Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

Health Officials are reporting that the number of illnesses caused from individuals having consumed raw milk has risen to 35 people over four states. The confirmed cases of Campylobacter infection include 28 people in Pennsylvania, four in Maryland, two in West Virginia and one in New Jersey.

The tainted milk appears to have come from the Family Cow farm in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and health officials have said that consumers should discard raw milk bought from the Family Cow farm on or after Jan. 1. The farm has voluntarily suspended raw milk production.

The federal Food and Drug Administration warns that raw, or unpasteurized, milk can contain harmful bacteria, and Maryland law prohibits its sale. Still, dairy farmers have said that the demand is growing because of concerns about hormones in traditional dairy products.

A California woman has sued Honda alleging Honda exaggerated the miles per gallon she could expect. A small claims judge agreed with her.

After purchasing a 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid, the Plaintiff expected that her vehicle would get the 50 miles per gallon that it advertised. Instead, it was only getting around 30, and never got more than 42 (personally, I’d be thrilled if my car got 30 miles per gallon, let alone 42). So she sued, asking that Honda pay for her trouble and the extra money that she spent on gas.

The judge ruled that Honda misled her when it claimed that its Civic hybrid could drive up to 50 miles on a gallon of gas, and awarded her more than $9,800 in damages.

Interestingly enough, instead of joining other Honda owners in a class-action lawsuit, she filed in small claims court (she’s a former lawyer, no surprise there). She said that a small claims suit could cost the company up to $10,000 in her case, and with 200,000 of these cars out there, if every other individual owner filed in the same manner, “That's a potential payout of $2 billion." She said that she doubts that all other owners will take the same route, but suggests that the penalty could be substantial for the company if a large percentage of the owners file individually.

As you might expect, Honda plans to appeal the decision. Ultimately, I think this is a good lawsuit because it keeps car manufacturers honest. But I don't particularly like these cases, particularly filed as individual cases just because they clog up our court system with relatively insignificant damages without physical injury. If you think Honda is not playing straight with its MPG estimate, buy a Ford.

Wegmans Food Markets is recalling hard-cooked eggs, as well as prepared foods that contain hard eggs due to concerns with Listeria monocytogenes. The products affected by this recall would have been sold between January 23rd and February 1st.

This recall affects purchases made at Wegmans’ Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Canandaigua, Newark, Geneva, Corning, Elmira, Geneseo, and Hornell stores, and came about as the result of a recent recall by Michael Foods which produces the cooked eggs at its Wakefield, Nebraska facility.
The following affected products sold in Wegmans prepared foods and deli departments that are included in the recall are as follows:

• Hard-Cooked Eggs (sold by the pound in prepared foods or as a choice on the Fresh Foods Bar)
• Eggs (special-order deli tray or 6-pack, 12 pack)
• Cobb Salad (10 oz, 43 oz, and 6.5 lb)
• Garden Salad (10 oz, 20 oz, 2 lb, and 5 lb)
• Baby Spinach Salad (9 oz, 1.8 lb, and 3.9 lb)
• Chef Salad (9 oz. and 18 oz.)
• Egg Salad (sold by the pound in prepared foods)
• Egg Salad Sub (Sub Shop)
• Kosher Macaroni Salad (sold by the pound in kosher deli)
• Kosher Pickled Eggs (sold by the pound in kosher deli)

According to Michael Foods, the recall was initiated after lab testing revealed that some of the eggs within the recalled lot dates may have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. A recall of three lot dates was announced on January 26th, but Wegmans had not received any of this product. Wegmans announced their recall after the initial recall was expanded on February 1st.

There have been no confirmed reports of illness in connection with these products.

• Recall of Nike All American Sandwich
• More Listeria and Salmonella Concerns
• Wegmans - Pine Nuts Recall
• Recall of Whittington Jerky

West Elm, a division of Williams-Sonoma, will recall 5,750 floor lamps. The problem? A short circuit can occur in the floor lamp's wiring which might give users a shock they were not expecting. This is not an isolated problem: there are 39 reports of short circuits in the lamp, including three reports of shock, one report of a minor burn to a consumer's finger and two reports of minor property damage.

The Overarching Floor Lamp at issue is 77 inches tall with a 19-inch diameter base and a curving arm that extends the lamp about 5 feet from the base. The lamp's arm and base are made of polished nickel and it either natural, white or charcoal. The lamp has a three-way on/off switch.

The firm's website is very concerned about its customers on its website, eager to warn the end user. What? Really? Oh. I can't find any news about it in my quick looksie. You may have to dig a bit.

Kentucky appellate court reminds us again that you need an expert in medical malpractice case. You did not need a remind? Oh. Good

Pfizer has issued a recall for a whopping one million birth control pills due to a packaging error. This is a big deal. 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 pills and 14 lots of Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol pills are being recalled as an investigation found that some of the blister packs may contain an inexact count of inert or active ingredient tablets, and that the tablets may be out of sequence.

Let's be honest. We have a million birth control pills that don't work. Plaintiffs' lawyers' instinct is to salivate. Like Pavlovian dogs. There are going to be lawsuits. Birth control pills have lead to a lot of lawsuits. But the "injury"in NuvaRing and Yaz cases is pretty obvious. Here, we have an obvious "injury" with complicated legal conseqences. Putting it bluntly, the "injury" here is unwanted children.

Continue reading "Birth Control Pill Recall: Lawsuits on the Way?" »

The Washington Post reports a few hours ago that after all of the recalls and government investigations into wrongdoing at Johnson & Johnson, 2 execs leaving the recall-riddled consumer health business are departing in two months.

