Defective Products

One of the foundations of filing a product liability lawsuit is that the product must be defective in its manufacture, its design, or in failing to alert the public to the potential for danger. According to the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Maryland-based Black & Decker Inc., will pay $960,000 to settle claims that it was not forthcoming about a defective weed trimmer and failed to report several safety defects and hazards that led to injuries.

The product in question is the Grasshog XP model weed trimmer and the CPSC says the company withheld information as investigators tried to uncover reports of injury. There were about 158 people injured by the weed trimmer between 2005 and 2009, reports Bloomberg. Black & Decker knew the Grasshog was defective as early as May 2006, says the agency, but didn’t report the mounting number of injuries.

The weed trimmer was finally recalled in July 2007 and by then there were more than 700 reports or “incidents” and 58 injuries. Consumers were injured when the trimmer string, the spool or cap came loose and became a powerful projectile. In addition, the Grasshog was known to overheat and cause burns on users. Finally when 100 more consumer injuries were reported, the Grasshog was re-recalled in August 2009.

Under Florida product liability law, if a product does not meet the ordinary expectations of the consumer because it is defective and dangerous and that defect injures a user, the consumer can file a product liability claim.

The consumer can claim a breach of warranty, negligence or strict liability and can receive compensation for their pain and suffering, the loss of a loved one, medical bills and the replacement of lost income. The Jacksonville product liability attorneys at Farah & Farah are dedicated to helping get defective product off the market and to punish the companies that knowingly market them. Call us at 1-800-533-3555 so we can begin the conversation concerning your case.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-03/black-decker-fined-960-000-by-cpsc-for-grasshog-reports.html

This report from Dow Jones indicates more woes for drug maker Merck. Specifically some bits of plastic in the form of shrink wrap have been found inside vials of vaccines made by Merck. The company says it is working to resolve the defective vaccines and that it is not aware of any instances of injury from the plastic bits. The defective vaccines were made at Merck’s biggest plant in West Point, Pennsylvania which was the subject of a 2008 letter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about quality control problems included metal particles found in products and cracks found in vaccine vials.

The vaccines for Gardasil, Varivax, Pneumovax and Zostavax are all affected. The protective shrink wrap was initially used to cover glass vials and it reportedly was not removed before a heated sterilization process. The FDA has received at least a dozen reports of the plastic wrap found inside vaccines. Eight customer complaints were made to the FDA and Merck found four contaminated vials when it tested samples.

Merck’s 2010 vaccine sales amounted to $3.8 billion according to Dow Jones, so this finding is not a small revelation. Vaccine sales represent about eight percent of company sales.

In a separate action, Johnson & Johnson has had problems with its Fort Washington, Pennsylvania plant, which remains closed after FDA inspectors found unsanitary conditions and contaminated products. Insiders comment that aging equipment and budget cuts have contributed to compromises in quality.

Merck is lucky that plastic bits found in vials have not been injected into patients. An injured patient could file a product liability claim against Merck for such poor quality control. Merck says the problem is under control – it’s shifted to cardboard vial holders and only one in six million vials have been affected. Doctors had complained to Merck in the past about bubbling and foaming observed in certain vaccine vials. The FDA says Merck could have done more to investigate metal particles and cracked vials found in its facility in the past.

Sources: http://www.pharmalot.com/2011/07/is-that-plastic-shrink-wrap-in-your-merck-vaccine/#more-34018 and http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201107281824dowjonesdjonline000835&title=update-fda-faults-merck-plant-for-charred-shrink-wrap-in-vaccine-vials

An alert has been issue to parents who feed their children apple juice – a kid favorite. America exports its toxic agricultural chemicals to countries like China, and then imports foods that are produced with the chemicals. The result, as found by the Washington D.C.-based consumer group Food and Water Watch (F&WW), is that arsenic has been found in Mott’s Apple Juice at 55 parts per billion (ppb), well in excess of what is allowed in public drinking water (10 parts per billion) in the U.S.

F&WW is asking Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to establish levels for heavy metals in apple juice, largely consumed by children. What’s frightening is that 70 percent of the apple juice imported in the country comes from the People’s Republic of China, a country with little to no environmental standards, according to F&WW. Arsenic is used as an insecticide in farming in China. The FDA inspects less than two percent of imported foods.

F&WW began drawing attention to potential dangers of foods from China last month, especially juice, candy, and canned fruit consumed by American children. According to the group, China’s food exports to the U.S. have tripled over the past decade to nearly 4 billion pounds of food in 2010 with a value of $5 billion. Even an investigation by The St. Petersburg Times last year found Motts, Apple & Eve Organics, and Walmart’s Great Value apple juice had between 25 and 35 ppb of arsenic, above the 23 ppb level that the FDA had previously expressed as a level of concern.

Sources: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/07/arsenic-laced-apple-juice-flowing-from-china/ and http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/article1079395.ece

L’Oreal likes to say its products are expensive “But you’re worth it!” Well a number of consumers of a L’Oreal leave-in hair product think they’ve received a false promise and no warning that it can catch fire when in contact with most hair styling appliances. Two women are at the head of a federal class action lawsuit, reports Consumer Affairs. The product in question is the “leave-in” hair-styling product, Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Anti-Frizz Serum. In the lawsuit, attorneys for the women say the main ingredients are flammable with a flash point of only 171 degrees. A curling iron or styling tool can easily reach between 200 and 450 degrees, says the complaint.

