler died from complications of H1N1 influenza. Plaintiffs argued that the pediatrician team misdiagnosed the child and failed to provide the antiviral medication during a pandemic. Aside from the devastating loss to the family, what’s most striking about the case was the payout for the Butler family.
A jury awarded Butler’s family $8 million after the trial; however, Louisiana’s medical malpractice laws cap these awards at $500,000, unless future medical requirements are necessary, in which case more funds are awarded in perpetuity. In this case, when it was all said and done, the family had little to show for its efforts.
Choosing an experienced malpractice lawyer can make all the difference when it comes time to send a claim to the review panel, or in the event that you feel your case should go to trial. If you have questions about medical malpractice or a personal injury claim, we want to hear from you.
A 2023 analysis by Johns Hopkins estimates that 795,000 Americans suffer serious harm from
diagnostic errors every year, including 371,000 deaths and 424,000 cases of permanent
disability. Three categories—vascular events, infections and cancers—account for 75 % of
these harms. These staggering numbers suggest that medical errors remain a leading cause of
death and disability, although they are not consistently tracked on death certificates.
Patients can reduce risk by seeking second opinions, maintaining thorough health records and
advocating for themselves during appointments. If a diagnostic error results in harm, legal
claims may help families recover medical costs and encourage improvements in health‑care
safety protocols.
Johns Hopkins University's Michael Daniel and Dr. Martin Makary were responsible for the analysis in question, which was published in the British Medical Journal. The two experts calculated the total number of deaths that occurred because of medical errors in recent years and determined that the approximate yearly death toll was between 200,000 and 400,000. If these numbers are correct and medical error was considered a disease, it would be the third deadliest disease in this country, falling under cancer and heart disease but above chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The term "medical error" takes in a number of different mistakes made by medical professionals, ranging from inaccurate diagnoses to surgical mistakes. Some of the most common medical errors that may lead to complications or death include:
Unfortunately, many of these errors don't make it onto the death certificate, which has made the total more difficult to estimate. Nonetheless, health policy experts have been trying to draw attention to this problem for at least a decade. The goal of this movement is not to blame the medical professionals, but to help them understand the problem and exercise more caution in the future.
As a patient, you trust your doctors and nurses to have the answers you need. However, because these professionals are human, mistakes will always be a part of medical care. To protect yourself and reduce the chances of becoming a victim of medical error:
Even when you make all the right choices, you or a loved one may still become a victim of medical error. If you believe that you or someone you know has experienced medical complications as a result of an error made by a doctor, nurse or other professional, seeking legal counsel is highly recommended. To learn more about your options or to find out whether you have a case, please call J. Antonio Tramontana today.
New federal nursing‑home staffing mandates aim to ensure adequate care for residents, but
most facilities fall short. An April 2025 analysis found that only 18% of nursing homes nationally
meet recommended staffing levels, and just 3% of facilities in Louisiana comply, meaning over
95% of Louisiana nursing homes will need to hire more staff. Louisiana and Texas were singled
out as having the lowest compliance rates.
Understaffing can lead to falls, bedsores and neglect. Families should review inspection reports
and ask facilities about staffing ratios. When neglect occurs, legal remedies may include
personal‑injury suits and complaints to state regulators.
Can your Facebook posts be used against you in a civil lawsuit? With the increasing growth of social media, many judges have had to confront this question, especially in cases related to medical malpractice. While most lawyers will answer that question with “It depends,” it’s important to realize that social media data is no different than any other type of electronic data. What you share with friends on Facebook can be used in court.
Typically, the courts have held that there can be no reasonable expectation of privacy since Facebook’s homepage specifically states that “Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life.” Even if you’ve blocked photos and posts, that information may still be discoverable if it’s relevant to a lawsuit you’re a part of. The key issue is whether or not the party seeking to access your profile has a legitimate reason for doing so. The courts have applied this standard in order to determine whether a litigant’s Facebook posts will be discoverable. It must be shown that the requested information may reasonably lead to the discovery of evidence that is admissible.
If you’ve made Facebook posts about all the fun you had on your latest skiing expedition after alleging serious and permanent injuries from an auto accident, that information is relevant to the lawsuit from the car accident and will be discoverable. The plaintiff in Largent vs. Reed found that out the hard way. She was ordered by the court to turn over her Facebook log-in information to the defense counsel. At the same time, it’s important to note that Facebook posts aren’t discoverable if your opponent just want to go on a fishing expedition to find out what you’ve been doing over the last several years.
In a Louisiana personal injury case- Farley v. Callais & Sons, LLC - a federal judge ordered of all posts his lawyer determined to be related to the accident in question or plaintiff’s alleged injuries. The Judge would not, however, require Plaintiff to share his Facebook login information or sign an authorization permitting defendants to get the information directly from Facebook.
In the case of Zimmerman vs. Weis Markets, the plaintiff claimed permanent injuries while using a fork lift. At the same time, he posted that he enjoyed bike stunts on the public portion of his Facebook page. The court determined that this information was relevant to the legitimacy of his claims. Privacy interests didn’t trump the discovery requests in this case.
At the same time, the court is fair in its rulings of what’s discoverable and what’s not. In the case of Tompkins vs. Detroit Metropolitan Airport, the plaintiff claimed back injuries due to a slip and fall at the airport. The defendant came upon some plaintiff photos showing him pushing a shopping cart and holding a dog. The court rule that these photos weren’t inconsistent with the plaintiff’s injuries. Furthermore, the court stated that pictures showing the plaintiff jogging or playing golf would’ve shown an inconsistency in the plaintiff’s claim and would’ve have been discoverable.
Information on social media platforms like Facebook is subject to the same duty to preserve as other types of electronically stored data. This duty is triggered when parties can foresee that its information may be relevant to the issues surrounding the litigation. All evidence in a party’s control, custody and possession is subject to the duty to preserve. That means you can’t delete or clean-up any existing data on Facebook, including posts and photos. Failure to preserve relevant evidence can result in sanctions for both counsel and client. In Lester vs. Allied Concrete, the court sanctioned both counsel and the plaintiff for engaging in spoiling the evidence. The lawyer had instructed his paralegal to tell the plaintiff to clean up his Facebook page. Together, the paralegal and the client deleted 16 pages from his account and deactivated his page. The photos were later recovered by a forensic expert, and sanctions were given due to the misconduct.
If you're involved in a case that involves social media evidence, you should contact an experienced attorney like J. Antonio Tramontana. Get a free consultation today.
