Books Showcasing the Work of Wisner Baum
"Follow the Science: How Big Pharma Misleads, Obscures, and Prevails"
The author mentions the Gardasil HPV vaccine injury litigation. which our law firm is co-leading, and some of our experts in other pharmaceutical litigation.
(Excerpt): Do Merck Manuals mention that the company’s own HPV cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, has been the center of major controversies about its safety and effectiveness? Does it disclose that injured patients have filed many lawsuits claiming the vaccines caused illnesses from ovarian failure to cancer? That the scientist who codeveloped Gardasil later spoke out in an unprecedented way, saying that the Merck Gardasil vaccine may have more risks than benefits?
No. Instead, Merck’s Man- ual makes an audacious claim under “Side Effects of HPV Vaccine.” It states flatly and falsely, “No serious side effects have been reported.” It’s unknown how that claim could possibly square with Gardasil’s FDA-approved label, also written by Merck, which states: “the following postmarketing adverse experiences have been spontaneously reported for GARDASIL: Blood and lymphatic system disorders: Autoimmune hemolytic anemia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, lymphade- nopathy. Respiratory, thoracic, and mediastinal disorders: Pulmonary embolus. Gastrointestinal disorders: Pancreatitis. General disorders and administration site conditions: Asthenia, chills, death, malaise. Immune system disorders: Autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivity reactions including anaphylactic/anaphylactoid reactions, broncho- spasm. Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders: Arthralgia, myalgia. Nervous system disorders: Acute disseminated encephalo- myelitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, motor neuron disease, paralysis, seizures, transverse myelitis. Infections and infestations: Cellulitis. Vascular disorders: Deep venous thrombosis.” Blood clots, paralysis, seizures, brain damage, and death—yet the Merck Manual online tells med students, doctors, and consumers, “No serious side effects have been reported”? ... The problem extends far beyond the Merck Manuals. A 2022 study examined nine textbooks commonly used to teach which medicine to prescribe for various psychiatric disorders. Two-thirds of the textbook authors and editors had been personally paid by companies that make the drugs.
“Blood Farm: The Explosive Big Pharma Scandal that Altered the AIDS Crisis
By Cara McGoogan
*Blood Farm* by Cara McGoogan uncovers the harrowing story of how a miracle treatment for hemophilia became a deadly poison, leading to one of the most overlooked medical scandals in history. In the 1980s, pharmaceutical companies like Bayer, Baxter, and Armour produced Factor VIII, a life-saving treatment for hemophiliacs, by collecting plasma from high-risk populations, including prisoners and people on skid row. Despite knowing these practices could transmit HIV, they continued selling the contaminated product. The result was catastrophic: over 8,000 hemophiliacs in the U.S. contracted HIV, with only 700 surviving today.
McGoogan follows the stories of young victims like our client Ken Dixon, and Brad Cross, and Ryan White, children who were infected through the treatment. The book reveals the corporate greed and negligence that fueled the crisis, leading to public outrage and the eventual shift in stigmas surrounding AIDS. It also highlights the efforts of survivors, activists, lawyers, and reporters who fought for justice. Their struggle culminated in legal settlements and the creation of the largest federal program on HIV, signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. *Blood Farm* exposes the deadly consequences of profit-driven medicine and the far-reaching impacts of the AIDS epidemic. The Dixon case involved a complex trial conducted by Wisner Baum senior partner Michael Baum (when the firm was known as Baum Hedlund) and lawyers from Mull and Mull.
“Toxic Exposure: The True Story behind the Monsanto Trials and the Search for Justice”
By Chadi Nabhan, MD, MBA
This book is a behind-the-scenes look inside three key jury trials that our law firm worked on, involving Monsanto's weed killer Roundup causing cancer, and the search for justice. Wisner Baum (formerly Baum Hedlund) won $2.424 billion in jury verdicts in these cases. "Toxic Exposure" unveils the genuine chronicle of numerous individuals who developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a variant of cancer, subsequent to Roundup usage, and their legal battles against Monsanto, the manufacturer of Roundup, now under the ownership of Bayer, a global agricultural chemical company. Penned by Chadi Nabhan, MD, MBA, a distinguished cancer specialist, this is a unique account, written by a seasoned medical professional who testified as an expert witness in the inaugural three trials confronting Monsanto.
