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.

Fresh Express has issued a recall for 2,825 cases of Veggie Lovers Salad with a Product Code of I208 and Use-by Date of August 10. The recall stems from concerns that this Veggie Lovers Salad could contain the Listeria monocytogenes pathogen, an intracellular pathogen which has been the cause of a number of food borne illnesses in the past 10 years. At particular risk are pregnant women and adults with weakened immune systems.

States that reportedly may have implicated cases: Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Kansas, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arizona, Tennessee, West Virginia, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska; Rhode Island; Pennsylvania, District of Columbia, Virginia; Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut; and Massachusetts.

It is hard to tell whether there is a lot of product at risk. The recall is based solely on one package of Fresh Express Veggie Lovers Salad that yielded a positive result for Listeria monocytogenes in Ohio. So it sounds like Fresh Express is acting responsibly based on the limited information currently available.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Four additional reports of fires involving LG Electronics' portable dehumidifiers have prompted LG Electronics Tianjin Appliance Co. and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to re-announce a previous recall of 98,000 LG dehumidifiers.

"The power connector for the dehumidifier's compressor can short circuit, posing fire and burn hazards to consumers," according to an Aug. 10 CPSC press release.

When LG Electronics and the CPSC first announced the recall in Dec. 2009, LG had received 11 reports of fires involving the dehumidifiers. No injuries have ever been reported to either entity in association with the dehumidifiers.

Honda has issued a recall for 384,220 Honda vehicles because of concerns about an ignition system that turns the car off before it is in park. Obviously, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is concerned that this defect increases the possibility of a car rolling. The recall is not for a new problem with these Hondas: it is for 2003 models of the Accord and Civic and 2003-2004 models of the Honda Element.

Volvo is recalling 3,635 2007 to 2010 Volvo S80s due to incorrect tire pressure listed in the owner's manual. Instead of a maximum tire pressure of 35 psi, Volvo S80s with the V-6 should actually have a tire pressure of 36 psi. For the V-8, the 36 psi listed should be 38 psi.

It sounds silly on its face. But setting aside what we have been told about the correct tire pressure in our tires reducing our dependence on foreign oil, tire pressure matters when it comes to avoiding rollover accidents. This recall is also incredibly inexpensive for Volvo and it makes them look like what they apparently are: a company that is stepping forward to fix all problems big and small.

Plaintiff lose a long drawn out Yamaha Rhino lawsuit. You can find the details here.

Do you own reptiles? Do you feed your reptiles rats, mice or chicks? You may be at risk for salmonella poisoning. Mice Direct issued a recall for frozen rats, mice and chicks earlier today. Mice Direct reports that possibly 30 people - not the reptiles - have gotten salmonella poisoning.

The lesson is, as always, crystal clear: it is probably not best to further the breeding of pet reptiles that eat other living things. Oh, yeah, and salmonella can cause disease and death. The symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever.

I need to compile a "top ten crazy recalls" at some point. This reptile food recall is a top ten nominee.

File this under hard to believe: a lacrosse glove recall. The reason? Brine VIP's logo on their lacrosse gloves contains lead paint levels in excess of the allowable limit.

Approximately 7,000 Brine VIP gloves, that were manufactured in Vietnam, are subjected to this recall. Three sizes of gloves are involved: 10, 12 and 13 inches. Brine VIP gloves identified with model numbers LGLVIP00WH, LGLVIP02WH, and LGLVIP03WH.

Lead paint can cause significant brain injuries in small children. I have no idea how much lead is on these gloves. I'm assuming the logo was painted on the gloves. I didn't realize anyone anywhere was still making lead based paint.

There is a recall for approximately 45,000 Antonio Flores pacifiers after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission expressed concerns about the pacificer's safety. The problem is that the pacifiers lack ventilation holes and have nipples that may detach from the base of the pacifier.

There are no injuries that have been reported. Hopefully, the company got out on the front end of this and no child gets hurt.

The Huffington Post has an article underscoring how Reglan lawsuits are swept on in the quest for pharmaceutical companies to be able to negligently hurt people and not provide compensation.

I would love to hear one pharmaceutical CEO come out and say, "Look, we make fine products. And if we screw up, we absolutely do expect to be held accountable. So you won't be seeing us try any ridiculous procedural practices to defend our cases. We will settle claims that are valid and we will fight to the last man against claims that are trumped up."

Odds of seeing this press release today is about the same as Cleveland offering LeBron another key to the city.

Tween Brands has issued a recall of their metal necklaces, bracelets and earrings due to high levels of cadmium, which is toxic if ingested by children. Walmart had a similar recall in the spring.

Nineteen different styles of children’s jewelry are included in the recall which were sold online and at Justice and Limited Too retail stores.