Product Defect Liability Lawyer Blog

Several hundred patients have experienced serious problems and injuries after receiving Durom Cup hip implants in the United States since 2006. But it was a prominent Los Angeles surgeon, Dr. Lawrence Dorr, who created this awareness among other doctors and patients that the problem with this defective medical implant was widespread.

Now, patient advocates are calling for the creation of a joint registry, a national database that tracks how patients with artificial hips and knees are doing, according to this news report. Such a database, they believe, will alert doctors and federal regulators quickly when such devices have a high failure rate and possibly spare numerous patients from severe, painful injuries.

Dr. Dorr’s patients reportedly were back in his office soon after they received the implants, suffering from crippling pain. According to Dr. Dorr, x-rays of patients who received defective Durom Cups, showed that the hip socket was separating from bone rather than fusing with it. Patients were given assurances with the Durom Cup that they won’t need another replacement for 15 to 20 years. But to them, this product defect means they will have to undergo another painful surgery to have their defective implant replaced.

Continue reading " Defective Durom Cups Have Injured Thousands Of Patients " »

The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld a trial court’s decision to award a couple $13 million in punitive damages in a wrongful death lawsuit involving a defective seat back against DaimlerChrysler Corp. According to an Associated Press news report, 8-month-old Joshua Flax was riding in the back seat of a 1998 Dodge Caravan in 2001 when the vehicle was rear-ended. This caused the front passenger seat to collapse and the passenger to strike the baby, fracturing his skull and resulting in fatal injuries.

The court decided in a 3-2 ruling that the automaker acted recklessly and the punitive damages were not excessive. The family had alleged in their lawsuit that DaimlerChrysler knew that the minivan’s seats were defective, but failed to fix the problem or warn consumers about it. Paul Sheridan, a former employee for Chrysler, had testified for the family saying that he had looked into minivan seat problems in the 1990s after getting reports or injuries to children during rear-end collisions.

Children are most often the victims of rear-end collisions that result in seatback failures.
According to the most recently available numbers, there were estimates of 1,100 deaths and 1,600 serious injuries in 1990 because of seat back failures in rear-end collisions.
These deaths could have been easily prevented had auto makers such as Ford and DaimlerChrysler changed their defective seat back design by applying proven safety measures and technology that have been readily available for decades.

Continue reading " Court Upholds Punitive Damages Against Auto Maker In Seat Back Failure Case " »

Laguna Beach police officials have determined that an out-of-control concrete mixing truck, which ran a red light and broadsided two vehicles sending seven people to the hospital, had faulty brakes, according to an article in the Laguna Beach Coastline-Pilot. Police are now seeking to file criminal charges against the truck driver, 27-year-old Armando Sandoval, and trucking company, Silver Concrete and Ready Mix in the Laguna Beach commercial truck accident.

A 46-year-old Irvine woman driving a BMW sport utility vehicle, which the truck broadsided, suffered serious injuries including many broken bones in her legs, back and pelvic area. The truck reportedly rolled over the engine portion of the BMW, spinning it around, causing it to be struck by a Ford Expedition. Both passenger vehicles were traveling south on Laguna Canyon Road. The driver and passengers of the Expedition suffered minor to moderate injuries. Officials determined that Sandoval was not intoxicated at the time of the accident.

Continue reading " Defective Auto Product Blamed for Laguna Beach Truck Accident " »

Kawasaki Motors Corp., the Japan-based manufacturer of all terrain vehicles and KYMCO, the South Carolina-based importer for these vehicles, have announced an auto product recall of about 1,700 ATVs because a manufacturing defect in the carburetor can cause the throttle to stick open, posing a risk of serious injury or death to the rider. According to this alert issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), so far no injuries or fatalities have been reported in connection with this defective product.

This defective auto product recall reportedly involves model year 2008 Mongoose 50cc, 70cc and 90cc Youth ATVs. The name of the importer, “KYMCO”, is printed on a label on the front of the vehicle and the model name is printed on a label located on each side of the fuel tank. The ATVs, manufactured in Taiwan, were sold by KYMCO dealers nationwide from August 2007 through June 2008 for between $1,700 and $2,100.

If you have been using this vehicle, please stop using it immediately and contact any authorized KYMCO dealer to schedule a repair for free. According to the dealer’s Web site, all registered owners have been sent direct mail notification of this product recall. Those in need of more information are asked to call KYMCO USA toll-free at 888-235-3417 or visit their Web site.

The ATV dealer and manufacturer should be commended for issuing this recall in a timely manner. This product recall is all the more crucial because it involves all terrain vehicles commonly used by children 16 years and below. According to recent CPSC statistics, about one-fourth of those killed in ATV accidents in 2006 were children 16 years or younger. In 2006, 111 deaths were reported and about 39,300 children were treated in emergency rooms for ATV accident related injuries.

Federal safety regulators are delaying a tougher vehicle roof-strength standard by three months, according to a news report in the Detroit Free Press . This more stringent standard is expected to prevent highway deaths in rollover accidents that caused vehicles with weak roofs to cave in and crush causing numerous fatalities, brain and spinal injuries.

The new roof crush standard, which was supposed to have been in place by July 1, will instead be issued Oct. 1, according to a recent announcement made by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). Safety advocates reportedly told regulators June 4 that the proposed rule was inadequate and that the federal safety agency should take more time to strengthen the proposed standard.

More than 10,000 people die in the United States each year in rollover accidents. A lot of these auto accidents involve sport utility vehicles, which are prone to rollovers because of their high center of gravity. Recent studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed that Ford Explorer and Chevrolet Suburban, especially the older models, had the worst roof strength ().

Continue reading " Federal Roof Crush Standard Delayed By Three Months " »

Two women were killed and several others injured in a GMC van rollover accident south on the I-5 in Stockton after the van tire separated on July 12th. According to an article in the Stockton Record, Diana Aguilar, 21 and Elpildia Hernandez, 78 were killed in the crash while 18-year-old Jose Luis Hernandez, the driver Maria Felix Hernandez, 40, Dioniosio Sanchez, 42, Joanna Hernandez, 28 and a 6-year-old girl were injured in the accident.

California Highway Patrol officials said that Hernandez was driving in the fast lane when a tire separated. She tried to steer hard to the left and lost control of the van slamming it into the center divider. The van rolled over and Aguilar, Elpildia Hernandez and Luis Hernandez were ejected. CHP officials are saying drugs or alcohol were not involved, but are holding Maria Hernandez tentatively at fault for her turning movement.

My deepest condolences to the family for the losses and injuries they have suffered.

It is interesting that CHP officials are blaming Maria Hernandez. Nothing in the report indicated that Maria Hernandez did anything wrong.. Once that tire separated she had very little chance to control the van or keep it from rolling over. General Motors, when it made this van, had the best opportunity to keep this van from rolling over in this type of auto accident. I’ve seen more instances than I like of General Motors made vans and SUVs doing exactly this – flipping over after a tire failure even at normal driving speeds due to inherent automobile design defects.

Tire tread separations are often the result of design and manufacturing defects for which tire manufacturers are liable under the law. Product manufacturers also have the legal responsibility to notify consumers about dangerous defects with their products and undertake recalls. There have been many cases of defective tires being sold to consumers or put on new vehicles by manufacturers. There have also been many cases of tire manufacturers failing to recall defective tires until lawsuits have been filed by injured drivers and passengers.

Continue reading " Stockton Tread Separation Van Rollover Accident Kills Two " »

The choking death of a 22-month old boy in Roseville, Calif. has sparked off a nationwide recall of about 9,350 defective youth beds imported by San Diego-based Bayside Furnishings, the Sacramento Bee reports. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission also issued a warning (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08323.html) about the La Jolla Boat Beds and the Pirates of the Caribbean Twin Trundle beds.

Ethan Kalinyuk died last fall when he was strangled after the lid of the toy chest that comes with the bed fell on his head catching his neck on the edge of the chest. His parents, Natalya and Vitalik Kalinyuk filed a product defect lawsuit in March 2007 in Los Angeles Superior Court. They bought their bed, which was manufactured in China, at a local Costco. Placer County officials contacted CPSC after their multi-agency Child Death Review Team concluded that the lid supports were defective. They determined that the faulty lid pinned little Ethan and caused him to suffocate by pinching his windpipe.

Consumers are asked to stop using this defective product immediately and contact Bayside to obtain a free repair kid and replacement lid supports. If you own one of these beds, please call Bayside at 877-494-2536 or please visit www.baysidefurnishings.com for more information.

The parents of this child must be commended for taking legal action against the manufacturer of this defective product that caused them unspeakable pain and heartache. By filing their lawsuit they have brought the issue of this dangerous product out in the open for all to see. Although their lawsuit will never bring them back what they have lost, their son’s death may have saved any number of other children from a similar fate.

By holding manufacturers and importers of defective products legally responsible for the unnecessary harm their products cause, the Kalinyuks and our court system are sending a message of corporate responsibility to all who do business in the United States. The message is that selling dangerous products in the United States has financial consequences. Our legal system works. Our tort system holds wrongdoers accountable, compensates victims, deters unsafe products in our market place and levels the playing field for responsible business enterprises.

Claudia Limas, 4-years-old, of Buckeye, Arizona died July 9th in a single-vehicle rollover accident in Arizona on the I-10 after the right rear tire tread of the Chevrolet SUV she was traveling in separated and the driver lost control according to an article on azfamily.com. The Chevrolet SUV rollover accident injured four other occupants, 2-year-old Isabel Dunklin, Phoenix, Castanon, 5, and two adults -- driver Daniel J. Dunklin and passenger Cynthia Limas.

The SUV was traveling on the eastbound I-10 near Watson Road. The tire blew, went into median and flipped over several times. Once that tire blew, it is not likely that the driver, Dunklin, had any chance of controlling the SUV, keeping it out of the median or saving the SUV from rolling over. GMC SUVs are notorious for rollover after a tire blow out at freeway speeds.

I offer my deepest condolences to Claudia’s family. I also wish a fully and speedy recovery to the survivors. In many ways they were lucky. Thank God for seatbelts and child restraint systems.

This is a classic case of tire tread separation, which caused a SUV to veer out of control and roll over. Tire failures and blowouts are quite common when tires wear out during normal use. What is not as common but that I see often is a tire failure due to a manufacturing or design defect long before the tread on the tire has worn out.

Continue reading " Tire Tread Separation and Blowout Results in Fatal SUV Rollover " »

American Welding & Tank has recalled propane storage tanks because about 11,000 units of its converted underground propane storage tanks may cause a fire and burn hazard, according to information on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Web site. So far two people have sustained first- and second-degree burn injuries as they were trying to ignite a propane gas system, according to CPSC’s recent alert.

The recall includes 120-gallon to 1,000-gallon underground propane storage tanks manufactured in the United States, which were converted from above-ground to underground storage tanks between January 2005 and April 2008.

Continue reading " Severe Burn Injuries Prompt Recall of 11,000 Propane Storage Tanks " »

Stephanie D. McFarland, 38, and her husband, 40-year-old Tod McFarland, both of Carlsbad died in a fatal Ford Expedition accident on the Interstate 70 near Sigurd in Utah, according to an article in the Richfield Reaper. The incident occurred when Stephanie McFarland lost control of her 2000 Ford Expedition eastbound on the I-70 near the Sigurd interchange.

The Expedition veered off the freeway, vaulted over State Route 259 and came to rest on a concrete slope, according Utah Highway Patrol officials. The couple suffered fatal injuries while their three children – ages 7, 5 and 2 – were transported to an area hospital. They are all said to be in stable condition. Stephanie and Tod McFarland were not wearing seat belts, but all three children were buckled up in their car seats.

This is a horrible tragedy for the McFarland family. Every year, seatbelts save thousands of people in auto accidents. This couple may have lived had they been buckled up just as their children were. This family will certainly be in my prayers.

Continue reading " Utah Ford Expedition Accident Kills California Couple " »

A 65-year-old Spring Valley man was critically injured in a rollover crash after he lost control of his 2002 Ford Explorer Sport on eastbound State Route 94 near Bancroft Drive, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The Explorer rolled over several times when the driver swerved to avoid a large box on the freeway. California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Brian Pennings said the driver, who was not identified, suffered severe head trauma and facial injuries in the rollover auto accident. The box had just fallen off a furniture truck and its driver had pulled over to the side of the freeway before attempting to get the box back.

The Ford Explorer Sport is one of the most unstable and rollover prone SUVs on our highways, especially when taking evasive action at higher speeds. Independent studies have repeatedly shown the roof strength of this sport utility vehicle is one of the worst; it collapses in on front seat occupants during rollover accidents. An Explorer’s occupants in a rollover accident typically suffer severe head, neck and spinal injuries. The roof crushes in a greater distance under the same force compared to better designed SUVs.

Continue reading " Man Severely Injured In Ford Explorer Rollover Accident " »

In the case of Riegel v. Medtronic Feb. 20, the Supreme Court delivered an 8-1 decision stating that the Medical Device Amendments of 1976 (MDA) to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDA) prevents the filing of any future state liability suit against a medical device manufacturer. According to an editorial in The Los Angeles Times, this means any consumer injured or harmed by a “medical device marketed in a form that received premarket approval from the FDA” such as a stent, defibrillator, artificial knee and many others cannot file a personal injury lawsuit against the manufacturer.

This is a huge decision for the current administration and the medical device industry. By barring any pre-emptive litigation this ruling pushes forward the administration’s agenda of securing pre-emption for federal agencies. Manufacturers and insurance companies are obviously pleased knowing they will have to defend fewer product liability cases.
In 1999, Charles and Donna Riegel had sued Medtronic in New York alleging the firm's Evergreen balloon catheter used on Mr.Riegel during a coronary angioplasty procedure, was defective in design and the manufacturing, and labeling were negligent. The catheter had burst while being inserted on Mr.Riegel. This case challenged the Supreme Court to finally interpret whether the FDA’s reach as the foremost medical device regulatory agency as mandated by the Medical Device Amendments meant that injured patients could not sue for damages in state courts.
A regulatory report republished in the Medical Design Technology Web site reveals some of the Supreme Court majority’s reasoning for their decision. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing the majority opinion states "The solicitude for those injured by FDA-approved devices . . . was overcome in Congress's estimation by solicitude for those who would suffer without new medical devices if juries were allowed to apply the tort law of 50 States to all innovations," Or they believe it was Congress' intention in 1976 to pre-empt state lawsuits by passing the Medical Device Amendments.

Continue reading " Supreme Court Bans Lawsuits Against Medical Device Manufacturers " »