Posted on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2024 at 1:25 am
Jessica Wieczorkiewicz is an attorney at Wallace Miller working in mass torts, product liability, and personal injury litigation. She was recently appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the Suboxone litigation.
What made you decide to work in mass torts and personal injury?
In the mass tort practice area, you can make a difference in the world on a large scale. We work on holding large corporations accountable when their actions harm everyday people—the ability to make an impact on the entire country is amazing.
Many companies are so profitable from product sales that sometimes even when they have to resolve a case—by spending money on litigation, a settlement, or jury verdict—it doesn’t deter them from putting profits over people.
That’s why the work we do is so important. Hopefully we can get to a point one day where companies act reasonably to begin with and put in the time to ensure their products are as safe as they possibly can be. Plaintiffs’ trial lawyers are at the heart of protecting consumers’ rights and I am proud to be a part of that effort.
What’s your favorite part of working in law?
One of my favorite parts of this career is the client contact—connecting with and supporting people who need help. We spend a lot of time investigating and gathering evidence on the defendant company, so when I get the opportunity to learn about a client’s experience, it’s always a reminder of why the work that we do is so important. Hearing the story of a specific client and how their life has been impacted by an unsafe product really motivates you to come back and do this work every single day.
You’ve worked extensively with the Polish-American community in Chicago. Tell me more about that.
I’m a member of the Advocates Society, which is an association of Polish-American lawyers. Our goal is to help the Polish community in the Chicagoland area. A lot of the work that the Advocates Society does speaks to a common theme within many immigrant communities—people are not always aware that they have legal rights when something goes wrong, whether that involves a product, a medical professional, or other circumstances. I’m passionate about making sure that everybody in the U.S. knows their rights, especially when it comes to consumer products. If a company is going to get the privilege of making a lot of money from a product they sell, they should be held to a reasonable standard of ensuring that their product is safe.
I’ve found in my work that many times, people don’t realize that they might have a lawsuit they can pursue. I really enjoy being a bridge to help educate on that aspect, especially when there are language barriers involved.
Congratulations on the Suboxone leadership position! Tell us more about that case.
I’m especially proud of this leadership appointment because this litigation is so important—it goes to the heart of the opioid epidemic that was largely created by “big pharma.” One of my main career goals is to hold these companies accountable when they do not act reasonably and in the interest of the common good.
Like everyone in this world, big pharma has to face the consequences of their actions, and I’m working one day at a time to ensure that happens. And being appointed to leadership in this case allows me to do just that—substantively work up the case on behalf of clients across the entire country.
In this Suboxone litigation, we have many clients who were hooked on opioids because of big pharma’s conduct. You have individuals who were leading normal, healthy lives, and then when something happened that required some form of pain relief and they consulted their doctor about it, they got a prescription for painkillers that were basically legal heroin.
Suboxone comes into play as an opioid dependency treatment—to help people wean off opioid addiction and use. However, the Suboxone film has been linked to significant dental damage due to how acidic the product is and the way in which it’s used.
What about the Paraquat litigation?
Most products on the market aren’t 100% safe, but consumers deserve to be warned about known risks and informed of the safest manner of use so they can decide whether or not to use that product. In the Paraquat litigation, which centers on a pesticide used mainly in agriculture, we have reason to believe that the manufacturers knew that their product could be linked to Parkinson’s disease. As a result, we have many individuals who now suffer severe injuries that could possibly have been avoided had the manufacturers been more forthcoming about the known dangers and provided better warnings and instructions for use. It’s upsetting to see a company sell a product while ignoring the adverse impacts it can have on people’s health.
What advice would you give to clients?
Perform your own due diligence when deciding what firm or attorney to work with on your case. Pay attention to who has leadership positions in mass tort litigations. The firms in leadership are the ones that strategize on how to handle the litigation and perform the substantive work in the case—from reviewing documents and taking depositions to working with experts and developing the legal theories of the case.
Our partners have been doing this leadership work for over 20 years, and our firm has earned a reputation. Defendants and their counsel know who they are dealing with—trial lawyers who know the law, the science, and the damages and will fight for their clients to obtain justice.
To learn more about Jessica, check out her full bio here.
To hear Jessica discuss her work on the Suboxone litigation, listen to her interview on the Cases 4 Causes podcast here.