Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

Mars Food has recalled two date codes of Uncles Ben's Whole Grain White Rice Garden Vegetable, due to an undeclared milk allergen. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products.

The recall, affecting ONLY the Whole Grain White Rice Garden Vegetable, affects the 4.7 oz. (133 g) boxes with the following:

• UPC code of 54800 40778
• Best before: 08/12
• Code dates: 133BA4RP06 and 133BB4RP06

An ingredient supplier improperly included an undeclared milk ingredient in the seasoning mix used for this product. As such, consumers with milk allergies are advised not to eat the product, and consumers should return the product to the store where it was purchased for a full refund.

This product was distributed through retail stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Mars Food US has not received any reports of illness or other consumer complaints related to this matter. No other flavors of Uncle Ben's Whole Grain White Rice or any other Uncle Ben's products are affected.

The J.M. Smucker Company has announced a limited recall on 16 oz. Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter Chunky, as it has been determined that it may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

The affected Peanut Butter is packaged in 16oz jars, and is marked as follows:

• UPC: 5150001701 (located on the side of the jar's label below the bar code)
• Production Codes: 1307004 and 1308004
• Best-If-Used-By dates: August 3, 2012 and August 4, 2012
• Chunky product only (not creamy)
• Impacted product would have been purchased between November 8 - 17, 2011

This product was distributed in: Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

No other products of The J.M. Smucker Company are affected by this recall.

Kimberly-Clark has announced a product recall of a limited number of its Kotex Natural Balance Security Unscented Tampons, as there are related health concerns.

The recall is limited to Kotex Unscented, Regular Absorbency tampons, and includes the 18 count and 36 count only, with the following product SKU numbers:

• 15063 (18 count)
• 15068 (36 count)

The Product SKU numbers are the last five digits of the product’s barcode and can be found on the bottom of the package.

The tampons were manufactured with a raw material contaminated with a bacterium, Enterobacter sakazakii, which may cause health risks, including vaginal infections, urinary tract infections (UTIs), pelvic inflammatory disease or infections that can be life-threatening. Women with serious existing illnesses, cancer or immune-compromised conditions, such as HIV, are at increased risk. There is limited evidence of transfer between individuals with this bacterium.

The tampons affected were shipped to retail customers between October 29, 2011 and November 2, 2011 in specific Wal-Mart stores in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas; specific Fry’s stores in Arizona; and specific Smith’s stores in Utah and Arizona. Not all stores in these states were impacted. All impacted stores have been alerted to remove the recalled product SKUs from shelves. A listing of stores impacted and the latest information can also be found on the Kimberly-Clark website and the Kotex brand website.

Consumers should contact a physician immediately if they have used the recalled tampons and experience unusual vaginal discharge, rash, fever, headache, vomiting or abdominal pains, particularly if they are HIV positive, have AIDS, cancer, an existing serious illness or may be pregnant.

Wells Enterprises is voluntarily recalling a limited number of packages of its Blue Bunny® Personals® ice cream, due to a mispackaging incident.

On a limited number of packages, the lid indicates the product as Blue Bunny Super Chunky Cookie Dough ice cream, while the carton itself indicates the product as Blue Bunny Peanut Butter Panic ice cream. The product contained in the is Super Chunky Cookie Dough. The ingredient statement on the carton does not declare wheat, which is an ingredient in the Super Chunky Cookie Dough product. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat and/or have gluten sensitivities may be at risk from consuming these products.

The mispackaged Blue Bunny ice cream was distributed in 5.5 fl oz. The cartons affected are indicated by Lot Number 10009 “Best Used By” date 10/1/2012, - UPC 0 70640 00463. The lot number and UPC can be found printed on the side of the carton.

The affected product was shipped to the following states: Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Dakota, Tennessee, Florida, Wisconsin, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Texas.

Wells Enterprises became aware of the packaging error after receiving a report from a store that the lid and cup were for different products. The allergy alert and recall relates only to the above mentioned mispackaged Blue Bunny ice cream. No other Blue Bunny ice cream products are affected.

