Suzanne Kaplan represents plaintiffs in defective medical device, dangerous prescription drug and medical malpractice cases involving serious injuries or death. She also works on behalf of plaintiffs in complex civil litigation involving pharmacy liability (misfilled prescriptions), aviation law, product liability, personal injury and commercial disputes.
Educational and Professional Background
Born and raised in Texas, Suzanne received her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, with high honors, from the University of Texas at Austin. She then moved to California, where she earned her J.D. from the University of California at Davis.
While in California, Suzanne practiced in the San Diego and San Francisco offices of Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman and Robbins, L.L.P., where she focused on prosecuting securities fraud class actions. In 2009, she returned to Texas and worked as an associate at Diamond McCarthy, L.L.P., where she represented plaintiffs in complex commercial litigation.
Suzanne is admitted to practice in Texas and California and is active in the legal community. She also has been selected to the 2013 Texas Rising Stars Super Lawyers list. Her community-support efforts include serving as a pro bono attorney for Volunteer Legal Services.
Experience at Slack & Davis
Suzanne specializes in medical torts, handling cases that involve defective medical devices, dangerous prescription drugs and pharmacy errors. A representative sample is included below.
Medical Device Cases
DePuy ASR and Pinnacle cases – Defective Hip Implants
Suzanne represents a number of plaintiffs and their spouses in cases against DePuy Orthopaedics and Johnson & Johnson. The defendants manufactured and sold hip implants made of cobalt and chromium, which were designed to replace both the ball and socket of a person’s hip joint with metal parts. However, once implanted, it was discovered that the metal ball and the metal cup grind against each other causing small particles of metal to break off, passing into the person’s tissue and bloodstream. Cases are pending.
Pharmacy Malpractice Cases
Azcona v. Pharmacy Plus – Misfilled Prescription
Suzanne represents a little boy who was temporarily blinded then hospitalized twice because his pharmacy compounded his prescription medication improperly. The pharmacy that filled the boy’s prescription added more than seven times the amount of medication into the bottle they sold to his mom. When the pharmacy learned how potent the medication was, they tried to cover up the error. Case is pending.
Pharmaceutical Cases
Smith v. Bayer – Yaz Birth Control
Suzanne represents a teenage girl who took Yaz birth control pills to help clear her acne. After taking the pills for a little over a year, this otherwise healthy teenage girl was hospitalized for more than a week with a pulmonary embolism – a dangerous blood clot in her lung. It has been determined that the blood clot was a direct result of taking Yaz. Case is pending.
General Personal Injury Cases
Doniak v. Vice and Fuel – Dram Shop Liability
Suzanne represents a young woman who was hit by a drunk driver while walking in downtown Austin. The driver had been drinking at two downtown bars where he was served more alcohol despite his obvious intoxication. The young woman, then a senior at the University of Texas, suffered severe injuries including a traumatic brain injury and multiple fractures to her skull, ribs and spine. One of the Austin bars that over-served the drunk driver was owned by the Yassine brothers. Case is pending.
Presentations and Papers
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“Medical Products/Pharmaceutical Litigation,” State Bar of Texas Advanced Medical Torts (March 14, 2013; San Antonio) Note: Paula Sweeney will speak on “Case Law Update”
Suzanne has authored and taught continuing legal education seminars related to her practice. Her presentation, “Understanding Federal Preemption in the Medical Device and Pharmaceutical Context and Overview of DePuy Hip Implant Recall Cases,” served to demystify this very complex legal topic. She also spoke on the topic of “Pharmaceutical Litigation” at the 19th Annual Advanced Medical Malpractice Course for the Texas Bar. Other presentations include, “Ethics in E-Discovery” and “Choice of Law in Pharmaceutical & Medical Device Litigation.”
Professional Associations
American Association for Justice
Texas Trial Lawyers Association
Austin Bar Association
Travis County Women Lawyers Association
Capital Area Trial Lawyers Association
Contact Suzanne Kaplan
Video: Suzanne Kaplan offers insight about the Supreme Court ruling in Pliva v. Mensing, which is related to generic vs. brand name drugs.
