Maryland Accident Law Blog

In Maryland, a woman is suing Ocean City, the Ocean City Convention and Visitors Bureau, and ThyssenKrupp Elevator Company for personal injury over an escalator accident that occurred in May 2006. Rebecca Beall filed her Maryland premises liability lawsuit in US District Court.

Beall was a high school student at the time of the escalator accident that injured her and several other students from her school band. The band was in Ocean City to attend the Youth Music Competition taking place at the Convention Center.

On May 5, 2006 the escalator they were riding to the next floor stopped abruptly and began moving in the opposite direction. A number of students fell and some of them were taken to a hospital for treatment of their injuries.

In her Maryland personal injury complaint, Beall contends that she sustained serious injuries when students that fell pinned her to the escalator that was still moving. Her face, shoulder, and scalp became lacerated, and she now suffers from anxiety, post-traumatic migraine disorders, and has an escalator phobia. She also suffers from migraines, serious headaches, chills, nausea, blackouts, shaking, and is sensitive to light and sound.

Beall is seeking $500,000 from the defendants. Her Maryland civil lawsuit alleges negligence and contends that defendants knew or should have known that the escalator was experiencing problems before the escalator accident yet failed to act to repair the issues to remove its safety hazards. A year after the accident, an independent inspector assessed the escalator’s condition and found that it had worn and failing gear parts.

According to a 2005 CBS News report, almost 10,000 people a year sustain escalator injuries serious enough to warrant hospital emergency room care. Common kinds of escalator accidents include those involving:

• Sudden stops
• Slip and fall accidents
• Fall accidents
• Metal teeth on the escalator coming loose
• Hands, clothing, feet, or shoes getting caught in the escalator

$500K Lawsuit Filed In OC Escalator Fall, MDCoastDispatch.com, May 29, 2009

Danger On The Escalator, CBS News, February 17, 2005

Related Web Resources:
Thousands Injured in Escalator, Elevator Accidents, NewsInferno.com, May 14, 2008

A number of catastrophic car accident victims and their families went to Capitol Hill in Washington DC on Wednesday to call on the Obama Administration and Congress to ensure their ability to obtain medical reimbursements from the now bankrupt General Motors and Chrysler. Both auto manufacturers have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcies, which places car accident victims waiting for medical reimbursements from products liability settlements and verdicts into the category of "unsecured creditor" waiting along with everyone else for their payouts.

On Monday, a bankruptcy judge overruled the Ad Hoc Committee on Consumer-Victims of Chrysler LLC when he approved the sale of the company to Fiat. The group had asked for a retroactive insurance policy or a fund that would cover the costs of medical treatment and lawsuits. Last year alone, Chrysler paid more than $250,000 in medical settlements. Now, anyone that gets involved in a catastrophic or fatal car crash while riding in one of the approximately 10 million Chrysler cars will not be able to pursue products liability compensation if a motor vehicle was responsible for causing the defect. The vehicle occupants of about 30 million General Motor vehicles are facing the same dilemma.

About 500 to 1,000 serious injuries or fatalities involving defective car parts occur every year. The bankruptcies filed by the two car manufacturing giants prevents injured parties from holding them financially accountable for making cars that are defective enough to cause catastrophic injuries or death.

Examples of common kinds of car defects that can lead to catastrophic injuries:

• Defective tires
• Faulty engine
• Defective windows
• Faulty seat belt or safety restraint system
• Structural defects
• Seat back defect
• Design defects

Car accident victims fight for payouts, Washington Times, June 4, 2009

Families and Severely-Injured Victims of Defective GM and Chrysler Cars Travel to Washington to Seek Urgent Help, RedOrbit, June 3, 2009

Related Web Resources:
GM and Chrysler's bankruptcy cases at a glance, AP, June 4, 2009

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Basics

Continue reading "Catastrophic Car Accident Victims and Their Families Ask Capitol Hill to Guarantee Products Liability Payments from Bankrupt General Motors and Chrysler" »

To date, Bausch & Lomb has spent over $250 million to settle almost 600 products liability lawsuits filed by contact lense wearers that say they sustained a potentially blinding fungal infection from using multipurpose contact lense solution ReNu with MoistureLoc. The optical products company still has dozens of individual products liability lawsuits to resolve.

In the United States alone, over 700 contact lense wearers say they suffered from Fusarium keratitis while using the solution for cleaning, moistening, and storing their lenses. In a number of cases, including one in Maryland, the injure parties had to have an eye removed. Some 60 contact lense users had to undergo corneal transplants to save their vision. One man in Baltimore got hooked on painkillers after losing his eye and had to go through rehab. Both his marriage and his business fell apart.

Between June 2005 and September 2006, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that there were at least 180 eye injury cases related to Fusarium keratitis in 35 states. Broadway actress Andrea Martin’s eye became scarred after she used the Bausch & Lomb solution and the fungal infection ended the career of one race car driver, who had to undergo a corneal transplant.

MoistureLoc was pulled from US store shelves in April 2006. The optical products company issued a global recall the following month. According to those affected with fusarium keratitis, their eyes first felt irritated until they started to experience severe pain and in many cases, their conditions were wrongly treated with steroids and antibiotics—resulting in delayed diagnosis and delay of the proper treatment. Researchers think that alexidine, a disinfectant, may have absorbed into the lenses at very fast rates and that moisturizing agents produced a biofilm that may have helped the fungus to grow.

Bausch & Lomb’s legal troubles aren’t over yet. It says it is challenging over 500 other injury lawsuits connecting MoistureLoc to other afflictions. Meantime, it is not the only contact lense solution maker to be sued for products liability. Over 170 people have sued Advanced Medical Optics because they say they sustained Acanthamoeba keratitis infections from using one of its contact lense solutions.

Symptoms of fungal keratitis can include:

• Eye discharge or tearing
• Light sensitivity
• Swollen eyelids
• Vision isn’t as sharp
• Puffy eyelids

Symptoms of acanthamoeba keratitis can include:

• Eye pain or redness or tearing
• Light sensitivity
• Blurred vision
• Feeling like there is something in one’s eye

Bausch & Lomb settles 600 eye fungus lawsuits, Baltimore Sun, May 31, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Bausch & Lomb

General Information about Fusarium Keratitis, CDC, May 10, 2006

Certain US lawmakers are taking steps to give back to US citizens the right to sue medical device makers for damages. In February 2008, the US Supreme Court issued a decision preventing patients and surviving family members from filing personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against medical device manufacturers if the device had Food and Drug Administration approval.

The outcome of that particular case prevented a man, seriously injured when his Medtronic balloon catheter burst during an angioplasty procedure, and his wife from receiving products liability compensation. Since the Supreme Court’s ruling, more defective medical device lawsuits have been tossed out.

Just this week, a state supreme court ruled against a man who underwent surgery to take out his Medtronic defibrillator because there was a chance the device device’s battery could fail. Other personal injury lawsuits against medical device makers that have been dismissed since the Supreme Court ruling include a products liability case involving a man who sustained internal injuries because of a prostate treatment device, a woman who sustained internal burns from a device supposed to decrease menstrual bleeding, and a number of patients who are claiming injuries caused by heart implants or faulty joints.

Congressmen Henry Waxman (D-Ca) and Frank Pallone Jr. (D-New Jersey) are planning to reintroduce legislation to nullify the Supreme Court decision. In the US Senate,Senator Edward M Kennedy (D-Ma) and Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt) are expected to reintroduce a similar bill.

Critics of the Supreme Court ruling say the decision does not take into account the fact that the FDA doesn’t always do a thorough job when approving medical devices for consumer use. For example, the Project on Government Oversight says the FDA has dramatically scaled back on inspections of “good laboratory practices” at places where early round testing of medical devices take place. The independent watchdog group also says there has been a decline in the federal enforcement of quality regulations at labs where medical devices are developed.

The Center for Devices and Radiological Health, which is the FDA division that oversees medical devices, has received complaints from its own scientists who claim managers have discouraged debate and that this has resulted in the approval of medical devices that are not entirely safe or effective.