Last week's River Ranch lettuce recall is growing. At that time, their the 8-ounce package of Shredded Iceberg Lettuce was recalled, in addition to several Giant Eagle deli sandwhich rings, as they were prepared with shredded iceburg lettuce, that was potentially contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

River Ranch Fresh Foods has now initiated a voluntary recall of 2,154 cases of various bagged salad products due to the potential of being contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The bagged salad products subject to the recall include:

• Farmers Market 8 oz shredded Iceburg 30034-30195 Best By 14OCT2011 A106A and A106B
• Farmers Market 7 oz Parisian Blend 30034-30259 Best By 14OCT2011 A106A and A106B
• Farmers Market 9 oz Leafy Romaine 30034-30364 Best By 14OCT2011 A106A and A106B
• Farmers Market 12 oz Romaine Garden 30034-30220 Best By 14OCT2011 A106A and A106B
• Hy-Vee 8 oz Shredded Iceberg 75450-12053 Best By 14OCT2011 A106A and A106B
• Hy-Vee 12 oz American Blend 75450-12047 Best By 14OCT2011 A106A and A106B
• Hy-Vee 12 oz Garden Supreme 75450-12046 Best By 14OCT2011 A106A and A106B
• Hy-Vee 12 oz Romaine Garden 75450-12058 Best By 14OCT2011 A106A and A106B

These salad products were distributed in Iowa, Ohio, and Pennsylvania and sold in retail supermarkets. No other products or code dates are affected by this recall. As with the previously recalled Iceburg lettuce, there have been no reported illnesses attributed to the recalled items.

Blackman Industries will recall all PrimeTime brand 2 ct. and 5 ct. Premium Pig Ears and all KC Beefhide brand 20 ct. Premium Pig Ears because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

Why do you care? It is just animals, right. Well, setting aside the fact that asking this question would make you a jerk, Salmonella can affect not only animals eating these pig ears, but there is also humans handling anything containing these pig ears or anything containing Salmonella.

These pig ears were sold in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. The FDA breaks it down for you here.

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.

The Iowa Supreme Court reversed Scott County District Court Judge David H. Sivright, Jr.'s summary judgment ruling in a failure to diagnose breast cancer case, rejecting malpractice defense lawyer claims that Plaintiff should have known of her injury, for purposes of the statute of limitations, just because a doctor made her aware that her breast was not normal.

Although she knew something may be amiss, the Plaintiff - according to the facts alleged in her medical malpractice lawsuit - was assured that she did not have to worry about the lump. According to the lawsuit, the Plaintiff, Ms. Rock, noticed a lump in her left breast in May 2002 and called her doctor to have it examined. She was referred to the Center for Breast Health for a bilateral mammogram. During a follow-up appointment, Ms. Rock said Dr. Warhank told her the mammogram was normal and “not to worry about the lump.”

The Iowa Supreme Court held that the plaintiff could not have known and would not have known of her cancer or that her breast cancer was misdiagnosed until she was actually diagnosed with cancer.

Congratulations to Plaintiff's medical malpractice lawyers Robert Gallagher and David Millage in Davenport, Iowa, who stayed with this case through adverse rulings both at trial and before the Iowa Court of Appeals.

You can find the Iowa Supreme Court's opinion here.

My two volume treatise Insurance Settlements is now available from James Publishing. The book discusses how to position a lawyer's car accident, truck accident, medical malpractice or product liability case to the best possible settlement at every step along the way (until the state's high court affirms the judgment).

Click on the James Publishing link. If you have any comments on the book, please email me at ronmiller@millerandzois.com under the subject "Insurance Settlements Comments."

Our lawyers are reviewing Byetta claims after the FDA announced this week that the diabetes drug has been linked to severe pancreatic problems in dozens of patients. On Monday, the FDA warned patients taking Byetta to discontinue use if they develop symptoms of the disorder. Further the FDA said that doctor prescribing Byetta should consider other prescription options for patients with a history of pancreas problems.

Since Byetta was introduced into the United States in 2005, more than 700,000 patients have used the Byetta.

