Mass tort cases are very costly, and much of Zukin's time is spent vetting prospective cases to see if she will take them to court.
"We turn away more cases than we turn in. We have to assess every case very carefully and determine whether it's a good case to pursue," said Zukin.
After more than 30 years of litigating personal injury cases, from mass toxic torts to pharmaceutical cases, to environmental and product liability cases, Zukin is still busy as ever.
In July, she will go to trial with fellow Top Plaintiff Lawyer honoree Mark P. Robinson of Robinson Calcagnie Inc. in a bellwether case against Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., accused of knowingly selling baby powder that caused ovarian cancer and attempting to conceal its deadly effects.
The plaintiff, Eva Echeverria, doesn't have much time to live, according to doctors. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted her an expedited trial four and a half months ago when doctors said she had only about five months to live. Echeverria, in her early 60s, will be the first of more than 300 plaintiffs to go to trial in California against Johnson & Johnson and Imerys Talc America Inc., who supplied the talc. Johnson & Johnson Talcum Powder Cases JCCP4872 (L.A. Super. Ct., filed June 10, 2016).
All eyes will be on the trial, as Johnson & Johnson is coming off four out of five losses in Missouri, totaling more than $300 million in payouts. Last year, a New Jersey state court threw out two talc cases, ruling the scientific evidence was absent.
Zukin, in her capacity as liaison counsel, has been focusing much of her time toward the trial. Later this year, she will try a medical case against Wright Medical Technology Inc., alleging the company designed defective hip implants.
The recall notice said the company was experiencing an unacceptable amount of breakages, but in individual cases the company gave various defenses, such as a doctor not using the right surgical technique, or the patient wasn't the right person for the product, Zukin said.
In April, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Georgia affirmed a $2.1 million jury verdict in favor of the first patient to win a case against Wright Medical. In that case, which Zukin was involved in, Wright's defense was "the patient was too active," Zukin said. Wright Medical Technology Inc. Conserve Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, 1:12-md-02329 (11th Cir. 2017).
"Patients have no idea it's in the process of breaking until it breaks straight through. When it breaks, the client drops to the ground and they're in excruciating pain," Zukin said.
And as Zukin prepares for these trials, she somehow is able to chair three bodies in Los Angeles County: the litigation section of the Los Angeles County Bar, the Central District Merit Selection Panel for magistrate judges, and the bar's judicial appointments committee.
All cases are hard fought, but Zukin maintains a sense of calm in the courtroom. "Many attorneys are overly combative, thinking that is the best way to serve their client," said Zukin, who said meeting for coffee or a drink with opposing counsel can only be beneficial.
"They don't realize they can establish so much more if they can establish a human relationship with opposing counsel. They will get their extension when they need it. They will be able to work through their issues," she said.
— Justin Kloczko
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