Lawmakers Seek to Return Right to Sue Device Makers, New York Times, February 19, 2009

Report: FDA quietly scaled back quality enforcement at medical device testing lab, Chicago Tribune, February 18, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Supreme Court Shields Medical-Device Makers, The Washington Post, February 21, 2008

Read the Supreme Court Decision: Estate of Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc., Cornell University Law School

Continue reading "US Lawmakers Seek to Reinstate Right to Sue Medical Device Makers for Personal Injury and Wrongful Death" »

The family of Shirley Mae Almer is suing Peanut Corporation of America and King Nut Companies for her wrongful death. The 72-year-old nursing home resident allegedly died after she ate the peanut butter that was served to her at the facility where she was staying. A tub of peanut butter found at the nursing home contained Salmonella typhimurium, the same strain of salmonella that has made a number of other people in the US sick.

The Centers for Disease Control says there have been at least 501 reports of Salmonella typhimurium-related food poisoning. 108 people required hospitalization. 8 of the cases resulted in deaths. Over 280 cases involved minors.

Almer died on December 21, 2008. Her family’s wrongful death lawsuit accuses the defendants of failure to safely manufacture, package, and transport the peanut butter, failure to properly train and supervise employees, failure to maintain hygienic conditions at the peanut butter plant, failure to test the peanut butter before sending the products off, and failure to prevent cross-contamination.

Peanut Corporation of America is the company that made thousands of pounds of the contaminated peanut better. On January 27, 2009, federal health official reported finding Salmonella typhimurium, as well as four other strains of salmonella, at the peanut butter manufacturing plant. King Nut Companies supplied the peanut butter to the nursing home.

Over 300 peanut butter-related recalls have occurred because of the Salmonella outbreak. Peanut Corp sells peanut paste to almost 100 manufacturers of nutrition bars, cookies, peanut butter crackers, and ice cream. More recalls are expected.

If you got sick or someone you love died because of a contaminated food product, you may have grounds to file a products liability lawsuit.

FDA: Peanut plant knew product was tainted with salmonella, CNN Health, January 28, 2008

Family sues over salmonella-related death, Forbes/AP, January 27, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Read the Food and Drug Administration's Inspection Report of Peanut Corporation of America

View a List of Peanut Butter Recalls

A 21-year-old Baltimore County woman is dead after a tire that broke off from a truck being towed landed on her car on Wednesday. The deadly motor vehicle accident took place on Interstate 495 in Prince George’s County.

According to Maryland State Police, tow truck driver Roger Smith was towing a delivery truck when one of the tires with a metal wheel broke off the vehicle, rolled across lanes, struck two guardrails, rolled across a grassy median, and hit a tractor-trailer. The impact of this collision caused the tire to fly back across the median and land on Channing Quinichett’s Honda Civic, crushing the windshield and roof of her vehicle. The 21-year-old Maryland resident was pronounced dead at the crash scene.

If you have been injured in a Maryland traffic accident because a party’s negligence caused flying or falling debris to strike you and/or your motor vehicle, you may have grounds to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.

For example, last September, the family of 39-year-old Milena Del Valle, who died after part of the Big Dig tunnel ceiling in Massachusetts fell on her car, received a $28 million wrongful death settlement. In another personal injury lawsuit, the wife of Pawel “Paul” Swierczynski sued five companies after her husband was struck by a 250-pound grate that crashed through his windshield. Swierczynski sustained numerous injuries, including a traumatic brain injuries.

Just this month, a 6-year-old boy died and a man sustained injuries after they were struck by flying metal chunks at a monster truck rally. The catastrophic accident occurred when a truck's driveline malfunctioned, causing the fragments to fly toward the crowd. Witnesses have expressed anger that the show was not stopped even after both victims started bleeding.

While freak accidents do happen, there may have been steps that a liable party could have taken to prevent the personal injury accident or wrongful death.

Tire kills Baltimore Co. woman on Capital Beltway, Baltimore Sun, Associated Press, January 22, 2009

Boy, 6, killed by flying debris at Tacoma monster truck rally, Komonews.com, January 17, 2009

Boy, 6, killed by flying debris at Tacoma monster truck rally, Komonews.com, January 17, 2009

Settlement Reached In Big Dig Death Suit, CBS News, September 30, 2008

Related Web Resource:
Wrongful Death Overview, Justia

Continue reading "Baltimore County Woman Dies After She is Struck by Flying Truck's Tire on Capital Beltway" »

The mother of a six-year-old boy whose right big toe was mangled when his Crocs clog got caught in an escalator at the National Aquarium in Baltimore is suing Crocs Inc. for products liability. Kerry Burdick filed her federal lawsuit in court on Monday. She is seeking over $7.5 million in damages.

The accident occurred last April. Burdick’s lawsuit alleges that Crocs was aware that the popular clogs posed a hazard on escalators yet failed to warn consumers.

This is not the first incident where a person got hurt while using Crocs shoes. Over 200 people around the world have been involved in similar escalator entrapment accidents while using the popular clogs. Children especially appear more prone to injuries while wearing Crocs.

In 2007, a 10-year-old girl hurt her toe after her Crocs clog got stuck on an escalator at the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. This year, a 3-year-old Croc wearer had two of her toes partially amputated because of injuries she sustained while also riding an escalator at the Atlanta airport. The parents of another 3-year-old sued Crocs for $7 million after her toe was mangled in an accident at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

In April, Japan’s Trade Ministry asked Crocs Inc. to redesign its popular clogs. The ministry said that over a six-month period last year, it had received 65 complaints of escalator injuries involving Crocs clogs. In May, the US Consumer Products Safety Commission warned that it had received 75 injury reports between January 2006 and May 2007 about people who got hurt in escalator accidents while using Crocs.

Last July, Crocs Inc. said it would add warning tags about possible escalator entrapment-related injuries to its shoes. While the shoes that come with these warnings will become available in 2009, there are still millions of Crocs clogs out in the marketplace for sale or that have already been purchased that lack the entrapment warning.

Son hurt, Pa. woman sues Crocs firm, Baltimore Sun.com, December 4, 2008

Pa. mother sues Crocs over son's escalator injury, Examiner.com, December 4, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Crocs

Crocs and similar soft shoes linked to escalator entrapments, Consumer Reports, May 20, 2008

Continue reading "Mother Sues Crocs for Personal Injury After Son’s Right Toe is Mangled While Riding Baltimore Aquarium’s Escalator" »

Personal injury lawyers for a woman who is suing Victoria’s Secret for injuries she says she suffered from using the brand’s Very Sexy Extreme Me Push-Up and Angels Secret Embrace bras say that tests they ordered show that bras from those lines contain formaldehyde, which is used in embalming. They think that their client, Roberta Ritter, is allergic to the chemical.

Ritter, who sued the company in May, says she sustained itchy, inflamed, and blistery welts after using the bras. Since then, dozens of other woman have come forward claiming that they experienced the same injuries after using the Victoria’s Secret bras. At least two other products liability lawsuits have been filed. Class action status is pending.

The bras have not been pulled off store shelves, but a spokesperson for Victoria’s Secret says the company is investigating the complaints. Victoria's Secret denies that any of their bras contain formaldehyde.

This isn’t the only personal injury lawsuit accusing Victoria’s Secret of products liability. In June, another woman filed a personal injury lawsuit seeking unspecified damages from the company because of injuries she says she sustained due to a thong malfunction.

Clothing manufacturers and distributors are supposed to make sure that their clothes are not made with any materials that could cause injury, allergy, infection, or death to wearers. Failure to insure their clothing is free from hazardous defects can be grounds for a Maryland products liability claim or wrongful death lawsuit.

Other injuries that can occur as a result of defective clothing include:

• Burn injuries, from clothing made from flammable material.
• Allergic reactions to toxic substances.
• Strangulation hazards.
• Choking hazards.

Victoria's Secret, Formaldehyde in Bras?, ABC News.com, November 11, 2008

Lawsuit Claims Victoria's Secret Bras Cause Rashes, HivesLawsuit Claims Victoria's Secret Bras Cause Rashes, Hives, Fox News, November 11, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Formaldehyde Council

Recalls.gov

Importer Bayside Furnishings and the Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of approximately 9,350 Pirates of the Caribbean Twin Trundle Beds and LaJolla Boat Beds because of concerns that the toy chests pose an entrapment or strangulation hazard to kids.