Our lawyers are now exploring potential Byetta lawsuits. If you would like to discuss your case with a Byetta lawyer, call 800-553-8082 or click here for a free consulation/case evaluation (or even to answer any question you may have). For more information on Byetta and the concerns with Byetta, click here.

Last week, Digitek manufacturer Actavis Totowa recalled over 65 different drugs made at their New Jersey manufacturing plant. The list of recalled drugs (in some form or another) includes such generic drugs as Bellamine, Buspirone, Carisoprodol, Oxycodone Meperidine, and Rifampin. This strengthens the conclusion that the New Jersey plant that made these drugs may be the cause of irregularities in Actavis medications.

In April 2008, Actavis recalled Digitek, a drug prescribed to treat heart failure and irregular heartbeat because it was discovered that Digitek tablets appeared to have double the thickness – and likely double the active ingredient – listed on the label. When Digitek is given in abnormally high doses it can lead to digitalis toxicity which, paradoxically, worsens the problems Digitek is intended to treat, causing nausea or lower blood pressure and other side effects from the Digitek overdose that can lead to the increased risk of stroke or a heart attack.

If you would like to speak to a Digitek recall lawyer about a potential Digitek lawsuit, call 1-800-553-8000. For more information on the Digitek overdose recall or a free consultation on your potential Digitek case, click here.

Zimmer's Durom Cup hip implants are likely to be the subject of a good number of lawsuits from patients with the Zimmer implants. But they will not be the only ones. Apparently, Zimmer’s own shareholders may agree that Zimmer left its hip implant on the market way too long. Last week, shareholders of Zimmer stock filed a class action in Indiana. Interestingly, the lawsuit seeks damages for shareholders who purchased stock between January 28, 2008 and July 21, 2008. This tells our Zimmer hip implant recall lawyers that these shareholders believe that Zimmer knew or should have known and issued a recall on or before January 28, 2008.

If your Zimmer Durom hip resurfacing cup was defective, call our Zimmer hip implant lawyers at 1-800-553-8082 or click here for a free consultation.

More information on the Zimmer Hip Implant Recall
History of the Zimmer Durom Cup Hip Implant Recall
More information on the Zimmer hip implant recall lawsuits

Jury Verdict Research(r) study reports that rotator cuff injuries reached a 7-year high in 2006 with a compensatory award median of $72,667. This is almost 50% higher than previous reported settlements and verdicts in rotator cuff injury cases.

Our lawyers have never understood while the national data in these cases was so low. Washington D.C. rotator cuff injuries have averaged well over $100,000 for rotator cuff settlements and verdicts so we have never understood why the national average was as low as it has been. In any event, for whatever reason, rotator cuff verdicts are on the rise.

Our lawyers handle rotator cuff injury cases throughout the United States. Our lawyers have handled scores of rotator cuff injuries in car and truck accidents, typically in side collision or "T-bone" accidents. Our lawyers believe that insurance companies do not give fair value in most rotator cuff injury cases and our lawyers will fight to get you the financial compensation you deserve. Call a rotator cuff lawyer to protect you at 800-553-8082 or click here for a free consultation and case evaulation.

Related Posts

What Is the Value of Your Personal Injury Claim? (how the value of rotator cuff and other person injury settlements are calculated)

Sample Demand Letter (sample letter demanding settlement in a personal injury case)

Handling Your Claim Without a Lawyer (tips and pratfalls)

Lawyers representing Digitek overdose victims have filed nine lawsuits in New Jersey against Actavis Totowa LLL and its parent company Actavis Group, alleging a manufacturing defect in Digitek, namely that some Digitek tablets have contained twice the active ingredient of the drug. Digitek recall lawsuits have also been filed in West Virginia and California.

Our Digitek recall lawyers are reviewing these Digitek overdose cases in all 50 states expecting that a consolidated class action lawsuit will be appropriate (as opposed to this scatting of individual cases). If you want to discuss your case with one of our Digitek lawyers call us at 800-553-8082 for a free consultation or click here for a free Internet consultation.

Welcome to our blog covering injury law and policy throughout the United States.