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.

Johnson & Johnson is in hot water. Again. This time, their Animas unit continued to sell insulin pumps last year, after having learned of a malfunction with the pump. The malfunction, involving the pump’s keypad, prompted a design change of the One Touch Ping and 2020 pumps, which included switching manufacturing to a different supplier.

The FDA has released a letter inquiring as to why J&J continued to manufacture the insulin pumps after being made aware of their failures, and has given J&J 15 days to respond. J&J has stated that the warning letter from the FDA only requested further clarification on their internal quality systems and processes, and that the insulin pumps they manufacture meet all product specifications. They do, however, claim to be dedicated to quickly resolving the FDA’s outstanding concerns.

All of this begs the question, why did Johnson & Johnson continue to sell the pumps? J&J, the world’s second-biggest seller of health-care products, has faced a series of safety recalls and FDA warnings over the last two years. Last month’s warning could lead to fines or affect J&J’s chances of winning federal contracts. Was this most recent impropriety worth it? J&J continues to besmirch its once great name. I really can't believe more people are not talking about this. Can this get a mention on CNBC at least? Unbelievable.

• Johnson & Johnson: Metal on Metal Hip Replacments
• Johnson & Johnson Settles a Risperdal Suit
• Tylenol Recall
• Johnson & Johnson - More Metal on Metal Hip Issues

Dogs are people too. Pretty much. For many of us.

So we report here on Proctor & Gamble Company has retrieved a single production lot of dry dog food as aflatoxin levels, above the acceptable limit, have been detected. This product has already been retrieved from store shelves.

Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring by-product from the growth of Aspergillus flavus and can be harmful to pets if consumed in significant quantities. Pets who have consumed this product and exhibit symptoms of illness including sluggishness or lethargy combined with a reluctance to eat, vomiting, yellowish tint to the eyes or gums, or diarrhea should be seen by a veterinarian.

The affected dog food is as follows:

• Product Name: Iams ProActive Health Smart Puppy dry dog food with Use By/Expiration Dates of February 5 or February 6, 2013
• Version: 7.0 lb bag; Code Date: 12784177I6; UPC Code: 1901402305
• Version: 8.0 lb bag; Code Date: 12794177D2 and 12794177D3; UPC Code: 1901410208
• Version: 17.5 lb bag; Code Date: 12794177K1 and 12794177K2; UPC Code: 1901401848

The affected product lot was distributed to a limited number of retailers located in the eastern United States: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. These retailers have already removed this product from store shelves.

While no health effects related to this product have been reported, P&G retrieved this product from the shelves as a precautionary measure. Consumers who purchased the affected dog food should stop using it, discard it, and contact Iams a replacement voucher.

No other dry dog food, dry cat food, dog or cat canned food, biscuits/treats or supplements are affected by this announcement.

Dogs matter. I'm glad Proctor is doing the right thing by making sure our animals are safe.

Nygala will recall approximately 10,000 Halloween Projection Flashlights, as the flashlights can overhead, blister and melt, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers. Better late than never. I guess.

These Chinese made flashlights are black and orange plastic, and the flashlight is 6 ½ inches long with pumpkins, bats, witches, haunted houses and cats on the handle. The flashlights came with six different plastic lenses that attach to the flashlight to project various images, including a pumpkin, bat, witch, haunted house and cat. The flashlights packaging is imprinted with “Flomo,” “HW189” and UPC 677916518266 on the packaging.

The recalled Halloween flashlights were sold at discount stores in California, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah from August 2010 through October 2011 for about $1.

The firm has received one reported incident involving a flashlight that overheated, blistered and melted.

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.

Badia Spices is recalling approximately 3,800 lbs. of Pinenuts, as they may be contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

The pine nuts were sold in retail stores in Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey - between June 2011 and October 2011. No illnesses have been reported for any Badia brand pine nuts to date.

Badia Spices is recalling the following lots of Pinenuts:

• (UPC) 033844 00068 – 1 oz Pine nuts in small plastic bags Lot # 84666
• (UPC) 033844 00733 – 2 oz Pine nuts in pet bottles Lot # 83184, 85442

Badia Spices repacked bulk pine nuts which were imported from Turkey and subsequently recalled by Sunrise Commodities. The bulk pine nuts have been linked to an outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis illness.

• Sunrise Commodities' Pine Nuts Recall
• Wegman's Pine Nuts Recall

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to eat Turkish pine nuts, distributed by Sunrise Commodities, after tests have confirmed the presence of Salmonella.

The FDA is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections. To date, there are reports of at least 42 illnesses associated with the outbreak in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

As part of FDA’s investigation, samples of Turkish pine nuts from a warehouse used by Sunrise Commodities were collected.

Sunrise Commodities has already recalled four lots of the product implicated in this matter, totaling more than 21,000 pounds of pine nuts.

The affected nuts were packed in 22-pound boxes and included the markings:

• Warehouse Lot 27963 with the identifying code “PO#: 50165”
• Warehouse Lot 29628 with the identifying code “PO#: 50558”
• Warehouse Lot 27713 with the identifying code “PO#: 49595”
• Warehouse Lot 27427 with the identifying code “PO#: 50032”

Sunrise Commodities distributed the Turkish pine nuts in bulk to various food vendors in Florida, New Jersey, New York and Canada. A recall notification was issued by Sunrise to its customers on November 3, 2011, alerting them of the test results and of the epidemiologic investigation.

