Product Liability

On December 15, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the window covering industry recalled more than 50 million Roman-style shades and roll-up blinds because of the risk children may be strangled by the cords. According to an article by the Associated Press, the CPSC said five deaths and 16 near-strangulations from Roman shades have been reported since 2006, while three deaths connected to roll-up bli [...]

On November 24, the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) promised swift action to get dangerous products off the market. According to an Associated Press article that appeared on Philly.com, the CPSC chairman acknowledged that her agency did not move quickly enough on a record recall of 2.1 million cribs linked to four infant suffocations. The recall involves drop-side cribs made by Stork Craft M [...]

A new study raises new concerns about Zetia and Vytorin, drugs taken by millions of Americans to lower cholesterol. According to an article by the Associated Press on Philly.com, Zetia failed to shrink buildups in artery walls while a rival drug, Niaspan, did so significantly. Zetia users also suffered more heart attacks and other problems although the numbers of these events were too small to draw firm conclusions [...]

Federal health regulators have found tiny particles of trash in drugs made by Genzyme, a biotechnology company. This is the second time this year the company has been cited for contamination issues. According to an Associated Press article, on November 13, the Food and Drug Administration said that bits of steel, rubber, and fiber found in vials of drugs used to treat rare enzyme disorders could cause serious adver [...]

On November 17, federal health officials said that a popular variety of heartburn medications can interfere with the blood thinner Plavix, a drug taken by millions of Americans to reduce risks of heart attack and stroke. The Associated Press reported in an article that the Food and Drug Administration said the drugs Prilosec and Nexium cut in half the blood-thinning effect of Plavix, known generically as clopidogre [...]

On November 9, about a million Maclaren strollers sold by Target and Babies “R” Us were recalled after 12 reports of children having their fingertips amputated by a hinge mechanism. According to an Associated Press article, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said the recall includes all nine models of single and double umbrella Maclaren strollers (Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, [...]

The family of a Connecticut woman who died after her chenille bathrobe caught on fire has filed a federal lawsuit against a Pennsylvania-based retailer. According to an article by the Associated Press on Philly.com, attorneys for the estate of an 80-year-old woman filed suit last week in U.S. District Court in Hartford, CT against Blair LLC. They are claiming wrongful death and product liability and are seeking $30 [...]

A Philadelphia jury is weighing punitive damages against drugmaker Wyeth. According to an article by the Associated Press, there is link between the Illinois woman’s breast cancer and the hormone-replacement drug she took. The woman’s case is one of many Prempro lawsuits to go to trial out of several thousand filed across the country. About 1,500 are pending in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia jury awarded $3.7 [...]

A Philadelphia jury awarded $2.5 million to a woman from Bensalem. The jury found that Paxil had caused heart problems in her 3-year-old son who required several surgeries after his birth to fix his heart. They ruled out additional punitive damages. The case was the first of about 600 lawsuits to go to trial on claims that the GlaxoSmithKline’s Paxil antidepressant caused birth defects in children whose mothers [...]

A bankruptcy court judge overseeing certain Chrysler assets approved a $24 million settlement in the death of a California longshoreman run over by a Dodge pickup. According to an article, the settlement comes more than two years after a Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded damages of more than $55 million to a deceased man’s family. The family argued the automaker had failed to fix and adequately warn consume [...]