Glendale Personal Injury Lawyer - Defective Products

Mitsubishi to Pay Parents $11 Million in Settlement

Greg Owen — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:06:49 GMT

A Florida jury orded Mitsubishi to pay a couple $11 million in compensatory damages this week. Mr. & Mrs. Laliberte's 25-year-old son, Scott, died in 2007 as a result of being ejected from a Montero SUV.

Attorneys for Donna and Peter Laliberte of Maine argued that Mitsubishi put its Montero SUV on the market despite known problems with the seat belt. The couple's 25-year-old son, Scott, died hours after a rollover crash in 2004.
The Japanese auto company know about the SUV's defect, but choose to hide that information from the people who had bought their product. What a horrible thing to do. In fact, in 2000 Mitsubishi made obvious their total disregard for human life when it acknowledged it had hidden automobile defects for decades, secretly repairing them without proper recalls despite reports of dozens of accidents. Jurors were in tears and awarded the Lilibertes $10 million for pain and suffering and $1 million other losses.

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Fears Over Defective Weighing Scale

Greg Owen — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:41:13 GMT

It is bad enough that a four-year-old child has cancer, but can you imagine the hospital using a defective weighing scales to determine her radiation dosage!!! That is what happened recently in a hospital in the United Kingdom.

Recent check on the scales and other equipment in U.K. hospitals revealed that there are not only inaccuracys in the hospitals' scales, but found equipment was missing. Fortunately, in the case of the four-year-old cancer patient the error was spotted in time. But how many other miscalculations went unnoticed.

Due to these problems, The National Medical Weighing Project will be implemented in U.K. hospitals and will run for one year, beginning this April. Officers will make sure that in addition to hospital equipment being in excellent working order, they will ensure that staff are properly trained. As Dr Simon Lenton, the college's vice president for health services, said: "It is vital that both height and weight are correctly calculated when determining appropriate drug dosages. Children metabolise drugs differently from adults and therefore it is crucial that accurate measuring equipment is being used."

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Johnson & Johnson & Sandoz Recall Pain Patches

Greg Owen — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:50:15 GMT

Johnson & Johnson and Novartis AG's Sandoz unit recalled pain patches that are leaking the painkiller fentanyl. Fear of overdoses of the painkiller fueled the recent recall. This is the fifth (count them) recall of several versions of the patches since 1994.

The problem is that the pain patch delivers an opiod known as fentanyl, which is highly addictive. In fact, it is 80 times more potent that morphine. The defective patches have a sliced edge that could result in the gel leaking and that would deliver more than 25-microgram-per-hour dose.

The Duragesic patches brought in $1.16 billion in global sales last year alone, which makes them Johnson & Johnson's eighth-biggest selling product. This particular recall involves patches that were distributed in the United States and Canada. Johnson & Johnson said in November that it faced 72 lawsuits over the patches. "The FDA continues to engage with the company in its voluntary recall and is investigating the situation,'' FDA spokeswoman Susan Cruzan said in an e-mail." According to Jon Fisher, a portfolio manager at Fifth Third Asset Management in Minneapolis, "the recall is small enough that I doubt this will impact the bottom line." And unfortunately, the bottom line is what matters most to too many. The public needs to be aware.

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

FDA Anounces Class 1 Recall of Infusion Pump

Greg Owen — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:46:32 GMT

The most serious type of FDA recall is known as a "Class I recall." This type of recall is only issued if a given defective medical device will cause serious injury or death. According to the FDA recall notice, Medtronic notified its customers of the SynchroMed El Implantable Infusion Pump via a letter dated August 3, 2007.

The Implantable Infusion Pump administers drugs to a specific site in the body to treat pain, spasticity (continuous muscle contraction), and cancer. The Infusion Pump recall involved models 8626-10, 8626L-10, 8626-18, 8626L-18, 8627-10, 8627L-10, 8627-18, and 8627L-18. Only those models with motors manufactured before September 1999 are affected by the recall.

According to the FDA the pump can stop suddenly. The problem is, withdrawal from Intrathecal Baclofen (ITB) therapy (in the patient's spine) can cause death if not treated immediately and effectively. Consumers with questions about the Medtronic SynchroMed El Implantable Infusion Pump recall can contact Medtronic Neuromodulation Patient Services at 1-800-510-6735.

