Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

There have been questions about whether there will be a recall of the Jeep Wrangler after 615 complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about fuel spillage problems in the 2007 and 2008 Jeep Wrangler. Reportedly, the problem is that when you refuel the Jeep Wrangler gas spills from the tank because the mechanism that turns off the gas pump, that we are all familiar with, does not work. As a result, there is nothing that stops the fuel from spilling over onto the ground, all over the car or even on the person doing the refueling, once the tank is full. NHTSA received so many complaints that the agency opened up its own investigation in August 2010 to look into the matter.

Chrysler maintains that this problem is only when the plastic o-ring on the inlet check valve swells from receiving a fuel with a concentration of ethanol that is more than 10 percent.

I don't know the answer. Either way, I don't expect many or even any injuries from this. The possibility of a recall might be of great interest to consumer protection lawyers but is not on the radar screen of product liability lawyers.

Taylor Farms Pacific has issued a recall for broccoli sold at supermarkets on the West Coast because it may be contaminated.with the bacteria listeria monocytogenes. This bacteria can cause deadly infections.

Johnson & Johnson will recall 667,632 boxes of Sudafed. Incredibly, J&J adds to its folly of recalls with a typo. On some boxes of Sudafed PE, the word “not” occurs twice in the instructions, a double-negative that turns a prohibition into a suggestion: “do not not divide, crush, chew, or dissolve the tablet.” This recall is for Sudafed 24 Hour, Pseudoephedrine HCl, Extended – Release Tablets, 10 count, 240 mg each.

There is more information on the Sudafed recall on their website. It takes forever to load. Shocker.

This Sudafed recall is really just a silly typo that is unlikely to cause anyone harm. But what a microcosm of J&J which continues to find new and creative ways to poison its image.

Most of these recalls are PR nightmares but relatively harmless to consumers. But if a drug and device company is screwing up the little things, it is screwing up big things. Look no further than the DePuy hip implants.

J&J was an industry titan, the drug company everyone else wanted to be. Right now, that memory is as distant as Charlie Sheen in season 2 of "Two and a Half Men." But was Charlie Sheen a mess 8 years ago and we just didn't realize the extent of it? Probably. Was J&J putting patients at risk and got lucky and most of it never surfaced? I have no idea.

• Wall Street Journal on Sudafed recall.
• Examiner article on Sudafed recall

The New York Times Blog provides some back story of interest regarding the Ford F-150 recall. Ford realized it had a problem with its air-bag wiring that caused airbags to inadvertently deploy in 2006. So Ford smartly made a mid-year model change in its airbags. Under federal law, if an automaker knows of a safety problem, it has to let the feds know within 5 days. Yet Ford stayed mum which, arguably, exposes Ford to potential civil penalties for failure to step up and acknowledge the problem.

Ford is really coming back and I'm rooting for them. I think they will make it all the way back. But this kinda junk does not help.

According to a recently published Jury Verdict Research study, the average verdict in a personal injury lawsuit in Florida is $1,732,150. Huge and almost invariably uncollectable verdicts, because of caps on a defendant's ability to pay, and overturned verdicts inflate the average to a number that is really no longer meaningful. The better measure, the median verdict, was $149,411.

The breakdown of the injuries relative to the verdicts in the study were interesting:

Spinal Disc Injury: 24%
Spinal Nerve Injury: 9%
Fatality: 7% (the median jury verdict in a death case in Florida is $2,718,372)
Knee Injury: 6%
Back and Neck Strains: 6%

B.O.B has announced a recall of over 350,000 B.O.B. jogging strollers. The concern is a defective design that can cause strangulation of the child in the jogging stroller.

A drawstring on the stroller may potentially get wrapped around the child. One child was reported to have been almost strangled. If you are running fast with a jogging stroller, you typically are not going to be overly attentive to the child because (1) you are running fast, (2) you are tired, and (3) you just assume the child is safe.