There is concern that the toy chest lid supports do not stop the chest lid from shutting too fast. The CPSC says that they have received reports of one incident in which a boy, 22-months, was strangled to death after the toy chest lid fell on the back of his head and his neck became trapped.

This is not the first time toy chests have been recalled over entrapment/suffocation worries. One child suffocated while in a toy chest three years ago. In separate incidents in 2001, another child fell while another child suffocated. Both children died from their injuries.

At least 10 other toy chest recalls have taken place over the last 10 years. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that since 1975, there have been at least 45 reported deaths. At least three children that were injured injured in toy chest-related accidents suffered brain damage. The majority of injury victims are younger than 2 years of age.

Common toy chest-related accidents:

• The chest falls on a child’s hands or neck.
• Suffocation, from children climbing into or get trapped in the toy chest.

Manufacturers of toys and other children’s products are supposed to design and make products that are safe for use. If your son or daughter was injured because of a product defect, you may be able to file a products liability claim or lawsuit to obtain compensation for his or her personal injuries.

Toy Boxes and Toy Chests, CPSC.gov

Bayside Furnishings Recalls Youth Bed Toy Chests Sold at Costco After the Death of a 22-Month-Old Child, CPSC.gov, July 3, 2008

Toy Chests are Not Toys, Washington Post, July 4, 2008

Related Web Resources:

NNCS Toy Safety

Kids in Danger

Continue reading "Bed and Toy Chest Sets Recalled May Pose an Entrapment Hazard to Kids" »

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is taking a closer look at 21 General Motors truck and SUV models that were made between 2006 and 2008 over concerns of a potential fire hazard.

Over 2.7 million GM vehicles are part of the probe to see if a fire might ignite inside the engine when the ignition is turned on. According to the Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), there have been 41 reports of non-crash engine compartment fires, with 8 of these incidents resulting in substantial property damage.

Investigators are looking at the engine, the electrical system, the battery cables, the circuit breakers, the fuses, wiring, and the engine cooling system as part of their probe.

Car Fires
Car fires can be deadly. In 2004, 520 people died as a result of a car fire in the United States, and there were 266,000 motor vehicle fires overall. While poor maintenance or involvement in a traffic collision can sometimes cause a car fire, fluid leaks, loose wiring, cracked insulation, or other defects can also lead to auto fires.

The burn injuries that can result when someone is hurt in a car fire can be excruciatingly painful, and a fire victim may need to undergo painful surgeries to recover.

If you were injured or your property was damaged in a car fire, our Maryland products liability lawyers can determine whether your injuries were caused by a defect in the car. A product can become defective if its design was defective or because of mistakes made during manufacturing. Your product also may have a defect as a result of negligent marketing.

Feds Investigating Engine Fires in GM Trucks, SUVs, US News and World Report, June 19, 2008

NHTSA Investigates 2.7 Million GM Trucks, SUVs, Consumer Affairs, June 17, 2008

New Warning to Be Issued About Deadly Car Fires, ABC News, October 12, 2005

Related Web Resource:

General Motors

Continue reading "NHTSA Examines 2.7 Million General Motors SUVs and Trucks for Potential Fire Hazard" »

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the months of June through August are when the highest number of 15-passenger van injuries and deaths occur. 31% of all deadly 15-passenger van rollovers take place during this season, which is why the NHTSA wants drivers of these large vans to drive carefully and make sure that they follow the proper safety measures.

15 Passenger Vans
These large vans are designed to transport a large number of people and significant cargo. As a result, 15-passenger vans are a popular choice of transportation for large families, school kids, church groups, nursing homes, and others.

Over the last several years, however, there has been a noticeable trend of injuries and deaths occurring to passengers—in particular, students, being transported in these vehicles.

After analyzing 1,957 crashes the NHTSA found that the more passengers riding in these vans—even within the 15-passenger limit, the more likely these vans were to rollover and cause serious injury or death.

One reason for this is that 15-passenger vans are designed with a high center of gravity, which moves higher and towards the rear whenever the weight in the van gets heavier. This increases the chances of rollovers.

Other hazards that can cause injury or harm upon rollover include:

• Lack of laminated side windows to cushion a passenger
• No emergency exits
• Insufficient crash padding

Motor vehicle accidents that occur because of a defect in a vehicle can be grounds for personal injury or wrongful death claims if someone gets hurt or dies.

In Maryland and Washington DC, our auto products liability lawyers can discuss your case with you.

Rollover Crashes for 15-Passenger Vans More Likely during Summer, NHTSA.gov

15-Passenger Vans: High-Riding Death Traps, Safetyforum.com

Related Web Resource:

15-Passenger Van Safety Hazards

Continue reading "As Summer Travel Season Starts, NHTSA Warns 15-Passenger Van Users to Drive Carefully" »

Maj. Stephen Stilwell, an air force pilot, is suing plane manufacturer Boeing over the F-15C airplane accident that left him disfigured and with debilitating shoulder injuries. The plane was built by defense contractor McDonald Douglas, which was purchased by Boeing Corp.

In his personal injury lawsuit, Stilwell says that the plane started “shaking violently” during a routine training mission. He ejected himself from the plane and was seriously injured when he was struck by parts of the plane, which had started to disintegrate.

According to air force investigators, there were cracks in the aircraft parts that caused the failure. These parts were installed without implementation of the correct safety measures.

After the plane crash, all of the F-15’s were grounded for inspection, with several of them staying there after similar cracks were discovered.

Stilwell says the accident has affected his ability to work as a civilian/military aircraft pilot. Stilwell contends that Boeing should have known that its F-15C was a dangerous/defective product that was susceptible to breaking apart during flight.

Product manufacturers, sellers, and distributors are responsible for making sure that their products will not cause harm to any users. Grounds for a products liability lawsuit can include:

Negligence: Failure to act with reasonable care to make sure that a product is safe for use.

Strict Liability: If a person is injured by a product, the manufacturer can be held liable even if he or she did not act negligently.

Misrepresentation: Marketing, promoting, or presenting a product in a manner that misrepresents the actual safety or risks that come with using a product.

Breach of Warranty: The manufacturer is in breach of the warranty that accompanies its product.

If you are injured on the job by a defective product, you usually will not be able to sue your employer, but you can file third party lawsuits against other liable parties, such as the manufacturer or distributor of the product. You may also be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits from your employer’s insurer.

In Maryland and Washington D.C., one of our products liability lawyers would be happy to speak with you.

Pilot hurt in jet breakup sues Boeing, CNN.com, March 25, 2008

Related Web Resources:

The Boeing Company

Plane Crash Info

Continue reading "Pilot Sues Boeing For Personal Injuries From F-15C Breakup Jet Accident" »

General Motors Corporation will pay an undisclosed settlement amount to California resident Michael Samardzich, whose left eye was ruptured and became permanently blind when the GMC Yukon that he was a passenger in collided with another motor vehicle on July 7, 2006. The teenager filed a products liability claim against the auto manufacturing giant for his injuries.

The force of the crash shattered the side passenger window of the SUV and the pieces of glass damaged Samardzich’s eye. Police reports indicate that he was wearing a seatbelt when the auto accident occurred.

Personal injury attorneys for Samardzich say that the teenager would not have suffered the permanent loss of vision if GM had made the passenger window with laminated glass instead of tempered glass, which is less costly and is known to break and shatter more easily.

The fragility of tempered glass can be a problem when a motor vehicle crash occurs. Not only can pieces of glass cut the victim’s skin or get into their eyes or other organs, but passengers in a vehicle have a greater chance of being thrown from the vehicle if the glass in the side windows is shattered.

Auto manufacturers know that laminated glass is the stronger glass, which is why this type of glass is used in the windshields of all motor vehicles sold in the United States.

In Maryland and Washington D.C., our personal injury law firm represents clients that have been injured in motor vehicle accidents caused by negligent drivers, defective auto parts, and other negligent parties.

Defective auto parts cases may involve:

• Defective tires
• Seat back failure
• Auto recalls
• SUV rollovers
• Faulty air bags
• Roof crushes
• Gasoline tank explosions
• Defective door latches
• Defective seat belts

General Motors Agrees To Settle Automobile Defect Claim For Undisclosed Sum, RTT News, February 20, 2008

General Motors Settles in Auto Defect Claim; Plaintiff Claimed Laminated Sidelites Would Have Protected Him, GlassBytes.com

Related Web Resource:

Coalition for Auto Glass Safety and Public Awareness

Continue reading "General Motors Settles Auto Defect Injury Claim Involving GMC Yukon" »

Test results conducted by the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety found that the stronger the SUV’s roof, the lower the risks of serious injury or death.

