Latest / The Jon and Marc Podcast / The Design Defect That Transmits Superbugs: Inside the Olympus Scopes Case
Transcript
- 0:00The scope is reusable. It's designed in such a way that
- 0:04it is impossible to fully clean. If a scope is used in a patient,
- 0:09has a super bug, and then it's reused on you, even if you
- 0:13follow the instructions for you to the T as a provider, those
- 0:16scopes are still not clean and that super bug gets transferred
- 0:19into the next patient, which could be you.
- 0:21I'm not going to the doctor ever again.
- 0:33We are back on the John and Mark podcast with Mark.
- 0:36Just let me know our first ever recurring guest other than Joe
- 0:40Fantini who joins us every week. Kelsey Stokes is back to talk
- 0:45about the next new litigation. The last time she was on, she
- 0:49talked about hernia mesh and that was one of our most viewed
- 0:51episodes. As I told you before we started,
- 0:54I think not just because it, you did a fantastic job explaining
- 0:58litigation, which I know you're going to do today talking about
- 1:01Olympus scopes, but because the things that you talk about are
- 1:04so relevant not only to the attorneys who are looking at
- 1:06these cases, but the people who are potentially affected by
- 1:09these problems with these medical devices.
- 1:11So thank you again for joining us.
- 1:12Well, I'm so happy you guys had me back.
- 1:14It was so much fun last time, so I'm thrilled to be here.
- 1:17Always enjoy talking to you guys.
- 1:19Thank you. Thank you.
- 1:20And you're now officially with. The Linear Law Firm.
- 1:24I'm very happy. It is a fantastic firm.
- 1:27I cannot stress enough the level of professionalism from the top
- 1:31down. It is just such a great place to
- 1:34work. It is such a great place to
- 1:36practice law. So I'm very, very happy.
- 1:38Yes, when when we found out from the linear team that you were
- 1:41joining, Jen and I were we're talking and we were very
- 1:44pleasantly surprised to hear that you were joining the team.
- 1:47Yeah, I'm, I'm very happy about it.
- 1:49And you know, it's we Mark is so genuine and, and, and that
- 1:55trickles down. I, I can't stress enough like
- 1:58the, the, the level of compassion that Mark has and all
- 2:01of the attorneys that Lanier have for the clients, it's
- 2:05incomparable to any other firm, frankly.
- 2:07And I'm not just saying that. I mean, it is it's, it's, it's
- 2:10amazing. All right, one quick thing
- 2:12before we get into this episode. John and I are going to be at
- 2:15Mass Tort Puerto Rico and I'm not saying that their 5th
- 2:19anniversary is the year to go, but I am heavily implying it.
- 2:23It's a milestone near and the event has real momentum and
- 2:26we'll be there recording episodes of the John and Mark
- 2:29podcast is the official podcast sponsor of Mass Towards Puerto
- 2:33Rico. So if you've been debating it,
- 2:36stop being weird and just buy a ticket.
- 2:38Join John and I May 5th through 7th in beautiful San Juan at
- 2:42Mass Towards Puerto Rico. Get all the info and register at
- 2:46Mass Towards puertorico.com. Back to the show.
- 2:49The first new litigation that you're working on at Lanier is
- 2:53one that you just got off stage talking about at MTMP, straight
- 2:57from the stage up to the studio, we are talking about Olympus
- 3:01scopes. So for those who are not in the
- 3:05audience and are not yet aware of what this litigation actually
- 3:08is, can you just give like the high level overview and then
- 3:10we'll get into some of the details about the case?
- 3:13So Olympus, first of all, is the number one manufacturer of
- 3:18endoscopes. Endoscopes is the broad term for
- 3:22There's more specific scopes, but if you have ever had the
- 3:25pleasant experience of, for example, having a colonoscopy,
- 3:29then you would have encountered a scope.
- 3:31That particular scope is called a colonoscope because it's used
- 3:35in a colonoscopy. There's also duodenoscopes used
- 3:38in a procedure called ERCP. There's bronchoscopes used in
- 3:43the the procedures where they actually scope the lungs.