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Who's Really Looking Out for the Consumer?

Greg Owen — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:02:43 GMT

With all the recalled products out there today, it can be quite a fete to determine what products are safe for your children this holiday season. The concerns are not only about toys. Of late, concerns have been raised about everything from food items to cribs.

Take the extremely understaffed Consumer Protect Safety Commission, in the Maryland office there is literally one person testing toys as potential chocking hazards. She does that by dropping a given toy on the floor of a cramped office to see if any pieces break off. Isn't that amazing. As for the imports coming through Los Angeles ports, for that inspection job there is one employee who works only 3 days per week. The truth is, the Commission has decreased their employees by half since the 1970s.

So who is watching out of the public at large. Well, it comes down to the news media and civil justice system. It is often not until a consumer teams up with an attorney that the truth is exposed for all to see. We have seen this time and time again, whether it be the case of Vioxx, BB guns and/or the problems with the Pinto automobile to name but a few. There is no doubt that the constant threat of the civil-justice system protecting consumers and exposing manufacturers helps to keep big business in check.

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

China Shuts down 300 Drug, Medical Instrument Manufacturers

Greg Owen — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 11:12:35 GMT

Apparently, China has a campaign of sorts to crackdown on malpractice in the pharmacy industry. Three hundred drug and medical instrument manufacturers have been shut down due to sub-standard products.

Wu Zhen, Deputy Director of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), said that the crack down is yielding results and noted that by October, 900 illegal drug producers and 400 cases were turned over to prosecutors. Further, 279 persons faced criminal charges. Interestingly, more than 7,000 pharmaceutical companies withdrew there application for drug approval. In order to regulate the distribution of medicine, more than 900 drug retailers and wholesalers have had their licenses confiscated for selling drug that have not been approved for sale.

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

A Million Cribs Recalled Due To Deaths

Greg Owen — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 18:30:25 GMT

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced a recall of a million cribs. The CPSC is investigating the tragic death of a 1-year-old child as a result of this defective product. The hardware on the drop-side of the crib being installed upside down. The drop-side can detach from the crib, which can create a dangerous gap and lead to the entrapment and suffocation of infants.

CPSC is aware of two deaths as a result of this defective product. There have also been seven infant entrapments and a total of 55 incidents with these particular cribs of which CPSC is aware.

Once again, these defective products were made in China. They were sold nationwide from January 1998 through May 2007 at a cost of $100 to $300. If you would like more information on this product, it can be found on the defective product link above.

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Defective Candles Recalled

Greg Owen — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 20:57:20 GMT

Hayes Company Inc. Recalls Outdoor Candles Due to Fire and Burn Hazards
The Consumer Product Safety Commision announced today that there will be a voluntary recall of "Avant Yarde" Decorative Glaze Outdoor Candles. In all, 83, 000 units will be recalled.

The problem with this particular defective product is that it is feared that the candle wax may be a fire hazard. The wax produces a high flame, which can cause a fire. To date, it has been reported that two consumers have received minor burns. For more information call Hayes at (800) 838-5053.

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Nokia BL-5C Battery Recalled

Greg Owen — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 18:54:10 GMT

Nokia-branded BL-5C battery manufactured by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd. of Japan between December 2005 and November 2006 is the subject of an advisory by Nokia. The manufacturer has stated that the affected batteries could over heat and short circuit.

More than 300 million BL-5C batteries have been produced by several suppliers. This particular advisory applies to 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006. Apparently, there have been more than 100 incidents of over heating. No serious injures have been reported to date.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Avandia to Stay on Market

Greg Owen — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 17:29:50 GMT

In spite of the fact that dozens of studies strongly suggest that taking the diabetes drug Avandia points to a significantly increased risk of heart attack, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) previously acknowledged that fact, an advisory panel determined that Advandia could stay on the market.

While the FDA is not required to follow the advise of the advisory panel, it usually does. "Panelists said the drug's label should include a so-called "black-box" warning, the most severe the FDA can require, to flag that risk." Additionally, the experts also asked that the drug be studied further.

The New England Journal of Medicine publised a study that generated new concerns about the saftey of the drug. "The analysis of 42 studies revealed a 43 percent higher risk of heart attack for those taking Avandia compared with people taking other diabetes drugs or no diabetes medication. "

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen