Product Liability

Published on: August 5, 2014

The Summer issue of the Impact Magazine from the Center for Justice and Democracy focuses on General Motors’ Product Liability

For over a decade, GM knowingly kept 2.6 million defective cars on the road killing and injuring an untold numbers of road users. From the civil lawsuit brought by personal injury lawyer Lance Cooper who discovered that GM hid information about the defective ignition switch to the multiple recalls of 2014, Impact Magazine, the quarterly issue from the Center for Justice and Democracy focuses on General Motors’ product liability. The magazine looks at the history of the recalls as well as the bankruptcy shield, the issues with used and rented cars and also questions the NHTSA stand.
Download the complete issue of Impact here

Published on: June 30, 2014

7 crashes, 8 personal injuries and 3 wrongful death leads General Motors to recall an additional 8.4 million potentially defective cars worlwide

By GGCRBHS&M

General%20Motor.jpg The potentially defective cars are recalled mostly because they may have ignition defects that lead to inadvertent key rotation. The models recalled are models of the Cadillac CTS and SRX, and the Chevrolet Malibu, Monte Carlo and Impala, as well as the Oldsmobile Intrigue and Alero, and Pontiac Grand Am and Grand Prix. The model years range from 1997 to 2014. The trading of GM shares was temporarily suspended during the announcement.

Product Recall: error in labeling prompts Diabetic Supply of Suncoast, Inc to recall Advocate Redi-code+ Blood Glucose Test Strips

By GGCRBHS&M

A labeling error in the packaging of Advocate Redi-Code+ BMB-BA006A blood glucose test strips may cause confusion about which meter models the strips are designed to be used with. As shown in the picture below the manufacturer omitted to write the name of the meter model (BMB-BA006A) with which the strips have to be used.

Blood%20Glucose%20test%20strips.jpg The confusing labelling may lead customers to believe they can use these test strips with the Advocate Redi-Code blood glucose meters, model numbers TD-3223E, TD-4223E, TD-4223F, TD-4276 manufactured by Taidoc Technology Corp which could result in incorrect glucose results.

Incorrect glucose results may lead customers to choose inappropriate treatment which could ultimately result in serious personal injury or death.

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Published on: June 11, 2014

The Food and Drug Administration reclassifies sunlamp products from low risk (Class I) to moderate risk (Class II)

By GGCRBHS&M

Sunlamp products and UV lamps pose a risk of skin cancer especially among young people below 18 years old and people with a history of skin cancer in their family. To address this risk the FDA recently reclassified all sunlamp products from low risk to moderate risk. Additionally, the FDA now requires that sunlamp products carry a visible black-box warning on the device that explicitly states that the sunlamp product should not be used on persons under the age of 18 years. Some marketing materials also have to include specific warnings.

Read the FDA press release

Picture: Courtesy of Wikipedia

Published on: June 5, 2014

The investigation conducted after a subway train derailed in Queens, NYC, doesn’t suggest the MTA received a defective batch of rails

By GGCRBHS&M

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that the subway accident during which the F train derailed was not due to a defective batch of rails. MTA spokesman, Adam Lisberg, said that the agency had tested 70 rails that came from the same batch and none of them were defective. The MTA is expected to receive additional results of tests conducted on the rail that snapped. The area where the derailment happened had previously been identified by the MTA as having a high concentration of rail breaks and the agency had plans to address the issue.

General Motors recalls 2.42 million potentially defective vehicles

By GGCRBHS&M

Yesterday General Motors announced four additional recalls to address the following safety issues:

A defective front safety lap belt in 1,339,355 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia medium crossovers from the 2009-2014 model years and Saturn Outlooks from 2009-201
A defective shift cable in 1,074,932 of the previous generation 4-speed automatic transmission Chevrolet Malibu from the 2004-2008 model years and Pontiac G6 from the 2005-2008 model years

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Published on: May 16, 2014

General Motors will pay a $35 million fine for failure to report in a timely manner a defective ignition switch

By GGCRBHS&M

The defective ignition switch in some GM cars was a widely known issue among GM engineers and executives in 2012 and long before that General Motors had received multiple warning about the defect said David Friedman, the acting administrator of the National Traffic Safety Administration of the Transportation Department Today in a joint news conference with Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox. As part of the settlement GM agreed to pay a record $35 million civil penalty and to take part in unprecedented oversight requirements.

Read more in the New York Time

Read the press release from the US Department of Transportation

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Published on: May 15, 2014

The CPSC reached a settlement agreement with Craig Zucker to recall the small Buckyballs that regulators say pose an unreasonable risk of injury to children and teen

By GGCRBHS&M

In a previous product liability blog we discussed the unusual use of the “responsible corporate officer” doctrine (Park doctrine) by the CPSC in the Buckyballs recall. Last Monday The CPSC announced that they had reached a settlement agreement with Craig Zucker from Brooklyn, NY, to recall the small Buckyballs and Buckycubes. The settlement calls for Craig Zucker to fund a Recall Trust that will be controlled by the CPSC. The Recall Trust will be used to provide a refund to consumers who return the magnetic sets.

Buckyballs are made of rare-earth magnets. They are described as toys for adults but they pose a swallowing hazard for children and teens. If a child swallows more than one magnet, the powerful balls can pull together inside his or her digestive system, potentially causing internal injuries that the CPSC has described as similar to “a gun shot wound to the gut with no sign of entry or exit.”

Read more in the Huffington Post

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Published on: May 13, 2014

A Potential Delay in Air Bag Deployment during Rollover Crashes and Defective Door Handles Prompted Ford Motor to Recall the 2013-2014 Model-year Escapes and C-Max Hybrids

By GGCRBHS&M

Defective software may delay the deployment of the airbags in case of a rollover accident in the 2013-2014 model-year Escapes. Therefore Ford Motor is recalling 692,487 vehicles in North America to fix the glitch.

Ford also announced the recall of 692,744 2013-2014-MY Escapes because they may have defective handles that may prevent the doors from latching properly, posing a safety risk when the car is in motion. Dealers will inspect the door handles and re-position them if necessary.

The majority of the recalled Escapes are at risk for both problems – the air bag software glitch and the faulty door handle.

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Published on: April 23, 2014

GM files a motion in the Federal Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York asking judge Gerber to enforce a provision shielding the new company from product liability lawsuits related to accidents that occurred before July 10th 2009

By GGCRBHS&M

New%20York%20Judge%20Robert%20Gerber.jpg The GM restructuring plan approved by Judge Gerber in New York in 2009 protects the automaker from product liability lawsuits related to incidents that happened before July 10th 2009, the date when the restructuring agreement went into effect.

Yesterday GM filed a motion with the Federal Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York asking Judge Robert Gerber (picture), the United States Bankruptcy Court Judge from the Southern District of New York, who presided over the General Motors bankruptcy of June 2009, to explicitly enforce this plan by dismissing 54 cases.

The move may save GM a lot of money but it also carries some risks. A coalition of 8 class-action plaintiffs countered with a lawsuit in the same court seeking to void that part of the restructuring agreement and accusing General Motors of committing bankruptcy fraud by not disclosing potential liabilities from the faulty switch.

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