- 3:47There's the upper GI, they're called gastroscopes and that's
- 3:50for upper endoscopy. So whenever the esophagus is is
- 3:55looked at, those are the four main scopes that we are looking
- 3:59at for this litigation. And what's very important to
- 4:01know about them is that they are reusable.
- 4:04This litigation has an ick factor like no.
- 4:07Other I know when we we started learning about it and it like
- 4:11peeling back the layers and really understanding what
- 4:13happened it it you know it is. It's it's gross.
- 4:18I mean, it will make you rethink what you thought was a routine
- 4:22procedure, a routine, you know, hey, it's just that time, it's
- 4:25that age. You will never feel the same
- 4:27about it again. So let me tell you about the
- 4:29numbers. Numbers wise, Olympus, and this
- 4:33is Olympus's own data, OK? This is not something that we've
- 4:37tried to generate from various sources.
- 4:39This is Olympus saying this. There's about 30 million
- 4:42procedures a year that utilize this Olympus the reusable scope,
- 4:47OK. And the complications that are
- 4:51seen, they happen at a a rate that is frankly unacceptable
- 4:56that when you break it down even conservatively, the
- 4:59complications that we're seeing happen about 30 thousand of
- 5:02these cases per year. It's a lot it it is a lot it is,
- 5:07it is a lot. It's an unacceptable number and
- 5:10to be you know, to be clear, these are not patients that are
- 5:15going in because they have some, you know, significant issue when
- 5:19they're having a surgery with the surgery is is a scope that's
- 5:23going down. And so you've got a patient
- 5:25who's open. No, no, these are routine.
- 5:28What you think are just no complications at all type
- 5:31procedure that these are happening in these
- 5:34complications, what's happening you might be wondering, OK, well
- 5:39the scope again is reusable and it's designed in such a way that
- 5:46it is impossible to clean to fully clean.
- 5:50And So what happens is, is if a scope is used in a patient who
- 5:54let's say has a super bug or multi drug resistant Organism
- 5:59inside of them, and then it's reused on you because of the
- 6:03fact that it was impossible to clean.
- 6:05Even if you follow the instructions for use, that's the
- 6:08little pamphlet that comes with every device.
- 6:10If you follow those instructions to the tee as a provider, those
- 6:14scopes are still not clean and that super bug gets transferred
- 6:17into the next patient, which could be you.
- 6:19And that's disturbing. I'm not going to the doctor ever
- 6:22again. Colonoscopy is off the table
- 6:24for. Me, I know.
- 6:25There's no like sheath that goes on top that they use to like
- 6:29ensure that it's completely clean.
- 6:32You would think that and they absolutely could do that.
- 6:35And so there are ways to make these scopes safer, but they
- 6:39have chosen not to, as is typical with unfortunately with
- 6:44so many of these companies is they choose profits over
- 6:47patients, profits over safety. Classic story.
- 6:51I'm understanding how you get potentially the injury you're
- 6:55scope is using some inside somebody not fully clean used
- 6:59again inside somebody stuff we get transferred.
- 7:01You'd say what are like the injuries that we're seeing or
- 7:03the complications that have been arising, like 30,000 of them?
- 7:07Sure. So the the number one, the most
- 7:09predominant one are these super bugs, these infections.
- 7:13And what we're seeing and we've talked to several experts in the
- 7:16field. We have an infectious disease
- 7:19doc who we talked to regularly to help guide us on, you know,
- 7:22what is a case, what is not a case and what what the
- 7:26literature says is the, the latency period for these
- 7:30infections could be a fairly extended amount of time.
- 7:35But what's really critical is from the time of the scope
- 7:38procedure to the onset of the infection, which happens fairly
- 7:43quickly is about two weeks and up about up to 30 days.
- 7:47So that's your window of time. It can onset as quickly as the
- 7:51next day. And what happens is, is that
- 7:53these bugs are so resistant to drugs, to any sort of antibiotic
- 7:59that they, they enter the system notwithstanding, you know, IV
- 8:03antibiotics, hospitalization. What happens is, is the body
- 8:07goes septic and then the organs start to fail.
