Daniel A. O'Fallon
Experience
- Works almost exclusively on plaintiff's cases, including product liability cases focusing on drug and medical device litigation, medical malpractice and personal injury cases.
Selected Results*
2009
Lead trial counsel on behalf of the next of kin of James Kosak, a 51 year old man who was a passenger killed in the crash of a Cirrus SR22 near Hill City, Minnesota. The jury awarded the Kosak family $7.4 million. Read More
2008
Trial Counsel in Charbonneau v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Pfizer, Inc.. Represented plaintiffs in first Mirapex products liability bellwether trial. On July 30, 2008, jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiffs for $8,279,300, including $7.8 million in punitive damages for failing to warn of risk of compulsive behaviors, including pathological gambling, from the Parkinson's drug Mirapex.
Counsel in Zwayer v. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Pfizer, Inc.. Represented plaintiffs in second Mirapex bellwether trial. Case was confidentially settled prior to closing argument.
Obtained a $2.5 million settlement for a client who suffered significant neurological injuries when health care providers failed to timely diagnose and treat malnutrition after a gastric bypass surgery.
2007
Obtained a $1.2 settlement for a pilot who was injured after he was forced to crash land his plane shortly after take off due to engine failure from oil starvation. Subsequent investigation revealed that an oil filter and gasket had not been properly installed by the maintenance facility that serviced the plane. The pilot suffered a number of broken bones and head trauma as a result of the crash.
2006
Spearheaded the firm's representation of many Minot, North Dakota families injured after they were exposed on January 18, 2002 to a huge cloud of anhydrous ammonia released due to the derailment of a Canadian Pacific train operating over the tracks of its subsidiary, the Minnesota based Soo Line. Lead trial counsel for Melissa and Richard Allende in the first of the Minot train derailment cases to go to trial. In the case, the jury returned a verdict of $628,933 in favor of the Allende's. Read More
Ongoing Cases
O'Fallon, along with partners Gary Wilson and Bruce Finzen, heads the firm's representation of clients injured by St. Jude Medical, Inc.'s Silzone [trademark] heart valves. St. Jude recalled the Silzone valves in January of 2000 due to a reported increase in the number of heart valve removals due to paravalvular leaks. The firm filed its first case against St. Jude in Ramsey County, Minnesota and continues to handle cases before this court. In handling the cases, O'Fallon has taken a number of depositions of key St. Jude employees.
O'Fallon also heads the firm's representation of women injured by the Ortho Evra Patch.
O'Fallon also evaluates and handles cases involving claims of medical negligence against various medical professionals, hospitals, nursing homes or combination cases involving medical negligence and drugs or medical devices. With Kathleen Flynn Peterson, O'Fallon represented the family of a young boy injured when he fell out of the bleachers while attending a hockey game. The young man died after receiving an overdose of a prescription drug at a local hospital. After discovery, the plaintiff prevailed on a motion to amend the complaint to assert punitive damages against the drug manufacturer. The case settled for a confidential total amount that the parties agreed at the time could be characterized as believed to be the largest in the history of Minnesota for the wrongful death of a child.
Recognition
- Named a "Super Lawyer"**
Minnesota Law & Politics (2006, 2007, 2008)
Memberships
Minnesota Association for Justice (MNAJ), Board of Governors (2000-present); Executive Board; Co-chair, MNAJ Trial PAC; Co-chair, Products Liability Committee
Ramsey County Bar Association, Co-chair for "Families First" Event
Amdahl Inn of Court
Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS), Campaign for Legal Aid Urban Leadership Committee
American Association for Justice, State Delegate
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Minnesota
- Virginia
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court, Minnesota
Education
- University of Michigan Law School, J.D., cum laude (1985), Truman Scholar from Montana (1980), Named to the University of Montana Circle of Scholars (1994)
- University of Montana, B.A., with high honors (1982)
Articles
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Wyeth v. Levine: The United States Supreme Court Rejects Preemption of Failure To Warn Claims Involving Prescription Pharmaceuticals
Minnesota Trial (with Anne Workman)
(Summer 2009)
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Consumer Alert: ETHEX and KV Pharmaceutical Recall
(February 19, 2009)
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Consumer Alert: FDA Reports Recall of the BioSense Webster LASSO 2515 Variable Circular Mapping Catheter
(February 4, 2009)
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Update: Increased Concern over Mounting Numbers of Reported Deaths and Serious Injuries Prompt the FDA to Order Testing of Medical Devices Containing Heparin
(June 13, 2008)
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Update: FDA Finds Contaminant In Heparin, Which Is Being Investigated for Severe Allergic Reactions and Death
(March 13, 2008)
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Consumer Alert: Baxter's Heparin Investigated for Severe Allergic Reactions and Death
(February 29, 2008)
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Fentanyl Patches Recalled
(February 15, 2008)
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Increased Risk of Blood Clots with Use of Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch New Label Warns
(September 2006)
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New Study Shows Women Using the Ortho Evra Birth-Control Patch Double Risk of Blood Clots Compared With Those Taking Birth-Control Pill
(February 17, 2006)
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Ortho Evra Birth-Control Patch Exposes Women to High Estrogen Levels, Potential Risk of Dangerous Blood Clots
(November 22, 2005)
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Vioxx Pulled Off the Market Because of Increased Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke
(Friday, October 1, 2004)
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Tort Reform: Perception Versus Reality
Minnesota Trial Lawyer
(Winter 2003)
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The Recovery of Emotional Distress Damages in Negligence
Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association (Spring 2002) (with Brooke B. Tassoni)
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Minot, North Dakota, Train Derailment
(February, 2002)
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The Future of Products Liability in America
27 William Mitchell Law Rev. 86 (October, 2000) (with Gary Wilson and Vincent Moccio)
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Consumer Alert: St. Jude Heart Valve Replacement and Repair Products
(February 7, 2000)
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Tort Reform, the Jury Questionnaire and Striking Jurors for Cause
Minnesota Trial Lawyers Association (October, 1996)
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Acquiring AIDS Through a Blood Transfusion: A Product Liability Analysis Under United States Law
International Bar Association (October, 1993)
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Drug Overpromotion: When is a Warning Not Enough
Trial Magazine, 1992 (with Martha K. Wivell)
Selected Speeches
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Federal Preemption Update and the Effects in Railroad, Aviation, and Drug and Device Litigation
Minnesota Association for Justice, Minneapolis, Minnesota
(March 26, 2008)
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So You Are in Federal Court - Now What?
MTLA, Arrowwood Resort & Conference Center, Alexandria, Minnesota
(August 9, 2007)
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The Importance of Understanding and Eliminating Bias to the Trial Lawyer
MTLA CLE, MTLA Center for Legal Education, Minneapolis, Minnesota
(May 18, 2007)
- Has lectured and published in the areas of personal injury, medical negligence and products liability.