What do you do if you have one of these jogging strollers subject to this recall? Most of the burden falls on you. Naturally. The CPSC recommends that consumers with these recalled jobbing strollers immediately stop using them and remove the drawstring. Stroller owners with the Weather Shield or Sun Shield accessory can contact B.O.B. Trailers for a free canopy retrofit kit. Instructions for removing the drawstring and how to obtain the retrofit kits are available here.

Continue reading " Jogging Stroller Recall " »

Toyota and recalls are becoming synonomous. Toyota has issued a recall of over two million Toyotas to deal with the longstanding problem of accelerator pedals that can become entrapped in floor mats or jammed in the carpeting.

There has been concern about this for some time now. In 2009, NHTSA had noted the continued concern about "accelerator pedal clearance issues which provide the potential for an accelerator pedal to get stuck in the full open position." NHTSA has also noted the obvious: a stuck accelerator plus high vehicles equal car accidents that can cause serious injuries or death.

Toyota has issued this recall before but it did not include enough cars. This recall includes: about 600,000 4Runner SUVs from the 2003-2009 model years; 761,000 RAV4 compact SUVs from the 2006-2010 model years; 17,000 Lexus LX 570s from the 2008-2011 model years; 372,000 RX 330, RX 350 and RX 400H vehicles from the 2004 through early 2007 model years; and 397,000 2004-2006 Toyota Highlander SUVs and hybrid versions. The recall will replace floor carpet covering and retention clips on the driver's side that are probably the cause of these pedals getting stuck.

Continue reading " Toyota Recall: Floor Mats and Pedals " »

A Montana jury awarded $1.7 million in a wrongful death misdiagnosis case. Plaintiffs' medical malpractice lawsuit alleged that a Billings internal medicine doctor misdiagnosed their husband/father's heart valve condition. Plaintiffs claimed - and the jury agreed - that the doctor should have diagnosed the condition and referred the man to a specialist. The man died a year after seeing the doctor. Plaintiffs' theory of the case was that had the diagnosis been made in a timely fashion as the ordinary, prudent doctor would have done, the death could have been avoided with a heart valve transplant.

I don't know about the nuance of facts. That's a tough claim, the "could have gotten a heart valve transplant" case. But plaintiffs' malpractice lawyers made the claim stick.

Ford announced it would recall almost 150,000 Ford F-150 trucks to fix air bags that may deploy for no reason without warning. The recall is for F-150s trucks from the 2005-2006 model years.

Ford's recall stops short of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's request that Ford recall 1.3 million F-150s. NHTSA said in a memo last year that it had learned of 238 cases of air bags improperly deploying in the F-150 that caused 77 injuries. Ford fixed the problem in production but, until now, left the trucks on the road without a recall.

This is not the first report of problems in the Ford F-150. Earlier this month, Ford issued a recall for 280,000 F-150 pickup trucks. That recall was to repair a handle defect which could allow the F-150s doors to open in the event of a car crash that hit the F-150 in the side, most commonly a t-bone accident. That recall was for Ford F-150s built between January 18, 2008 through November 30, 2009.

UPDATE: Recall Expanded to 1.2 Million on April 15th.

The Supreme Court ruled a few hours ago to give vaccine manufacturers virtual immunity from liability from liability in a 6-2 decision. The Drug Recall Lawyer Blog provides analysis of the opinion.

Recreational Equipment is recalling 160 Novara Fusion bicycles after a report of a problem with the steerer tube detaching. No injuries have been reported.

The Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog has the Bizarro Stella Awards for the most ridiculous verdicts.

As reported in the Tennessean today, Tennessee juries last year awarded a grand total of $92 million, according to the 2009-10 Annual Report of the Tennessee Judiciary. The average jury verdict was $400,359 last year.

Apparently, this is in civil jury cases altogether. It would have been helpful to breakup Tennessee personal injury cases so we don't lump injury cases in with contract disputes. Jury Verdict Research would suggest that the median personal injury verdict in Tennessee is under $18,000. The median is a lot less sexy number but it is far more telling of the actual picture.

General Motors has issued a recall of approximately 44,000 Cadillac CTS models, manufactured during 2009 and 2010, because a rear-suspension problem could cause Caddy drivers to lose control of their car.

GM says about the Cadillac CTS that “a wax coating on the rear suspension toe link jam nuts may allow the nut(s) to loosen.” If you have a Cadillac CTS and the nut did loosen, theoretically you would hear it. But if you don't or you ignore it, the rear wheel could turn inboard or outboard and the driver may not be able to control the car, obviously potentially causing a car accident.

Cadillac dealerships will clean the wax from the rear-suspension toe link and install two new jam nuts or replace the entire toe link at no charge.

It is ironic that with the car industry now making a comeback, there seem to be more car recalls than ever.

Medical malpractice is a hot issue in Montana as its legislature considers various malpractice related bills.

What struck me in this article is this quote:

Robert Stears, a diagnostic radiologist from Billings, said he gets calls from doctors far too often that end with "Bob I'm sorry I had to order this test. I know it's going to be normal, but you know how it is."
Stears said covering bases in his line of work often means exposing patients to undue radiation for tests that have a one-in-a-thousand probability of finding an illness.

So our friend Bob agrees to expose patients to undue radiation because he wants to help the referring doctor cover himself to avoid a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Bob, do you realize what you are admitting here? Other than me, does anybody?

Honda - really? Honda? - has issued a recall of approximately 700,000 carsdue to defective valve motion springs in some 2009-2010 Fit, Freed and City Honda models. The problem is springs are wearing out and breaking, causing the car's engine to stall and thus, the recall. Honda called the problem "lack of lubrication where the lost motion spring retainer contacts the rocker arm.” Worst case scenario, these Honda's may stall and the engine cannot be restarted.

Honda has received approximately 100 complaints of this problem but there have been no car accidents or injuries reported. I doubt there will be any car accidents from this but if you have one of these Hondas, don't take a chance. Get it fixed. About 100,000 of the Honda's in this recall are in the United States.

IKEA has announced a voluntary recall of their Singlar baby crib after concerns that some of the bolts under the mattress of some of the cribs were not long enough and could result in the mattress collapsing. A relatively minor problem for and adult for even a child but a collapsed mattress can cause an infant to suffocate.

Parents are advised to check bolts under the mattresses to ensure that they are not too short. So if the bolt is too short, people are advised to stop using the crib immediately.

This to me makes little sense. Are we really relying on parents to check bolts? If you have put my child at risk, shouldn't you fix it instead of offering a free repair kit? Now all of a sudden, you are making your mistake my problem. I think in almost every case, you should either recall the product or not recall the product. Having parents redo bolts sounds like a problem creator as opposed to a solution. Look, I could be wrong about this. I don't have all of the facts. But, ultimately, as a parent, I would just want to buy a new crib.

• Car seat recall (earlier this week)
• Baby monitor recall (earlier this week)
• Swing set recall (last week)
• Another baby crib recall (two weeks ago)

Family Dollar stock is on fire. So are Dollar General's heaters.

Dollar General announced the recall of 92,000 portable heaters that may overheat and catch fire. The heater have caused damage to wall outlets and floors of homes, but, thankfully, no injuries have been reported yet.

Disney has announced a recall of 1,200 children's watches sold at U.S. Disney resorts. Disney said their light-up watches "can cause skin irritation and/or burning sensations to children who are allergic to nickel." This recall includes such Disney legends (at least in my house) like Buzz Lightyear, Tinker Bell and Lightning McQueen brand light-up watches. A tracking code is engraved on the back of the watch: K130-6377-7-10187.

Six children reportedly suffered a reaction of some sort.

The Accident Injury Lawyer Blog continues it surge up the list of top legal blogs. This blog now ranks 38th on the list of lawyer blogs created by Avvo, which is based on the Alexa rankings. I believe - you can check for yourself - it is the most trafficked personal injury lawyer blog in the country.

Please keep reading, adding us to your Twitter/Facebook, and sharing with others you think my find the information we provide of some interest.