- 8:09So that's one of the most common things that we're seeing.
- 8:12And we were actually alerted to this by our expert who looks at
- 8:17medical device reports or adverse event reports.
- 8:20And they were, and the expert was seeing this very significant
- 8:24pattern. And what's interesting about
- 8:27this is that this company has been dinged by the FDA multiple
- 8:31times. There's actually been a criminal
- 8:33prosecution against the heads of the company because they have
- 8:37failed to report the adverse events.
- 8:40And even though they have major issues and reporting adverse
- 8:44events, there's still a significant pattern that we're
- 8:46seeing. Getting an actual criminal
- 8:50investigation almost never happens in this world.
- 8:52That is correct. You have to do some obscene, her
- 8:54heinous things to really garner that attention.
- 8:57That is correct. Unfortunately, yeah.
- 9:00Has Olympus made any statements at all about their stance on
- 9:05like, yes, these are clean. These infections may or may not
- 9:09have been caused by the scopes. Olympus always, you know,
- 9:13categorically denies any any sort of wrongdoing as as most
- 9:17companies do. But interestingly, FDA ordered
- 9:20them to do a study. So they did a 522 study where
- 9:25they they had an expert in reprocessing or cleaning.
- 9:29These devices follow the the instructions for use like to the
- 9:35T perfectly using the Olympus reprocessors.
- 9:39So Olympus also makes the cleaning device in many of these
- 9:42cases. And about 60% of the time they
- 9:45they stopped and they looked whether or not these things were
- 9:48clean in multiple steps. And in each step there was a
- 9:51failing rate and that is even when you follow the instructions
- 9:56to the T their own study that was I think that was in 2018, it
- 10:02was around that time. So they have been on notice of
- 10:06these issues for years. Wow.
- 10:09You said 2018 I. Believe it was 2018.
- 10:12So eight years. At least that that was when FDA
- 10:15said, OK, you have to do a study.
- 10:17I'm not going to math eight years and 34. 140.
- 10:20Thousand, yes, 240,000 potential people.
- 10:22Right, right. Michigan education coming in
- 10:25right there. Yeah, and and you asked about
- 10:27injuries. Yeah.
- 10:29That was actually fast math. I'm very impressed.
- 10:32So you asked about injuries. You know, the Super bug is 1.
- 10:36The other thing that we're seeing in the literature is on
- 10:38these bronchoscopes, if somebody has tuberculosis, they basically
- 10:43think about this. They take the tuberculosis
- 10:45patient, they scope them, and then because these things can't
- 10:48be cleaned, they insert them into another patient and they're
- 10:50just taking this tuberculosis and putting it right into the
- 10:53next patient. There's even literature that
- 10:56reports this has happened with HIV infections, which is just
- 11:00awful. It it's you're speechless,
- 11:04right? It's.
- 11:06The the the rage and frustration I would have.
- 11:09I got sick from my medical provider giving me a virus or
- 11:15bacteria from a piece of medical equipment.
- 11:17I'm going for routine procedure that's preventative procedure.
- 11:22And then I'm in the hospital getting IV antibiotics, fighting
- 11:25for my life is it's like, what's the first rule?
- 11:28Do no harm. Right, exactly.
- 11:31These are routine procedures and these are done in otherwise
- 11:33healthy people. And and to be clear, our ID
- 11:37expert says that these superbugs that you don't just get them,
- 11:40you know, somebody, a normal patient, otherwise healthy, even
- 11:44with some comorbidities here and there off the street, you do not
- 11:48have one of these superbugs. So the only way, unless there's,
- 11:51there's some exceptions, for example, like dialysis patients,
- 11:54they're constantly in a hospital environment.
- 11:56They already have a compromised system.
- 11:58So maybe a patient like that, you know, but very rarely are
- 12:02you going to have these these routine procedures where a
- 12:05patient is, is hosting a super bug.
- 12:07And so when you go in and the only thing that has happened to
- 12:11you from the time you get this nasty infection is the scope
- 12:14procedure. I mean that what else could it
- 12:18be, right? Are you seeing that it's the
- 12:20types of infections or bacteria that specifically like live
- 12:23outside of the body for extended periods of time that are
- 12:26recurring? So the key this is for the, the
- 12:29lawyers who are looking at these cases, the key is you want to
- 12:31make sure that it's a gram negative bacteria because those
- 12:35are the ones that are not, that are not just off the street.
- 12:38So for the the the staff and things like that, where they're
- 12:41kind of staff is just on everybody's.
- 12:42Skin. I can just touch you.
- 12:44If I have it, you get it. Right, exactly.
- 12:46And So what you're looking for when you're looking at these
- 12:48cases is a gram negative. The other type of injury that
- 12:52we're seeing, I will tell you about this, but I also want to
- 12:54caution lawyers who are looking at these cases is perforation
- 12:58cases. So what is happening because,
- 13:01and this is a, this is a topic near and dear to my heart
- 13:04polymers, right? Because you know, You sure?
- 13:06Do love polymers? Hernia mesh queen.
- 13:08Is that because of this reprocessing happens over and
- 13:11over and over again that the polymer itself actually breaks
- 13:14down? And So what we've seen in the
- 13:16adverse event reports as well as clients who call us is that
- 13:20during the procedure itself, the device falls apart.
- 13:24It starts to essentially shed plastic and that can Pierce the
- 13:27bowl. That is an injury to be aware
- 13:30of. The caution though, here's a
- 13:32major caution is be very careful about how you advertise and, and
- 13:39put that messaging out, because what happens is, is that the
- 13:42patients who maybe had a perforation because a doc made a
- 13:46mistake or something slipped and then the scope itself perf the
- 13:49bowel, you might get those cases.
- 13:51Those are not cases we're pursuing just because there's,
- 13:54there's a, a, an issue with, OK, that's not really the scope's
- 13:58fault, that's the doc's fault, right?
- 14:00So just be careful on that. But that is absolutely something
- 14:03we're seeing the adverse events, it's a injury that we're
- 14:06investigating and we be we believe will be part of the
- 14:08consolidated. Action.
- 14:10This is something that could potentially affect anyone.
- 14:14Are you seeing it more in certain cohorts of patients,
- 14:20Men, women, ages? So gender doesn't seem to do
- 14:24matter other than just the type of procedure that might be more
- 14:28common for certain genders. Age only what we're seeing is
- 14:32just because as you, you know, as you reach that age of 45 and
- 14:36above, you start to get these these, you know, routine
- 14:40procedures just to make sure everything's, you know, going
- 14:44OK. And so that's where the age
- 14:46comes into play. But as far as susceptibility to
- 14:49it, even children can get this, which is really disturbing.
- 14:52So if if let's say you're your five year old is having some GI
- 14:56issues, the GI doc just wants to do a scope procedure to make
- 15:00sure there's nothing going on. That five year old is just as
- 15:03susceptible as, as you know, the 45 year.
- 15:06Old the age breakdown is just pretty much correlates the
- 15:09amount of people getting scopes. Right, exactly.
- 15:11For people who are listening, who are not lawyers who want to
- 15:16avoid this issue, what is their alternative knowing that they
- 15:19need to get a colonoscopy, right?
- 15:22I turned 44 two days ago. 40 fives coming up real quick,
- 15:25right? I have to get a colonoscopy
- 15:26soon. I don't.
- 15:28I can't tell my doctor. Hey, don't order a lab with an
- 15:31Olympus scope, right? It's so prevalent.
- 15:33What are the alternatives? So there are disposable scope.
- 15:35So #1A disposable scope is is one way also.
- 15:39The other thing that needs to happen is that providers need to
- 15:41be made aware of this issue. And so not only is this a design
- 15:44defect case, but this is a failure to warn case as well,
- 15:48because the providers are not made aware of the fact that even
- 15:51if you use a Lympus reprocessor, even if you follow the
- 15:54instructions to the T, there are things that need that you need
- 15:57to do to ensure that you're not transmitting into otherwise
- 16:02healthy patients. So for example, doctors need to
- 16:05be warned that if they're using a scope on a patient with HIV,
- 16:09that that scope should be thrown away.
