Defective Products

December 13, 2012

Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Update: Framingham, Massachusetts-Based Compound Pharmaceutical Company Now a Defendant in Dozens of Federal Drug Injury Lawsuits

At least 50 federal lawsuits have been filed in nine states seeking products liability compensation from the New England Compounding Center, the Framingham, Massachusetts pharmaceutical company that is the identified source of a tainted steroid injection that has made nearly 600 people ill with fungal meningitis, spinal infections, and/or other complications, including joint infections and stroke. At least 37 people have died. More drug injury cases against NECC are also being submitted in state court.

According to the drug defect lawsuits, the compound pharmacy made a dangerous and flawed product. Millions of dollars are being sought by the plaintiffs for their personal injuries, mental anguish, emotional trauma, lost wages, costly medical bills, and other related damages, as well as the wrongful deaths of loved ones. In Massachusetts, please contact our Boston fungal meningitis law firm to request your free case evaluation.

Because so many dangerous drug cases are in progress, attorneys are seeking to have one judge hear the pretrial and discovery portions of all the federal lawsuits via multidistrict litigation. The complaints would then go to a judge in the original district for trial.

November 25, 2012

Boston Products Liability?: Keep Kids Away from Single-Load Liquid Laundry Pods

by Altman & Altman

The CPSC recently put out an alert warning that a new type of laundry detergent-the single-load liquid laundry packet-is proving toxic for kids. While laundry detergent was never supposed to be ingested, what makes this product especially child unfriendly is that they look and even feel like they might be small pieces of candy or a teething toy.

It doesn’t help that they tend to come in bright, attractive colors and their texture has been likened by some to that of a gummy bear (soft and gooey). Liquid laundry pods are also small enough to put in the mouth and easy to puncture so that it is no wonder that the detergent, which contains toxic ingredients, can easily make contact with the eyes and skin. Also, the majority of liquid laundry packets don’t come in childproof containers.

Already, the CPSC knows of at least 500 incidents involving kids and adults getting sick from this type of detergent. Serious side effects may include throwing up, sleepiness, problems breathing, eye irritation, diarrhea, temporary vision loss, and/or ocular burns. The American Center of Poison Control Centers is reporting about 10 calls a day over injuries involving this laundry product during one 20 day period.

November 14, 2012

Toyota Recalls 2.8M Prius Hybrids Over Steering Problems and Chrysler Recalls 919,000 Liberty SUVs and Jeep Grand Cherokees Because of Faulty Air Bags

by Altman & Altman

Toyota Motor Corp. has announced a global recall of 2.77 million autos globally because of water pump and steering issues. The recall affects its Prius hybrid vehicles that were manufactured between 2004 and 2011 and a number of Corolla compact vehicles made between 2000 and 2006.

The automaker says the safety issues have not caused any auto collisions. However, this recall is certainly no help to Toyota’s efforts to reestablish its reputation as the maker of safe, reliable vehicles after the major recalls of millions of vehicles it issued between 2009 and 2011 over serious defects linked to sudden unintended acceleration problems. Numerous wrongful death and auto defects lawsuits have since been filed.

Also, it was just last month that Toyota recalled 7.43 million cars because defective power window switches might cause the autos to catch fire. By the time the recall was announced, safety regulators had reported at least 161 auto fires and nine related injuries.

November 5, 2012

30 Now Dead in Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Linked to Contaminated Steroid Shots Made by Framingham, Massachusetts Compounding Pharmacy

by Altman & Altman

The CDC is reporting that the death toll in the ongoing fungal meningitis outbreak involving tainted steroid injections is now at 30, while the number of those afflicted is at 419 (those affected by related joint infections are also included in this number). The steroid shots were used for treating back pain, as well as joint problems.

According to the New York Times, doctors that have been treating patients afflicted in this outbreak are seeing certain worrying complications in some, including epidural abscess in the area of the spine where the shot was administered and arachnoiditis, involving spinal inflammation. In Massachusetts, please contact our Boston fungal meningitis law firm if you or someone you love became afflicted after receiving a methylprednisolone acetate injection.

The Boston Globe reports that right before the national outbreak erupted, the New England Compounding Center, which is based in Framingham, Massachusetts, had sent out a “Quality Assurance Report Card” to clients touting it’s labs’ cleanliness even though internal tests showed contamination that was widespread. Two of the three steroid lots involved in the outbreak were made during the period noted in the report card, which claims that the pharmacy’s “extensive” testing of products for microbial contaminants and sterility had a 100% success rate.

October 31, 2012

Buckyballs Toy Magnets Discontinued in the Wake of CPSC Lawsuit and ‘Dangerous to Children’ Allegations

by Altman & Altman

Maxfield and Oberton, the manufacturer of Buckycubes and Buckyballs, says that it is discontinuing the popular magnet desk toy. The decision to stop selling this product comes in the wake of pressure from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which filed a lawsuit contending that the product is a danger to children.

The magnetic pieces are easy to separate from each other and small enough to easily swallow. The pieces can be hard to find once separated from the toy’s larger whole. Blood poisoning and fatalities can also result. Unfortunately, there continue to be other products in the marketplace that include small magnet pieces that pose the same problem as Buckyballs and Buckycubes. If your son or daughter sustained injuries from swallowing a small magnet, you may have grounds for filing a Boston child injury lawsuit.

Already a number of kids have ingested Buckyball magnets in the past few years, with some of them having to undergo extensive hospital stays and multiple surgeries. The magnets are so powerful that if a child were swallow more than one, they can be drawn toward each other in the body, potentially creating holes in the intestine. Doctors have compared a magnet-related ingestion injury injury to a “gunshot wound to the gut,” said Dr. Mark Gilger who is quoted on CNN. Even older kids have ended up swallowing Buckyball magnets, as some of them have pretended that the small pieces were fake tongue piercings.

October 24, 2012

Products Liability: Monster Energy Drink Lawsuit Blames Caffeine Beverage for 14-Year-Old’s Wrongful Death

by Altman & Altman

The parents of Anna Fournier, 14, are suing Monster Beverage Company for her wrongful death. They claim that after she consumed two 24 oz. Monster Energy beverages containing 480 mg of caffeine over two consecutive days in December, the teen went into cardiac arrest. Six days later, Fournier, who never regained consciousness, had to be taken off life support.

According to her death certificate, Fournier’s died from cardiac arrhythmia resulting “caffeine toxicity complicating mitral valve regurgitation” related to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. This means that the caffeine caused her heart to beat irregularly. However, prior to consuming the beverages, she was already suffering from an underlying genetic disorder meant that had already been causing her heart valve to leak. leaking

In their Monster Energy lawsuit, Fournier’s parents are alleging that the energy drink maker failed in warning consumers about the dangers involved in consuming beverages with a lot of caffeine. They also accused the manufacturer of purposely marketing the Monster line to young people-for example, names of the drinks include Monster Heavy Metal and Monster Assault. (While Monster can labels don’t report the amount of caffeine that is in each drink, they do say that that the energy beverage is not recommended for people who are caffeine-sensitive or for kids. A 2-3 can/day limit is recommended depending on how big the can.)

October 16, 2012

Counterfeit Air Bags Pose Safety Issue for Vehicle Occupants, Warns NHTSA

by Altman & Altman

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, repair professionals and vehicle owners should watch out for counterfeit air bags. Often used as a replacement part at independent repair stores, these imitation safety devices generally don’t work properly and in a Boston car crash will likely fail to provide a motor vehicle occupant with the protection he/she needs.

Unfortunately, imitation air bags hard to identify because they look almost exactly like the ones that are certified as original and usually come with the branding of a legitimate automaker. NHTSA says that these counterfeit products were not properly tested.

According to NHTSA testing, imitation air bags have a tendency to fail to deploy properly or they expel metal shrapnel pieces during deployment. While there have been no reports of deaths or injuries so far, the US Department of Transportation says that more than 100 kinds of cars may have had a fake air bag installed. Just under 240,000 vehicles may be affected. You can find a list of the affected makes and models on the NHTSA website by visiting the link below.

October 12, 2012

Framingham, Massachusetts Compounding Pharmacy Linked to Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Had Settled Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Similar Allegations in 2007

by Altman & Altman

According to the Associated Press, the New England Compounding Center had already settled a wrongful death lawsuit over similar allegations in 2007. The Framingham, Massachusetts compounding pharmaceutical company is considered the source of the tainted steroid shots that are believed to be the cause of this current fungal meningitis outbreak. Already, reports the CDC, over 185 people in 10 states have fallen ill and at least 14 people have died in this latest contamination.

Please contact our Boston defective medication lawyers if you believe that you have fallen ill because of a dangerous or contaminated medication. Altman & Altman LLP also represents drug defect clients throughout the US.

In the earlier case, the victim, 83, died about 18 months after getting a shot that New England Compounding Center had produced. His loved ones contended that the shot was contaminated and caused him to develop the bacterial meningitis, which led to his death in 2004. A settlement was reached with his widow.

October 4, 2012

Study May Have Exposed Elderly Boston Nursing Home Patients to Greater Risk of Fall Accidents

by Altman & Altman

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, over 1,300 nursing home patients, including 268 in Massachusetts, may have been placed at a greater risk of falling when they took part in a study to see how well padded hip protectors serve as a buffer for residents during fall accidents. The yearlong study, led by Dr. Douglas P. Kiel, a Harvard Medical School gerontologist, involved researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston, and the Washington University School of Medicine. Now, the federal Office for Human Research Protections is mandating that a number of the study’s participants, many of whom were suffering from cognitive impairments, be notified of the serious risks that they were exposed to during the program.

The study took place between 2002 and 2006. Researchers wanted to see whether using padded underwear on just one side of the body, rather than on both hips, provided any benefits. However, data during the study began to indicate that wearing the garment might actually be causing falls, with the more serious fall injuries seeming to occur on the side of the body that was padded and not the one without the added protection. According to regulators, however, despite this realization the scientists failed to inform the patients.

Fall Accidents

September 30, 2012

Southwest Airlines Sued By Passenger Over Alleged Burn Injuries from Hot Tea

by Altman & Altman

A Southwest Airlines passenger is suing the company and one of its flight attendants for burn injuries she says she sustained while being serve tea during a flight. Angelica Keller is seeking $300,000 for personal injury, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and property damages, as well as $500,000 in punitive damages.

The food injury accident allegedly occurred on December 28, 2011 while Keller was riding on Flight 955. She contends that the flight attendant gave her a cup of water that was “extremely” hot in another cup that was also carrying condiment packets and a tea bag. As the plaintiff tried to remove the tea bag, between the ‘hot’ paper cup with very hot water and the other cup, the liquid fell out and onto her groin area, causing her to sustain second degree burns, skin blisters, and permanent scarring.

Keller partially blames Southwest’s lack of tray tables in its planes’ front rows for her personal injury accident. She also believes that the airline served water that was too hot for use in a plane. Because she had her seatbelt on, Keller said it took her longer to get out of her seat because she couldn’t jump up right away. She claims the flight attendant wasn’t very helpful. Keller is contending that there was a failure to warn of the danger that can arise from drinking hot tea when there is a flight.