Dr. Nabhan takes readers through these momentous legal battles, unraveling the critical facets of the cases. This includes shedding light on how Monsanto attempted to downplay IARC's scientific findings, potentially influenced the EPA's glyphosate classification, and orchestrated extensive public relations campaigns to mitigate the perceived health risks of their product. He also provides insights into the other expert witnesses who assessed the evidence, scrutinized the scientific data, and confronted this agricultural behemoth within the courtroom. Wisner Baum trial lawyer R. Brent Wisner is extensively mentioned in the book, as he was on the trial team for the first three Roundup trials, and he co-led the Johnson and Pilliod trial and delivered the opening and closing arguments. Michael L. Baum and Pedram Esfandiary are also in the book as they were members of the first three trial teams. Michael Baum wrote a summary published in the book.
“The Monsanto Papers: Corruption of Science and Grievous Harm to Public Health”
By Dr. Gilles-Éric Seralini with Jérôme Douzelet
"The latest book from renowned scientist Gilles-Éric Seralini and chef Jérôme Douzelet details the lengths Monsanto Company went to compromise scientific journals, capture regulatory agencies, and deceive the public on the safety of its flagship herbicide, Roundup. Using the company’s own internal documents, studies, and other memoranda, the authors tell the David vs. Goliath story of an independent scientist (Seralini) who exposed the dangers of Roundup, then for years was a company target.
“Monsanto’s actions remained largely under the radar until 2017 when the Wisner Baum law firm and others litigating Roundup cancer cases against Monsanto sought to unseal thousands of confidential documents and make them available to the public. These documents, later dubbed the "Monsanto Papers," show how far Monsanto’s cynical attempts went to discredit Seralini and cover up its scientific fraud.”
Wisner Baum attorney Michael L. Baum, one of three people who wrote forwards to “The Monsanto Papers: Corruption of Science and Grievous Harm to Public Health,” describes several revelations contained in the internal company documents. Read his forward here.
“The Monsanto Papers: Deadly Secrets, Corporate Corruption, and One Man’s Search for Justice”
By Carey Gillam
"The Monsanto Papers is the inside story of Lee Johnson’s landmark lawsuit against Monsanto. For Lee, the case was a race against the clock, with doctors predicting he wouldn’t survive long enough to take the witness stand. For the eclectic band of young, ambitious lawyers representing him it was a matter of professional pride and personal risk, with millions of dollars and hard-earned reputations on the line. For the public at large, the lawsuit presented a question of corporate accountability. With enough money and influence, could a company endanger its customers, hide evidence, manipulate regulators, and get away with it all—for decades?
“Readers will be astounded by the depth of corruption uncovered, captivated by the shocking twists, and moved by Lee’s quiet determination to see justice served. With gripping narrative force that reads like fiction, The Monsanto Papers takes readers behind the scenes of a grueling legal battle, pulling back the curtain on the frailties of the American court system and the lengths to which lawyers will go to fight corporate wrongdoing.
Trial lawyers R. Brent Wisner, Michael Lin Baum and Pedram Esfandiary were members of the trial teams for the first three Roundup cancer lawsuits to see their day in court. Brent was co-lead trial counsel for Dewayne “Lee” Johnson and Alva and Alberta Pilliod. We are very proud of our firm’s work to get the trove of internal Monsanto documents (now known as The Monsanto Papers) out from under seal and into the hands of the public.
“The Illusion of Evidence-Based Medicine: Exposing the crisis of credibility in clinical research”
By Jon Juredini and Leemon B. McHenry
"An exposé of the corruption of medicine by the pharmaceutical industry at every level, from exploiting the vulnerable destitute for drug testing, through manipulation of research data, to disease mongering and promoting drugs that do more harm than good."
The authors relied on thousands of industry documents that our law firm (known as Baum Hedlund at the time) exposed during litigation concerning certain SSRI antidepressants. This evidence revealed illegal conduct by pharmaceutical companies to pervert and manipulate the scientific process to ensure favorable outcomes to support the companies’ drugs, when, in fact, they were ineffective and caused harm.
“Children of the Cure, Missing Data, Lost Lives and Antidepressants”
By David Healy Joanna Le Noury and Julie Wood
A fascinating book about how a published study touting the efficacy and safety of Paxil in children became one of the most infamous clinical trials ever, leading to a fraud charge, a $3 billion fine, and a Black Box Warning.
Our lawyers uncovered Study 329 during our Paxil litigation. We are very proud of the role this litigation played exposing Paxil and Study 329 in helping to bring to light the manipulation of the efficacy and safety of Paxil in adolescents.
“The Fight Against Monsanto’s Roundup: The Politics of Pesticides”
by Mitchel Cohen
From Amazon:
"Chemical poisons have infiltrated all facets of our lives – housing, agriculture, work places, sidewalks, subways, schools, parks, even the air we breathe. More than half a century since Rachel Carson issued Silent Spring – her call-to-arms against the poisoning of our drinking water, food, animals, air, and the natural environment – The Fight Against Monsanto’s Roundup takes a fresh look at the politics underlying the mass use of pesticides and the challenges people around the world are making against the purveyors of poison and the governments that enable them."
Wisner Baum (formerly Baum Hedlund) and other leading lawyers in the Monsanto lawsuits, obtained a trove of internal company documents from Monsanto during the Roundup cancer litigation. After getting the documents unsealed, we shared this evidence, called The Monsanto Papers, with regulatory agencies, scientists, academics, reporters, consumer advocates, and others around the world, to expose Monsanto’s ghostwriting, scientific manipulation, and collusion with the EPA to hide the truth about the harms of glyphosate and its Roundup weed killer products.
“The Danger Within Us: America’s Untested, Unregulated Medical Device Industry and One Man’s Battle to Survive It”
by Jeanne Lenzer
Did you know…Medical interventions have become the third leading cause of death in America? An estimated 10 percent of Americans are implanted with medical devices — like pacemakers, artificial hips, cardiac stents, etc. The overwhelming majority of high-risk implanted devices have never undergone a single clinical trial. In THE DANGER WITHIN US, award-winning journalist Jeanne Lenzer brings these horrifying statistics to life through the story of one working class man who, after his “cure” nearly kills him, ends up in a battle for justice against the medical establishment.
This book features an unprecedented medical device case that our firm litigated against Stryker and Medtronic concerning a bone graft product that caused a woman (and many others) to suffer permanent disabling injuries.
“Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science”
by Carey Gillam
It’s the herbicide on our dinner plates, a chemical so pervasive it’s in the air we breathe, our water, our soil, and even found increasingly in our own bodies. Known as Monsanto’s Roundup by consumers, and as glyphosate by scientists, the world’s most popular weed killer is used everywhere from backyard gardens to golf courses to millions of acres of farmland. For decades it’s been touted as safe enough to drink, but a growing body of evidence indicates just the opposite, with research tying the chemical to cancers and a host of other health threats. Written by veteran journalist Carey Gillam. Whitewash is more than an exposé about the hazards of one chemical or even the influence of one company. It’s a story of power, politics, and the deadly consequences of putting corporate interests ahead of public safety.
This book features a Roundup cancer client of ours and the groundbreaking Monsanto Roundup cancer litigation conducted by our law firm.
“Beyond Mental Illness: Transform the Labels, Transform a Life”
By LCSW David Moyer
"Can infections cause Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gherig's Disease and mental illness? Yes, but not just the infections. The body's unique defense against these infections plays a role. This is but one of the startling facts uncovered in Moyer's third book, Beyond Mental Illness. Moyer is a retired licensed clinical social worker with a lifetime of professional experience dealing with mental illness. He has been free to follow the research independent of the cultural limitations that might inhibit other investigators."
“Eat, Drink, and Be Wary: How Unsafe Is Our Food?”
by Charles M. Duncan
Veteran journalist Duncan demonstrates that fears about food safety in the U.S. are not unfounded. Bit by bit, he examines “our enormous food safety problems,” the reasons why the government has failed to protect consumers, and the consequences of such lax oversight.
According to Duncan, the American government drags its feet and has kept secret public information about enforcement, closures, and seizures of food processors, protecting big businesses at the public’s expense. Though not the most optimistic—or appetizing—volume on modern-day food production, Duncan’s work is comprehensive and readers concerned with the safety and reliability of their foods will appreciate his efforts.
The book highlights our firm's work to expose baby formula and baby bottle manufacturers for making products containing Bisphenol A (BPA), a toxic chemical found in plastic and in the lining of cans. The book cites our web page,“BPA: What, When, Where, How, Why.”
“Seconds to Disaster”
by Glenn Meade and Ray Ronan
Much of the time air crashes are a confluence of events—a cascade of bad luck, bad decisions, inappropriate airline company policy, the failure of aviation regulators, and sometimes insufficient training, or various combinations of all five. Seconds to Disaster demonstrates that part of that bad luck is often aided by the airline industry’s own endless and aggressive pursuit of bottom-line profit which contributes to a creeping erosion of safety standards and puts both passenger and crew lives at serious risk.
The authors include an interview they had with one of our aviation attorneys with extensive experience handling airline crashes.
“Pharmageddon”
by Dr. David Healy
Healy, who was the first to draw attention to the now well-publicized suicide-inducing side effects of many antidepressants, attributes our current state of affairs to three key factors: product rather than process patents on drugs, the classification of certain drugs as prescription-only, and industry-controlled drug trials. These developments have tied the survival of pharmaceutical companies to the development of blockbuster drugs, so that they must overhype benefits and deny real hazards.
The author acknowledged our firm’s success in the SSRI litigation and sharing of unsealed documents obtained during our litigation of antidepressant-induced suicide cases.
“White Coat, Black Hat”
by Carl Elliott
Author Elliott reports that the culture of deception within the medical community has become pervasive – driven by profit-maximizing drug companies. He buttresses that conclusion with innumerable vignettes of how they have withheld negative outcomes information about their products, while creating slanted supportive reports in ghost-written medical journal articles, CME presentations, and various forums for both physicians and the public.
The author recognized our firm's extensive work in exposing the fraudulent conduct of certain drug companies to get their drugs approved and marketed.
“Kids Caught in the Psychiatric Maelstrom”
by Elizabeth E. Root, MSW, MS Ed
Writing for parents and caregivers, Root, a retired clinical social worker, criticizes treatment practices of children with psychiatric conditions and addresses the issue of excessive prescribing of medications. Noting the supposed increase in mental illness in children, she asks whether they are really mentally ill and whether the care provided to them is really helpful. She discusses medical and psychosocial treatment models and how they influence a therapist’s attitude toward a patient; the history of ADHD, neurobiological theories, and critiques of them; myths about bipolar disorder; the increase in psychopharmacology, the pharmaceutical industry, types of drugs, and their safety; screening of children and the lack of an objective screening method; and non-drug alternative solutions.
The author acknowledged our firm’s considerable legal success in uncovering and litigating certain drug companies illegal marketing practices to push ineffective drugs on children.
“Brave New World of Health”
by Belinda Bennett et al.
This book argues that the foundational terms and concepts, which form the basic building blocks of dialogue about health, are now in flux. While the forces in play differ, and the pace of change is varied, there is now a ‘brave new world’ of health which characterizes policy debate about health (and illness or disability).
The author acknowledged our firm's innovative legal work against major pharmaceutical companies.
“Side Effects”
by Alison Bass
Side Effects tells the tale of a gutsy assistant attorney general who, along with an unlikely whistle-blower at an Ivy League university, uncovered evidence of deception behind one of the most successful drug campaigns in history. Paxil was the world’s bestselling antidepressant in 2002. Pediatric prescriptions soared, even though there was no proof that the drug performed any better than sugar pills in treating children and adolescents, and the real risks the drugs posed were withheld from the public.
The New York State Attorney General’s office brought an unprecedented lawsuit against giant manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Paxil, for consumer fraud. The successful suit launched a tidal wave of protest that changed the way drugs are tested, sold, and marketed in this country.
The author included an interview with one of our clients. She also thanked our firm due to our work exposing the fraud and misdeeds of GSK, the manufacturer of Paxil, in their promotion and marketing of Paxil as effective for children, when that was not the case. In fact, the drug caused pediatric Paxil patients to experience increased suicidality.
“Mania” by
Dr. David Healy
Mania describes the short history of bipolar disorder and how the perception of illness changes over time, recounting the changing definitions of mania throughout centuries. It also explores the effects of growing public awareness of the disease on culture and society, and examines the rise of psychotropic treatments and pharmacological marketing.
The author acknowledged our firm's cutting-edge legal work exposing the internal company documents and misdeeds of several major pharmaceutical companies.
“Selling Sickness: How the World’s Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies Are Turning Us All into Patients”
by Ray Moynihan and Alan Cassels
Selling Sickness reveals how widening the boundaries of illness and lowering the threshold for treatments is creating millions of new patients and billions in new profits, in turn threatening to bankrupt health-care systems all over the world. As more and more of ordinary life becomes medicalised, the industry moves ever closer to Gadsden’s dream: “selling to everyone.”
The authors included an interview with one of our lawyers who worked on the antidepressant injury and fraud litigation.
“Medicines Out of Control? Antidepressants and the Conspiracy of Goodwill”
by Charles Medawar & Anita Hardon
Medicines Out of Control focuses on a drug crisis that is still in the making: the control and consumption of mood-regulating drugs, such as Prozac and other antidepressants and a much wider problem: continuing human dependence on corporate and professional power.
The authors mentioned one of our firm’s court cases involving antidepressant injuries.