- 16:11If they're using it on a patient who clearly has had has some
- 16:15issues, you know, with maybe they're, they're more
- 16:17susceptible to MDR OS or super bugs that should be thrown away
- 16:21there. So there are things that can be
- 16:23done. And the answer to your question
- 16:27is, is one that I know that Olympus is going to, is going to
- 16:31be fighting us tooth and nail on.
- 16:32And so we're prepared to bring experts forth, talk about all of
- 16:36the ways that these could be made safe.
- 16:38Usually when these types of new cases come out, right, attorneys
- 16:42are looking at what is the, the best way for me to find these
- 16:46cases in my existing client portfolio, right?
- 16:51Knowing now that it's, I'm just going to say generally skews
- 16:54like middle agent up right with with some edge cases.
- 16:58Knowing that the gender really doesn't make a difference,
- 17:00though, I would say probably skews more male because of the
- 17:02colonoscopies. What do you feel like should be
- 17:07done to acquire these types of cases if you're like a local or
- 17:12regional personal injury? Well, this is one of those cases
- 17:16where I think you can go any medium.
- 17:19You can do the social media route, you could do television
- 17:22advertising. Really any medium is going to is
- 17:27going to capture the attention, I think of somebody who had a
- 17:31scope procedure and then landed in the hospital for weeks,
- 17:35sometimes at a time organ failure.
- 17:37And in sad cases we've we've had several actual, you know, just
- 17:41deaths where scope procedure and then these patients die within
- 17:46days to weeks of the scope procedure.
- 17:48So it's really just whatever, you know, talk to talk to you
- 17:52guys, for example, and figure out what makes the most
- 17:56financial sense as far as getting the message out, because
- 18:00that's what this is about, right?
- 18:01I mean, there's so much criticism from the defense side
- 18:06about attorney advertising. But if it weren't for how would
- 18:10you know exactly it is these are true health crises.
- 18:14And if it weren't for the plaintiffs spar getting this
- 18:17messaging out through entities like you guys, you know, then,
- 18:21then these patients wouldn't be the wiser because the providers,
- 18:24the doctors, they don't know either.
- 18:26I mean, don't forget these doctors and these providers,
- 18:29these hospitals, they're victims too of the manufacturer failing
- 18:33to tell them what the manufacturer clearly knows and
- 18:38is on notice of. So get the word out, because
- 18:41patients need to be aware that this is a real issue in a real
- 18:44health crisis, frankly. Do you think you're going to run
- 18:46into the same issue like harking back to the hernia mesh days
- 18:50where people are like I was affected by this but I have no
- 18:53idea which manufacturer it was or is it Olympic scope?
- 18:56Just so common that the odds are if they got a scope procedure it
- 18:59was probably Olympus. First one, 100%, nobody knows
- 19:02what scope they're getting, OK? You're going to have to get the
- 19:05medical records when we were first looking at these cases.
- 19:08We've been looking at this case for on the better part of a year
- 19:10now. OK, studying it, looking at the
- 19:14records, we were, we were really concerned that product ID was
- 19:17not going to be as obvious, right?
- 19:19Because it's not an implant, it's not something where here's
- 19:22a surgical sticker that was, you know, stuck on the record.
- 19:25And this is the this is the vice that is in you.
- 19:28But it turns out in these procedures usually it's actually
- 19:32quite clear. Sometimes it's in big bold.
- 19:34It just says Olympus. So the next part of your
- 19:37question is, yes, about 85% or higher of the time is going to
- 19:43be one of these Olympus Scouts. They have a camera in them,
- 19:45right? That's the whole concept.
- 19:46So probably in the picture it says like taken by this model or
- 19:50by Olympus or something. Right, there's actually several
- 19:52places in the medical records that you can find it.
- 19:55The procedure note itself is probably the best place.
- 19:58This is the very same Olympus that makes cameras.
- 20:01Fuji's also a player. Same one that makes cameras.
- 20:05I just clicked for me just right now.
- 20:07I just thought some. Just a coincidence.
