Idaho collects millions from drug companies
By AUDREY DUTTON — adutton@idahostatesman.com
Posted: 12:00am on Apr 6, 2011

Some of the world’s most powerful drug companies have agreed to give Idaho $34 million over the past five years.

Prescription-drug makers have shied away from fighting about 30 lawsuits brought by the state since May 2006, opting instead to fork over payments ranging from about $13,000 to $13 million each.

The biggest pot Idaho claimed so far was in a case all its own, settled in 2009. The state accused Eli Lilly of marketing Zyprexa, an antipsychotic drug, for uses that hadn’t been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and for failing to properly warn health care providers about some of the side effects of that drug.

Millions of dollars have been deposited into the state’s general fund because of these cases, including about $7 million of the Eli Lilly settlement.

The most common claim that Idaho has brought in legal actions against Big Pharma is that drugmakers inflated the price of drugs sold at pharmacies, which if true would mean that Medicaid overpaid for those drugs, at taxpayer expense. That flavor of allegation was brought and resolved nine times by Attorney General Lawrence Wasden since 2005, earning $11 million in recovered costs. Three more cases that name about 20 drug manufacturers were still pending March 29 after Wasden’s office announced a $1.7 million agreement with Par Pharmaceuticals over inflated pricing of drugs such as fluoxetine.

In cases that involve Medicaid, the settlement is usually divvied up in proportion to the state’s 30 percent share of Medicaid payments and the federal government’s 70 percent share. The state holds onto all of it, but the federal share is set aside to offset future federal payments to Idaho. A small portion of the cash often goes straight into the fund that helps Idaho’s lawyers prosecute these alleged crimes.

For the multistate cases that Idaho joins, the settlement money is divided between states “generally on a per-capita basis, but there’s usually some additional compensation for the lead states because they do all the work,” said Bob Cooper, spokesman for the attorney general’s office.

Drug companies are not admitting to a crime or wrongdoing by agreeing to settle. After the state’s announcement of a nearly $1 million case last month, the drugmaker AstraZeneca said it maintained it had done nothing wrong in marketing Seroquel, and was eager to move past the lawsuit.

Other allegations in the growing list of settlements are that companies:

• Violated antitrust laws.
• Misbranded a drug.
• Didn’t report discounts given to hospitals, causing Medicaid to overpay in reimbursements.
• Delayed releasing negative results from drug trials.

Another recurring complaint the state has thrown at Big Pharma is that companies gave health care providers kickbacks for prescribing their products. Those cases have mostly been multistate actions that Idaho joined.

Parker and McConkie represented the family of a baby who was born with serious brain injury following improper medical care during labor and delivery. The client was admitted for induction of labor at 39 weeks. The physicians and nurses did not react in a timely manner to concerning signs of fetal distress. This inappropriate care led to an emergency cesarean section resulting in the baby being born with no heart rate. The baby suffered permanent brain damage, which required extensive medical care. This case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount in 2011

Wayne Torrie
The Salt Lake Tribute – January 7, 2011

James McConkie is currently representing the family of a 16-year-old-boy, Wayne Torrie, who suffered fatal injuries during a high-speed chase with police officers in Weber County.

On March 23, 2010 Wayne came home from school upset because he had been bullied at school. This caused a disagreement with another sibling so Wayne took the family’s Suburban and left home. His worried mother called the Cache County Sheriff’s Department to help her track down her son.

As soon as Wayne realized the police were looking for him he sent his mother a message saying he was afraid of going to jail and he planned to escape or harm himself. Once Wayne was located in Weber County the Weber officers were notified of the messages he sent his mother. Weber County Deputy Harper found Wayne and began a short high-speed chase which ended with Wayne’s car hitting an embankment and rolling ejecting Wayne from the vehicle. Wayne passed away the following morning.

It is claimed that Weber County and Deputy Harper did not properly train for, or follow the rules and regulations regarding high-speed pursuits. Attorney McConkie stated, “We expect the police to live by their rules and regulations that create a safe condition for the public, just as the public is expected to live by certain rules and regulations.”

Cited: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50999440-76/county-weber-chase-police.html.csp

Parker and McConkie represented the family of a baby who passed away following negligent practices during labor and delivery. The client was admitted to the hospital for spontaneous labor. After admission her water was broken by the physician and Pitocin was administered to augment her slowly progressing labor. As labor progressed her uterus became over stimulated by the amount of Pitocin given. This created severe fetal distress and the Pitocin medication was never properly adjusted. Eventually she became fully dilated and began pushing. After hours of pushing her baby was finally born. As a result of the fetal distress her baby was resuscitated and intubated. The brain damage was so extensive that within a day the baby passed away. This case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount in 2010

Parker and McConkie represented the family of a husband and father that passed away following the mismanagement of his artificial heart valve. The client sought medical care for ongoing care of his atrial heart valve replacement. He complained to his physician that his valve was beating louder than it had in the past. His physician failed to refer him to a cardiologist or other specially trained medical provider and no follow-up appointment was scheduled. About two weeks later the client was brought by ambulance to the hospital with complaints of sudden and severe chest pain and shortness of breath. He was taken to the catheterization lab for further assessment and his condition worsened. Despite all efforts he passed away during the procedure. This case went to arbitration in 2009