These two bigwigs are resigning/being pushed out after a 2 1/2-year span of besmirching the one time good Johnson & Johnson name, which has included countless recalls of their big selling drugs like Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec and other nonprescription drugs and a congressional investigation of the handling of the recalls. Of course, J&J is always in spin mode, talking about the contributions these execs made that will live on and on. (Of course, I allow for the possibility these guys are just scapegoats.)

I've said before and I'll say it again: I hope J&J can make a comeback. It still has a great brand name and has some wonderful products. It just has to make them safely and get rid of the ones that are hurting people. Oh, yeah, and maybe quit this 510(k) garbage with their medical devices and properly test them before putting them on the market.

More than five years after the gory photographs of a teenage girl killed in a horrific automobile accident were released on the internet, her family's lawsuit has come to an end. The deceased girl's family filed suit against the California Highway Patrol (CHP) for broadcasting graphic photographs of the dead girl's body over the internet, photographs which can still be found today.

The tragic story begins with the teen having driven her father's Porsche without his permission, and ends in a senseless accident with her body being maimed and nearly decapitated. After reaching speeds of more than 100 mph, the teen clipped another vehicle, swerved, and struck a toll booth. She was so badly disfigured that her family was not permitted to view her body. Sadly, they would be given the chance thanks to two CHP dispatchers who took it upon themselves to leak the photographs. The photographs, never intend for public viewing, appeared on thousands of websites. Unbelievably, many websites mocked the girl as a spoiled rich girl, who got what she deserved. She was nicknamed "Porsche Girl." The family even received anonymous taunting messages.

The family filed suit claiming an invasion of privacy. A Superior Court judge initially threw out the family’s lawsuit, concluding that the agency had not breached any legal duty to the family, as the law did not recognize the right of family members to sue for invasion of privacy involving photos of the dead at the time. But that changed in 2010 when the state's 4th District Court of Appeal reversed the decision. For the first time in California, the court established that surviving family members have a right to sue for invasion of privacy in such cases.

The family is still desperate to have the photos removed from the internet. As part of the settlement, CHP has agreed to help fight to remove the photos, experts say they will never be removed. A simple search of the family's last name brings up links to the photos.

All the way around, it is just an awful situation.

I remember kids in elementary school in the '70s with asthma. It seemed rare back then. Not anymore. Statistics seems to bear this out. The prevalence of asthma is increasing worldwide and in particular in the United States. Asthma has risks for all who suffer from it, but people are playing a lot more attention to the issue of pregnancy and asthma and whether asthma medications can cause injury to the expectant mother or the unborn child. Specifically, people are questioning whether asthma drugs like budesonide (Pulmicort) that contained glucocorticoids increase the infant's risk of developing metabolic and endocrine disorders.

Between 4 and 12% of pregnant women have asthma and 3% use asthma medications during pregnancy. Women with asthma are at an increased risk of complications during pregnancy due to inadequacy in controlling asthma and/or some medications used to manage asthma.

Certainly, doctors are in a Catch 22. Poorly controlled asthma can result in an inadequate supply of oxygen to the fetus. Asthma during pregnancy can lead to preterm labor, cesarean section, and hypertensive disorders, including preeclampsia and placental previa. Severe asthma can result in maternal mortality, fetal mortality or both. Therefore management of asthma during pregnancy may be necessary to improve the mothers' asthma, even if risks are present with the use of such medications. It is always important to weigh the potential risks to the fetus against the benefit of the mother. To do this accurately, drug companies have to tell us what the risks of asthma and pregnancy are. What are they? We don't know what the drug companies know, but what we do know is mixed.

Continue reading "Asthma and Pregnancy" »

Johnson & Johnson has announced the recall of Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort Lotion. The recall only affects one lot that was shipped only to a few states.

The recall was initiated as a precautionary measure after testing indicated that the lot exceeded the specifications for common bacteria. Extensive testing has been performed since by an independent lab, and has not shown that specifications were exceeded; however, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies initiated the recall out of an abundance of caution.

The only affected lot is lot number: 0161LK with a UPC Code of: 38137-0036456. The recalled product was shipped to Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a recall of Aunt Jemima Frozen Pancakes as there is concern that the pancakes may contain soy protein. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to soy protein may run the risk of an allergic reaction.

The recall was initiated after it was discovered that there may have been potential cross-contact with a product that contained soy, and applies only to the following Aunt Jemima Frozen Pancakes:

• UPC Code: 19600-05100 - Aunt Jemima Pancakes Buttermilk Low Fat - 12/14.5oz
• UPC Code: 19600-05490 - Aunt Jemima Oatmeal Pancakes 12/14.8oz
• UPC Code: 19600-05820 - Aunt Jemima Pancakes Buttermilk 12/14.8oz
• UPC Code: 19600-05910 - Aunt Jemima Pancakes Homestyle 12/14.8oz
• UPC Code: 19600-05955 - Aunt Jemima Confetti Pancakes 12/14.8oz
• UPC Code: 19600-06040 - Aunt Jemima Whole Grain Pancakes 12/14.5oz

The affected pancakes are packaged in cardboard cartons with a ‘Recommended Use By Date’ between November 1, 2011 up to and including October 16, 2012, which can be found in the white box on the end of the carton.

There have been no reports of illness as a result of this incident.

Mazda Motor Corp. will recall some of its Tribute SUVs from the 2001 and 2002 model years to remedy a brake-system problem that cause fires. This Mazda Tribute recall should impact 52,390 SUVs.

The problem with the Mazada Tribute is that the cap on the brake master cylinder reservoir can leak brake fluid. Leaky fluid meets wiring on the anti-lock brake system, you get a little corrosion and you have yourself a fire.

Vehicles in the recall will get new brake master cylinder reservoir caps and a modification of the Mazda's antilock-brake electrical system.

I realize that it takes some corrosion for this problem to kick in, I really do. But should it take 11 years to figure it out? I have my doubts.