This is your crazy story of the day: lawyer in Iowa was suspended from practicing law for 18 months for having sex with a client. Here are the salacious facts:

• The client was being represented in a custody battle.
• The sex began a few days after her release from a mental facility.
• She filed a bar complaint against him.
• After the bar complaint was filed, they had sex in a courthouse library.
• They got married.

Actually, if I were deciding this case, I would consider it a mitigating factor if they had stayed married, buying into the "Hey, she was the one" theory. But the marriage was just to improve her standing in the custody case and lasted only six weeks.

I'm not very judgmental about these kinds of things. But, boy, 18 months seems like a light sentence. This woman was coming literally straight from a mental institution. It is the classic textbook example of why sex with clients is a no-no in the first place. If this happened in Maryland, this guy would be looking for another career.

Dorel Juvenile (DJG) has just issued a major car seat recall. Nearly 800,000 car seats manufactured between May 2008 and April 2009 are included in this recall.

This car seat recall applies to the following car seats: Convertible child restraints Alpha Omega, Alpha Omega Elite, Enspira, Priori, Prospect, and Vantage. The recall also includes child restraints Mico and OnBoard.

The problem with these car seats, according to the feds, is that the release button does not return to the locked position. If the button is not locked, the harness adjustment strap can slip back through the adjuster as a child moves around, causing a loose harness which does not protect the child properly if there is a car accident.

Recalled seats by model number include: 22077, 22078, 22148, 22149, 22150, 22152, 22154, 22155, 22158, 22159, 22172, 22177, 22178, 22185, 22188, 22195, 22356, 22371, 22372, 22412, 22439, 22452, 22453, 22456, 22458, 22459, 22462, 22465, 22469, 22476, 22486, 22546, 22547, 22553, 22554, 22561, 22564, 22567, 22574, 22580, 22657, 22740, 22741, 22755, 22758, 22759, 22790, 22799, 22880, 22560, 22346, 17439, 22449, 22475, and IC072.

Ready for DJG to fix your defective child car seat that is part of this recall? Too bad. DJG is not offering to fix their defective product, but they will supply you with a remedy kit so you can make the repairs to their defective product. My child was put at risk by your product and now I have to fix it? Ah, okay.

To get this repair kit, call DJG at 1-866-623-3139. I'm sure the operators there are having an enjoyable day.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals decided an interesting medical malpractice case addressing the bar plaintiffs’ malpractice lawyers must clear when presenting a certificate of merit that will survive summary judgment.

Continue reading " Certificate of Merit Requirements in Malpractice Cases " »

Summer Infant has announced a recall of 1.7 million video baby monitors after two babies were tragically strangled to death by the monitor's cords. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission also reports that another baby was almost killed.

Here is what I can't figure out: the deaths happened in the fall. The CPSC did not learn until January that the six-month-old South Carolina boy who died had a Summer Infant video monitor. Really? It took that long. What about the little girl in Washington, D.C.? This article does not say when the dots for her were connected. I don't know. Either the CPSC is slow on the draw or the media is not getting the full story. But the CPSC issued a warning months ago that baby monitor cords are a potential danger and have caused at least six deaths. So they knew this was on their plate. We need to figure it out, not to assign blame, but to figure out how we can do better next time.

Exactly what happened? Again, I could not find a lot of details. Apparently, the camera monitor was on the top of the crib rail for the little girl in Washington, D.C. and on a changing table attached to the crib for the boy in South Carolina. In the near death case, a toddler in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was almost strangled even though the camera was mounted on a wall.

Continue reading " Baby Monitor Recall: Two Babies Strangled in Cords " »

The New York Daily News reports that a "class-action lawsuit" has been filed against Proctor & Gamble, claiming that Fixodent denture cream makes users ill because of its high zinc content.

That is not exactly right. The denture cream lawsuits are not a class action lawsuit but the cases are a class action for the purposes of discovery.

Plaintiffs' lawsuits allege that denture cream has caused neurological illnesses and limb numbness from excessive zinc. The suit also claims there have been studies that show a connection between denture users and neurological disease. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages.