The IIHS tested 11 sport utility vehicles and found that the stronger roofs had a 39%-57% lower injury risk than SUVs with weaker roofs.

The IIHS says that over 200 lives could have been saved in 2006, during rollover accidents, if the SUVs had better roofs. 35% of motor vehicle deaths involve rollover crashes, with 60% of these rollovers involving SUVs.

The SUV’s roof that received the highest strength rating was the 2000-2004 Nissan Xterra. The SUV’s roof that received the lowest strength rating was the 1999- 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

A roof that crushes in during a rollover can cause serious injuries to passengers, who can sustain traumatic brain injuries or traumatic brain injuries when struck by the crushed roof.

Examples tragic SUV rollover accidents involving crushed roofs:

• Tyler Moody, 18, died of "positional asphyxiation “during an SUV rollover crash. His family’s wrongful death attorneys said the crushed roof cut off his breathing.

• Recently, a California appeals court ordered Ford to pay a paralyzed woman $82.6 million for injuries sustained during an SUV rollover also involving a crushed roof.

A trade group that represents Toyota, GM, Chrysler, and a few other auto makers, called the study flawed.

SUV Accident Facts from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

• Over 90% of SUV rollover crashes are single-car accidents.
• The most common kind of injury sustained in rollover crashes is head trauma.

In Maryland and Washington D.C., our personal injury law firm represents clients in SUV rollover accidents and other kinds ofproducts liability and car accident cases.

Report Says Weak SUV Roofs Are Deadly, U.S. News, March 13, 2008

Crash-test report backs stronger roofs on SUVs, USA Today, March 12, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Roof Strength and Injury Risk in Rollover Crashes (PDF)

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Continue reading "Insurance Institute For Highway Safety Says Making Stronger SUV Roofs Could Save Lives During Rollover Accidents" »

A Florida jury has ordered Mitsubishi Motors to pay almost $11 million in wrongful death damages to the parents of a man who died when he was partially ejected from a Nativa SUV—marketed in the US as the Montero.

Peter and Donna Laliberte had accused the auto manufacturer of knowing that there were problems with the seat recliner and the seat belt in the SUV and selling the motor vehicles despite this information. Because of these product defects, the Lalibertes contend that Scott,25, ended up being partially ejected from the back window of the 2000 Nativa when the SUV rolled over in September 2004. They had asked the jury to award them over $25 million.

Scott’s head was crushed against the SUV and the ground after he smashed into the rear window.

The almost $11 million award is compensatory damages for the loss of the Lalibertes' son. $10 million is for pain and suffering and the rest of the amount is to cover funeral expenses and other costs.

Part of the case made against Mitsubishi was that auto maker tried to correct the design flaws on the 2000 model by bring out a revised model halfway through the model year without letting anyone know that there had been problems with the original version.

Mitsubishi, however, argued that the redesigned model did not address flaws with the seat or seat belt and instead fixed issues with the SUV’s front structure, which did not perform well during accident tests.

Mitsubishi has been working hard to rebuild its reputation after the public found out that the auto giant had tried to cover up auto defects by fixing them without issuing recalls even though many accidents had occurred.

Our Maryland and Washington D.C. law firm represent injury and wrongful death clients in SUV accident claims and lawsuits involving negligent drivers and/or defective auto parts.

Seat belt defects include:

• Problems with the seat belt latch
• Problems with the seat belt retractor
• Defects with the seat belt geometry
• Defective seat belt webbing

Mitsubishi must pay $11 million to family of man ejected from SUV, Palm Beach Post, February 26, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Defective Seat Belts are a Big Problem

Mitsubishi Motors

Continue reading "Mitsubishi Ordered to Pay $11 Million in Products Liability SUV Wrongful Death Case" »

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a report that states the number of infant deaths (children under age 5) involving nursery products have increased significantly.

According to the CPSC, 66,400 children were seriously hurt in nurseries in 2006. The number of infant injuries involving nursery products in 200t was 59,800.

The report did not take into account injuries in 2007 when more than one million Simplicity bassinets and cribs were recalled. At least 4 infants died because of the defective infant beds. The Chicago Tribune conducted an investigation that found that CPSC and Simplicity had known that defective infant crib parts and improper installation could lead to suffocation, even death.

The CPSC report cited a number of Infant products associated with infant injuries, including:

• Cribs
• Bassinets
• Strollers
• Infant carriers
• Car seats
• High chairs
• Walkers

Sometimes the cause of the injuries has been a defective product or product failure. Falls were also a leading cause of injuries. 42% of the injuries sustained by infants were head injuries.

Toys have also come under fire as a cause of serious injuries or deaths affecting children of all ages. Last year, 25 million toys were recalled because of defective product concerns.

In the event that your child was injured because of a defective product, the instructions that came with the product was incomplete or unclear, or the product did not come with a failure to warn of potential injuries or hazards, one of our Maryland or Washington D.C. lawyers would be happy to discuss your case during a free consultation.

Nursery-related product injuries on the rise, CNNMoney.com, February 28, 2008

Infant Deaths in the Nursery Increasing, Consumer Affairs, February 28, 2008

Nursery Product Injuries Sending More Children to the ER, NewsInferno.com, February 29, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Infants & Children, Recall-Warnings

Continue reading "Consumer Product Safety Commission Reports Increase In Nursery Products-Related Infant Deaths" »

In Maryland’s U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Pennsylvania resident Yvonne Boughter filed a wrongful death lawsuit over the carbon monoxide deaths of her husband, Patrick J. Boughter, 40, and his 10-year-old daughter Kelly. She is seeking $30 million in damages.

The Boughters, from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, were staying at the Days Inn motel on 23rd Street in Ocean City in June 2006 when the accident occurred. An investigation into the deaths found that gas was able to enter the room they were staying in through a disconnected water heater pipe in the basement. The exposure to the gas killed Patrick and Kelly. Yvonne and their daughter Morgan survived.

Defendants named in the case are Bay Shore Development Corp, Heat Transfer Products Inc., R.E. Michel Co. Inc., and All About Plumbing. Bay Shore owns the motel. Heat Transfer Products made the water heater. R.E. Michaels sold the water heater to Bay Shore. All About Plumbing installed the water heater in the hotel. Wyndham Hotel Group is the parent company of the Days Inn.

Boughter is asking for $20 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages. Loss of family and future income from Patrick’s job as a welder were considered by the plaintiff when calculating an amount.

The lawsuit comes after an extensive probe into the deadly accident, as well as another carbon monoxide leak that occurred at the Days Inn in 2005.

Premises Liability and Products Liability
Hotel owners are supposed to ensure that there are no unsafe conditions on their premise that could harm visitors or guests. They can be held liable for personal injury or wrongful death if someone is seriously hurt or died from a hazardous condition on the property.

Manufacturers, sellers, and distributors of a defective product can also be held for products liability if a consumer was injured or killed by that product.

In Maryland and Washington D.C., one of our experienced personal injury lawyers would be happy to discuss your case.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
Carbon Monoxide (CO), often referred to as “the silent killer,” is the number one cause of accidental poisoning fatalities in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control says that 15,000 people visit the hospital every year due to carbon monoxide poisoning. About 500 CO poisoning deaths occur annually.

Some Sources of Carbon Monoxide:
• Charcoal grills
• Gas water heaters
• Propane heaters
• Propane stoves
• Cigarette smoke
• Generators powered by gasoline and diesel
• A boat run by an engine
• Paint removers
• Spray paint
• Degreasers
• Solvents

Widow sues OC hotel over carbon monoxide deaths, MDDailyrecord.com, February 19, 2008

Wrongful death suit filed in resort carbon monoxide deaths, Examiner.com, February 20, 2008

Related Web Resource:

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, EMedicineHealth

Continue reading "Woman Sues Ocean City, Maryland Hotel Over Carbon Monoxide Deaths of Her Husband and Daughter " »

The National Transportation Safety Board says that a design flaw is what led to undersized gusset plates holding the steel beams on Interstate 35-W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota to snap and the bridge to collapse into the Mississippi River last August. More than 100 people were injured and 13 others were killed.

