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Archive for the ‘Product Liability’ Category

Johnson & Johnson Sued Over Hip Replacement

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

As reported by Bloomberg News, Johnson & Johnson has been sued by a California construction worker over a hip-replacement device that is believed to be defective.

Johnson & Johnson stopped selling the artificial hip last month after defect reports surfaced. According to the lawsuit, DePuy Orthopaedics (a unit of Johnson & Johnson) knew for years that many of the 93,000 patients with ASR hip-implants would require corrective surgeries due to the mechanisms’ defects.

Personal injury attorneys for the plaintiff in the lawsuit have stated that many more such suits may follow due to the size and nature of the recall.

The recall was announced last week and may impact up to 93,000 hip-replacement systems.

Tags: San Francisco Personal Injury Attorney on hip replacement lawsuit.
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Fischer-Price Recalls Toy Set Over Personal Injury Hazard

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

As reported by the Chicago Tribune, personal injury concerns have prompted toy maker Fischer-Price to announced a recall of almost 100,000 Little People Play-n-Go Campsites because of a potential choking risk the toy presents.

According to the the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, one of the characters that comes with the toy set can break at the waist, exposing “small parts that could pose a choking hazard to children.”

The company has received reports of the figurine breaking, but no injuries have yet been reported.

Tags: San Francisco Personal Injury Attorney On Fischer-Price Recall.
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Consumer Reports – Don’t Buy Lexus GX 460

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

According to Consumer Reports 2010 guide to new cars, and as reported by the New York Times, consumers should not buy the 2010 Lexus GX 460 due to rollover risks that could lead to serious personal injury or even death.

This is rare, really rare. Consumer Reports hardly ever utilizes its “don’t buy” classification or warning regarding the purchase of a new car or sport utility vehicle. According to the Times, the test for reviewers was whether they would want their own family members in this vehicle. And the answers apparently was no.
The issue is the vehicle’s electronic stability control. This feature is designed to keep the SUV stable and help prevent rollover accidents. And for good reason, we know from NHTSA statistics that the incidence of serious personal injury and death go up dramatically when a vehicle rolls.

In tests that Consumer Reports preformed with the SUV the stability control did not keep the car from sliding as it should have in an emergency situation. And this, could increase the chance of rollover and thus serious injuries.

This “don’t buy” recommendation could not come at a worse time for Toyota (Lexus parent company). Toyota is facing hundreds of personal injury lawsuits and potential lawsuits as well as federal investigations regarding its recall efforts surrounding its sudden acceleration problems.

Tags: San Francisco Personal Injury Attorney Comments on Consumer reports warning on Toyota SUV.
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Cancer Concern Over CT Scans

Monday, March 29th, 2010

According to the New York Times, a group of scientists say that they plan to express concerns Tuesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been suppressing warnings from experts that the use of CT scans in checking for colon cancer exposes patients to radiation overdoses.

Medical groups across the country, including the F.D.A., are torn on the subject of using CT scans to check for colon cancer. But many believe that approving the use of CT scans for colon cancer “expose a number of Americans to a risk of radiation that is unwarranted.”

The debate is part of a wider concern over radiation-related illnesses in patients that receive these types of scans for various reasons.

Tags: San Francisco Injury Attorney Brett Burlison comments on FDA and risk of CT scans.
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Supreme Court Grants Review In Vaccine Case

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Suppose you are a parent and your child has suffered serious personal injuries or health problems – shouldn’t you be able to bring a personal injury or product liability lawsuit against the drug maker or manufacturer of the vaccine?

Well, that is exactly the question that the US Supreme Court is set to decide. The Court announced on Monday that the justices have agreed to hear an appeal from a case brought by parents that would like to sue Wyeth. Their daughter suffered serious side effects from the drug maker’s diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine.

In 1986, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act set up a special court to handle these disputes and to shield companies from most lawsuits. The parents are challenging this law and the case will deal squarely with preemption.

Justice Roberts recused himself from the decision to hear the case. It is speculated that his recusal is due to the fact that he owned stock in Pfizer the parent company of Wyeth.

Posted in Preemption, Product Liability | No Comments »

FDA Reviewing Product Liability Issues With Fosomax

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

According to media reports, some women who have been using the bisphosphonate drug Fosamax (alendronate) to fight osteoporosis are now suffering femur fractures. ABC’s Richard Besser, MD, explained in a segment that the drug may actually limit the human bone’s natural ability to protect itself from stress.

The Food and Drug Administration raised the issue with Merck in 2008. And in response, over a year later Merck added information on the packaging of the drug warning of the possibility of femoral shaft fractures.

Nevertheless, Besser noted that the agency has never made an effort to inform the public or doctors across the country who are prescribing this drug of this possible side effect but that the FDA is looking into reports regarding the fractures.

Tags: San Francisco Injury Attorney Comments on product liability issues with Fosomax.
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Toyota Recall Questions And Answers

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

The product liability and personal injury problems facing Toyota that are involved in the current recalls are numerous. But before we get into the legal grit and grime let’s answer a basic question or two that injury victims are consumers may have.

How many recalls has Toyota implemented and what are the reasons behind each one?

This sounds like a pretty simple question, but it is actually fairly complex. There are different recalls impacting different countries where Toyota is recalling different models.

However, here in the United States, and according to Toyota’s own website and information provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are currently recalls regarding gas pedal entrapment due to floor mats, “sticky” gas pedals, and brake issues involving the Prius and Camry models. It should also be noted that Toyota, as well as NHTSA, is investigating steering problems in 2010 Corolla models thought to impact about 500,000 cars.

