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December
2006
Dear friend,
 The
decision announced on December 3rd by the pharmaceutical
giant, Pfizer, that it would immediately discontinue
its promising cholesterol-reducing drug, “torcetrapib”,
disproves two widely held beliefs: First – that “Big Pharma’s”
insatiable thirst for profits can’t be tamed, and second
– that the tort system is broken.
Pfizer’s decision to abandon torcetrapib was based
on independent test results performed during clinical trials
which showed a marked increase in heart attacks suffered
by patients taking torcetrapib in combination with Lipitor
– Pfizer’s best selling cholesterol lowering drug. The decision
by Pfizer’s senior management to pull the drug
so quickly was in stark contrast to the earlier strategy
followed by fellow drug giant, Merck & Company,
which continued to sell its block-buster drug Vioxx
-- a COX-2 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, used to
treat symptoms of osteoarthritis, acute pain, and painful
menstrual cycles - despite compelling evidence, long available
to Merck that Vioxx caused an increase in heart attacks
in patients taking the drug. One Federal Court judge has
estimated that Merck may face as many as 100,000 claims
on account of Vioxx-related injury – leaving Merck with
a potential liability reportedly as high as 18 billion dollars.
Merck ultimately recalled Vioxx in September of 2004.
Whether Pfizer’s ultimate decision was based on ethical
vs. economic considerations is one for the cynics and the
pundits to hash-out. But one thing is clear – the American
jury trial system is the last great equalizer. Without the
tort system – nothing would stand between the quest for
increased shareholder value (formerly known as “profits”)
and those who suffer injury or death as a result of dangerous
products.
Despite clear and compelling evidence that torcetrapib
posed a significant risk of serious injury or death to patients
taking the drug, Big Pharma, including Pfizer and Merck,
will nevertheless continue to spend mountains of cash on
Washington lobbyists to sound the clarion call for “tort
reform”. Don’t be fooled. The tort system is working just
fine.
Eric Parker
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Parker | Scheer LLP Opens
Las Vegas Office |
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 Boston-based
law firm Parker Scheer LLP expanded its presence to Las
Vegas, Nevada, beginning November 16, 2006. Parker Scheer’s
Las Vegas office, which operates under the name Parker Scheer
Lagomarsino, concentrates in serious personal injury and
business litigation matters. With the opening of its Las
Vegas office, Parker Scheer Lagomarsino will be the first
office carrying the Parker Scheer name located outside Massachusetts.
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Read
full article... |
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Parker Scheer
Arranges Set Tour of FOX Television’s “24”
Raising Nearly $10,000 for Boston Charter School |
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Eric Parker with
Match School Executive Director Alan Safran and 12
year old Georgia Parker |
When the Media And Technology Charter High School
(MATCH) sounded the call for auction items likely to raise
vital financial support at the school’s annual Gala,
Parker Scheer was there! Despite some fairly
stiff competition, a private set tour and behind the scenes
visit with the cast and crew of the Fox Television Emmy
Award winning drama, “24”, arranged by Parker
Scheer, generated the evening’s top bid, at just under
$10,000. Pretty amazing when you consider the competition:
An original Doonesbury
Sunday sketch signed by author Garry Trudeau,
presented live by Trudeau’s wife, Jane Pauley.
Or how about an hour-long private clinic with Boston College
football legend Doug Flutie at your own
home, including an autographed photo of Flutie's famed Hail
Mary Pass. Or a one-week stay at an Eastham, Cape
Cod house that sleeps 8-10 people and enjoys 180-degree
views over a nature preserve tidal salt marsh and Cape Cod.
Bay. How much for an autographed baseball signed by Red
Sox closer Jonathan
Papelbon, and four tickets, in Field Box #28, located
directly behind the Red Sox dugout, to a Red Sox game.
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Read
full article... |
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Susan Bourque Named Partner,
Parker | Scheer LLP |
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 Parker
Scheer LLP is pleased to announce that Susan M. Bourque,
has been elected a Partner in the Firm, effective November
1, 2006. Attorney Bourque is a member of Parker Scheer's
Complex Personal Injury Group, and has extensive experience
in a wide area of complex personal injury claims including
medical and dental malpractice; motor vehicle negligence;
product liability; defective premises; and workplace sexual
assault.
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Read
full article... |
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Parker
Scheer co-founders Barry S. Scheer and Eric J. Parker named
"Massachusetts Super Lawyers" for the Third Year
in a Row |
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 For
the third year in a row, Parker Scheer co-founders Barry
S. Scheer and Eric J. Parker were named “Massachusetts
Super Lawyers” by the publishers of Boston Magazine
and Law and Politics Magazine. The distinction is based
on a state-wide survey of Massachusetts lawyers who have
been in practice for at least five years. Attorneys are
asked to nominate “the best attorneys they have personally
observed in action”. Only 5 percent of the total lawyers
in Massachusetts are named Super Lawyers.
More information about the selection process is available
here. |
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Read
full article... |
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Recent
Trial Reports |
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Fall in Customer's Home - $325,000.00
The plaintiff, a 36 year-old male, was hired to paint the
exterior of a home, along with the trim and reinstall the
storm windows at a residence in Newton, Massachusetts. As
the plaintiff was carrying one of the windows across the
property, his foot came into contact with a raised section
of a flagstone walk leading to the exterior stairway, causing
him to fall forward. As he fell, his left arm struck the
edge of the window pane, severely lacerating his wrist.
The plaintiff required two major surgical procedures and
was ultimately diagnosed with complete ulnar nerve paralysis
in the distal forearm and hand.
Trial
report for this premises liability case
Auto Accident - Ankle Fracture; $100,000.00
On September 2, 2005, the plaintiff, a 31 year old male,
was a pedestrian seated on a curb in Lowell, Massachusetts.
The defendant attempted to back out of a parking spot, but
instead accelerated forwarded striking the plaintiff’s
legs, and pinning his left ankle and leg between the car
and the curb.
Trial
report for this motor vehicle negligence case
Auto Accident - Fractured Fingers; $110,000.00
On May 5, 2005, at approximately 1:30 a.m., the plaintiff,
a 21 year old, graduating Harvard College senior, was a
restrained front-seat passenger of a motor vehicle operated
by the defendant. Upon entering a controlled intersection
in Cambridge, the defendant negligently disregarded a red
traffic signal, causing his vehicle to collide with a second
vehicle which was in the process of making a left-hand turn.
Upon impact, the passenger-side airbag deployed, causing
injury to the plaintiff’s hands and her right arm.
She was transported by ambulance to Massachusetts General
Hospital for emergency medical treatment.
Trial
report for this motor vehicle negligence case
Auto Accident - Exacerbation of back pain; $250,000.00
On October 18, 2002, the plaintiff, a 61 year old female,
was the restrained operator of a motor vehicle traveling
Southbound on Concord Street in Framingham, Massachusetts.
As the plaintiff proceeded straight on Concord Street, the
Defendant, operating a commercial van, cut directly into
the plaintiff’s path of travel and struck her vehicle.
The force of the collision resulted in a “roll-over”
of the defendant’s vehicle, and significant damage
to the plaintiff’s vehicle.
Trial
report for this motor vehicle negligence case
Auto Accident involving Pedestrian - Right Tibial
Shaft Fracture; $100,000.00 (Maximum Coverage Available)
The plaintiff, a 22 year-old female pedestrian, suffered
a right tibial shaft fracture after being struck by a motor
vehicle in Chelsea, Massachusetts. As a result of this accident,
the plaintiff underwent an open surgical procedure at which
time an LISS plate was placed to stabilize the fractured
tibia.
Trial
report for this motor vehicle negligence case
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