Personal Injury Law News & Recall Articles

Associated Press, "Popcorn firms removing flavoring chemical; Additive diacetyl linked to lung ailments in factory workers"

The New York Times, "Medtronic Patients Wonder Whether to Replace a Wire That Might Fail"

          For one heart patient, there will be no more agonizing over whether the implanted device meant to save his life might kill him instead. On Tuesday, two months after Medtronic warned doctors and nearly a quarter-million patients that a wire, or lead, connecting their electronic defibrillators to their hearts might break, the 48-year-old patient had the lead and defibrillator removed and replaced. It required a painstaking 90-minute operation here at Morristown Memorial Hospital. More...

Newsday, "Merck recalls 2 types of childhood Hib vaccines"

          About 1 million doses of two types of childhood vaccines are being voluntarily recalled by Merck & Co. because of possible microbial contamination, and will result in a serious vaccine shortage, health officials said yesterday. More...

CBC News, "Over 570,000 Dodge vehicles recalled due to faulty gearshift"

          Chrysler is recalling 575,417 Dodge trucks, vans and SUVs sold in Canada and the United States to repair a problem with the gearshift. The recall, announced Friday, affects Dodge Dakota trucks, Dodge Durango SUVs and Dodge Ram vans in the 2001 and 2002 model years as well as 2002 Dodge Ram pickup trucks. More...

AFX News Limited, "Chrysler recalls 576,000 trucks on faulty gearshift"

          Chrysler LLC said it will voluntarily recall more than 576,000 trucks, vans and sports utility vehicles because of a faulty gearshift. 'Nine incidents involving injuries have been identified in connection with this issue. No fatalities have been reported,' it said in a statement. More...

Portfolio Media, "Jury Awards $20.5 Million in Welding Fume Trial"

        A federal jury awarded a couple $20.5 million Wednesday after finding that a number of companies failed to warn the husband that exposure to the fumes of their welding products could cause neurological injury. More...

Northwest Arkansas Times, "Expert testifies that design flaws contributed to fatal crash"

A plaintiffs' expert testified Wednesday that he thinks there was a defect in the van involved in a fatal 2003 accident. Ford Motor Co. is being sued by several plaintiffs who were passengers in the van when it crashed on Interstate 70 in Kansas. More...

Associated Content, "Lawsuit Claims Ford's Expedition SUV Has Faulty Roof That Collapses in Rollover"

        The suit was filed on Nov. 8, 2005, and alleges that the defendant, Ford Motor Company, knowingly manufactured and sold its Expedition model SUV with a defective roof that collapses in rollover accidents. More...

Los Angeles Times, "Dennis Quaid sues heparin maker Baxter"

          Actor Dennis Quaid and his wife, Kimberly, filed suit today against a manufacturer of the blood thinner heparin, saying the product's labeling and design contributed to an overdose of the drug given to their newborn twins last month. More...

Associated Press, "Correction on Ford Explorer Rollover Dangers Settlement"

          In a November 28, 2007 story about the settlement of class-action lawsuits involving the Ford Explorer, The Associated Press erroneously reported that the settlements end all the outstanding rollover-related lawsuits against the automotive company. The settlements end the class-action lawsuits brought by Explorer owners who said their vehicles had lost value because of their perceived danger. They do not end pending personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits involving the Explorer, plaintiffs' attorneys and Ford Motor Co. said.

McClatchy-Tribune Business News, "Ford to settle SUV lawsuit: Explorer owners would get vouchers for new Ford vehicles"

         A proposed settlement in a massive class-action lawsuit brought in Sacramento against the Ford Motor Co. would give 1 million Explorer owners in four states the opportunity to claim vouchers toward the purchase of a new Ford vehicle. More...

KSBY TV News, "Target of Lawsuits: Off-road vehicle Paso Robles child killed was driving"

      The off-road vehicle, the Yamaha Rhino, that Ashlyn Vargas was driving when she was killed Thanksgiving Day is the subject of lawsuits nationwide. More...

Reuters, "Ford agrees to settle some rollover cases"

          Ford Motor Co has agreed to settle class-action litigation covering plaintiffs in four states who claimed its Explorer sport utility vehicles were prone to rollovers, Ford said on Wednesday. "From Ford's position, we believe the settlement is fair and reasonable and in the best in interests of our customers and our shareholders," Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley said. More...

KSBY TV News, "Tragedy on Thanksgiving: ATV accident claims life of 12 year old"

        The Thanksgiving holiday takes a tragic turn when a 12 year old girl dies in an ATV accident.It happened near Highway 58 in the California Valley, just before noon Thursday. More...

Tucson Citizen, "Serious injuries climb for kids driving ATVs; Hospitalizations are up 70% in 4-year span"

          When ATV racer Brandon Leach got sideways in the air during a race in Mammoth in April, he pretty much figured the outcome would be bad. It was. The wheels of the 450cc Honda TRX quad hit the ground, slamming him into the dirt. The 350-pound vehicle then flipped into the air and landed on him. "Right there I went blank," Brandon, 16, said recently between runs at Pima Motorsports Park. Brandon was airlifted to Tucson's University Medical Center, where a dislocated collarbone, bruised pelvis, three cracked ribs, collapsed lung and a concussion kept him hospitalized for 12 days. More...

Medical Industry Week , "AMO faces legal claims following contact lens recall"

        Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP has announced that ten contact lens solution users from across America have filed a personal injury lawsuit against Advanced Medical Optics in state court in Los Angeles, CA. More...

Learn more about AMO injuries and the lawsuit

Daily Progress.com, "Aqua Dots: New horrors in children's toy imports from China"

          Although few people might be willing to throw out their Chinese-made toys, a growing scandal is prompting some consumers to boycott Chinese-made products - just in time for Christmas. The latest horror story is so bizarre, it’s almost unbelievable. At least two children in the United States and four in Australia were hospitalized when they ingested beads from a popular new toy. Glue in the product contained a chemical that metabolized into what is known as the “date rape drug.” More...

KJCT News.com (Western Colorado), "'Date Rape' Drug Found in Coating on Aqua Dots Toys"

          About 4.2 million Chinese-made toys have been voluntarily recalled in the U.S., which could be far more dangerous than anything having to do with lead. It's an arts and crafts toy called "Aqua Dots". Tests show a coating on the toys could send your child into a coma, or worse if swallowed. More...

San Francisco Chronicle, "Toy Beads Sicken 7 More Children in US"

          Seven more U.S. children were sickened after ingesting Chinese-made toy beads that were recalled earlier this week because of a toxic chemical coating, the government said Friday. The reports of the sickened children, six of whom were hospitalized, came from at least five states: Texas, Delaware, New Hampshire, Illinois and Utah, according to a spokeswoman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission. More...

San Francisco Chronicle, "Merck to Pay $4.85B Vioxx Settlement"

          Merck & Co. said Friday it will pay $4.85 billion to end thousands of state and federal lawsuits over its painkiller Vioxx in one of the largest drug settlements ever. Company officials estimated the deal, if accepted, would end 45,000 to 50,000 personal injury lawsuits involving U.S. Vioxx users who suffered a heart attack or ischemic stroke, the type in which blood flow to the brain is blocked. More...

New York Times, "Merck Agrees to Pay $4.85 Billion for Vioxx Claims"

          Three years after withdrawing its pain medication Vioxx from the market, Merck announced today that it will pay $4.85 billion to settle 27,000 lawsuits by people who contend they or their family members suffered injury or died after taking the drug. More...

TransWorldNews, "Aquadots recall after chemicals in toy converts to date rape drug"

          A popular children’s toy called Aqua Dots, also know as Aqua Beads, are being recalled after tests found chemicals in the toy that can turn into a date rape drug if swallowed. More...

Post Chronicle, "Aquadots Recall: Two Comatose Children Sparks US Recall"

          Aquadots Recall - After two children swallowed Aqua Dots and became comatose, the U.S. consumer-safety regulators have recalled 4 million of the China-made arts-and-craft toys. More...

Charleston South Carolina NewsNow, "Aqua Dots Recalled"

          The wildly popular craft beads known in the U.S. as Aquadots have been huge sellers. Young Heather Lehane in Australia loved them, until she put them in her mouth. More...

Associated Press, "U.S. officials pull Chinese-made toys with 'date rape' drug"

          Millions of Chinese-made toys have been pulled from shelves in North America and Australia after scientists found they contain a chemical that converts into a powerful "date rape" drug when ingested. Two children in the U.S. and three in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing the beads. The recall is yet another blow to the toy industry -- already bruised by a slew of recalls during the summer. More...

Associated Press, "Mom: Chemical-Laced Toy Made Son 'Drunk'"

          A woman whose toddler son ingested a popular toy that contains a chemical that turns into a powerful "date rape" drug when eaten said Thursday she knew he was ill when he began to stumble, seemed drunk and started vomiting. The mother, Shelby Esses, said her 20-month-old son Jacob, fell down and was limp after getting into his older sister's Aqua Dots, a Chinese-made toy recalled Wednesday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. More...

Gear Live.com, "Chinese Aquadot Toys Found to Have Possibly Lethal Consequences"

          More toys made in China have been recalled today. Scientists have discovered that a chemical in them is the equivalent of the date rape drug GHB (gamma hydroxy butyrate,) which can cause seizures, drowsiness, unconsciousness, coma, or death.Two kids in the U.S. and three in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing beads in Bindeez and Aqua Dots. Used for arts and craft projects and sold in retail stores and over the Internet, the beads fuse together when sprayed with water. More...

Associated Press, "California struggles with its own diacetyl problem"

          When Irma Ortiz walked into Dr. Phil Harber's Los Angeles office last year, it was the end of a frustrating medical journey. For years, doctors said she had asthma. Or bronchitis. They prescribed medicine, then sent her on her way. She kept coughing. She got weaker. By December 2005, the 45-year-old woman who could once lift 50-pound boxes without breaking a sweat could work no more. More...

Associated Press, "Device Woes Said Reported Before Recall"

          Hundreds of injuries linked to a brand of heart defibrillator wires were reported to the government by last winter, a consumer advocate said Tuesday in asking why the wires weren't recalled until this week. Medtronic Inc. pulled its Sprint Fidelis defibrillation wires off the market Monday, after identifying five patient deaths in which broken wires may have played a role. More...

Associated Press, "Medtronic Sued Over Recalled Heart Device"

Associated Press, "Staph Fatalities May Exceed AIDS Deaths"

         More than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly infections each year from a drug-resistant staph "superbug," the government reported Tuesday in its first overall estimate of invasive disease caused by the germ. More...

Associated Press, "Medtronic Recall: Medtronic sued for Faulty Lead"

          Recalls had already battered the heart device industry when Medtronic warned doctors that the wires connecting a patient's heart to its implantable defibrillators break too often. Medtronic told doctors to stop using the Sprint Fidelis wires after linking five deaths to breaks in them. The company said the Fidelis wires failed slightly more often than the thicker wires they were meant to replace. More...

Reuters, "Drugmakers recall infant cough/cold medicine"

          Johnson & Johnson, Wyeth and other makers of infants' nonprescription cough and cold products are recalling certain medicines in the United States because of the danger of overdose, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association said on Thursday. Novartis and Prestige Brands Holdings are recalling their oral infant cough and cold medicines, as well, because data show that when the medicines are misused, it can lead to overdose, especially in children under 2 years old. More...