Wegmans Food Markets, recalled the product from their stores on October 26, 2011. As the investigation continues, additional recalls may take place.

Wegmans Food Markets has announced a recall of bulk Turkish Pine Nuts due to possible Salmonella contamination. The recalled Turkish pine nuts were imported from Turkey by Sunrise Commodities.

Wegmans is recalling approximately 5,000 lbs. of Turkish Pine Nuts, sold in the Bulk Foods department of most Wegmans stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland, due to possibility of being contaminated with Salmonella. The time frame for the sale of these nuts would have been between July 1 and October 18, 2011.

The bulk Turkish Pine Nuts have been linked to an outbreak of illness from Salmonella Enteritidis, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Illness onset is typically 12 to 72 hours after consumption.

This recall only applies to Turkish Pine Nuts sold in bulk. Other pine nuts sold at Wegmans are not affected by this recall.

• Wegmans Recalls Chocolate Chip Bars
• Walnut Recall for Salmonella Concerns

There is a recall for two carob products made by Simple Foods of Tonawanda sold at health food stores in four states have been recalled because their labels don't mention they contain milk which cause cause life-threatening consequences if you are allergic to milk. The products are "Carob Brown Rice Crunch Squares" and "Carob Mint Miniatures"

These carob products were sold in New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Carob is a substitute for chocolate.

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein put our a press release on a Yaz lawsuit last month involving a 33 year-old woman who brought a state court claim in New Jersey.

Plaintiffs' Yaz lawyers allege in the lawsuit that Yaz is a dangerous prescription drug sold without appropriate warnings about the risk of serious injuries. In this case, Plaintiff's lawsuit claims that Bayer improperly advertised and over-promoted Yaz for treating acne while knowing that the risks of using Yaz for this purpose outweighed any benefits Yaz could bring. Obviously, there are other drug on the market that would seem to have a more favorable safety profile than Yaz.

The press release quotes the the Plaintiff bringing the Yaz lawsuit:

Several months later, I developed sharp pains in my left shoulder and had difficulty breathing," Atkinson continued. "I went to my doctor for an examination. Testing revealed multiple blood clots in both lungs. I was hospitalized immediately. Fortunately, the treatments eliminated the blood clots, but only one month later I was diagnosed with gallstones. I then had to undergo gall bladder surgery in January 2009. I have suffered months of anxiety and nausea related to these medical procedures and drugs given to treat the adverse side effects I developed from taking Yaz."

Accordingly, Plaintiff's lawsuit alleges that she never would have "developed blood clots, been hospitalized, or forced to undergo numerous medical tests, procedures, and gall bladder surgery" if Bayer had presented honestly the risk associated with using Yaz as an acne medication.

If you or someone you love has used Yasmin/Yaz/Ocella and has suffered from blood clots, stroke, DVT, heart attack or gallbladder injury, or you are lawyer with a Yasmin/Yaz case for which you would like to involve co-counsel or you think might be a candidate for a lawsuit or future potential global settlement, please call one of our Yasmin/Yaz attorneys at 800-553-8082 or get a free no obligation Internet consultation for your potential Yasmin/Yaz lawsuit.

The Orlando Sentinel (via Overlawyered) has an interesting article taking a detailed look at statistics surrounding theme park lawsuits. This is not your garden variety media article of a legal trend. It has detailed breakdown of the lawsuits filed against theme parks, and through statistics and interviews, sets the game plan of Disney theme parks, and I think to a similar but lesser extent, its brethren when facing a lawsuit: wage elongated war, make discovery brutal for accident lawyers and their clients, and settle the cases you think you might not win - particularly those cases you might prolifically not win.

A New Jersey jury has awarded $25 million in compensation to a man who suffered severe brain damage, concluding that the Plaintiff's doctors misdiagnosed his cyst that led to an aneurysm.

There are NuvaRing lawsuits pending in an MDL (cases consolidated around the country in Missouri) and in New Jersey. Even though Organon is a New Jersey defendant, it sought to remove the NuvaRing cases because Organon was not "properly joined and served" under §1441(b) because Organon was not served with a tracking assignment number as required by New Jersey law.

No tracking assignment number? Who thinks of these things? Sure, strictly construed void of any sense of fairness or context, the statute the rule would preclude removal by an in-state defendant who has not been "properly joined and served" at the time of removal. But would a judge be such a foolish hypertechnical slave to the language beyond logic, reason and the legislative intent of the statute?

Thankfully, no.

The New Jersey District court found that strict adherence to the plain language of the statute would defeat the legislative intent and, accordingly, the law should not be interpreted to produce an absurd result.

If you are interested in learning more about the lawsuits involving NuvaRing, click on the "lawsuits involving NuvaRing" link above.

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.

In a 4-3 decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court affirmed last week the dismissal of a personal injury lawsuit filed by a minor league hockey spectator who was struck by a puck during warm-ups. The New Jersey high court ruled that the arena had complied with its obligation to protected spectators to the extent reasonable. The three dissenting justices contended that the arena should have posted warnings about the potential hazard of hockey pucks leaving the arena.

I think I agree with the outcome because I think there should be some sort of strict liability in these situations. But, taking off my personal injury lawyer and putting my citizen hat on, I agree with the majority opinion based on New Jersey law as it is presently constituted. Any reasonable person who attends a hockey game knows or should know that pucks might come flying off the ice. Providing a warning would be superfluous.