- 20:10No, no, that this is, this is actually kind of what they've
- 20:13gone to. For those who don't know, in the
- 20:15marketing world, product liability cases for medical
- 20:18devices are like the hardest, not the heart.
- 20:20It's a very difficult for us because no one knows what they
- 20:22have inside them. That's right, right.
- 20:24Well, they are because you know, when a when a client calls up,
- 20:27they just know they've had a scope procedure, they know that
- 20:30within days or weeks of that scope procedure, they were
- 20:33hospitalized and then you have to go and do the legwork.
- 20:36Just like any of these cases, you know, these these cases are
- 20:40not for the faint of heart. You actually have to do the
- 20:43work. And you know, just going back to
- 20:45let me just plug the linear law firm.
- 20:49You know, we actually the order of the medical records, we do
- 20:51the legwork, we get the records on the front end and that is so
- 20:55key because you have to know what you have.
- 20:57And the other thing is the injury records, you have to have
- 21:00all of that. And sometimes it's an extensive
- 21:02hospitalization. So while we always ask the
- 21:05clients, because the clients can get the records the fastest, you
- 21:08know, hey, try to help us try to go on the my chart always
- 21:13excellent. If the, the the client I
- 21:15plaintiff, potential plaintiff comes in with the medical
- 21:18records so we can quickly investigate it.
- 21:20But if not, if for whatever reason they can't, you know,
- 21:23we're going to do that that legwork.
- 21:25Which is why if you do come upon one of these cases, there is no
- 21:28one better to send those cases to you than Kelsey, who working
- 21:31with David Hobbs on this case, right, would be reviewing these.
- 21:35I will tell you that your comments about the firm and
- 21:39their professionalism, their care for clients permeate
- 21:41through the entire organization. Attorneys who refer cases into
- 21:45the firm work directly with Dwana, who runs intake, to make
- 21:48sure that any of the cases that are being sent over are the the
- 21:51correct cases. They're working on communication
- 21:53with the clients collaboratively.
- 21:54Like you guys do a really great job.
- 21:56Oh yeah, our Dewana, our intake department ran by Dewana is is
- 22:00fantastic. I can't speak highly enough
- 22:03about them. And David Hobbs, of course, who
- 22:05has been my partner in crime for over a decade and we we've
- 22:09worked hand in hand. He's a client whisperer, you
- 22:12know, I can't tell you. It's like he is on the phone so
- 22:15much with clients and they they feel cared about.
- 22:19You know I can't speak highly enough of David Hobbs.
- 22:21Because. Because they are.
- 22:23They are. Yeah, they absolutely are.
- 22:25I think, you know, going back to the attorneys in their local
- 22:29markets who may be able to activate their existing client
- 22:32audiences. I think, you know, just the fact
- 22:35that this is such a widely, such a widely used procedure and item
- 22:40that really sending out an e-mail to your e-mail newsletter
- 22:43list, like with just an alert, right?
- 22:45Like mention the fact that Kelsey literally today was
- 22:49talking about this in front of a room full of attorneys is
- 22:52actively investigating. It's not consolidated yet,
- 22:55right? But it's on its path to being
- 22:57consolidated that your clients need to be aware that this is
- 23:01going on. And if they had a scope or one
- 23:04of their family members had a scope and it led to one of these
- 23:06hospitalizations, that more than likely, right, 85 to 90% chance
- 23:12that there is some sort of a correlation there with the
- 23:14procedure that they had. And they should reach out to
- 23:16your firm. And then your firm should then
- 23:19reach out to you and, you know, investigate the claim.
- 23:21Yeah, absolutely. And you bring up an excellent
- 23:24point. We were thinking about where
- 23:26what type of overlap in clients that we've represented
- 23:29previously or that many of the people watching have
- 23:32represented. And if you think about it any
- 23:34time like Zantac where there there were issues with the
- 23:37esophagus, most of those people had a scope procedure done,
- 23:40hernia mesh, they had bowel issues.
- 23:43And so in many instances before they realized that it was the
- 23:46mesh, maybe they had a colonoscopy done.
- 23:48And so look at your case, the cases that you have worked on
- 23:52previously and think about is there an overlap in patients who
- 23:56who may have had a scope procedure as part of of just
- 23:59kind of trying to diagnose other things?