According to NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker, investigators discovered 16 fractured gusset plates—which were reportedly half the thickness that they need to be and were installed that way. Rosenker said investigators could not locate the design calculations to determine the source of the design flaw. He also stated that there was no evidence to indicate that corrosion, cracking, or other wear was responsible for the bridge collapse.

Investigators have suggested that a construction going on at the bridge at the time of the accident may have been put much weight and pressure on the bridge's structure.

After the accident in August, Minnesota officials said that the eight-lane bridge, open since 1967, had passed inspections for years—albeit without flying colors. During a 2006 inspection, the Minneapolis Bridge rated a 4 out of 9 for its supporting structure, which was in reportedly poor condition.

As far back as 1990, the federal government had categorized the bridge as structurally deficient. The bridge, like many bridges built in the 1950’s and 1960’s, was missing the redundant protection needed to reduce the types of single structural failures that can cause the bridge to come crashing down.

When flaws in the design of a product results in serious injuries, the manufacturer of the product, the companies that installed or made the product available for use, and the person responsible for authorizing the product’s use can be held liable in a products liability lawsuit.

The owner of an unsafe premise—whether public or private—can also be held liable if a person is injured on a property because the premise itself or a condition on the premise was unsafe, hazardous, or improperly maintained. A premises liability lawsuit may even name a local, state, or federal government entity if the plaintiff has grounds to hold them responsible for the injuries or deaths.

NTSB: Minneapolis bridge that collapsed had design flaw, CNN.com, January 15, 2008

Design Flaw Said to Have Caused Minn. Bridge to Collapse, Washington Post, January 15, 2008

Minneapolis Bridge Had Passed Inspections, New York Times, August 3, 2007

Related Web Resource:

National Transportation Safety Board

Continue reading "NTSB Says Design Error Caused Deadly 2007 Minneapolis Bridge Collapse" »

The man who survived the force of gravity when he fell 47 stories while getting ready to wash the windows of a Manhattan building plans to file a personal injury lawsuit against the company that installed the scaffolding that broke, as well as the skyscraper’s management company.

37-year-old window washer Alcides Moreno says it just wasn’t his time to die after he dropped more than 500 feet to land on the ground and lived to tell his tale.

The catastrophic work accident occurred on December 7 while Alcides and his brother Edgar were cleaning windows on the Upper East Side. Edgar died of his injuries.

Doctors say the fact that Alcides even survived is a miracle. He has already undergone nine surgeries and is starting to talk. More surgeries are expected.

Alcides arrived in the ER at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center with brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, abdominal injuries, chest injuries, and fractures to his legs, ribs, and one of his arms. He received 19 blood plasma units 24 units of blood. Alcides is expected to make a slow but substantial recovery.

According to the Department of Buildings, the scaffolding the two men were standing on fell because the cables connecting it to the roof snapped. The two brothers had previously voiced concerns about the safety conditions at the building, located on E. 66th St.

Solow Management Corp is the building’s management company and Trachtel Group is the company that installed the scaffolding. The Moreno brothers worked for City Wide Window Cleaning.

If you are seriously injury in a work accident anywhere in Maryland or Washington D.C., workers’ compensation guarantees you benefits to pay for medical expenses. However, this does not mean that you should not speak to an experienced workers’ compensation attorney to make sure that you are receiving the maximum benefits for your injuries.

Although you cannot sue your employer for personal injury, there may be other parties that can be held liable for your injuries.

Family, NYC hospital officials describe window washer's 'miracle' recovery, Newsday, January 3, 2008

Hurt window washer will sue, NY DailyNews, January 2, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Solow Management Corporation, NY Bites

Continue reading "Window Washer Who Fell 47 Stories Will File Personal Injury Lawsuit" »

This week, a Food and Drug Administration panel will review the effect of the flu medicine Tamiflu on the brain. 55 children in the United States reportedly exhibited abnormal behavior and other brain effects after taking the medication. 22 of the cases included serious symptoms, such as delirium, convulsions, and delusions.

Globally, more than 1800 children who have taken Tamiflu showed similar effects worldwide. Five children in Japan died because of psychiatric or neurological problems. Seven adults died because of neuropsychiatric problems.

75% of the 48 million prescriptions for Tamiflu are administered in Japan. Last March, the Japanese government issued a warning that Tamiflu’s use be restricted in young people.

There is no concrete evidence to show that Tamiflu causes problems in the brain or abnormal behavior. Terry Hurley, a spokesperson for drugmaker Roche Laboratories, says flu patients who have not taken Tamiflu also showed these symptoms. However, if a child or adult was injured from taking Tamiflu, he or she may have grounds to file a dangerous drug claim or lawsuit against Roche Laboratories.

Tamiflu is Roche’s number nine best-selling drug and, according to the Tamiflu Web site, it is the “number one doctor-prescribed flu medicine.” The FDA has recommended Tamiflu for use in children and adults over age one. Tamiflu is used as a flu vaccine and to treat flu symptoms.

FDA safety reviewers are recommending that Tamiflu labels be updated to include information about possible neuropsychiatric side effects.

The FDA’s review of Tamiflu comes a little over one month after the makers of several infant cold medicines voluntarily recalled infant cold medicines Dimetapp, Robitussin, Pediacare, Triaminic, Little Colds, and Tylenol because of accidental overdose concerns.

Earlier this month in Chicago, a woman sued Walgreen Co. and McNeil for the wrongful death of her 4-month-old son who died after taking Infant Tylenol Cold Decongestant Plus Cough and Pediatric Drops-Cough Plus Cold, which are two over-the-counter medications.

FDA panel to review Tamiflu's effect on brain, USA Today, November 26, 2007

Lawsuit alleges Illinois infant died from cold medicine ingredient; mother suing 2 companies, International Herald Tribune/AP, November 14, 2007

Makers Pull Cold Medicines for Infants, CNN.com, October 11, 2007

Tamiflu

Related Web Resources:

FDA Questions the Safety Of Asthma Drugs for Kids, The Wall Street Journal, November 24,2007

Continue reading "FDA Panel to Investigate Tamiflu’s Impact on the Brain After 55 Children Exhibit Abnormal Behavior" »

Merck & Company says it will pay $4.85 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits related to injuries sustained by people who use Vioxx, a popular painkiller that was pulled from the market three years ago because studies revealed that it increased the risk of stroke and heart attack.

There have been thousands of personal injury lawsuits filed in federal and state courts over the past few years. The settlement agreement is intended to resolve these disputes. The $4.85 billion will be placed in a fund for the tens of thousands of Vioxx victims who suffered heart attacks and strokes because they once used the prescription drug. The fund will only be established, however, if 85% of the plaintiffs agree with the way the claims will be resolved.

The agreement consolidates the claims but is not a class-action settlement.

Merck had said initially that it would fight every claim based on whether or not the plaintiff had used Vioxx for an extended period of time or whether other factors could have led to the stroke or heart attack. Of the different products liability and wrongful death lawsuits that have already gone to trial, some of them resulted in verdicts in favor of the plaintiffs while other juries rule din favor of Merck.

Vioxx is believed to have doubled the risks of cardiovascular problems in people who had used the drug for more than 18 months. Nearly 20 million people in the United States are estimated to have used Vioxx.

Vioxx
Vioxx belongs to a category of drugs called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Vioxx was used to decrease stiffness, pain, and inflammation in patients with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and certain forms of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. It was also used to alleviate migraines, acute pain in adults, and menstrual pain. Vioxx was been known to cause heart attacks, stroke, death, and other serious and not so serious side effects.

Merck to Pay $4.85B Vioxx Settlement, Washington D.C., November 9, 2007

Vioxx, Drugs.com

Related Web Resources:

Vioxx Information Center, Merck.com

Merck yanks arthritis drug Vioxx, CNN Money, October 6, 2004

Continue reading "Merck Will Pay $4.85 Billion to Settle Vioxx Lawsuits" »

Two children in the United States and three children in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing beads from a popular toy product that contain a chemical that metabolizes into a potent date rape drug when absorbed into the body.

