Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

Really? Et tu, Ferrari? After just a week of investigation, Ferrari confirms 458 fires in its cars and will recall 1,248 Ferrari models. A Ferrari spokesman said, “”When the car is driven to high exhaust temperatures, in hot ambient temperatures, the adhesive used in the wheel arch assemblies can overheat and allow the rear wheel housing heat shields to move around. In extreme cases, the glue can begin to smoke and even catch fire.” Driving a Ferrari in hot temperatures? You could argue, ah, that is foreseeable. Ever catch a Ferrari in St. Paul in January? Me neither.

DePuy finally announced a recall of two DePuy ASR hip replacements because, simply put, they are inferior to better products on the market and had a woeful record of success, causing pain for many patients and requiring many to have revisionary surgery for a second hip replacement. A hip replacement is a serious thing. Getting a second hip replacement is that much more difficult and poses greater risks of complication and decreases the chance of a quality outcome.

So, what is a DePuy hip replacement patient to do? This is the Hobson's choice. There is no easy answer. But DePuy is right at least on this score: anyone with a DePuy hip replacement system should see their doctors and figure out what their best options are, even if they are not having problems with the hip replacement thus far. The fact that these DePuy hip replacements have been recalled and are defective does not mean that every replacement will fail.

DePuy claims after this recall that they are going to try to make things right. Maybe they will. But if you think you have a potential claim, you should contact a product liability lawyer before accepting any compensation or making any agreement to make sure your rights are fully protected if you have had a DePuy ASR hip replacement. Because DePuy's idea of justice and what justice really is are likely to be two very different things.

If you believe you may have a potential DePuy hip implant lawsuit, our lawyers are now investigating these claims. Call 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation.

• News of DePuy Hip Replacement Recall
• March 12th Post on DePuy Hip Replacement Lawsuits
• More on DePuy Hip Implant Claims
• Zimmer Hip Implants

Ford has issued a recall for over half a million Ford Windstar vans, model years 1998 through 2003. The recall stems from a high level of erosion of the rear axle, particularly in cold regions of the country where there is a lot of salt placed on the road to combat snow and ice. Ford fears that the rear axle may fracture from corrosion. There have been approximately 1,000 reports of this concern.

Ford has stopped making the Windstar, presumably for reasons other than the rear axle concerns that precipitated this recall.

The Baltimore Sun reports on a ground beef recall on meat sold at 26 BJ's Wholesale Clubs, including the BJ's in White Marsh outside of Baltimore. The culprit once again: possible E. Coli contamination.

It is not a huge recall: 8,500 pounds of ground beef have been recalled. The Department of Agriculture reports that the ground beef has an identifying product code of W69032 and carries the establishment number EST.9400 inside the USDA mark of inspection. (Please don't ask me what an establishment number is. I've never head of it.)

The ground beef was produced on June 11, 2010 and has an "eat or freeze by" date of July 1st. As the Baltimore Sun article points out, the Food Safety and Inspection Service said people who buy from BJ's often buy in bulk to eat the food much later.

I don't expect to see a lot of lawsuits from this recalled ground beef because the volume is relatively low and it sounds like the people who have gotten sick from it are doing well. But, stating the manifestly obvious: if you bought ground beef from BJ's, make sure it is not subject to this recall.

This is the Baltimore Sun article.

A recall was issued for a frozen fruit bar after a possible outbreak of typhoid fever in California. Fruiti Pops has recalled its mamey fruit bars. Mamey or zapote (zah-POH'-teh), is a popular fruit in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mamey frozen bars in California, Arizona or Texas since May 2009, may be contaminated. Fruiti Pops says retail stores, ice cream trucks and vending machines sold the frozen fruit bars subject to the recall. The bars have the UPC number 763734000097.

There have been no illness reported as of yet. But, as I understand it, typhoid fever comes largely from contact with human feces from an infected person. Mere garden variety human feces is not enough which has the mamey fruit bar addict wonder how much feces they have eaten before finally getting some with typhoid. Then, again, I think we would all be beyond terrified if we knew what we ate every day.

DePuy has issued a recall for hip replacement parts already implanted in 93,000 patients. The DePuy recall was prompted by continued problems with these hip replacements. These problems include the need for additional surgery from loosening parts, fractures, dislocations, and sensitivity to metal and pain. To say the least, these are troubling complications for someone who already had to deal with the trauma of needing a hip replacement in the first place. For victims of this defective DePuy hip replacement, it is insult on top of injury because, obviously, it is a little hard to actually recall a hip implant.

