Product Liability

Published on: November 7, 2013

Product Liability: by using the “responsible corporate officer” doctrine, the Consumer Product Safety Commission breaks new legal ground in Buckyballs recall

Cases of serious personal injury such as small holes in the stomach and colon, colon blockage, blood poisoning and death have been reported in recent years to the CPSC after children swallowed two or more tiny magnetic stacking balls that attracted one another internally.

High-powered magnetic stacking balls such as Buckyballs,® are marketed to adults as a desk toy and stress reliever. They are used to create patterns and build shapes. They are usually sold in sets of 200 pieces or more in stationery, office supply and gift stores, and also on the Internet.

Even though they are prohibited for children younger than 14, growing reports of incidents led the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to recall Buckyball sets of tiny magnetic stacking balls declaring them a swallowing hazard to young children.

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Published on: November 6, 2013

Product Liability – Defective Car : Honda is recalling 344,000 Odyssey Minivans for brake issue

By GGCRBHS&M

Because a defective sensor may cause the car to brake on its own, Honda is recalling its Odyssey minivans from the 2007 and 2008 model years. Honda will install a new sensor on all recalled models. However new sensors will not be available until the spring of 2014.

In the meantime Honda recommends to minivan owners to start their vehicle with the wheels facing straight ahead, allowing the system to properly recalibrate. Drivers who experience unexpected braking should stop and restart the minivan. Tapping on the brake pedal “will immediately stop the self-braking action,” Honda said.

So far no injury or crash has been reported.

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Published on: October 30, 2013

Product Liability: Dangerous ready to eat salad kits that may kill you!

By GGCRBHS&M

salad%20kit.jpg Fear of possible Listeria Contamination prompted several companies to recall their ready to eat salad kits as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration are working together to monitor and prevent potential Listeria-related illnesses.

In a previous blog we announced that Milwaukee-based Garden-Fresh Foods Inc had recalled close to 100,000 pounds of food in September and October. Last week the FDA issued a third class I recall for the company that included an additional 103,080 pounds of products. A food safety assessment at the facility following the initial recall, indicated that additional products may have been contaminated due to harborage of Listeria monocytogenes within the facility.

Another Class I recall was issued on October 29 for Taylor Farms Maryland and Taylor Farms Texas. Approximately 22,849 pounds of broccoli salad kit products were recalled due to concerns about possible Listeria contamination in the salad dressing.

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Published on: October 28, 2013

New York Product Liability Attorney Anthony Gair: Trial of the Plaintiff’s case

By GGCRBHS&M

Our partner Anthony Gair was invited by the New York State Bar Association to speak at their seminar LITIGATING THE PRODUCTS LIABILITY CASE: LAW AND PRACTICE in New York City on October 24th.

This is a video from his presentation. If you would like to see the complete program (with different speakers) a live webcast option will be available on Friday November 1st 2013 for the Albany Program. Click here for more info.

Published on: October 26, 2013

Product Liability – Defective Car: 188,000 SUVs recalled by Nissan to fix brake issue

By GGCRBHS&M

Defective brake control software may increase the risk of an accident for Nissan Pathfinders from model years 2013 and 2014, as well as Infiniti JX35 SUVs from model year 2013, and QX60 SUVs from model year 2014.

In the affected vehicles, on rough or uneven roads, software settings in the antilock braking system may lead to stopping distances that are longer than drivers expect, Nissan said.

Published on: October 22, 2013

Product Liability – Defective Car: serious issue related to defective brake system prompts Hyundai to announce a second recall of its Genesis Sedan

By GGCRBHS&M

Last march Hyundai recalled its Genesis Sedan model manufactured between April 1, 2008 and March 16, 2012 to fix a defective brake system but only 60% have been repaired.

After the NHTSA received 23 complaints of incidents related to increased brake pedal travel and reduced brake effectiveness in model year 2009 Hyundai Genesis vehicles, including one crash, Hyundai is issuing a second recall the fix the other 40%.

Owners will be notified by mail but they can contact their dealer to have their car checked immediately if they wish.

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Published on: October 20, 2013

Product Liability – Defective Medical Device: FDA initiates Class 1 recall of some Bard LifeStent Solo Vascular Stents because they may fail to deploy

By GGCRBHS&M

defective%20stent.jpg The defective stents may cause serious personal injury such as complications of bleeding, loss of limb, heart attack (myocardial infarction), stroke, vascular surgery, and/or death if they fail to deploy properly.

The LifeStent Solo Vascular Stent manufactured by Bard Peripheral Vascular is an implantable self-expanding stent and delivery system used to improve the inner open space of a blood vessel in patients who have lesions caused by abnormal narrowing of the affected blood vessel.

Defective products were manufactured and distributed from November 2011 to June 13, 2012 , the defective implants code information can be found on the FDA website

Published on: October 18, 2013

Product Liability – Defective Cars: Toyota recalls 803,000 models because a possible defective air conditioning condenser unit housing may leak on the air bag system and create a short circuit

By GGCRBHS&M

In some defectives cars, water from the air conditioning condenser unit housing could leak onto the airbag control module and cause a short circuit, resulting in illumination of the airbag warning light. In some instances, the air bag(s) could become disabled or could inadvertently deploy and may cause accidents. In some cases the issue may also affect the steering system.

The recalled models are 803,000 Model Year 2012-2013 Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, and Venza vehicles. Vehicle owners will be contacted directly by the company for a free repair.

For more info check the Toyota Newsroom

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Published on: October 17, 2013

Product Liability – Possible contamination of Listeria Monocytogenes, one of the most virulent food-borne pathogens with 20 to 30 percent of clinical infections resulting in death, prompts Garden Fresh Foods to recall more products

By GGCRBHS&M

Listeria Monocytogenes can cause serious personal injury and is the leading cause of death among foodborne bacterial pathogens, with fatality rates exceeding even Salmonella and Clostridium botulinum.

A possible Listeria Monocytogenes contamination of their ready to eat chicken and ham products prompted the Winsconsin company Garden Fresh Food to recall close to 20,000 pounds of its product on September 25. Today the company just announced that more products may have been contaminated with the dangerous bacteria and an additional 6700 pounds of products are being recalled.

Garden Fresh Foods Products are distributed to retail and food service establishments nationwide. A list of all recalled products can be found on the USDA website.

Published on: October 17, 2013

Product Liability – Defective Motorcycles : Harley Davidson recalls 29,000 bikes to fix hydraulic clutch systems and prevent accidents

By GGCRBHS&M

Harley%20Davidson.jpg Because of a defective hydraulic clutch system in some Harley Davidson motorcycles, riders may have difficulty slowing or stopping their motorcycle, which could result in an accident. Therefore Harley Davidson is recalling 25,185 touring motorcycles and 3,861 Custom Vehicle Operations and Trikes built between May 3 and Oct. 14, 2013. The repair will take less than an hour according to Harley Davidson.