The two children who became sick in the United States went into nonsresponsive comas. One of the children, a 20-month-old toddler, has recovered completely. The other child is recovering.

The toy, called Aqua Dots in the United States, has been recalled. 4.2 million Aqua Dots toys have been pulled off toy shelves throughout Canada, the United States, and Australia. Spin Master Toys, a Toronto-based company, distributes the product in North America. The toy is called Bindeez in Australia.

Aqua Dots toys are very popular in the United States and have been sold at major retail stores since April 2007. Aqua Dots were on Wal-Mart Stores’ list of top 12 Christmas toys for this year.

The toys are manufactured in China. The toy’s beads can be arranged into designs when sprayed with water. According to scientists, a chemical that coats the beads, when swallowed, turns into gamma hydroxy butyrate, the date rape drug, which can cause unconsciousness, drowsiness, seizures, coma, and death.

If your child was injured by a defective toy, you may be able to sue the manufacturer or distributor by filing a products liability lawsuit. An experienced products liability attorney can let you know whether you have grounds for a claim or lawsuit.

In other toy recent recall-related news, 405,700 toys said to be contaminated with lead where also pulled off shelves in the United States on Wednesday. Toys recalled include Pull-Back Action toy cars, “Big Red” wagons, Dragster and Funny Car toys, Duck Family wind up toys, Dizzy Ducks music boxes, and Winnie-the-Pooh spinning top products.

Toy contaminated with 'date rape' drug pulled, CNN.com, November 8, 2007

List of Lead-Contaminated Toys Recalled, AP, November 7, 2007

Related Web Resources:

GHB Drug Fact Sheet

Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate (GHB): A Newer Drug of Abuse, American Family Physician, December 1, 2000

Continue reading "Millions of Toys with “Date Rape” Chemical Recalled After Five Children are Injured" »

Payless Shoesource Inc. is voluntarily recalling some 90,000 Girls’ Boots that were manufactured in China because the guitar-shaped zipper pull on each boot can interlock and cause a girl to trip and fall while walking.

The shoes are sold were sold at Payless ShoeSource stores across the U.S. and Payless.com from August 2007 to September 2007. There have been five reports of the zipper pulls interlocking and one incident of a four-year-old girl who skinned her knee because she fell.

If a person is injured because of a defective product, he or she may have grounds to file a products liability claim or lawsuit against the manufacturer and/or the store where the product was brought.

The recalled boots have “Hannah Montana” engraved on their outsoles and were sold in girls’ sizes 4 ½ to 10.

Jewelry, jackets, shoes, belts, hooded sweatshirts, bathrobes, pants, and sweaters are just some of the clothing items that can be recalled if any of them prove to be flammability hazards, strangulation hazards, choking hazards, toxic hazards, or slip and fall hazards.

Product recalls are authorized because a particular product item has proved to be dangerous to users. The recall warns users of the hazard and pulls the product off store shelves.

Recent Recalls involving Children’s Clothing (Healthnews.com):

• Children’s Necklaces Recalled by GeoCentral Due to Lead Poisoning Hazard (June 19, 2007)

• Choking Hazard Prompts Nordstrom Recall of Children’s Jackets (June 14, 2007)

• Children’s Jeweled Sandals Sold by Nordstrom Recalled Due to Choking Hazard (June 14, 2007)

• Silver Stud Earrings Sold Exclusively at Kmart Recalled by Crimzon Rose Accessories Due to Lead Poisoning Hazard (June 12, 2007)

• Personalized Infant Long Johns Recalled by Personal Creations Due to Choking Hazard (June 7, 2007)

• Lead Poisoning Hazard Prompts Cardinal Distributing to Again Recall Children’s Rings (May 2, 2007)

• Oriental Trading Company Inc. Recalls Children’s Necklaces Due to Lead Hazard (May 2, 2007)

• Payless ShoeSource Recalls Children’s Clog Shoes Due to Choking Hazard (May 2, 2007)

If you or someone you love was injured by any kind of defective product in Maryland or Washington D.C., do not hesitate to contact an experienced products liability attorney right away. You may be eligible to receive compensation for injuries, pain, and suffering.

Payless ShoeSource Recalls Girls’ Boots Due to Fall Hazard, CPSC.gov, October 18, 2007

Clothing Recalls, Product Recalls, Health News

Related Web Resource:

Payless Shoesource

Continue reading "Payless ShoeSource Recalls 90,000 Girls’ Boots From Stores in Maryland, Washington D.C. and Other U.S. States" »

Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, a pediatrician and the Baltimore Health Commissioner told a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel that cough and cold medicines don’t work and are dangerous for children under six years of age. He attributed lax FDA regulations as the reason that pharmaceutical companies are allowed to market drugs to the parents of young children—even though there is no proof that the drugs are effective and there is growing evidence of related illnesses and deaths.

Sharfstein is part of a group of pediatricians trying to convince the FDA to stop drug manufacturers from marketing cough and cold medicines to the parents of young children.

Last week, drug manufacturers voluntarily pulled cold and cough medicines by Tylenol, Little Colds, Triaminic, Pediacare, and Robitussin for infants, toddlers, and young children. Manufacturers cited concerns that parents might give too big a dose to their children who are younger than six years of age. Labels provided on the medicines withdrawn suggest that parents ask a doctor for advice regarding dosage.

The CDC says that since 2005, some 1500 toddlers and infants have been taken to hospital emergency rooms because of an adverse reaction to taking cold medication.
The FDA says that there have been 54 reported infant fatalities attributed to decongestants. Antihistamines reportedly caused 69 child deaths.

Two months ago, federal health officials recommended that the “ask the doctor” directive be replaced with a warning not to give the medication to children younger than 2 unless specifically instructed on how to do so by a pediatrician.

If you suspect that your child may have gotten sick or died because of a dangerous drug or because a drug manufacturer did not provide the correct instructions on the dosage to give your child, you should speak to an experienced products liability attorney in Maryland or Washington D.C.

The drug manufacturer is legally obligated to reasonably protect all consumers and must include safety warnings of any potential side effects. A drug manufacturer can also be held liable for personal injury if it markets the drug in a way that misrepresents it.

Sharfstein makes case to ban cold remedies, Baltimore Sun, October 18, 2007

Child deaths lead to FDA hearing on cough, cold meds, CNN, October 17, 2007

Related Web Resources:

What Parents and Caregivers Need to Know: OTC Cough and Cold Medicines and Children, Consumer Healthcare Products Association

Drug Facts Label

Continue reading "Baltimore Health Commissioner Tells FDA Panel That Cold Medicines Are Dangerous for Children Under Age Six" »

Kraft Foods announced a U.S. recall of its Baker’s Premium White Chocolate Baking Squares. The packaged foods maker cited concerns of possible Salmonella bacteria contamination.

The products affected include the UPC Code 0043000252200 and the best-when-used by dates of:

• 31 MAR 2008 XCZ
• 01 APR 2008 XCZ
• 02 APR 2008 XCZ
• 03 APR 2008 XCZ

The products were distributed across the U.S. The possibility of Salmonella contamination was discovered after the Food and Drug Administration conducted tests and noticed that some of the chocolate packages had Salmonella. Kraft says it is taking aggressive action to discover the source o the problem.

Salmonella
Salmonella is a bacteria that causes infections. Salmonella usually leads to diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps—and in people with a weakened immune system—death. Salmonella is foodborne, and can be spread via people eating contaminated food products.

Beef, milk, poultry, and eggs have been known to contain salmonella. Raw foods can contain salmonella, but cooking a contaminated food properly can kill the salmonella. A food item can also be contaminated with salmonella if the person that prepared their food did not wash their hands after going to the bathroom or already has salmonella and touches the food with their hands.

Nearly 40,000 salmonellosis cases are reported in the U.S. annually. Some 600 people die from salmonella every year. The elderly, young children, and those with weaker immune systems are most likely to contract salmonellosis.

