Category: Product Liability

The American Association for Justice (AAJ), a leading legal organization that focuses on enhancing the practice of law and advocating the civil justice system, recently published a report called From Accutane to Zonite: A History of Dangerous Drugs & Devices Marketed to Women which brought to light many of the medical products that have negatively affected women over the past century. The article brings attention to heavily marketed female products such as talcum powder and vaginal mesh.

AAJ argues that corporations have a history of exploiting women in order to gain profit for their unsafe medical products. Some companies allegedly knew about the medical devices being harmful to women, however, they did not mention it to the public. Women were left suffering from dangerous drugs and devices until many lawsuits, over decades, brought justice to the major issue. The government has acted to curtail all medical products being marketed to women by implementing stricter FDA regulations before any medical product can enter the market.

Fidget spinners are the latest toy craze sweeping the country.  They consist of small pieces of plastic, metal, and a ball bearing that the user can rotate between their fingers.  Fidget spinners act as a release mechanism for people with nervous energy or psychological stress.

Initially the toy was marketed for children and adults who struggle with focusing or fidgeting, such as those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism. But their popularity has increased beyond their initial target group and children of all ages can be seen playing with fidget spinner toys.

On May 24, 2017, Graco recalled 25,494 car seats. The specific car seat, My Ride 65, was produced between May and August 2014. According to CNN, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that the webbing of the car seat failed to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The agency found that the car seat did not properly restrain a child in the event of a crash.

“In the event of a serious motor vehicle crash, the harness webbing restraining the child may break resulting in a child not being properly restrained,” the agency reported. Graco researched the issue and found the problem to stem from a single piece of weak webbing. Graco will notify owners of the My Ride 65 and provide them with a new harness, free of charge. The recall is expected to start July 17, 2017.

Graco’s recent recall on car seats brings attention to children’s safety in the car. According to AAA, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death and injury for all children. Parents need to do everything they can to ensure their young children are safe in car seats. Car seats can save young children even during minor accidents.

All people in a vehicle need to be properly restrained by a seatbelt or a car seat to help prevent injury or death during an unexpected accident. As stated by AAA, “Car seats reduce the risk of injury by 71% to 82% and reduced the risk of death by 28% in comparison to children in seat belts alone.” Children who are safely fastened into car seats are at a much less risk of injury than those who are only wearing seat belts.

When a patient undergoes lung or heart transplant surgery, it’s crucial that the operation occurs in a 100% sterile environment. Even a single trace of bacteria may cause a patient to develop a life-threatening infection. Transplant surgery patients are at an immunocompromised (weakened) state during surgery and they’re in an exposed condition for a long period of time. Surgeons and surgical assistants take every precaution necessary.

Everything from the equipment used to the members of the surgical team must remain sterile throughout an entire transplant surgery. This includes any devices that are responsible for providing oxygen to the patient, circulating water through equipment, or regulating a patient’s body temperature. Most devices are tested thoroughly by the manufacturers and are guaranteed to be sterile.

If you’ve had metal-on-metal hip replacement surgery, you’ve already been through a long surgery and recovery process that has almost assuredly affected your life and livelihood. As you’re recovering from surgery, you may have noticed certain side effects that are complicating the recovery process. Some side effects and complications are normal, but others are not.

You may also be aware that certain hip replacement implants are currently under FDA recall. Most hip implant surgeries have excellent outcomes, but others do not. Many of these poor outcomes are due to implants that are defective or do not hold up over time. When a hip replacement surgery patient is injured or suffers from a defective hip implant, that patient may face additional surgeries, a long and painful recovery process, or may not even recover at all.