DePuy is owned by Johnson and Johnson, which has had more than it's share of problems lately. What is frustrating about this recall is that the product was withdrawn from the Australian market almost a year ago, ostensibly as the result of problems with the implants.

Many doctors, industry experts and, more importantly, patients are questioning why DePuy did not recall the DePuy ASR hip replacement system because it had a design defect that made it difficult to implant the hip replacement device properly. It seems clear now that the DePuy ASR cups were designed too shallow. It is hard not to ask the question: did J&J put profits over people without properly testing whether the device would be safe and as good as other hip replacement options already on the market?

If you believe you may have a potential DePuy hip implant lawsuit, our lawyers are now investigating these claims. Call 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation.

• March 12th Post on DePuy Hip Replacement Lawsuits
• More on DePuy Hip Implant Claims
• Zimmer Hip Implants

Popcorn lung, or broncheolitis obliterans, is a disease that can lead to severe lung damage and other ailments. There are a number of causes of popcorn lung. The most common cause is not eating popcorn but inhaling the "almost butter" flavoring in popcorn called diacetyl. Not surprisingly, the most serious cases of popcorn lung often involve popcorn factory workers. Many of these workers do not know they have popcorn lung because this disease is often misdiagnosed as asthma or emphysema because the symptoms are so similar.

With respect to these popcorn factory workers, the allegations against the defendants is that they did not provide warnings when they knew the risk to workers, specifically the risk of severe respiratory disease. Equally troubling is that there were practical and technically feasible alternatives to diacetyl that would have prevented the harm without significantly impairing the usefulness, desirability, or marketability of their products.

There is always an issue getting post distribution evidence admitted at trial but it certainly can be used if defendants deny feasibility because now all of the large makers of microwave popcorn have reformulated their recipes to get rid of diacetyl.

If you believe you may have a potential popcorn lung lawsuit, call one of our lawyers at 800-883-8082 or get a free online consultation.

Williams-Sonmoa has issued a recall for approximately 11,000 Beaba Express Steam Bottle Warmers. The recall stems from a concern about possible overheating of the bottles that could cause a risk both to infants and their parents. So far, there have been 10 reports of problems.

If you are using the a Beaba Express Steam Bottle Warmers you should stop and contact Williams-Sonoma.

I am unaware of any reports of serious injury. I don't think we know now whether we are talking about overheating as in "wow, this is way too hot!" or overheating as in third degree burns that can cause serious injury. Either way, I would suspect the risk is largely to parents who can feel the bottle before they pass along to their children.

Zemco has issued a recall of approximately 380,000 pounds of deli meat products for fear the meat may contain listeriosis, a rare bacterial infection that can cause meningitis. Particularly vulernable are smaller children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems.

The meat - apparently roast beef and ham that sold at Walmart delis catessens nationwide. The recalled meat was labeled as Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches.

Apparently, most of this meat has already been consumed. No injuries have been reported.

An egg recall has been issued for 228 million eggs that may have salmonella. This egg recall comes from Wright County Egg in Iowa that sells eggs to the following brands: Lucerne (Safeway), Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph's, Boomsma's, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms, and Kemps.

Eggs are have plant numbers on the carton (I did not know this, either). The plant numbers that are subject to the egg recall are P-1026, P-1413, and P-1946. The dates for the recall (which are set in "Julian format," something else I have never heard are) range from 136 to 225.

This is the CBS News report on the egg recall.

August 21, 2010 Update: This egg recall is far more serious than originally thought. Here are the details from CNN.

Kentucky joins the "no texting while driving" fold. The law does not have a lot of teeth: if you are caught texting while driving you will only get a warning. Next year, Kentucky will up the ante to $25 for the first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses. Yes, it is weak. But it is a start. The most important thing about the texting law is not the enforcement but in getting the word out that texting and driving is a dangerous cocktail.

A jury in Massachusetts found that a nursing home was negligent in causing an eye injury, awarding $400,000 for the Plaintiff's pain and suffering during the 45 days between the injury and his death. They did not find that the injury caused his death.

The Plaintiff's nursing home neglect lawyer said he thought the verdict was high given that the victim was so old. This attorney did a great job, I'm sure, securing this verdict and should be commended for taking the case. But I don't think it was a "high" verdict. Who would trade $400,000, that they don't get, to spend their final 45 days in misery?

This nursing home verdict never would have been possible if a trial judge had not vacated an arbitration agreement the patient executed when he was 91 years old and suffering delusions. The nursing home arbitration agreement had sought to prevent his estate from filing a civil suit if killed or injured by the nursing home's negligence.

A lawyer for the nursing home calls the arbitration agreement "voluntary." I could not disagree more.

Here is the story on the case.