Johnson Becker, PLLC files suit against Sykes Enterprises, Inc. and Alpine Access, Inc.

Minnesota Federal Court grants conditional certification in class action against Sykes Enterprises, Inc. and Alpine Access, Inc. in a case involving 51,000 call center and at-home employees with potential wage and hour claims.  The case was filed by Johnson Becker, PLLC based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Bio

Johnson Becker PLLC is a law firm that handles personal injuries cases, including medical device, drug, construction and automobile injuries, as well as disability and product liability cases. They also handle unpaid wages, Veteran’s disability, and other disability claims.

Present

Johnson Becker PLLC has great experience in representing clients in need of assistance due to personal injury as a result of faulty medical devices and defective drugs. Their attorneys have been named Minnesota Super Lawyers for seven years, non-consecutively. They have experience with nation-wide MDLs (Multi-District Litigations), as well as class-action suits. Their cases have included Vioxx, Medtronic Defibrillators, Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch, and Guidant Defibrillators, as well as personal injury cases, automobile collision, and construction accidents. Other cases include products liability, wrongful death cases, premises liability, and cases involving collapsing scissor lifts and scaffolding.

Johnson Becker PLLC represents peoples’ interests through dedication to finding justice. They believe in consistent and accurate communication with their clients, including asking for consent before negotiating settlements . They ensure every case is prepared for thoroughly, which is one reason for their high success rate.

The law firm houses 10 different attorneys and many other staff members. They are a growing firm, and take cases they believe they can win.

Past

Johnson Becker PLLC is a leader in justice. They have handled and continue to handle many medical device injury cases, including cases involving injuries from AlloDerm, DePuy ASR Hip, DePuy Pinnacle Hip, Medtronic Defibrillators and Leads, NuvaRing, Pain Pumps, Kugel Mesh Patch, Transvaginal Pelvic Mesh, and Zimmer NexGen Knee. 

Johnson Becker PLLC has also handled and continues to handle many drug injury cases, including cases involving injuries from Accutane, Actos, , Fosamax, Gadolinium Contrast Based Agents, Levaquin, Propecia, Reglan, Effexor, Lexapro, Celexa, Zoloft, Topamax, and Yaz/Yasmin. Johnson Becker PLLC has also handled product liability cases for injuries caused by denture creams, Imprelis Herbicide, and different types of dietary and nutritional supplements.

They also handle automobile and truck accidents, workers’ compensation, unpaid wages, VA disability, and other disability claims.

In many of the medical device cases Johnson Becker PLLC has handled, these devices were meant to help people who had had some sort of physical ailment; however, those companies who manufacture or sell these products put profit over safety by distributing these dangerous devices into the marketplace

In 2011, AlloDerm cases were designated for centralized management from the New Jersey Supreme Court and were then assigned to Judge Jessica Mayer. In January 2011, Judge David Katz named Tim Becker of Johnson Becker to the Plaintiffs’ Leadership in the Multidistrict Litigation in the case of the DePuy ASR Hip Replacement System. In 2011, Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer named Tim Becker to serve as Co-Lead Counsel of the NexGen Knee Litigation pending in the Northern District of Illinois. The first trial date has not been currently set.

In other medical device cases, Multidistrict Litigation has been granted or petitioned and the law firm is working on taking these to trial. Many of the drug injury cases Johnson Becker PLLC handled were for drugs that were meant to help treat medical conditions. Those drugs were meant to treat diabetes, acne, osteoporosis and other bone diseases, pneumonia, bronchitis, urinary diseases, skin infections and more. In some cases, these drugs caused birth defects; others caused death or bodily injuryto occur. In 2008, one woman received over $10 million in damages for injuries caused by the drug Accutane. This was an acne medication.

Johnson Becker PLLC handled many product liability cases, as well. These products were generally medical in nature and were supposed to help people. Instead, the products caused added problems for the patients. One product included is nutritional or dietary supplements. The law firm has handled cases where denture cream caused neuropathy and dietary supplements caused severe skin conditions. 

The law firm has also handled many personal injury cases. These include auto and truck accidents. Truck drivers must meet state and federal requirements to be safe. They must have training, inspections of their vehicle, and be licensed, as well as know procedures for dealing with different situations. When truck drivers are negligent, it can cause serious injury or death to others. The law firm handles cases of this nature as they have an understanding of the trucking industry and know what to investigate. Automobile accidents are also a specialty of the law firm. They handle medical and employer claims and get their clients what they deserve.

Another way Johnson Becker helps clients is through their construction injury cases. Construction accidents are quite common. These can be due to faulty equipment, no supervision with equipment and people, and even unsafe working conditions. Many companies are not compliant with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), which is a violation of the law. The people injured in construction accidents have medical bills and other financial problems. In some cases, workers’ compensation can be used, but not all cases.

The law firm helped many people receive the settlements they deserved because of negligent companies. Workers' compensation claims are another specialty of the law firm. These types of claims are extremely difficult to handle and win, but the law firm has proven it has the skills to handle these cases. 

Each case is different, because the facts in each case are different. The law firm expects direct involvement in these cases; they are not just handed over to someone else. This way, one or two attorneys work with one client to investigate the case so that the client has a better chance of winning his or her claim. 

There are many rules when it comes to workers' compensation; it is important that the client understand this. The law firm provides a free consultation because in some cases, the time has passed for a claim to be filed. This way, clients and potential clients are not charged before they know if their claim can be handled. The firm does not collect a fee until the case has been won.

Unpaid wages are also something handled by the law firm. Because of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), many employees who work overtime are expected to be paid this overtime. Many clients have trouble understanding the rules of this law as they can be difficult. Therefore, it is always best to hire an attorney to help.

Veteran’s Disability claims are important to the law firm. They respect the sacrifices made by the military veterans and believe those veterans and their families should be paid their disability claims promptly. When this does not happen, the firm works as hard as possible to rectify the situation. 

Disability claims are also important to the firm. These can be Social Security Disability, Long or Short term disabilities. If someone is not able to work because of an accident, disability may be the path for them. The firm provides a free consultation so that clients can be sure their case is viable before continuing. No matter what a client’s situation, Johnson Becker is dedicated to helping them in whatever way that they need.

Johnson Becker is looking forward to taking on more cases and potentially winning them.

Future

Future cases of Johnson Becker PLLC may include:

An unpaid wages claim that was filed in August of 2013. A Maxim HealthCare in-home provider filed a claim against Maxim Healthcare Services for herself and other employees. She claims she and others were made to work over 40 hours in one week without being paid overtime according to Federal and state laws. 

A Drug Injury claim that was filed in September of 2013. A woman is suing Pfizer, Inc. for their product, Lipitor. This woman was prescribed the drug in 2003 to lower her LDL levels and then developed Type 2 Diabetes after beginning Lipitor treatment. They are also currently working on a Products Liability Litigation case that was filed in August of 2013 against the manufacturers of Zoloft.

Another unpaid wages claim that was filed in May of 2013 involved many current and former employees of SEI (Sykes) claiming that there were unpaid wages involved. Because of the call center job position, employees are meant to be paid from the first activity to the last activity they perform while on the phone. However, these measures, among others, were not met. Logging into many programs is required for the position, yet employees are not able to “clock in” to work until these are complete.

A Product Liability case was filed in April of 2013, against the manufacturers of Mirena, an intrauterine contraceptive product, as it is considered faulty and will cause problems to those women who use the product. Many current and future cases of Johnson Becker PLLC include drug and device injuries, as well as claims for unpaid wages.