Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.

Articles Posted in Product Liability

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Almost every day defective products that can potentially injure or kill consumers are being recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The number and diversity of products being recalled are on the rise. Last year in the U.S. there were more cars recalled than cars being sold. Does this mean that more defective products are being sold or that the consumer is better protected?

In a recent article in the New York Times, Stacey Colley  explains that better detection technology and stricter safety rules have lead to an increase of products recalls. The recent massive recall of frozen fruits and vegetable by CRF Frozen Foods is a good example of how new technologies can help in identifying  dangerous products and recalling them. After the Ohio Department of Agriculture found a bacteria responsible for listeria in a bag of frozen food during a routine test, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)  used a technology called whole genome sequencing to determine if people got sick from eating contaminated CRF Frozen Food. The CDC found that 8 people in 3 States had to be hospitalized after eating CRF products that contain the listeria strain.

Recalls have also increased in number and in complexity. Before it was easy to trace defective products from small local suppliers. Now suppliers are fewer but they are giants and their products can be disseminated all around the country or the world.   The most recent example is the Takata airbag inflater recall. the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that that it is the most complex recall it has ever overseen.

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FirestoneDefective products are killing and injuring people every day. In the US the Consumer Product Safety Commission  is in charge of protecting consumers from these dangerous products. When a product is deemed dangerous by the CPSC, it will be the object of a recall.  In a recent article, the New York Times looked at some of  the most notable product safety recalls over the last 10 years. Among them, the deadliest defective products were the Firestone tires that were recalled by the CPSC in 2000 . 271 people died in car accidents because of tire failure and tread separation. The largest one was the recall of 150 million pieces of toy jewelry sold in vending machines for 75 cents or less.  The toy jewelry was recalled for containing lead that could harm children if swallowed. The jewelry was never linked to any reported injuries.

Read the complete article

 

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J&J Baby powderJohnson and Johnson failed to warned about the risk of ovarian cancer for women using its talc powder for genital use. Yesterday the company was order to pay $55 million damages to a female consumer who blamed her ovarian cancer on the use of of the famous baby powder for genital use. This is the second product liability lawsuit that Johnson & Johnson has lost for failure to warn about the risk of ovarian cancer. In February a similar lawsuit brought by the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer at 62 years old led to a $72 million verdict against the company. J&J is now facing more than a thousand similar lawsuits.

The use of talc for feminine genital hygiene has been a controversial subject for decades. In 1971, British researchers looked at ovarian tumors under a microscope and found that 13 out of 10 were embedded with talc. A more recent study by Dr Daniel Kramer, a gynecologist and Harvard Medical School Professor found that women who used talc powder on their genitals had a 33% higher risk of ovarian cancer than women who didn’t use talc on their genitals.

So far 20 studies have found a relation between the use of talc for feminine hygiene purposes but other studies also found no association.

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confidentialMost product liability lawsuits against manufacturers never go to trial. For obvious reasons, companies don’t want regulators or the public to know that some of their products have injured or killed someone. Therefore they will often reach a confidential settlement agreement with the injured plaintiff or Estate.  In this secret pact the plaintiff usually agrees to keep the lawsuit secret as part of the settlement agreement. Such settlements may be perceived as a win win situation for both parties as the plaintiff is being compensated for his loss and avoiding a costly trial while the manufacturers can deal with the defective product internally, avoiding expensive recalls and other profit killing consequences.  However concealing important information about dangerous products may put the public at risk of an accident with more people being injured or killed. Some manufacturers simply put profit ahead of safety and find it cheaper just to pay for a lawsuit rather than correct a defective product. This type of reasoning is especially true with the automobile industry and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently published a notice entitled “Recommended Best Practices for Protective Orders and Settlement Agreements in Civil Litigation” to try to fight this very disturbing problem. In a recent article in Fair Warning, Ben Kelley a board member of the Center for Auto Safety, and author of  “Death By Rental Car: How the Houck Case Changed The Law,”  comments on the vicious consequences of such contracts. However many manufactures refuse to settle absent such an agreement. An attorneys first obligation is to the client. In very strong liability cases it is often possible to successfully refuse to include a confidentiality clause. If the defendant refuses to settle and the offer is a good one the plaintiff’s attorney should , obviously, only proceed to trial with the client’s consent. In our experience in such cases the manufacturer will often back down.