The CDC offers consumers what they can do to avoid salmonella contamination:

• Cook poultry, ground beef, and eggs thoroughly before eating. Do not eat or drink foods containing raw eggs, or raw unpasteurized milk.
• If you are served undercooked meat, poultry or eggs in a restaurant, don't hesitate to send it back to the kitchen for further cooking.
• Wash hands, kitchen work surfaces, and utensils with soap and water immediately after they have been in contact with raw meat or poultry.
• Be particularly careful with foods prepared for infants, the elderly, and the immunocompromised.
• Wash hands with soap after handling reptiles or birds, or after contact with pet feces.
• Avoid direct or even indirect contact between reptiles (turtles, iguanas, other lizards, snakes) and infants or immunocompromised persons.
• Don't work with raw poultry or meat, and an infant (e.g., feed, change diaper) at the same time.
• Mother's milk is the safest food for young infants. Breast-feeding prevents salmonellosis and many other health problems.

Food distributors, producers, and workers are legally obligated to ensure that their food products are not a health threat to consumers. When this obligation is not met, a person who becomes sick, injured, or dies because of the contaminated food product may have grounds to file a products liability claim or lawsuit.

Other common foodborne illnesses that can lead to a products liability case if the contamination is caused by negligence:

• E.coli
• Food poisoning

Kraft recalls white chocolate, CNN.com, October 4, 2007

Kraft Foods Recals Baker's Premium White Chocolate Baking Squares Because of Possible Health Risk, Kraft.com, October 3, 2007

Salmonellosis, CDC.gov

Related Web Resources:

What are Salmonella?, Salmonella.org

Continue reading "Kraft Recalls Baker’s Premium White Chocolate Baking Squares" »

A couple with two children is suing McDonald’s and two Missouri operators for personal injury. They say that they were mislead about the ingredients used to make hash browns and French fries, which resulted in their two children—who have food allergies—from becoming injured.

Mekenzie Miller, 7, and Macauley Miller, 4, experienced stomach problems and other emotional and physical illnesses because they ate McDonald’s French fries, which contains casein and wheat.

Their parents, Frank and Beth Miller, say that they checked the list of ingredients that McDonald’s uses to make French fries prior to letting their children eat them. Neither casein or wheat were on the list. Mekenzie has celiac disease, which is an allergy to wheat and gluten products. Macauley is autistic. Milk, gluten, and wheat can exacerbate his behavioral issues. His parents say that eating the fries set back Macauley’s behavioral therapy.

The lawsuits are being filed against McDonald’s along with 16 other injury cases in Florida. Another federal class action suit has also been filed.

Restaurants, food manufacturers, and food retailers have a responsibility to ensure that the food that they offer consumers will not cause them to become ill or die. A food provider also must ensure that consumers are warned of any potential causes of injury or illness. Failure to do so can be grounds for a products liability claim or lawsuit against any negligent parties.

The FDA mandates that all food producers have to make sure that the food they produce and/or sell is correctly labeled and includes a proper list of nutritional content and ingredients. Any expiration date must be properly listed. All food must not contain any harmful bacteria, toxic substances, or foreign objects inside them.

If you or someone you love has become ill or sustained injuries because of a harmful ingredient in a food item or because the food item was improperly processed, improperly prepared, incorrectly labeled, or contained a harmful substance in it, you should speak with a personal injury lawyer who is experienced in handling products liability cases.

O'Fallon, Mo., couple sue McDonald's over ingredients in fries, STltoday.com, September 25, 2007

Related Web Resources:

McDonald's Lawsuit Timeline, Compassionate Spirit

McDonald's

Continue reading "McDonald’s is Sued Again Over French Fries’ Ingredients" »

The MRL/Welch Allyn AED 20 Automatic External Defibrillators are being recalled. The medical devices are used by medical and emergency personnel to treat pediatric and adult patients that have suffered heart attacks.

Welch Allyn Protocol, Inc. announced the recall. It said that the defibrillators might display a “Defib Comm” error message that would result in the device’s terminal failure to function properly and give an unconscious patient the proper electric shock needed to restore normal heart rhythm.

The FDA is calling this a Class I recall, which is the most serious level of recall and indicates that the product defect could cause wrongful death or serious injury. Medical and emergency personnel are being told to stop using the AED 20 Automatic External Defibrillators right away.

This is not the first recall initiated by Welch Allyn. In June, 580 medical devices were recalled because the internal electrical connection could potentially fail. 30 cases reported the malfunction, which delayed patients’ resuscitation.

If you or someone you love is seriously injured because of a defective medical device, you should speak with a products liability attorney right away.

The manufacturers of medical devices are legally responsible for making sure that their products are safe for use. They have to notify consumers of any possible risks that can result in injury or death. If the manufacturer fails to do so, they can be held liable for any injuries and wrongful deaths. The re-sellers and distributors of defective medical devices can also be held legally responsible.

Every year, thousands of people in the United States are affected by a defective medical device—either through injury, misdiagnosis, medical error, or wrongful death. Aside from this current recall, over 236,000 defective defibrillators have been recalled in the past two years.

Welch Allyn Defibrillators that are part of the recall:

RL/Welch Allyn AED 20 Automatic External Defibrillators, serial numbers between 205787 and 207509

Other defibrillators that have been recalled include defibrillators by Guidant, Medtronic, and St. Jude.

Class I Recall Issued for Welch Allyn Defibrillators, News Inferno, September 18, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Food and Drug Administration

Welch Allyn

Continue reading "Welch Allyn Defibrillators Recalled As Defective Medical Devices" »

Toy company Toys ‘R’ Us and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) say that they are recalling approximately 27,000 Imaginarium wooden coloring cases that were manufactured in China because the ink printed outside the cases have lead. Some of the black watercolor paint used is also said to have very high levels of lead and therefore violates the federal lead paint standards.

The product recall could lead to personal injury claims and products liability lawsuits across the country if anyone becomes seriously ill or dies because of exposure to the lead. So far, no injuries have been reported.

The CPSC says that all consumers should stop using the coloring cases right away. The 213-piece wood cases comes with pastels, crayons, fiber pens, colored pencils, a pencil, a paintbrush, water colors, white paint, a palette, a pencil sharpener, and a ruler.

Some 8,300 wooden art sets have already been sold to customers under the Imaginarium label. The sales occurred between October 2006 and August 2007 at Toys “R” us stores and on the Toys “R” Us Web site. Toys “R” Us said that it had purchased about 27,000 art sets from the company Funtastic.

The product recall comes on the heels of a series of recalls earlier this month by Mattel Inc., which recalled millions of toys made in China because they either contained powerful magnets that could be easily swallowed or were made with excessively high levels of lead paint.

Exposure to lead can be very dangerous for children, especially boys and girls six years of age and under. Results from studies show that lead exposure can result in hyperactivity, ADD, a lower IQ, kidney damage, hearing problems, learning disorders, stunted growth, and behavior problems in children.

Adults exposed to lead have been known to develop muscle and joint pain, fertility problems, higher blood pressure, memory loss, and nerve problems.

If you or someone you love has become injured or sick because of exposure to lead from a defective product, you could have grounds to file a products liability claim against the negligent party. There may even be more than one negligent party that can be held responsible for your personal injury, such as the product manufacturer, the product distributor, the company that marketed the product, and the store that sold the product to you.

CPSC and Toys 'R' Us recall wooden art cases, Marketwatch.com, August 30, 2007

Toys 'R' Us Recalls Chinese Art Sets, Forbes.com/AP, Auugust 30, 2007

Lead Poisoning, NSC.org

Toys "R" Us Recalls Wooden Coloring Cases Due To Violation of Lead Paint Standard, CPSC.gov, August 30, 2007

Corporate Page, Toys "R" Us

Continue reading "Toys ‘R’ Us and Consumer Product Safety Commission Recall Wooden Art Cases Because of Lead Paint Concerns" »

Mattel, the maker of toys, such as Barbie and Dora, is voluntarily recalling nine million toys in the U.S. It is recalling 18.2 million magnetic toys around the world. Toys with magnets that can come off and are easily swallowed are among the toys being recalled.

Polly Pocket accessories and Polly Pocket Dolls make up 7 million of the toys being recalled. 680,000 Barbie and Tanner play sets, 1 million Doggie Daycare sets, and nearly 350,000 Batman and One Piece magnetic action figures are also being recalled.

The toys were manufactured between May 2003 and November 2006. Some accident reports name children who were seriously injured after they swallowed more than one magnet. Three children had to have surgery because they suffered internal perforations caused by the magnets sticking to each other.