Gas Pedal Malfunction Due to Floor Mats : Over four million vehicles are impacted by this recall and potential product defect issue.

The vehicles affected are as follows.
•   2007-2010 Camry
•   2005-2010 Avalon
•   2004-2009 Prius
•   2005-2010 Tacoma
•   2007-2010 Tundra
•   2007-2010 ES 350
•   2006-2010 IS 250 and IS350
•   2008-2010 Highlander
•   2009-2010 Corolla
•   2009-2010 Venza
•   2009-2010 Matrix
•   2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe

Consumers should remove the driver-side floor mat immediately. Contact Toyota and wait for a letter from the company instructing them to go to their dealers for the remedy.

“Sticky” Gas Pedals : Toyota has recalled over 2.3 million vehicles because of this problem and it is this issue that Toyota officials have claim is associated with reports of unintentional acceleration.

The vehicles involved in this recall are:
•   2007-2008 Tundra
•   2008-2010 Sequoia
•   2005-2010 Avalon
•   2007-2010 Camry
•   2009-2010 Corolla
•   2009-2010 Matrix
•   2009-2010 RAV4
•   2010 Highlander
•   2009-2010 Pontiac Vibe

If you are experiencing any problems involving acceleration or the gas pedals of the above mentioned vehicles or any Toyota product – park your vehicle and notify the dealer and manufacturer immediately.

Brake System Issues impacting Prius and Camry:

2010 Prius Hybrids and Lexus HS 250h and 2010 Camry models are being recalled by Toyota for braking safety issues involving loss of braking power and with the 2010 Camrys – brake fluid leaks.

Consumer that own any of these vehicles experiencing any braking problems should park their cars and contact their their local Toyota dealer or Toyota’s North American headquarters at 1-800-331-4331.

According to NHTSA, here are simple and potentially life saving steps a consumer can take if she experiences any unintended or sudden acceleration problems.

Brake firmly and steadily – do not pump the brake pedal.
Shift the transmission into Neutral (for vehicles with automatic transmissions and the sport option, familiarize yourself with where Neutral is – the diagram may be misleading).
Steer to a safe location.
Shut the engine off (for vehicles with keyless ignition, familiarize yourself with how to turn the vehicle off when it is moving – this may be a different action than turning the vehicle off when it is stationary).
Call your dealer or repair shop to pick up the vehicle. Do not drive it.

Contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or the Toyota Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331 or the Lexus Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-255-3987 or Pontiac at 1-800-762-2737.

Click here for Toyota’s website and important safety information from the company.

Tags: San Francisco Personal Injury Attorney Brett A. Burlison Provides Information On Toyota Recall Models.
Posted in Product Liability, Toyota Recall & Product Defect | No Comments »

Injury Potential Prompts Medical Group To Call For New Rules On Radiation

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Overradiation from CT scans and other medical treatments can cause serious even life threatening personal injuries to patients and injury victims. Recent reports of radiation treatments gone wrong and patients suffering serious injuries as a result have caused many consumer groups to call for new rules and even legislation regulating such treatments and devices.

But now the leading medical organization concerning radiation has made its position clear.

According to the New York Times, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, known as Astro, has released a six-point position statement on the administration of radiation by health care providers.

The six-point plan calls for stronger accreditation programs, better and expanded training for technicians and health care providers dealing with radiation, and a better program to deal with potential product defect issues with the various technologies and machinery involved in radiation delivery.

The group is also calling for legislation to set national standards for radiation treatments and better measures to evaluate safety measures. According to the Times, the group has stated that it is committed to protecting patients and even establishing a national data base to track errors involving radiation use and treatments.

Tags: San Francisco Injury attorney BRett A. Burlison comments on new rules for radiation treatments.
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San Francisco Injury Victim’s Award Upheld By State Supreme Court

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco Injury Attorneys like myself have been following closely the path of Whiteley vs. R.J. Reynolds, which has gone through two trials, appeals, and finally a ruling from the California Supreme Court.

As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, on Wednesday our Supreme Court unanimously denied review of the company’s appeal.

The injury victim in this case was a life-long smoker who started smoking at the age of 13. She died of cancer caused by her smoking at the age of 40. But before her death she sued R.J Reynolds and a San Francisco jury awarded her and her husband $1.7 million in compensatory damages and $20 million in punitives. It was the first verdict for an injury victim in a personal injury case against a tobacco company ever. The tobacco company appealed.

An appeals court granted R.J. Reynolds a new trial. So, another San Francisco jury heard the case and this time awarded the injury victim and her family $2.85 million in 2007. The company appealed again.

The appeals court upheld the verdict stating that the company had engaged in a “campaign of deception” in order to keep smokers addicted. And yesterday, the California Supreme Court declined to review the company’s appeal.

Cigarettes killed over 100 million people in the 20th century. 5 million are currently dieing every year due to cigarettes. Tobacco companies have been selling poison, death, and deception for years with near immunity. It is time they were held accountable to the personal injury victims and their families.

Yesterday’s decision by the California Supreme Court is a victory consumers and injury victims both in San Francisco and across the country.

Tags: San Francisco injury attorney Brett Burlison comments on personal injury verdict against tobacco company.
Posted in Legal Update, Product Liability | No Comments »

$165 Million Class Action Settlement

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

New Jersey U.S. District Judge Katharine Hayden has approved one of the largest settlements by a drug company in US history – $165 million to resolve a class action lawsuit that accused the drug maker of not adequately disclosing manufacturing deficiencies in its quality control operations regarding the drug Clarinex, a popular allergy drug.