Read the complete article here

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Defective sterilization process may have caused contamination in some Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea tuna cans. Contaminated products may potentially cause life threatening illnesses. According to CNN, the quality and compliance team discovered a malfunction OF a machinery part during the sterilization process during a routine inspection in a Georgia production plant in which both brands were manufacturing their products. The malfunction may have caused some products to be not fully cooked.

The recall affects 31,579 cases of Bumble Bee canned tuna with UPC codes codes 8660000020, 8660000021 and 8660000736 sold nationally in February 2016. The recalls also affects 2,745 cases of Chicken of the Sea brand with UPC codes are 0 4800000195 5 and 0 4800000245 7 and produced last February and March.

Bumble Bee product recall

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Hoverboard fireAnother defective hoverboard burst into flames creating a fire in a New York City home last week. According to the FDNY this is the third recent case of  a hoverboard fire in the city. Lorraine White from Staten Island paid more than $400 for a Swagway hoverboard for her son last Christmas. She knew about the risk of fire. Therefore she avoided buying a cheap knockoff and paid over $400 for a popular “Swagway” model thinking that it would be safer. It wasn’t the case.  One evening, the hoverboard started to smoke in her son’s room and then burst into flames destroying part of the bedroom. Thankfully nobody was injured. (read more in the silive)

Another boy from Staten Island suffered personal injury after he tried to clean his hoverboard during a vacation in the Poconos. 11 year old Brandon Miller was hospitalized after the middle finger of his left hand became stuck between the wheel and the base. According to the mother the device started rotating unexpectedly and sucked the boy’s finger in. The boy may risk loosing his finger due to infection and may have permanent burn scares.

Previoulsy the FDNY was also called to stop a fire caused by a defective product in Brooklyn.  (see NY Daily News)

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brGair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is proud to announce that their managing partner New York Product Liability Lawyer Ben Rubinowitz was recently named New York City “Lawyer of the Year” for product liability litigation – plaintiffs 2016. “There is no substitute for hard work,” says Rubinowitz who explained that he “feels fortunate to work with such an outstanding group of lawyers.” When asked about his success, Rubinowitz shared credit for the results with the attorneys in his firm. “Every one of our lawyers knows that hard work and preparation are the keys to success. There are no shortcuts in this business. Our clients come to us in a time of great need. Many have suffered through life changing events, many have lost family members and many feel that their life has been ruined.” It is against this backdrop that Rubinowitz and the lawyers at his firm go to work. “We approach every case with the same level of scrutiny. Our goal is to obtain justice for our clients. I know of no other firm that puts in the effort that we do.”

Read the complete article in Best Lawyers

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hoverboardCases of defective hoverboards busting into flames or exploding all over the world have prompted the National Fire Marshall Organization to issue a warning about the safety risks related to these fashionable products. A similar warning was also issued by the UK’s National Trading Standard after 88% of the products they tested posed a risk of catching fire.  In New York, these self balanced scooters have been declared illegal and users risk a fine of $200 if they are caught by the police riding them.

Because hoverboards are in high demand this holiday season, negligent manufacturers have been flooding the market with shoddy versions of the toy that have a high risk of catching fire. Explosions often happen during charging time and are caused by defective lithium batteries but cases of hoverboards catching fire during rides have also been reported.  In Louisiana an exploding hoverboard led to a fire that completely destroyed a house (see video below).

Read more in the NY Daily News

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Defective front disk brakes and quick-release levers installed on 1.3 million bicycles in the US may pose a risk of injury to bicycle riders. An open quick release lever on the bicycle’s front wheel hub can come into contact with the front disc brake rotor causing the front wheel to come to a sudden stop or separate from the bicycle. Therefore the following companies are recalling some models from the following brands:

bike recall

If your bicycle is from one of these brands, the video below can help you determine if your bicycle is affected  and if so what to do about it.

 

 

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Bed handle
The company Bed Handles Inc is re-announcing the recall of 3 models of their portable bed handles  because they are defective and have caused the death of 4 people. These products are: Bedside Assistant, Model BA10W, Travel Handles Use, Model BA11W, Adjustable Bed Handle, Model AJ1.

When attached to an adult bed without the use of safety retention straps, the handles can shift out of place, creating a dangerous gap between the handles and the side of the mattress, posing a risk of entrapment, strangulation and death.

Recently a 90 year old woman died in a nursing home after being entrapped in the gap between the mattress and the defective bed handle. Before her three other women died in similar conditions.