Defective Products

September 9, 2010

Fatal MA Work Explosion Leads AG to Investigate the Delivery of Faulty Propane Across New England

The fatal explosion which occurred during a Massachusetts condominium construction project in July has led the state attorney general to investigate the delivery of faulty propane to locations across New England and New York.

Martha Coakley, the Attorney General, stated that the propane from a facility in Westfield lacks the necessary odorant which alerts homeowners and workers of a possibly dangerous gas leak.

Officials began to inspect propane supplies following the discovery that it was a propane leak which caused the death of a Norfolk construction worker this summer. Other construction workers stated that they did not smell a leak before the explosion occurred. The propane was traced back to a facility in Westfield.
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August 5, 2010

91- Year-Old Driver Hits Three Pedestrians Attending a Newburyport Parade

by Altman & Altman

A 91-year-old driver lost control of his minivan this past Sunday afternoon at a parade in Newburyport, injuring three parade goers.

Before the operator of the automobile was stopped by a large boulder on the opposite side of the road, he struck three individuals, including a husband and wife. The pair was hit while they were walking in a crosswalk at the parade.

The couple was taken to the local hospital where they received treatment for their injuries. The third bystander who was struck by the minivan refused treatment on the scene.

At the moment, investigators are inspecting the 91-year-old’s vehicle to see if there were any mechanical problems with the accelerator. The local police have charged the driver with driving to endanger and operating with defective equipment.
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August 4, 2010

Boston, Massachusetts Personal Injury: Are Dietary Supplements Dangerous Drugs?

by Altman & Altman

Consumer Reports is saying that some dietary supplements may be causing more harm than good. Its report warns of 12 ingredients in supplements that can cause serious side effects, including liver, cardiovascular, and kidney problems. The ingredients that Consumer Reports is cautioning against are:

• Yohimbe • Lobelia
• Kava • Greater celandine • Germanium Comfrey • Country mallow • Coltsfoot • Colloidal silver • Chaparral • Bitter orange • Aconite
Consumer Reports says there are even supplements that contain pesticides, heavy metals, and prescription drugs.

According to CNN, the Food and Drug Administration says that these possible side effects are dependent upon how much of an ingredient the user takes over a certain period of time. Unfortunately, the Food and Drug Administration’s power to regulate the dietary supplement industry is limited and many supplements are sold without having to prove that they work and are safe.

A recent article on the magazine’s Web site talks about one man, John Coolidge, who started to experience joint pain, diarrhea, lung problems, hair loss, and the loss of toenails and fingernails after taking Total Body Formula, a supplement that was supposed to improve his health. Hundreds of others have stepped forward to complain about the adverse reactions they experienced while taking the supplement. Based on the FDA’s testing of the supplement following the complaints, most samples had over 200 times the amount of selenium than what was listed on the supplement’s label and almost 17 times more than the recommended intake of chromium.

Some have expressed concern that there may even be some manufacturers who may be adding pharmaceuticals into their supplements. One doctor, internist Dr. Pieter Cohen at Cambridge Health Alliance, says that some of his patients have gotten sick from taking supplements.

Our Boston products liability lawyers want to remind you that there are legal remedies available to the victims of a product that caused serious injuries, illness, or wrongful death.

Three Types of Product Defect:
• Design defects • Marketing defects • Manufacturing defects
Dangerous supplements: What you don’t know about these 12 ingredients could hurt you, Consumer Reports, 2010
Report: Dietary supplements pose health risks, CNN, August 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
12 supplements you should avoid, Consumer Reports
Selected Examples of Deceptive or Dangerous Marketing for Herbal Supplements, GAO, May 26, 2010 Continue reading

July 31, 2010

Boston Medical Malpractice?: CT Brain Perfusion Scans Can Cause Radiation Overdose

by Altman & Altman

According to the New York Times, more radiation overdoses have occurred from CT brain perfusion scans than what was originally thought. More than 400 patients in the US have reportedly experienced higher radiation doses from the scans-although the FDA says that this number may be lower than the actual number of overdose cases. Last year, the Food and Drug Administration began an inquiry into why some patients that underwent the scan, which tests for stroke, experienced radiation overdose. GE Healthcare is the company that supplies the scanners.

CT brain perfusion scans are designed to deliver radiation doses equal to about 200 skull X-rays. Yet some patients reportedly received up to 13 times that radiation amount.

While the FDA has yet to release any official findings, the New York Times says that not only are the overdoses larger than what was originally determined, but some patients are experiencing much more serious side effects than hair loss, including confusion, headaches, memory loss, and a possibly higher risk of developing cancer or brain damage.

Despite these symptoms, some hospitals and doctors reportedly failed to detect that patients had experienced radiation overdose. Even after the FDA put out a national alert asking that hospitals check the tests’ radiation output, some hospitals kept overdosing patients for weeks or months.

Causes of the radiation overdoses have included improper test administration by physicians, which can be grounds for a medical malpractice case, and possible product defect issues, such as design deficiencies and failure to provide the proper training for how to use the medical devices.

After Stroke Scans, Patients Face Serious Health Risks, The New York Times, July 31, 2010
FDA Investigates Radiation Overdose At Hospitals, NPR, December 15, 2009

Related Web Resources:
FDA

Medical Malpractice, Nolo Continue reading

June 11, 2010

Massachusetts Products Liability?: Lowell Toddler Nearly Strangled by Window Blinds that are Part of Latest Ikea Recall

by Altman & Altman

The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Ikea are recalling 3.4 million shades and window blinds. The recall, which involves Roman shades, roll-up blinds, and roller blinds that were sold at IKEA stores in the US between January 1998 and June 2009, comes following news that an 18-month Lowell, Massachusetts boy nearly died from strangulation.

The blinds are a strangulation hazard for young kids because their necks can get tangled in the cords or chains. The roller blinds have a beaded chain that isn’t always attached to the floor or wall with a tension device. Meantime, the roll-up blinds have adjustment loops that can prove dangerous in the event that they end up sliding off the blind. As for the Roman shades, the inner cord and the back of the shade is a place where a young child’s neck can get easily caught. Some of the shades may have pull chains that are not attached to the floor or wall.

According to the CPSC, about 500 children have been strangled on the cords of shades and blinds in the last two decades. It was just last year that retailers voluntarily recalled all Roman shades and roll-up blinds-that’s about 50 million products.

April 30, 2010

Death of Massachusetts Toddler from Crib Entrapment Leads to Latest Simplicity Crib Recall

by Altman & Altman

Two years after a 1-year-old North Attleboro baby died from suffocation while entrapped between the frame and mattress of his crib, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling the Simplicity full-size cribs (both drop-side and fixed-side cribs) that come with mattress support frames that are made with tubular metal. The crib defect may prove fatal if the frame detaches or bends, causing an area of the mattress to cave, which can then become an opening that a toddler or infant can get entrapped or stuck in or fall through.

The CPSC knows of 13 other incidents involving these cribs that have resulted in the infant furniture collapsing. Another child who became entrapped was lucky enough to survive without physical injuries. One child that fell from the crib sustained minor cuts to his head.

The CPSC is warning parents to stop using the recalled cribs immediately. The agency does not know how many cribs are included in the recall. It also doesn’t have a list of all the affected models because Simplicity and SFCA Inc., its successor company, are not in business any longer.

Crib Entrapment
Crib entrapment is frequently caused by poorly designed and manufactured cribs. Suffocation, strangulation, fall injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and deaths are among the catastrophic results.

If your child died or was seriously injured because of a crib defect or another product flaw, you may have grounds for filing a Massachusetts products liability lawsuit against the negligent manufacturer, seller, and/or other liable parties.

In the last few years, the CPSC has recalled millions of cribs over product defects that are a serious injuries to children risk. The CPSC announced its latest Simplicity recall (It has recalled other Simplicity products in the past) on the same day it recalled, along with LaJobi Inc., approximately 217, 000 Graco drop-side cribs. If the drop side fails, breaks, doesn’t lock, or detaches from the crib, a baby or toddler can become entrapped between the mattress (this can lead to strangulation or suffocation) or fall to the ground.

99 drop-side failure incidents have been reported. Two children became entrapped and six children fell out of their respective cribs. None of them were seriously injured, although one child did suffer a mild concussion.

Simplicity Crib and Graco Crib Recall, Modern Mom, April 30, 2010
CPSC announces 2 big crib recalls, Associated Press/Boston.com, April 29, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Commission

Product Liability FAQ, Nolo Continue reading

April 21, 2010

Toyota Motor Corp Recalls Lexus GX 460 to Remedy SUV Rollover Hazard

by Altman & Altman

Toyota is recalling the 2010 Lexus GX 460 sport-utility to fix the software in the sport utility vehicle’s stability control system. Testing by Consumer Reports and Toyota found the vehicle to be an SUV rollover risk, and the automaker has taken immediate action to fix the problem.

So far, there are no reports of injuries or deaths related to the auto defect. The problem became public knowledge after Consumer Reports issued a “Don’t Buy” warning to car buyers because its testers found that the GX40 was in danger of rolling over during certain emergency situations. Toyota immediately began conducting its own tests and suspended the sale and manufacturer of its SUV’s to determine if there was a problem and if so, how to fix it.

The need for a recall is the latest bad news for Toyota, which has recalled more than eight million autos for sudden acceleration-related defects and brake problems. Last week, the automaker recalled approximately 600,000 1998 -2010 Toyota Sienna minivans because of concern that if road salt causes the carrier cable to corrode excessively, the spare tire may fall off, potentially causing a traffic crash.

Toyota has been trying hard to regain consumer confidence, which has faltered in the wake of so many auto defects and resulting injuries and deaths. Since the mass recalls, dozens of people have filed auto products liability lawsuits and wrongful death complaints against the automaker.

On Monday, the auto manufacturer agreed to pay the $16.4 million fine imposed by US safety regulators because it waited too long to address the “sticky” gas pedal defect that prompted a mass recall in January. US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says that by not acting fast enough to notify the public and the government about the problem-Toyota automaker may have known about the problem in September-the automaker put people’s lives at risk.

Toyota Recalls Lexus GX 460 SUV Rated ‘Safety Risk’, BusinessWeek, April 20, 2010
Toyota to Pay $16.375 Million Civil Fine, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, April 19, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Don’t Buy: Safety Risk–2010 Lexus GX 460, Consumer Reports, April 13, 2010
Recall Information, Toyota Continue reading

April 5, 2010

Pfizer Settles for $400,000 the Massachusetts Dangerous Drug Lawsuit Filed by Family of Neurontin User who Committed Suicide

by Altman & Altman

Pfizer has settled the Boston wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Hartley Shearer for $400,000. Shearer, 57, committed suicide 16 months after he started taking the epilepsy drug. In their Massachusetts dangerous drug complaint that they filed in federal court in Boston, the plaintiffs, Hartley’s widow and son, had accused Pfizer of failing to warn doctors and patients that Neurontin can increase the risk of suicide.

Over 1,000 dangerous drug lawsuits have been filed accusing Pfizer of illegally marketing Neurontin for unapproved uses and contributing to the suicide deaths of a number of users. While the US Food and Drug Administration has approved Neurontin for treatment of epilepsy and shingles, the medication’s off label uses have included:

• Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy • Attention Deficit Disorder • Restless Leg Syndrome • Post-Hepatic Neuralgia • Drug Withdrawal Seizures • Alcohol Withdrawal Seizures • Trigeminal Neuralgia

March 26, 2010

Injuries to Children and Infants: CPSC Recalls 1.2 Million Graco Strollers, 1 Million Infantino Baby Slings, and 150,000 Evenflo Baby Gates

by Altman & Altman

Fall accidents and suffocation are two of the leading causes of injuries to young children. This is why in the last seven days, US Consumer Product Safety Commission, along with three manufacturers, have announced recalls of products that pose serious injuries to children. If your son or daughter is one of these victims, do not hesitate to request your free consultation with our Boston products liability lawyers. We are committed to making sure that child injury victims and their families receive the Massachusetts personal injury compensation that they are owed.

On March 18, the CPSC and Graco recalled approximately 1.2 million Harmony™ High Chairs following 24 reports of injuries to children, which included bruises, bumps, and scratches to the body and head, as well as an arm hairline fracture. At least 464 reports of screws coming loose and plastic brackets cracking have been reported to Graco. These defects can make the high chairs unstable.

If a chair tips over and a child is in it, a fall accident can occur. All Harmony™ High Chairs are affected by the recall and the CPSC wants people to stop using them right away.

March 16, 2010

Baby Sling Carriers Can Cause Child Suffocation, Cautions CPSC

by Altman & Altman

Here is a warning for Massachusetts parents and guardians. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, baby slings can be deadly for your infants. Over the years, this carrier has proved to be a popular accessory, allowing parents to “wear” their kids while keeping them close so that they can bond or breastfeed. Yet the CPSC says that in the last 20 years, it has looked into at least 13 deaths that have been linked to these sling carriers.

12 of the babies that died were under the age of four months. Three of the fatalities happened last year. Consumer Reports noted in 2008 that there had been about two dozen serious injuries to children involving the baby slings.

The main hazards associated with the baby slings are fall accidents, which can lead to skull fractures and traumatic brain injuries, and suffocation, which can happen if the baby ends up in a “C-like” position close to the mom’s belly or chest or if the sling’s fabric ends up covering the infant’s mouth and nose. Both can make it hard for the baby to breath properly.

If your child died because of a defective product, you may want to consider filing a Boston, Massachusetts products liability lawsuit so that you can obtain compensation for the injuries to your child caused by a negligent manufacturer.

If you are going to continue to use your child’s baby sling, then it is important that you:

• Check with the doctor to make sure the sling is the right carrier to use for your baby.
• Follow directions for proper use.
• Make sure that your baby is securely in the sling and isn’t at risk of falling.
• Make sure that the sling fabric doesn’t cover your baby’s face.
• After feeding the infant, shift his/her position so that the head is facing up.
• Frequently check your baby’s position in the sling.

Unfortunately, there are furniture, clothing, accessories, toys, and other children’s products that are either defectively designed or poorly made to the point that they can cause serious injuries to children. Choking, strangulation, lead poisoning, fingertip amputation, and eye hazards are just some of the potential dangers that can cause Boston, Massachusetts injuries to minors.

Infant Deaths Prompt CPSC Warning About Sling Carriers for Babies, CPSC, March 12, 2010
Infant deaths prompt gov’t warning on slings, Associated Press/The Boston Globe, March 12, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Strangulation and Suffocation, Parents.com
Child Injuries, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Continue reading