- 24:01Real quick update, just because we're six months since our last
- 24:05conversation, can you give everybody an update on where we
- 24:08are currently at with hernia mesh?
- 24:09I feel like any stage I am on, I have to touch on hernia mesh and
- 24:12I'm glad to do it. I think he'll be working on
- 24:14hernia mesh well and my kids will be probably graduated from
- 24:19college. As many know, we you know, we
- 24:21reached a global deal with Bard. Bard has been, you know, we have
- 24:25worked closely with Bard and, and in making this deal work.
- 24:28Payments have been going out. The traditional pay cases are
- 24:31going to be receiving offers it it is going well.
- 24:34It is you know, I'm administering counsel of that
- 24:37and I'm my Co administering counsel.
- 24:40Mike Russo is phenomenal to work with.
- 24:42And then of course the special masters, Ellen Reisman, John
- 24:44Jackson, Adrian Tease, Doug Shriner, all have been
- 24:48fantastic. Have a case in the district of
- 24:50Massachusetts that's coming up that we're trying a case against
- 24:53against the different defendant in July.
- 24:56So we're looking forward to that.
- 24:57If you have any questions about hernia mesh, please reach out to
- 25:01me. I, I know the insurance and outs
- 25:04of it. And so it's, it's, it's such a
- 25:06broad question. I I, I feel like I did not do it
- 25:09justice, but just reach out to me.
- 25:10That's a good update also for those listening or watching, if
- 25:14you're like, hey Kelsey, when am I going to get my money?
- 25:16That's a great question. You should watch our episode
- 25:18with Gary from Archer that we recently released on the channel
- 25:21about the Mass Tort supplement process and getting funds
- 25:24distributed. Yeah.
- 25:25It is a long process. It is a long process.
- 25:28There's the whole long process of litigation.
- 25:30And then what plaintiffs need to be made aware of is that the
- 25:33settlement process itself then takes a significant amount of
- 25:36time, especially when the agreement actually contemplates
- 25:42a long, you know, a longer amount of time.
- 25:44And so, you know, don't, don't get, Please be patient.
- 25:47It's just, it's a process. And as you mentioned, Speaking
- 25:50of Archer, the lean resolution process, just so everybody
- 25:53knows, there is a subrogation right in, in every single
- 25:57private insurers contract. So there's a contractual right
- 26:00to subrogation for treatment that was related and it was the
- 26:03fault of another party. And then there's an actual
- 26:05statute that Medicare is entitled to recover.
- 26:09So we we have to check those boxes in order to get and to
- 26:12make sure that all of us, including the plaintiff,
- 26:15including our clients don't get in trouble for not following the
- 26:18law. I'm not going to ask you about
- 26:19the Super secret things that you are investigating.
- 26:22We'll talk about that in six months.
- 26:24We'll see what the next thing is.
- 26:25But for right now, the topic of the moment is Olympus Scopes.
- 26:29Everybody who's watching this should be aware.
- 26:32Whether you are a someone who is potentially affected by this or
- 26:35a law firm seeking to make your clients aware about this, there
- 26:39is no better resource than Kelsey and David at Lanier to
- 26:42talk to this about. Thank you so much once again for
- 26:45joining us. Thank you so much for having me,
- 26:46it's been so much fun and I can't wait to come on.
- 26:49I want to keep this tradition rolling.
- 26:50I'll see you every six months for whether the next update is
- 26:53for those who have questions. Lawyers on that either have
- 26:55questions about the case or want to refer you cases.
- 26:58What's the best e-mail now that you have a new e-mail?
- 27:00Kelsey.stokes@lanierlawfirm.com. So that's Kelsey dot
- 27:06tokes@lanierlawfirm.com. Awesome.
- 27:10Thank you again, Kelsey. Thank you so much.
- 27:11Yeah, and we'll see you at the next MTMP.
- 27:13Excellent, looking forward to it.
- 27:15For anybody who is watching, do not forget to like and subscribe
- 27:19to the John and Mark podcast. They are a must see.