Douglass A. Kreis, a partner with the firm, received his B.A. degree from Mercer University – with a Major in Political Science and Minor in English, attending under a four-year academic/athletic scholarship, and his Juris Doctorate from Cumberland School of Law. While in law school, Mr. Kreis earned the distinction as Cumberland’s 1997 National Environmental/Toxic Tort Law Conference Representative (Washington, D.C.). After gaining significant trial advocacy and legal briefing experience through Cumberland’s Trial Advocacy Program/Moot Court Competitions, Mr. Kreis accepted a prestigious internship with current Alabama Supreme Court Justice, Michael Bolin.
Over the past fifteen years, Mr. Kreis has dedicated himself towards seeking justice for clients injured by defective pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices – successfully representing thousands of clients in litigation throughout the country. After initially focusing his efforts on pharmaceutical drug related claims against Wyeth (now Pfizer) (diet drug related valvular heart disease and primary pulmonary hypertension), Bayer (Baycol related rhabdomyolysis), Ephedra Dietary Supplements (Heart Attack & Stroke Litigation); and GlaxoSmithKline’s diabetes drug Avandia, Mr. Kreis expanded his practice to include complex medical device defect claims. Mr. Kreis has successfully pursued failed medical device claims against major manufacturers including: Smith & Nephew (Profix/Genesis knees), Zimmer (Durom hips), Stryker Orthopedics/Howmedica (Trident and Rejuvenate / ABG II hips); Bausch & Lomb (ReNu) and American Medical Systems (AMO) (contact lens solutions); AM2PAT (contaminated heparin syringes); Davol & CR Bard (Kugel hernia mesh) and Transvaginal Mesh manufactured by: Mentor; Johnson & Johnson; American Medical Systems; Bard; Covidien; Coloplast; and other manufactures.
Most recently, Mr. Kreis was appointed by Judge Clay D. Land, of the Middle District of Georgia, as Co-Lead Counsel over the transvaginal mesh related Multi-District Litigation IN RE MENTOR CORP. OBTAPE TRANSOBTURATOR SLING PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION MDL Docket No. 2004 4:08-MD-2004 (CDL). Within this role, Mr. Kreis has actively litigated a large docket of cases, while assisting law firms around the country with the over-all prosecution of claims against Mentor Worldwide, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. Mr. Kreis has help other important positions on Plaintiffs’ Executive and Steering Committees including: In re: Stryker Rejuvenate and ABG II Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2441; and In Re: Biomet M2A Magnum Hip Implant Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 2391.
In addition to his national litigation appointments, Mr. Kreis has also undertaken informal roles as de facto lead counsel in the national litigation including: Stryker Trident ceramic on ceramic hip litigation. There, and, in the face of difficult express federal preemption defenses raised by the manufacturer, Mr. Kreis successfully secured one of only a few favorable opinions, post-Riegel v. Medtronic, defeating express preemption. This proved to be a watershed moment in the Stryker Trident litigation. Along the way, Mr. Kreis has become one of the most knowledgeable attorneys in the country regarding orthopedic related law and science. Mr. Kreis has gained the respect of his colleagues and has been asked to speak at many mass tort seminars and symposiums throughout the country during which he addresses the current status of, and interplay between, science and law in the context of the epidemiology of medical devices; the potential modes of failure (general and specific causation); and the pathology, histology and presentation of related injuries. These speaking engagements include: