Product Liability

A 2002 Ford Escape parked in a Ford of Ocala dealership repair lot spontaneously burst into flames, taking out five other vehicles before local fire crews could put out the conflagration. The Escape had been recalled due to two problems with the antilock brake system. One of the recall notices detailed how the master cylinder reservoir cap could leak brake fluid onto the ABS module wiring harness — a problem that [...]

Prescription and over-the-counter medications are an important and necessary part of many people’s lives. For some, their state of health completely relies on medication. But what if that medication does more harm than good? What is Pradaxa? One of the most recent drugs to be scrutinized for its dangerous and potentially fatal side effects is the blood thinner Pradaxa, which was developed by the Boehringer Ingelh [...]

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC), in conjunction with Todson, Inc., has announced a voluntary recall for their bicycle child carrier seat, which affects an estimated 40,000 units. The name of the recalled product, manufactured in Taiwan, is the Topeak Babyseat II Bicycle Carrier Seats made by the Massachusetts-based company. A child can place his or her fingers in the opening at the grab bar’ [...]

A supplier of raw tuna in California has been linked to an outbreak of salmonella that has sickened 100 people in 20 states. The yellowfish tuna product, known as Nakaochi Scrape, was used to make dishes like sashimi and sushi in stores and restaurants across the nation, according to The Wall Street Journal. Due to contamination concerns, Moon Marine USA Corp., based in Cupertino, California, has begun the salmonel [...]

In what can only be described as another black eye for beleaguered corporate giant Johnson & Johnson, an Arkansas judge has fined the company $1.1 billion over the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. A jury found that Johnson & Johnson, and its subsidiary, Jansenn Pharmaceuticals Inc., defrauded the Medicaid program by downplaying and hiding the risks associated with the antipsychotic drug. The two companies were [...]

Odwalla Inc. has announced that it has issued a nationwide recall of its Chocolate Protein Monster beverages after receiving several reports of severe allergic reactions to the drink. The bottles of the drink to be pulled have “enjoy by dates” before and including May 23, and were distributed for the past seven weeks to retail food stores and on-premises foodservice establishments. Odwalla, which is a unit of t [...]

Many American consumers have been cautious of Chinese imports since a series of safety scares in 2007 and 2008. That’s when contaminants were found in toothpaste, pet food, seafood, and the blood thinner Heparin. The Heparin contamination — that eventually resulted in 81 deaths and 785 injuries in the United States — was at first discounted by Chinese officials who claimed that the contamination had occurred [...]

In the wake of a recent disturbing report that appeared in the British medical journal Lancet concerning the high failure rate of metal-on-metal (MoM) hip replacements, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it will hold hearings in June to determine the risks and benefits of the devices. In May of 2011, the FDA told manufacturers of MoM hip systems that it wanted them to collect more safety data on [...]

It was in December of 2010 that St. Jude Medical stopped selling its Riata wires that were used to connect defibrillators to the heart. A year later, St. Jude sent a medical device advisory letter to physicians warning about problems with the defibrillation leads — problems the Food And Drug Administration (FDA) took so seriously that it ordered a Class I recall of defibrillators — the FDA’s most serious reca [...]

The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced the voluntary recall of some 900,000 child safety locks because of reports that young children could open them. The locks, produced by Dorel Juvenile Group (DJG) Inc., of Columbus, Ind., were designed to prevent children from getting into cabinets that store potentially dangerous household products and other items. The CPSC recall states that Dorel r [...]