Parker and McConkie represented the family of a baby who suffered brain damage due to a delay in delivery. The client was admitted to the hospital due to active labor and was found to be five centimeters dilated. She was progressing rapidly and soon became fully dilated. The fetal heart rate became concerning and despite nursing interventions the baby continued to be in distress. An Obstetrician was not readily available to deliver the baby causing a significant delay. The baby was ultimately born with permanent brain damage. This case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount in 2008

THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Jury Awards $2 Million to Mother, Child in Malpractice Case

Author(s): The Salt Lake Tribune
Date: December 8, 2000
Page: C2Section: Nation/World

A jury in Salt Lake City has awarded more than $2 million to the family of a 3-year-old boy who suffered permanent brain damage, allegedly due to negligence on the part of the obstetrician delivering the child. Athan Montgomery and his mother Heidi J. Judd sued Dr. Gregory Drezga and Tooele Valley Regional Medical Center alleging malpractice during the delivery of the boy on May 12, 1997.

“The baby was severely and permanently injured when the doctor used forceps so hard that they fractured [the baby's] skull” causing brain damage, said lawyer James McConkie who, along with Bradley Parker, represented Montgomery and Judd in the litigation.

During a subsequent Caesarean section the boy suffered additional injuries, McConkie and Parker argued. The boy suffered from cognitive disability and slight paralysis on his left side.

After three hours of deliberation, the 3rd District Court jury returned a verdict in the case Thursday, awarding the boy $1.25 million for pain and suffering and $1,022,735.30 in special damages for past and future medical expenses.

The family expects to collect the money from The Doctors’ Co., a medical malpractice insurance with offices in Englewood, Colo.

The jury found no negligence on the part of Tooele Valley Regional Medical Center.

Deseret News – October 13, 2004

In 2001 Parker & McConkie took on a case against Moon Lake Electric and Porcelain Products who were responsible for the death of 41-year-old Mr. Hilton. Mr. Hilton was out irrigating his pasture on August 16, 2001 when he walked directly under a low-hanging power line while holding an aluminum sprinkler pipe. Hilton was electrocuted instantly and passed away due to the electrocution.

It was later determined that the reason for the low hanging power line was due to a defective insulator produced by Porcelain Products. It was publicly known that Porcelain Products insulators were faulty; they had been settling several claims out of court to keep a low profile. Moon Lake Electric had the knowledge that these insulators were faulty and continued to use them anyway because the expense to replace them would be too high.

The Hilton family was able to settle with the Porcelain Products Company out of court and then continued their case with Moon Lake Electric. This case went to court and Moon Lake listed the Porcelain Products as a co-defendant in trial – this was the first time Porcelain Products went on public record with a paper trail.

The Hilton family was awarded $1.25 million dollars. It was alleged that Moon Lake Electric was 30 percent liable and Porcelain Products was 70 percent liable. The jurors saw that at some point Moon Lake Electric knew about the faulty insulators, so they should be held accountable for the death of Mr. Hilton.

Cited: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/595097919/125-million-is-awarded-in-electrocution.html?pg=2

Parker and McConkie represented the family of a baby who suffered brain damage as a result of negligent medical care. The client was admitted for labor at 38 weeks. Within a few hours of her admission fetal distress was noted. The doctor was notified and arrived at the hospital to evaluate. Although fetal distress continued, the OBGYN left the hospital when the client was eight centimeters dilated. The doctor was notified when she was completely dilated and instructed the nurses to have her start pushing. Within minutes of the onset of pushing the fetal distress increased. Minutes before delivery the doctor returned to the hospital and performed a vacuum assisted delivery. The baby was consequently born in distress with severe permanent brain damage. This case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount in 2004

KSL 5 Eyewitness News – July 25, 2000

In 2000, James McConkie represented former Governor Norm Bangerter, former senator Jake Garn, former congressmen Wayne Owens and several other local office holders who believed that Utah shouldn’t be the dumping ground of hazardous waste for other parts of the country. They formed a group that vowed to mobilize public opinion against storage of spent nuclear fuel.

In Tooele County the nation’s nuclear utility companies wanted to store high-level nuclear waste in Skull Valley Goshute Indian Reservation. The Goshute Indians were hoping to get rich by doing business with the companies but were unaware of the significant damage it would have on the land. These individuals had already signed a lease to build a storage facility for highly radioactive spent fuel rods from dozens of nuclear power plants.

James stated that, “The people who use the electricity ought to keep the waste products,” explaining that Utah shouldn’t be the storage dump for the rest of the nation. He also thought it would be smart to “cut the incentive out so the Indian Tribes are not as tempted to take the kind of money that the power plants can throw at this sort of thing.” Even though they were offering large sums of money, the land is more important.

Citation: http://web.ksl.com/dump/news/cc/special/enviro/nukewast.htm