Laura Martinez is originally from Argentina; she moved to Houston in 2001 with her husband and their three children. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Grand Canyon University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. Laura is bilingual and a great help to our Spanish speaking clients.

Lindsay Johnson, a legal assistant, graduated Summa Cum Laude from Tulane University in 2016 with Honors in Economics and Environmental Studies. She is passionate about advocating for others. This enthusiasm guided her work as a 5th grade science teacher in New Orleans and continues now in Houston when working for Littlepage Booth Leckman. Lindsay believes strongly in listening to her clients and helping raise their voices.

Gadolinium is a contrast dye used to enhance MRI films. The chemical medium is the most commonly used contrast material and helps to provide clear and detailed pictures of internal organs during a MRI. However, there is new evidence that Gadolinium does not leave the body as quickly as the drug manufacturers represented. Instead, it is retained in the body, including in the joints and the brain, putting the patient at risk for exposure to excess Gadolinium. In late 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a new Drug Safety warning to inform doctors and patients that Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) are in fact retained in the body.

Injuries caused by Gadolinium

Symptoms related to the retention of Gadolinium, long after the MRI is completed, are classified as called Gadolinium Deposition Disease (GDD). GDD occurs in individuals with normal or near-normal renal function “who develop persistent symptoms that arise within a few hours to two months after the administration of Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs).” In order to diagnose individuals with the disease, a urine test must be administered that confirms the presence of Gadolinium in the body. This test should be administered 30 or more days after the most recent MRI.

Symptoms of Gadolinium Deposition Disease or Gadolinium toxicity include:

• Bone and joint pain;
• Cognitive difficulties including a sensation of “brain fog;”
• Thickening of the skin and subcutaneous soft tissue, including skin that appears spongy or rubbery;
• Tendons and ligaments are painful and have thickened appearance;
• Tightness in hands and feet;
• Pain described as burning, cutting, or pins and needles in the arms, legs or torso; and
• Some people describe a “crawling” sensation just below the skin

New Gadolinium Warnings

In May 2018, the Gadolinium manufacturers alerted health care providers that there are new concerns about the potential for Gadolinium retention, especially in the bones and organs. Patients at the highest risk of Gadolinium retention include those having multiple MRIs or Gadolinium exposures, pregnant patients, children and patients with inflammatory conditions. The new warnings state that “Consequences of Gadolinium retention in the brain have not been established” and that patients with normal renal function have shown pathological changes in their skin. Doctors are now warned that Gadolinium can be retained in the brain, bones or organs of patients with normal renal function for months or years.

Gadolinium Litigation

Famed actor and martial artist, Chuck Norris and his wife Gena, filed one of the first lawsuits on Gadolimium Deposition Disease in November of 2017. Gena Norris alleges that she developed “multiple, debilitating bouts of pain and burning throughout her body” after exposure to Gadolinium.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/11/08/chuck-norris-claims-his-wife-was-poisoned-during-mri-scans-sues-for-10-million/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2fd31af8c232

Many people believe that, when a lot of individuals are injured by a single product or medicine, the victims should find a single law firm to file a class action lawsuit. But, since the injuries are never exactly the same for each person, a class action is typically not appropriate. Instead, we file an individual lawsuit for every injured client. That individual lawsuit will become part of a mass tort, not a class action. A mass tort is similar to a class action in that it involves hundreds of thousands of people with similar (but not identical) injuries. However, each client’s case is investigated and prosecuted individually on its own merits and successful plaintiffs are awarded varying monetary amounts depending on the severity of their injuries.

Littlepage Booth is currently representing people across the country who are suffering from injuries caused by Gadolinium exposure. Call us at 1-713-529-8000.

On March 28, 2019, United Airlines flight 1675 was diverted from its original destination due to a strong odor onboard. Click here to learn more information about this recent fume event.

There is a “dirty little secret” in the commercial airline industry: cabin air breathed by passengers and flight crew can become contaminated with toxic by-products from jet engine oil. Since 1954, Boeing, the leading manufacturer of commercial airplanes, has used a "bleed air system" for cabin air on the vast majority of its planes. This means that the air breathed by passengers and the flight crew comes from the outside, then through the heated jet engines and into the cabin. If the jet engine leaks oil (for one of a number of reasons), the toxic by-products of that oil get into the cabin air system. Known as “fume events,” studies estimate that one such air contamination event occurs every day. Fume events can be very dangerous to the health of passengers and crew members, causing both short and long-term injuries.

Air from the outside environment is pulled into the plane through the jet engines. This “bleed air system” permits contaminated engine oil by-products to enter the cabin air.

Over the past several decades, Boeing was put on notice - at least 40 times - that contaminated bleed air was a serious health hazard and safety measures were sorely needed. As Boeing documents confirm, the aircraft manufacturer knew fume events were occurring and causing toxic air to enter the cabin. Boeing also knew contaminated air could cause serious health problems for flight crew and passengers. Yet, despite this knowledge, Boeing never designed, installed or retrofitted its aircrafts with either alarms or sensors so the flight crew could receive immediate warnings of a fume event and take counter-measures (such as stopping air coming into the cabin from the affected engine); or put into the cabin air system appropriate filters to remove oil by-products. Boeing documents routinely discuss the need for such sensors, alarms or filters but upper management showed little interest in actually providing solutions to this safety problem. As one Boeing engineer noted, it was probably going to take “a tombstone before anyone with any horsepower is going to take interest.” (Ex. 1).

In 2005, at an International Aero Industry Conference, a team of experts from various fields (including executives for the British Airline Pilots Union, physicians, researchers and lawyers), focused on a safety issue that “has been under the radar in this industry for a number of years: the problem of oil leaks in aircraft.” (Ex. 2). The panel concluded that contaminated cabin air was causing a danger for passengers and “a workplace problem resulting in chronic and acute illness amongst flight crew” resulting in “significant flight safety issues.” The panel “urgently call upon Government, Industry and Regulators to work in partnership with cabin environment medical and analyst specialists and representatives from flight crew unions to analyze, quantify and remedy the cabin air quality problems” identified. (Ex. 3).

Littlepage Booth is currently prosecuting cases on behalf of people injured by toxic cabin air. These clients developed aerotoxic syndrome after exposure to contaminated cabin air, including short and long term injuries and cognitive impairment. Reported toxic cabin air injuries include: nausea, vomiting, rashes, dizziness, shortness of breath, loss of consciousness, headaches, blurred vision, gastrointestinal difficulties, decreased motor skills, numbness and tingling in arms, hands and feet, joint and muscle pain, tremors, balance problems and residual cognitive impairment such as memory loss, trouble concentrating and difficulty with reading or writing. (Ex. 4).

To read more about these lawsuits, review the Woods et al v. Boeing lawsuit filed on behalf of four flight attendants who, on July 12, 2013, suffered debilitating injuries from a “fume event” on board a Boeing 737 aircraft. These women ask that Boeing take responsibility for its actions and implement safety measures to protect future passengers and flight crew from such injuries.

If you or a loved one developed injuries following a flight where you believe the cabin air was contaminated, please call us at 713-529-8000 or email attorney Zoe Littlepage at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .