Meet George T. Baxter, Esq.
George T. Baxter, Esq. is best known for championing the rights of Willam Synder against the entire United States Blood Industry. Mr. Synder was a factory worker who was given AIDS contaminated blood products during heart surgery. While no other lawyer would take on Bill’s case, George relentlessly fought all the way to the New Jersey Appellate and Supreme Court to win his right to sue the blood bank and its trade association who set screening practice, the American Association of Blood Banks.
George successfully argued before a Hackensack, New Jersey, jury that the entire blood industry and Federal Food & Drug Administration, which oversees blood as a biologic, had lagged behind available technology that would have prevented Bill, and thousands of other people, from getting AIDS contaminated blood transfusions.
George’s victory for Bill is widely reported in Snyder v. Mekhjan, 244 N.J. Super (App. Div. 1990), Snyder v. Mekhjan, 129 N.J. 328 (1991), Snyder v. American Association of Blood Banks, 282 N.J. Super 23 (App. Div. 1995) and Snyder v. American Association of Blood Banks, 144 N.J. 269 (1996).
The Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, Washinton, D.C. selected George for the Trial Lawyer of the Year Public Achievement Award for protecting healthcare consumers in the dramatic courtroom victory in the landmatk case of Synder v. American Association of Blood Banks, 144 N.J. 269 (1996).
The evidence George produced at Mr. Synder’s trial also fueled a congressional investigation, chaired by Congressman John Dingle, United States Congressional Energy and Commerce Committee and the Oversight and Investigations Sub-Committee, into conflicts of interest between federal regulators and industry that allowed this public health crisis to happen.
George helped to privately finance the co-founders to launch VaxGen, Inc., a company that vigorously undertook the great humanitrian challenge of developing the world’s first AIDS vaccine, based in San Francisco, California. George served as the Senior Vice-President, General Counsel and Secretary of the Board of Directors. He oversaw international collaborations and legal affairs of the company.
George is the authored “Every Last Drop,” which is the true David and Golieth story about how he won the six-year legal battle against the blood industry for his cleint, William Synder, who was infected by AIDS contaminated blood.
He has lectured in the area of product liability before the New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education and the American Association of Trial Lawyers.
George continues to champion the rights of plaintiffs. The following is a sample of George’s courtroom successes:
- $7.2 M – 32 year woman who was unnecessarily given AIDS contaminated blood products during the delivery of her son due to a misdiagnosis by her physician. This was a structured settlement awarded in 1995.
- $2.1 M– Jury Verdict and settlements in the case Snyder v. American Association of Blood Banks (1996)
- $1.2 M – Case confidential settlement in 1997 for a young girl against orthopedic physician.
- $1.1 M – Medical Malpractice Settlement for nerve damage caused by cystogoloy procedure 2015
- $1.2 M– Medical Malpractice confidential settlement
- $1.2 M – Partnership Buyout Dispute 2015
- $750,000 – Confidential settlement for young girl against physician who gave her an uneccessary transfusion and infected her with AIDS- in 1999
- $500,000 Vehicle/Pedestrian accident
- $100,000 – 53 year old woman – Dental malpractice case wherein the dentist injured his client’s nerve during procedure.
- $100,000 – 50 year old man – struck by motor vehicle and fractured his leg.
Notable Landmark Case Decisions Argued By George:
- Snyder v. Mekhjan, 244 N.J. Super 281 (App. Div. 1990)- George successfully argues before the New Jersey appellate Court the right of a woman- patient to sue the hospital and blood bank for negligently screening and testing its blood products that infected her with AIDS.
- Snyder v. Mekhjan, 129 N.J. 328 (1991)- George successfully argues before the New Jersey Supreme Court the woman’s right to sue her physician and hospital for infecting her with AIDS from contaminated blood.
- Snyder v. American Association of Blood Banks, 282 N.J. Super. 23 (App. Div. 1995) – Several years later, after a long successful trial, George argues again before the New Jersey appellate court for William Snyder’s trial victory.
- Snyder V. American Association of Blood Banks, 144 N.J. 269 (1996) – George again successfully fends off the industry’s appeal and the New Jersey Supreme court affirms George’s landmark trial victory.
- Peticionne v. BFPR Properties (Bergen County, Unpublished) George successfully argues that the business partner of an LLC may attach the ownership of the other partners’ ownership and sell it to satisfy his client’s $1.2 million dollar arbitration award.
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