The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that nearly 300 kids 4 ages 4 and under are killed in pool and spa accidents a year, while some 3,000 others are injured. More than 50% of the child victims are under 3 years of age. 80% of fatal drowning accidents involving child…
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently announced the results of three front-to-front crash tests it conducted. A microcar or minicar and a midsize model from the same auto maker were used for each test. IIHS president Adrian Lund says that while there are undoubtedly benefits to buying the smaller…
The US Supreme Court has upheld a $6.7 million civil awarded to a woman whose arm had to be amputated after receiving a botched injection of Phenergan, an anti-nausea medication. The woman, Diana Levine, was injured in April 2000 when she went to a local clinic for treatment of a…
One year after the US Supreme Court ruled that medical device makers cannot be sued for personal injury, products liability, or wrongful death if the Food and Drug Administration had previously approved the device, US lawmakers are taking steps to give back to defective medical device victims and their families…
In Boston, an 82-year-old woman was pronounced dead today at Massachusetts General Hospital after falling on an escalator at the MBTA’s State Street Station. Her clothing reportedly got caught in the escalator. According to Boston EMS spokesperson Jennifer Mehigan, a “cardiac incident” and the “escalator accident” were both factors in…
In the US District Court in Worcester, a state trooper is suing Taser International, the makers of the Taser stun gun, for $1 million. James Foley, a Grafton resident, says that when the weapon was used on him during a law enforcement seminar on Tasers, the electric currents that went…
Public health officials in Massachusetts say 48 residents have been afflicted by the same strain of Salmonella that has made over 600 people in the United States sick. The Salmonella Typhimurium originated from a peanut plant in Georgia that is owned by the Peanut Corporation of America. Those affected in…
Toyota is recalling 1.3 million motor vehicles over concerns that a foam pad located close to the seat belt could catch fire during an auto crash. Included in the automaker’s recall are 134,000 Yaris subcompacts (2006 and 2007 models) that were sold in the United States. The National Highway Traffic…
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission and Stork Craft Manufacturing are announcing the recall of some 535,000 Stork Craft Baby Cribs. They are telling consumers to stop using the cribs right away. Stork Craft will provide crib owners with a free replacement kit. The recall is being issued because the…
Dennis and Kimberly Quaid have reached a $750,000 medical malpractice settlement agreement with the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for the medication error that nearly killed their twin infants last year. Zoe Grace and Thomas Boone Quaid were accidentally administered 1,000 times the recommended dose of heparin, a blood thinner. The medication…