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Articles Posted in Product Liability

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window blindsSince 1981, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has identified window blind cords as a cause of strangulation deaths among children under five but not much has been done by the industry to develop safety measures to mitigate this risk.

Recently Parents for Window Blind Safety, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Kids in Danger, Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG, Independent Safety Consulting, Safety Behavior Analysis, Inc. and Onder, Shelton, O’Leary & Peterson joined together to petition the CPSC to create a rule that would ban new blinds with cords if the cords can’t be kept away from children.

Read more in FairWarning

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Beech-Nut Product recallAttention parents, some Beech-Nut products may potentially be dangerous for your children and should be returned to the manufacturer for a refund. After a consumer found a small piece of glass in a jar Beech-Nut Stage 2 Sweet potato & Chicken, the manufacturer issued a voluntary recall of the product. The recalled product is in a 4oz glass jar marked “DEC 2016” and includes product numbers “12395750815” through “12395750821” on the cap. It bears the establishment number “P-68A” inside the USDA mark of inspection.

 

 

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Wallcure simulation ssalineTwo patients were seriously injured in a New York urgent care facility after they were inadvertently administered non sterile simulation intravenous fluids. They both experienced a febrile illness during administration and had to be hospitalized. One of them developed sepsis. Both of them survived.

The cases were reported to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH)last year. The NYSDOH  began a collaborative investigation with the CDC in December.  The investigation found that four other New York outpatient facilities had received Wallcur simulation saline. All facilities said they had ordered the real product and weren’t aware that they had received a simulation product until they were were notified by the NYSDOH. Fortunately none of the facilities had used the product yet.

Wallcur recalled all its saline simulation products from the market at the beginning of the year (see previous blog). Investigation was pursued by the CDC at a national level. So far nationally 9 adverse events have been reported for 25 people including 11 hospitalizations. Two deaths occurred even though it wasn’t clear that they were related to the administration of the product.  All clinical facilities that received the products confirmed that they were not aware at time of purchase that the product was intended for simulation only. Read more on the CDC website

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LACTATED_RINGERS_IRRIGATIONHopsira announced a voluntary product recall after reports from customers indicated that a lot of Lactated Ringer’s Irrigation, 3000mL may be contaminated with mold. Lactated Ringers Irrigation is a sterile, nonpyrogenic solution of electrolytes in water for injection, intended only for sterile irrigation, washing and rinsing purposes. Contaminated solution can be  fatal if used on patients as it may cause bacteremia, sepsis, septic shock and endocarditis. This product is used on humans and animals. Read the press release from Hospira

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childrens-tylenolMcNeil Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson agreed to pay $25 million for selling children medicine contaminated with metal.  The case started in 2009 after a consumer complained that he found black specks in a bottle of Infants’Tylenol. After analysis it appeared that faulty manufacturing was to blame for leaving particles of nickel and chromium in the liquid medicine. This discovery led to massive recalls  of bottles and packages of consumer brands such as Tylenol, Motrin, Rolaids, Benadryl and other products and seriously tarnished J&J’s reputation. Read more on Reuters

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CREPatients and family of patients that have been infected by contaminated duodenoscopes at UCLA Hospital started  to file product liability lawsuits against Olympus, the manufacturer of the medical devices. 18 year old Aaron Young was the first one to file his lawsuit. The high school student is still hospitalized and receiving treatment for  carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), a bacteria highly resistant to antibiotics that can kill up to 50% of patients infected. The family  of Antonia Cerda who died in the same hospital after contracting the “superbug” also filed a lawsuit against Olympus for wrongful death, alleged negligence and fraud. Antnonia Cerda was 48 year old and the mother of 4 children.  Both lawsuits have not yet named UCLA as the hospital said the cleaning protocol provided by Olympus was applied.

Today CNN announced that the duodenoscopes used in the procedures that spread the superbug were indeed not approved by the FDA. Olympus started to sell the TJF-Q180V duodenoscope in 2010 without  asking for clearance and the FDA did not become aware until the end of 2013 or beginning of 2014.  Olympus said it didn’t think it needed the FDA’s permission to sell the device, but now at the request of the agency, it has applied for that permission. That application is still pending. Read more on the CNN website

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oxy Elite dangerous productThe FDA is asking consumers to stop using the weight loss product  Oxy Elite Pro Super Thermogenic after the agency found  that the product was tainted with fluoxetine, a potential harmful class of drugs called serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). When used without doctor supervision, SSRIs can have serious side effects such as sucidal thougts, abnormal bleeding and seizure. SSRIS use can be deadly and result in ventricular arrhythmia or sudden death when mixed with other medications such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or other drugs for depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, blood clots, chemotherapy, heart conditions, and psychosis. Read more in the FDA press release

It is not the first time that the FDA has discovered hidden ingredients in Oxy Elite Pro.  In october 2013, 1 person died and 11 suffered serious personal injury and had to be hospitalized for liver failure in Hawaii after they used Oxy Elite Pro. The product was subsequently pulled from shelves nationwide. (see previous blog)

 

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Since 2009, the FDA has been aware that duodenoscopes manufactured by Japanese companies Olympus, Pentax and Fujifilm have been at the origin of the spread of sometimes fatal spread of pathogens but did nothing to change the situation. Hospitals that faced such outbreaks began sterilizing the devices more rigorously and the transmission of dangerous disease stopped. Therefore, the suspicion was that the superbug outbreak happened because of medical malpractice during which the hospital staff didn’t respect the sterilization procedure. However for the first time on Thursday the FDA said that even hospitals that fully respected the sterilization process could have their devices infected by the superbug. However the FDA didn’t propose to improve the sterilization procedures. They only issued a “safety communication” warning healthcare providers that duodenoscopes’ “complex design” may impede effective sterilization.  The problematic part is a movable “elevator” mechanism at the tip of the duodenoscope: Its moving parts have microscopic crevices where bodily fluids can remain after standard cleaning.  The FDA and the manufacturers are aware of this deadly manufacturing flaw but the FDA didn’t require the manufacturers to improve their device either. Read more on Reuters

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Trellis 6In December, Covidien announced a voluntary recall of  its Trellis-6™ and Trellis-8™ peripheral infusion systems  after customers reported a manufacturing error where the proximal and distal balloon inflation ports were labeled incorrectly resulting in the potential for incorrect sequence of balloon deflation. An incorrect sequence of balloon deflation  could potentially create blood clots that could travel downstream and go to the lungs and seriously injure the patient. Today Medtronic, that just acquired Covidien announced that the recall has now been classified as a class I recall by the FDA. Read more in the press release

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ignitionGM defective ignition switch and Takata defective airbags accounted for a large part of the recalls.According to the automakers, GM recalled about 27 million vehicles last year, Honda recalled about 8.9 million vehicles last year, Fiat Chrysler recalled about 8.8 million, Toyota recalled about six million and Ford recalled almost 4.9 million.Airbag defects led to one third of all the recalls in 2014. The previous record was of 30.81 million cars recalled in 2004. Manufacturers recalled 22 million vehicles in 2013 and 16 million each year in 2012 and 2011.

Also 7.7 million child safety seats were recalled in 2014, the second highest number since such statistics started to be collected in 1972. Read more in the New York Times

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