Birmingham Personal Injury Lawyer - Defective & Dangerous Products

Mis-filled prescriptions can have deadly consequences

Danny Feldman — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:09:19 GMT

Every year there literally are hundreds of millions of prescriptions filled. Given the staggerring number of prescriptions that are written and filled, even a miniscule number of errors in filling the prescriptions can result in hundreds of thousands of mis-filled prescriptions. While often the consequences of an error are relatively benign - you miss a few days of getting the prescription that you need, or you experience some negative, but non-life threatening side effects, sometimes the error can result in death or permenent injury.

A number of years ago, I represented a woman who was taking a high blood pressure medication. She got pregnant and immediately, her doctor changed her medication to prevent harm to her fetus because the medication she had been on was known to retard fetal development. For several months into her pregnancy, she took the "new" medication and did fine. However, on one Sunday afternon, she went to the pharmacy and the clerk told her (their story) that two prescriptions for high blood pressure showed up, the old one and the new one and that he showed her the pills and she picked the wrong one (the old one). She took the wrong pill, the one that her doctor had discontinued when he found out she was pregnant. Not surprisingly, she developed troubles with her pregnancy and her son was born with kidneys that functioned at about 15% and which were rapidly failing. He will require a kidney replacement by the time he is 5 and he will face a life time of health related obstacles, including future kidney replacements (since replacement kidneys only have about a 15 year life span), dialysis treatments in between replacements, anti-rejection drugs, a significantly decreased life span etc.

Despite the fact that tragic results can occur from a mis-filled prescription, many pharmacies are very lax in enforcing protocols and redundant checks to ensure that prescriptions are correctly filled. Many times there are low paid and poorly trained workers in the pharmacy that are involved in filling prescriptions. Given the demands on pharmicists to increase volume (and thus profit), it is not surprising that tragic mistakes often are made.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Danny Feldman

Don't Die in a Chrysler

Jon Lewis — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:27:27 GMT

Today, it was reported on CNN.com that Honda is issuing a recall on 440,000 vehicles. According to the article, there is a potential defect in driver-side airbags in 2001-02 Honda Accords, 2001 Civics and 2002-03 Acura TLs. Already, six injuries and one death have been reported.

So, what does this recall have to do with Chrysler?

Well, this article points out the flaw in the bankruptcy court's decision to absolve Fiat and Chrysler of any liability for injuries or deaths resulting from defective Chryslers which were bought before the bankruptcy. This would have been the case in all 440,000 Hondas which have been recalled.

Couldn't the bankruptcy court have been more thoughtful about the decision? Most times, bankruptcy courts require the debtor to purchase insurance in order to cover such liabilities. Why didn't Fiat or Chrysler purchase insurance so that the consumer doesn't suffer? Families who purchased Chryslers before the bankruptcy will suffer an undue hardship if a loved one is seriously injured or killed as a result of a defect in the car, truck or SUV. Shouldn't that cost be shifted to the new entity through insurance?

If you want more information regarding defective products, please contact our office, and we will send you a report on legal issues in Alabama regarding defective products: Recognizing and Preserving Evidence in Automotive Product Liability Cases.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jon Lewis

What have we Learned from GM and Chrysler?

Jon Lewis — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:54:19 GMT

TEN things we have learned from GM and Chrysler:

1. There is no corporate accountability.

2. They enjoy taking the public's money.

3. Their CEO's and executives have gotten rich while they have failed to properly manage their companies.

4. They took bailout money knowing that they would file bankruptcy - isn't that fraud?

5. They have no insurance, and the court's aren't making them get insurance - why?

6. Chrysler will have no liability to consumers who are killed or injured in a wreck in defective vehicles - Unbelievable!!

7. The taxpayers will be paying their debts for years to come.

8. They cannot compete with foreign car makers.

9. They weren't green until they had to be green.

10. THEY SHOULD HAVE JUST GONE OUT OF BUSINESS!!!

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jon Lewis

Contaminant Found in Blood Thinner Herapin

Jenny Albano — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:01:05 GMT

A contaminant has been found in the blood thinner herapin that has been associated with 19 deaths. U.S. health officials are trying to figure out how the chemical made its way into the drug. The contaminant is called oversulfated condroitin sulfate, which does not naturally occur.

The herapin in question was recalled on February 28 and the FDA says there have not been any new deaths since that time. The main ingredient from the blood thinner was imported from China.

Condroitin sulfate is a natural compound that occurs widely and can be used as a dietary supplement, but the oversulfated version has not been widely studied. The FDA does not know whether the chemical was accidentally or deliberately added to the herapin and are investigating. The FDA has started testing all imported herapin into the U.S. so doctors and patients can use the product safely.

Condroitin sulfate is a compound in the same family as heparin, so preliminary testing did not identify it, but more exacting tests by the government and some university researchers found the contaminant.

Oversulfated condroitin sulfate would be less expensive to make than heparin, but FDA officials said they could not estimate the cost difference. The lots of heparin linked to hundreds of allergic reactions were marketed by Baxter International and produced in China. FDA said Chinese officials have been highly cooperative in the investigation.

The FDA said that they could not conclusively link the oversulfated condroitin sulfate to the deaths and side effects, but they have not identified any other contaminant.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

John Deere Tractor Recall- Pedal Sticks

Gregory Zarzaur — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:55:12 GMT

The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced that John Deere has voluntarily recalled over 5,000 tractors because the forward drive pedal can get stuck which may lead to serious injury. The tractor model involved is John Deere 3203.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gregory Zarzaur

President Global Corp. Recalls Uni-President Red Bean Flavor Ice Bars and Red Bean Tapioca Flavor Ice Bars

Jenny Albano — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:23:48 GMT

President Global Corp., in conjunction with the FDA, is recalling its Uni-President Red Bean Flavor Ice Bars and Red Bean Tapioca Flavor Ice Bars because they may contain skim milk that was not on the label of ingredients. If a consumer who is allergic to milk consumes this product he/she may have serious allergic reactions that could result in death.

Each product comes in a box containing 6 bars. UPC code on boxes of Red Bean Flavor Ice Bars is 4 710608 813600. UPC on boxes of Red Bean Tapioca Ice Bars is 4 710088 070968. There are no expiration dates on the products.

So far there has been one illness from the ice bars reported in Canada. The recalled product was sold in Asian Retail Food Markets in Southern California.

The Uni-President Red Bean Flavored Ice Bars and Red Bean Tapioca Ice Bars were recalled when the company realized that products' label did not mention that they had skim milk or milk protein in the bars. The FDA has suspended distribution of the ice bars until the agency and the Presidential Global Corp. are sure the problem has been remedied.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

President Global Corp. Recalls Uni-President Red Bean Flavor Ice Bars and Red Bean Tapioca Flavor Ice Bars(2)

Jenny Albano — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 20:23:48 GMT

Each product comes in a box containing 6 bars. UPC code on boxes of Red Bean Flavor Ice Bars is 4 710608 813600. UPC on boxes of Red Bean Tapioca Ice Bars is 4 710088 070968. There are no expiration dates on the products.

So far there has been one illness from the ice bars reported in Canada. The recalled product was sold in Asian Retail Food Markets in Southern California.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Foam Baby Seats Recalled

Gregory Zarzaur — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 12:19:24 GMT

MSNBC is reporting that the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced the recall of over one million foam baby seats that were sold in stores such as Sears, Target, WalMart and Kmart. The recall comes in the wake of several reports received by the CPSC of children falling out of the foam seats when they are placed on top of tables. The child seat in question is called the Bumbo Baby Sitter Seat and it is manufactured by Bumbo International.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gregory Zarzaur

Alabama Jury Finds Faulty Water Heater Causes Wrongful Death

Gregory Zarzaur — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 21:04:10 GMT

Last week, a Baldwin County jury found for the family of Baldwin County man who was killed when the water heater at his home exploded. The family presented evidence that a faulty valve was the cause of the explosion. The jury awarded a total of $50 million in damages including both compensatory and punitive damages.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Gregory Zarzaur

Ford Documents reveal defect on millions of cars

Tedford Taylor — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 17:25:52 GMT

Many fire investigators hired by insurance companies and many other automobile engineers agree that a $20.57 switch, installed in millions of Ford vehicles from 1992 to 2003, is causing some Ford vehicles to ignite. An Iowa family has filed a lawsuit over the defect alleging that the defective switch caused their F-150 pickup to ignite, destroying their house and killing a 74-year-old-woman. Ford has already recalled more than 1 million cars in two seperate recalls, however Ford documents reveal that the switch has been placed in more than 16 million vehicles. NHTSA has received 559 complaints of spontaneous fires and 253 of those fires on on vehicles which have not been recalled.

For more information on this subject matter, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Tedford Taylor