“Antidepresseurs La Grande Intoxication, Ce Que 5 Millions de Patients Ne Savent Pas Encore”
by Guy Hugnet
Antidepressants the great intoxication goes into the hidden side of antidepressant work and what the manufacturers, because of trade issues, do not say: unpublished documents in France, often secret, from pharmaceutical companies ignore the public interest and most physicians opinions.
The author acknowledged our firm’s help sharing unsealed information about pharmaceutical fraud and manipulation to hide the harm caused by their drugs.
“Nine Minutes, Twenty Seconds”
by Gary M. Pomerantz
In this gripping and inspiring story, Gary M. Pomerantz brings readers deep inside the hearts and minds of twenty-nine people whose fates take a dramatic turn when their plane crashes in a west Georgia hayfield. You will be amazed by how they react in those fateful moments, and by their remarkable personal journeys in the days and months that follow.
The authors interviewed one of our aviation attorneys, who represented several passengers injured in the crash of Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 accident, Embraer EMB 120, near Carrollton, Georgia, in 1995.
“The Secret Life of Bill Clinton”
by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
These days, it seems like everyone’s a Friend of Bill–Clinton’s buddies from Arkansas are turning up in powerful White House positions faster than you can say “Whitewater.” But make no mistake, British journalist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard is no F.O.B.: in the course of The Secret Life of Bill Clinton’s 350-plus pages, he manages to connect the president to everything from 1997’s Oklahoma City bombing to Arkansas’s drug underworld to the mysterious death of White House aide and longtime Clinton friend Vince Foster, and, of course, to Paula Jones.
The author acknowledged our law firm for the litigation we conducted concerning the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
“Reckless Disregard”
by James S. Kunen
In a shocking exposé of the nation’s school buses, Kunen (The Strawberry Statement) focuses on the 1988 head-on collision of a Kentucky school bus and a pickup truck driven by an intoxicated motorist, which killed 24 children and three adults aboard the bus.
Kunen had the cooperation of Janey and Larry Fair, whose daughter Shannon was among the victims. The Fairs and another victim’s parents, the Nunnallees (whom he also interviewed) initially rejected a settlement offer from Ford, maker of the bus. Instead, the couples pressed the corporation for safety improvements.
The book quotes two of our trial attorneys and features our clients, Janey and Larry Fair, whose wrongful death case we took to trial against Ford Motor Company. The book also contains the story of how we and the Fairs conducted an international safety campaign to urge bus manufacturers, regulatory agencies, and school transportation officials in all 50 states and Canada, to relocate vulnerable school bus fuel tanks to a safer location.
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Our Case Results
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$265 Million Settlement Fatal Train Crash
In 2016, Wisner Baum attorney Timothy A. Loranger and six other attorneys in the Plaintiffs’ Management Committee were able to secure a $265 million settlement for victims of the 2015 Amtrak 188 derailment in Philadelphia, one of the largest in the U.S. for 2016.
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$14 Million Settlement A Major US Plane Crash
Wisner Baum obtained a $14 million settlement for the death of a passenger in a major US plane crash.
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$12 Million Settlement Helicopter Crash
Wisner Baum secured a $12 million settlement for a passenger who was injured in a helicopter crash.
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$10 Million Settlement A Major Foreign Plane Crash
Wisner Baum obtained a $10 million settlement for the death of a passenger in a major foreign plane crash.
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$2.0 Billion Verdict Personal Injury
In May of 2019, the jury in the case of Pilliod et al. v, Monsanto Company ordered the agrochemical giant to pay $2.055 billion in damages to the plaintiffs, Alva and Alberta Pilliod, a Bay Area couple in their 70s.
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$80 Million Verdict Personal Injury
Wisner Baum attorneys served on the trial team in the case of Hardeman v. Monsanto Company, which resulted in an $80 million jury verdict for the plaintiff, Edwin Hardeman.
Client-Focused Representation
REVIEWS & TESTIMONIALS
We believe our track record speaks for itself. But you don’t have to take our word for it. See what our clients have to say about working with us.
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"I Can’t Imagine a Better Law Firm"
Multiple lawyers recommended Wisner Baum to me and I have been consistently impressed with the quality of their work.
- Best Law Firms Survey -
"They Are About Changing the Systems..."
Wisner Baum are not only amazing attorneys but more importantly, they are activists. They are about changing the systems which got us into trouble in the first place. They understand their role in the process of making change.
- Kim Witczak -
"Top Legal Minds in the Country"
The Wisner Baum firm has some of the top legal minds in the country; they are driven, determined, trustworthy, ethical and passionate.
- From Best Lawyers® Best Law Firms
