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Attorney who won hepatitis outbreak trial named top ten "Lawyer of the Year"
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Robert Eglet, the attorney who won a state record $505 million verdict in May in the first trial related to the 2008 hepatitis outbreak in Las Vegas, has been named a "Lawyer of the Year" by Lawyers USA.
"It was a team effort," said Eglet, who learned of the award Thursday. "It's a great honor, obviously, and I think it means a lot to our state because it highlights Nevada's legal talent. There are lots of lawyers in this state who are every bit the lawyer I am. I was just the guy in front of the jury, but a lot of work was done by the partners and staff."
Eglet, the senior partner at the Mainor Eglet law firm, represented Henry Chanin, the headmaster at The Meadows school who contracted hepatitis after a colonoscopy at one of three now-defunct clinics operated by Dr. Dipak Desai. The lawsuit trial and subsequent verdict made national news when a jury found two pharmaceutical companies liable.
Roughly 50,000 Clark County residents were notified they might have been exposed to hepatitis C after health officials discovered staff used vials of the sedative propofol on patients .
In its citation, Lawyers USA described how Eglet "argued to jurors that oversized vials of drugs sold by a pharmaceutical manufacturer and distributor were 'weapons of mass infection' that led to a hepatitis-C outbreak."
In that trial, the citation notes Eglet convinced jurors that Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals and Baxter Healthcare "knew the large vials created a risk that doctors would reuse them in shorter surgeries that required smaller doses, thus spreading infections between patients."
Profit was the motive in selling the larger vials since it cost more to produce five of the 10 milliliter vials deemed appropriate for a 15-minute procedure than it does one 50-millimeter vial.
Eglet had two other trials postponed while the Nevada Supreme Court hears oral arguments regarding the admissibility of certain evidence.
That hearing is scheduled for Feb. 7, he said, and arguing for Teva will be famed Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, whom the pharmacy giant hired following last May's verdict.
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BTW, this trial proved how stupid the jury pool is here in Vegas. I routinely blow through a 20cc vial of propofol during a 10 minute bronchoscopy. More if I don't use midazolam and fentanyl. (unless of course, you would rather be awake and remember the procedure)
Trial lawyers heaping accolades on fellow ambulance chasers? Las Vegas should be so proud to have Eglet, his mansion and his Rolls Royces. Just looking out for the little guy, he is...
lvbigbear, you are not exactly correct. the doctors, nurses and the medical practices were all sued as well. they settled. The drug companies had an opportunity to settle for 1.7 million. They rolled the dice and they lost a 505 million dollar verdict. Too bad for them. Mr. Eglet deserves any accolades he receives. He is simply one of the best trial lawyers around and his firm is arguably the best personal injury firm in the state of nevada.
Maybe he should take some anger management courses with his winnings. Quit throwing stuff at your staff buster. You're sickening.
I wouldn't put it past Eglet to have hired a PR organization to initiate the nomination and secure the title. The real question is: Is this publication "The Big Nickle" or "Forbes" in legal publications?
@William. The lawyers went after the pharmaceutical companies because there is no way Dr. Desai would be able to payout for the damage he did. The fault truly lies with the unethical business practices of Dr Desai. It doesn't matter where this happened the pharmaceutical companies would still be the target of the lawsuits. As for doing business in NV, there are lots of favorable reasons for someone running a business ethically to move to NV.
Ambulence chaser.
Las Vegas is trying to encourage new businesses to move to S. Nevada to create jobs and opportunity. Why would any business or industry consider moving here with this outragous court award as an example of our legal system.
It would have been great to convince a few major pharmacutical companys to bring their businesses and jobs to S. Nevada. Forget that.
Another group recently ranked Clark County as the 6th worst "Judicial Hellhole" in this recent article. http://www.lvrj.com/news/verdict-puts-clark-county-on-list-of-judicial-hellholes-111908754.html
i wonder if he'd like to take my case
Like his ego needs stroking.