The denture cream lawsuits have real merit. In 2009, Proctor & Gamble added a warning label to its Fixodent denture cream stating that "prolonged zinc intake may be linked to adverse health effects."

Many people have felt some side effects from excessive zinc. Our law firm, however, is only handling serious injury denture cream cases. If you believe you may have a denture cream lawsuit that should be a part of this MDL discovery class action, call a denture cream lawyer at 800-553-8082 or get a free on-line consultation.

BioSan Laboratories has issued a recall for products sold under the brand names EssentialsTM, RightFoodTM Brands, Therapeutix Cardio Strength and Innate Cardio Response. These products may contain undeclared soy flour. The concern is that people with a soy flour allergy who are assuming the products do not have soy flour could be at risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.

There are no reports of injury. Then again, if someone had a soy flour allergic reaction, how would they know it could be from one of these products?

You can get a full list of the products subject to the recall here.

Merit Medical Systems has issued a recall for 378 Prelude Short Sheath catheters. The concern is that the tip of the Catheter may break off and enter the bloodstream. The FDA categorizes this as a Class I medical device recall, which is the most serious device recall the FDA can issue. While there are no reports of injuries, the FDA is concerned this problem could lead to serious injury or death. However, there have been no injuries reported in connection with Prelude catheter tips breaking off.

Hoover has issued a recall for over 100,000 vacuums due to concerns the vacuums create a fire and shock hazard. Hoover has reported three incidents, one involving a minor injury.

This recall involves Hoover® WindTunnel T-Series™ Bagless Upright vacuum cleaners with the cord rewind feature that we all love so much that enables the cord to wind inside the vacuum for storage.

If you have a Hoover vacuum with the manufacturing code K09A followed by a green dot, you are okay, these are not included in this recall.

Escalade Sports announced a recall of 4,600 swing sets today after concern was raised that the swing seat might break during use. The company has received 24 reports of seats breaking, but no injuries. The swing sets subject to the recall were made in China. I don't know if it is a design or manufacturing problem.

This is a really nice looking swing set. (It should, it costs between $1,500 and $2,200.) Take http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml11/11120.htmla look. It is scary how many different people have a hand in the safety and welfare of our children. It is absolutely mind numbing when you think about it.

Lasko has issued a recall of 107,500 portable electric heaters due to a risk over overheating. Lasko says an electrical connection "in the base of the unit can overheat, causing it to melt and expose the electrical connection." So far there are 18 reports of property damage but no physical injuries.

Government finds no evidence that electronic glitches caused sudden acceleration incidents in Toyota vehicles.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood did not equivocate, saying, "We enlisted the best and brightest engineers to study Toyota's electronics systems, and the verdict is in. There is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas."

I really meant to buy Toyota stock today. I really did. Somehow, I saw this coming. I don't think plaintiffs' lawyers are going to stop filing lawsuits in these cases but it must give them cause for pause. (We are not involved in these cases and I cannot speak to the merits of the Toyota class action lawsuits. I'm just the messenger.)

Ford has announced yet another recall, this time of the Ford Explorer over safety concerns with the second row of seats.

This is the second recall in the last week for Ford, who last week announced it would recall over 350,000 of its Ford F-150 pickup trucks because of safety problems with the interior door handles that would cause the door to open in a car accident.

This Ford Explorer recall will not be as costly or as expensive. Only 1,600 recently built Explorers are subject to the recall.

Ford is experiencing an unbelievable renissance after being left for dead just a few years ago. One big reason for Ford’s rise is a new perception of quality (and in customer perceptions of other companies, most notably, Toyota). All told, Ford has issued a recall for more than 900,000 vehicles in the first weeks of 2011, more than all of 2010. These recalls are not helping the cause of this new perception of Ford and this is being reflected in Ford's stock price. Hopefully, Ford takes a recall hiatus for a while and continues to grow the brand's image in the right direction.

American Food Service of Pico Rivera in California has issued a recall of over 3,000 pounds of fresh ground beef patties and other ground beef products over possible E. coli contamination.

A recall has been issued for the ironically named Generation 2 Worldwide “SafetyCraft” full-size and portable drop-side cribs amid concerns that their plastic hardware breaks easily, creating of death from strangulation and suffocation.

There was no real way to know these cribs could cause risks to our children. No wait. Actually there was. The drop-side hardware on these are exactly the same as the Generation 2 Worldwide ChildESIGNS brand drop-side cribs that were recalled last February. Seriously?

This hardware found on SafetyCraft drop-side cribs can fail and place infants and toddlers at risk of strangulation and suffocation. The CPSC is asking parents to stop using these cribs completely and not to try to fix them.

For reasons that no one will ever understand, CPSC has limited information about the exact model numbers. But if you have a “SafetyCraft” label on your crib at headboard or footboard, you may have a crib that puts your child at risk.

People, these are babies. We have to start paying attention when we make these things.

• Pacificer recall (from earlier this week)
• Toy Tank Recall (from last week)
• Dropside cribs banned by feds
• Bassett baby crib recall
• Heritage baby crib recall
• JC Penny crib recall
• Crib safety advice

Ford issued a recall for 280,000 F-150 pickup trucks. The recall is to repair a handle defect which could allow the truck's doors to open in a side-impact accident. Apparently, the interior door handle spring on the Ford F-150 may be more prone to breakage during normal use. So in a car accident, the door may pop open because there is insufficient force to return the handle to the locked position, according to the notice. (Note: You can find information on the latest Ford F150 recall concerning the F150s defective airbags here.)

There are two possible fixes, one that includes an additional spring embossment and another that replaces the interior door handle module.

Ford F-150 trucks built from January 18, 2008 through November 30, 2009 are included in the recall. Owners will be notified by Ford and are instructed to visit a dealer for repairs. The recall will start February 14th.

Tell your Ford F-150 friends of the recall by re-tweeting this or "liking" it on Facebook. We have new tweet and "like" buttons above this post.

• Ford Windstar recall last week
• Complete Ford F150 recall history
  
  

Central Michigan Life (summary: it is cold) has a good article on toy recalls and the big three risk with toys and children: choking hazards, burning hazards and high levels of lead paint.

• Pacificer recall (from yesterday)
• Toy Tank Recall (from last week)

Intel issued a recall of its latest Sandy Bridges chipsets. A flaw in the new Intel 6 series support chip can cause problems with a computer's DVD and hard drives. Analysts say the recall will cost Intel $700 million in revenue.

What I find interesting is how companies respond to these recalls. It is a recall. It is $700 million (hear that in Dr. Evil's voice). You would think the stock price would take a blow. Not at all. Wall Street lets it roll off its back and Intel stock ended in the green.

This is a computer chip. No big deal. Just economic loss. But pharmaceutical companies act the same way. Scores of lawyers dedicate their lives to prosecuting and defending drug and medical device cases and, in the scheme of financial things, it is small potatoes to these companies.

At least arguably, the problem is not that litigation is slowing down American businesses. It is that it is not slowing them down enough. Because it does not seem to be a meaningful incentive to change behavior if the stakes are not high enough.

The Maryland Injury Lawyer Blog has a discussion on DePuy hip replacement problems that contains 53 comments from people who have DePuy hip replacements. If you have a DePuy hip replacement and have a comment you want to share, join the discussion.

Volkswagen has issued a recall of 27 new Volkswagen Beetles from the 2010 model year because the cars do not meet crash protection standards. These cars are fresh off the line, built between September 1st and September 22th of last year. I'm amazed that Volkswagen does not use the usual inflation of calling cars made at the end of last year 2011 models.

It sounds like Volkswagen will offer these Beetle owners another car. So if you have not been in an accident and risked your life in this car, you are getting a pretty good deal. At least I think that is what the deal is. If you think you are one of those 27 people (and, really, what are the odds?), call call Volkswagen at 800-822-8987.