Some 253,000 “Sarge” die-cast toys related to the movie “Cars” by Pixar were recalled because of dangerous levels of lead in the paint. Any “Sarge” toys that are recalled were sold between May 2007 and August 2007.

Mattel says it is going to review its testing procedures, which it claims are already very strict. It is the second recall for the toy company in two weeks.

Fisher-Price, another Mattel Company, recalled 1.5 million toys that had been manufactured in China because of lead paint concerns. Diego and Dora character, as well as Big Bird and Elmo characters were included in the recall.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the National SAFE KIDS Campaign offer a number of 2003 statistics involving children and toy-related injuries, including:

Injury and death rates:
• Approximately 155,400 children, ages 14 and under, were treated at hospital emergency rooms for toy-related injuries in 2003. Nearly half of the children treated for these injuries were ages 4 and under.
• Most toy-related injuries do not require hospitalization (97 percent), however, in 2003, 11 children died due to toy-related injuries.

Causes:
• Injury from non-powered scooters is the leading cause of toy-related death.
• Sixty-four percent of toy-related deaths in 2003 were due to choking. About 71 percent of those deaths were attributed to toy balls.

Other causes of toy-related deaths include drowning, suffocation, and riding toy accidents (such as when a child is hit by a motor vehicle while riding a toy, or when the child rides a toy into a body of water).

A person who is injured because of a dangerous or defective toy or any other dangerous/defective product could have grounds to file a products liability claim or lawsuit against the negligent party.

Mattel recalls 9 million toys in U.S., CNN, August 14, 2007

Toy Safety - Injury Statistics and Incidence Rate, ChildrenSNYP.org

Related Web Resources:

List of Toys in Mattel Recall, Forbes.com, August 14, 2007

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Continue reading "Mattel Voluntarily Recalls 9 Million Toys" »

More than 70 people have joined together to sue ConAgra Foods for personal injury. ConAgra is the packaged food company that produces some of the jars of Peter Pan Peanut Butter and Great Value Peanut Butter. Other individual lawsuits are also pending.

ConAgra has agreed to a recall of the jars of peanut butter, but says that the connection between its products and a salmonella outbreak in its peanut butter jars has not been proven.

The Food and Drug Administration is telling anyone who has a jar of Great Value (product code 2111) or Peter Pan peanut butter that has been purchased anytime since October 2004 to throw the peanut butter out.

Only one plant in Georgia is said to have been the cause of the salmonella-infected peanut butter jars. ConAgra is asking people who throw out their jars of peanut butter to keep the lids for a full refund.

Every year, about 50,000 salmonella infection cases are reported, with 600 people dying from salmonella poisoning. Children are especially susceptible to the illness because of their underdeveloped immune system, and kids ages 4 and under make up 30% of reported salmonella incidents.

A foodborne sickness that comes from the salmonella bacteria in animals, salmonella infection can be transmitted in water, soil, raw meats, eggs, and animal feces. Vomiting, fever, headaches, abdominal cramps, diarrhea (sometimes with blood), and other symptoms can occur in kids with salmonella if they aren’t treated. Later symptoms can include a “rose spotted” skin rash, an enlarged liver or spleen, and a stronger chance of becoming ill with pneumonia or meningitis.

If you have been injured or become ill because of a manufactured product, you may be able to file a products liability claim. A manufacturer, producer, or seller can be held liable in a product liability lawsuit for placing a defective or dangerous product into the marketplace and making available it available to consumers.

In products liability claims, products can refer to many kinds of products, including:
• Food
• Medical tools
• Construction tools
• Machines
• Medicines
• Weapons
• Toys
• Trucks
• Cars
• Bicycles
• Clothes
• Toxic substances
• Household appliances
• Household products
• Motorcycles

Legal grounds for filing a product liability claim after someone has been injured or killed because of a dangerous product can include:

• Negligence in design, manufacturing, testing, or marketing
• Breach of warranty if seller did not uphold their warranty guarantee
• Misrepresentation that a product is other than what it is or less dangerous than it is—resulting in injury or death by consumers
• Strict liability, holding the manufacturer or the seller liable for the injuries caused by the product defect

Continue reading "Peter Pan Peanut Butter And Great Value Peant Butter Recall Leads To Personal Injury Lawsuits" »

Howard County Police Chief William J. McMahon wants the County Council to repeal a law banning the use of stun guns because he wants to equip several of his officers with Tasers.

The handheld stun gun incapacitates a person for five seconds by shooting probes into that person’s skin. Several high profile reports regarding the misuse of stun guns, however, have caused policy makers to be very cautious when considering approving their use.

For example, a taser gun was used on a 6-year-old school boy at his school’s office in Miami, while a police officer in Orlando, Florida used a stun gun on a suspect who was chained to a hospital bed and was not a threat to the officer. Taser International, the company that supplies Taser stun guns, is facing about 50 personal injury and product liability lawsuits.

According to Amnesty International, approximately 61 people died in the US in 2005 after being shocked with a Taser repeatedly.

Last August, Taser International settled class action lawsuits with its shareholders for approximately $20 million. Its shareholders accused the company of exaggerating its product's safety. However, the Company did not admit to any wrongdoing.

Hudson County Police Chief McMahon says he believes that with the proper training, misuse by police officers can be prevented.

The personal injury lawfirm of Lebowitz and Mzhen represents clients who have been injured due to someone else’s negligence in personal injury and products liability lawsuits.

Personal injury claims and lawsuits happen when a person is injured by someone else’s careless or intentionally negligent act. If a person is deemed legally responsible for injuring another person, then they are liable for causing the injury and may be required to compensate the injured person for the damage caused. Compensatory damages are intended to help a person recover from their injury and pay their medical and recovery costs so that they may, to the best extent possible, be restored to the same condition and quality of life that they had before the accident. Punitive damages may also be awarded in a personal injury case. The monetary award is intended to punish the person responsible for the injury.

A person who is injured using a product that is damaged or dangerous may be able to file a products liability lawsuit. The lawsuit can be brought against any company or person that was involved in making or distributing the product. A court may order compensatory or punitive damages in a products liability lawsuit.

Continue reading "Howard County Police Chief Wants County Council To Approve Use Of Tasers By Officers " »

In one of the many thousands of products liability Vioxx-related lawsuits that have been brought against Merck and Co., a Texas judge upheld a ruling that held the pharmaceutical company responsible for the death of Leonel Garza.

Garza died in 2001 from a heart attack believed to have been caused by taking Vioxx. Last April, a jury ruled that Merck was liable and awarded Garza’s family $32 million in damages. Judge Alex Gabert, however, said that the award amount violated Texas’s strict limit on compensatory and punitive damages. He reduced the damage amount to $8.7 million.

Merck plans to ask for a new trial because of information revealing that there had been a financial relationship between Felicia Garza, Leonel’s widow, and one of the jury members responsible for the original verdict.

The victory is good news for other Vioxx plaintiffs because it showed that a court had agreed that even short-term use of Vioxx can lead to severe side effects. More than 27,000 lawsuits have been filed against Merck. A New Orleans federal judge, however, said plaintiffs could not file a class action lawsuit and that each case had to be filed separately. Merck has won most of its cases thus far.

The pharmaceutical company had pulled the drug from the shelf in 2004 after a study revealed that long-term use of the drug can double a patient’s risk of a coronary event.

Continue reading "Vioxx Decision Upheld But Reduced As Merck & Co. Is Ordered To Pay Widow $8.7 Million Instead of $32 Million" »

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says that defective products cause more than 29.5 million injuries and close to 22,000 deaths in the US each year.

Some reasons for why a manufactured product might be defective:

- design defects
- defective manufacturing
- inadequate testing
- marketing misrepresentation – includes confusing, difficult to follow instructions and incomplete warning labels

Products liability cases are often filed in state court.

Below is a sample of a Products Liability Complaint for the Maryland State Courts. We have redacted the party names, but you can see that in this particular case we filed in (1) Strict Liability, (2) Negligence, and (3) Under Warranty.

Download Sample Products Liability Complaint

If you have been injured because of a defective product, you may have a products liability case on your hands and be eligible for compensation. A personal injury lawyer can assist you.