Articles Posted in Defective Product

A Missouri jury awarded $72 million to a family who lost their loved one to ovarian cancer at age 62. The cancer was linked to her many years of using Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for feminine hygiene care. Johnson & Johnson did not warn its consumers that their talc-based products may cause cancer. The evidence presented at trial showed that the company knew of the risk of their cancer-causing products as far back as the 1980s and lied to its consumers by withholding that information.

The Missouri jury sat through a three-week trial and deliberated four hours, and ultimately found that Johnson & Johnson was liable for negligence, fraud, and conspiracy.    The case style is Hogans, et al v Johnson & Johnson, et al, filed in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, Missouri, Case Number 1422-CC09012.

Approximately one thousand cases have reportedly been filed in a state court in Missouri and approximately two hundred cases have been filed in New Jersey. Many other lawsuits involving talc are expected this year.

Recently Honda, Toyota, and Chrysler have recalled an estimated 2 million vehicles to attempt a second repair for defective airbags that may inflate inadvertently while the vehicle is running. This recall includes some Dodge Viper, Acura MDX, Honda Odyssey, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Avalon and Toyota Corolla models made between the years 2002 and 2004. NHTSA advised all vehicles that are a part of this recall for faulty air bags have already been included in a previous recall for faulty air bags, but the attempted fix to repair the defective airbags only corrected the problem approximately 85 percent of the time.

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GM has recalled 1.6 million vehicles due to a serious product defect. The following are models being recalled by General Motors:

2005-2007 Pontiac G5 Sold only in Canada

2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalt Sold only in Canada

A recent article points out what many injury lawyers have known for a long time, auto safety and defect concerns are often kept quit by the automobile companies and government regulators.

Although car companies are required to tell National Highway Transportation Safety Administration about claims it receives concerning serious injuries and deaths in vehicles, information about the investigation and many of the injuries and deaths is only available to the public and news media through a Freedom of Information Act request. Further, car manufacturers can request the information they submit to the agency be kept confidential.

The NHTSA conducts informal investigations and months can go by before problems are brought to the public’s attention. According to the article, these informal investigations are becoming more common.

An off-road utility vehicle company has recalled 3,200 buggies because the steering arm assemblies may break during operation. The recall involves Bad Boy LT, Classic, XT, XTO and XT Safari model electric off-road utility vehicles. According to the company, it has had reports of steering arm assembly breaking. When this occurs, the driver loses control of the vehicle. Owners should stop using the buggies immediately.

Product defects can cause severe injuries. In Arkansas, hunters use off-road vehicles to enjoy their favorite outdoor pastime, hunting. If these vehicles malfunction and cause injury, the injured person may have a personal injury lawsuit under Arkansas law. If you or a loved one have any questions regarding a defective product, please contact an Arkansas injury lawyer.

A recent article in the New York Times shed some much needed light on a problem that will grow larger and larger. The number of complaints filed with the Federal Drug Administration concerning artificial hip implants rose dramatically in the last couple of years. According to the article, there were 5,000 complaints this year alone.

The use of artificial hips became a very common orthopedic surgical procedure over the last decade and the use of all metal hips accounted for nearly one-third of the estimated 250,000 replacements performed each year. Patients have started to have severe problems with the hip implants necessitating removal and causing long term debilitating injury. A large number of lawsuits have been filed and it is expected that many more will be as more and more individuals have problems. Artificial hip implant complaints are currently being reviewed by Arkansas injury lawyers.

If you or a family member has problems with a artificial hip or have questions whether the artificial hip is part of a recall, please contact an Arkansas injury lawyer so that your rights can be protected.

A Johnson & Johnson subsidiary has recalled a metal hip implant after complaints of severe pain and system failure, and amid worries that the implants may be sending metal shavings into patients’ bloodstreams, potentially putting them at risk for dementia and heart failure. The subsidiary at issue is DePuy Orthopaedics.

According to a recent news story, the company has sold nearly 100,000 units of its ASR XL Acetabular Hip System. Besides failure, there is a possibility of particles from the implants getting released into the bloodstream. That could cause deafness, dementia and heart failure. DePuy says it is taking full responsibility and “intends to cover reasonable and customary costs of monitoring and treatment services, including revision surgeries.”

Personal injury attorneys and their clients hope that the company takes responsibility for the medical costs, pain and suffering, and other damages that innocent victims suffer. If you or a family member has suffered a injury due a defective medical device or drug, it is important that you contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your legal rights. Under Arkansas law, there is a limited time to file defective product lawsuits.