“Serum is therefore flammable and is unsafe to bring into contact with heated styling appliances because use of the product with a heated styling appliances puts the consumer at an unreasonable risk of injury from burns to the face, head and neck,” the suit charges. The women argue they would not have purchased the defective product if they had received an adequate warning of its dangers.

In fact, the consumers said the label was actually misleading and inaccurate when it implied the product was safe to use with styling appliances. While this report in Consumer Affairs does not mention injuries, thousands of consumers are seeking damages and injunctive relief.

An experienced product liability attorney in Florida must first prove that the product is defective in its design, its manufacture or in its marketing. A defective marketing campaign fails to enclose proper instructions with the product and omits any and all information about dangers. If a person is injured by a product, he or she has the right to compensation for their damages and may be able to include the wholesaler, retailer and anyone involved in the distribution of production of the product.

Sources: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2011/07/suit-loreal-failed-to-warn-anti-frizz-serum-could-set-hair-on-fire.html and http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/07/01/Flaming.pdf

Public Citizen, the consumer advocacy group, has filed a petition with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), urging the agency to order a Missouri company to recall all Bedside Assistant bed handles, also known as bed rail devices, because they pose a danger to weak and frail elderly who can be injured by the medical device. The rails are supposed to offer support for those who are bedridden, but they can strangle and suffocate those who are caught between the rails and the mattress, says the petition pointing out that bed rails are used in patients’ and nursing homes.

The Public Citizen Health Research Group found that since 1999, four patients have been trapped by Bedside Assistant, however the true number may not be known because a nursing home may not think to contact the FDA not understanding that this is a medical device overseen by the FDA. Deaths sometimes occurred when the patient’s trachea or chest wall pressed against the support bars and the frail person could not extract themselves.

The Public Citizen petition compares the defective medical device to the defective drop-side cribs, 7 million of which are currently being recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Both have trapped people too weak to protect themselves, i.e. infants and elderly.

In its defense, the manufacturer says the Public Citizen petition is incomplete and inaccurate. A spokesman says that after a second injury, the company added buckles and straps to securely affix the bed handles to the bed, therefore fixing the defective design. He says there have been no additional problems since the straps were added. A defective design will impact the entire lot of product manufactured and a retrofit is not exactly a sound alternative to recalling the entire lot and fixing the design defect.

Farah & Farah’s product liability attorneys in Jacksonville understand that a manufacturer may have made a mistake in manufacturing, which may affect a number of products, or there may be a defective design, which likely will affect the entire product. With the deaths of at least four individuals whose families relied on the promises of Bedside Assistant, adding a security strap may not be the best way to fix a defective product, though it may be the most cost-effective fix. Don’t our seniors deserve better?

Sources: http://www.citizen.org/hrg1947 and http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/04/bed-handles-dangerous-for-elderly-public-citizen-says/

Courtroom View covered the West Palm Beach products liability trial of the Yamaha WaveRunner jet ski that killed one teenage girl and left another with horrific brain injuries in an Easter 2005 crash. On Monday, June 20, the jury awarded damages of $35 million to the two families. They had originally sought $100 million in compensation. The judge had said he would not allow punitive damages because there was no evidence Yamaha’s action constituted a “reckless indifference to human life.”

The driver of the WaveRunner had three seconds to figure out what to do when she let up on the throttle in West Palm Beach waters. That’s when she discovered she couldn’t steer and instead slammed into the boat ahead of them. The Yamaha personal water craft looses steering ability when the throttle is released. That girl would be alive today if the WaveRunner had rudders, said the plaintiffs’ attorney. The product had an inability to steer as far back as 2001 and the attorneys reminded jurors that a $20 part from Home Depot would have allowed a driver the ability to steer. “This is extremely reckless, highly irresponsible behavior,” one of the plaintiff attorneys to the jury.

The jury found the 2001 Yamaha WaveRunner XL800 had a defective design and failed to warn the public of its dangers and in finding that awarded 88 percent of the fault to Yamaha. The jury awarded $39.8 million to the two families with Yamaha responsible for paying about $35 million.

The threshold requirement in product liability law in Florida is that the plaintiff be injured. Here, regardless of whether the steering or rudder was defective, an injury and a death resulted from the WaveRunner. The jury verdict sends a clear message that Yamaha needs to clean up its act and produce a safe product that protects the safety and welfare of its users.

If you have been injured by a device that did not work as you expected, you may have a product liability action. Allow Farah & Farah a review of the circumstances of your case to determine if we can help you. All consultations are complimentary and at the very least you will have a better understanding of the legal options you can pursue.

Source: http://info.courtroomview.com/Blog/bid/59592/35M-Awarded-in-Defective-Yamaha-Watercraft-Trial

Individual consumers thought that when their Polaroid flat-screen TVs caught fire it was just an individual fluke, but hundreds of defective Polaroid TVs are now the subject of a federal class action lawsuit alleging that consumers were not warned their TVs were a fire hazard. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, claims that five years ago Polaroid know the LCD product could catch fire, smoke and fail, but did not warn consumers. They also allege Polaroid failed to recall the sets when it knew it had a problem, failed to reimburse consumers for the costs of repairs, and concealed the defects.

A consumer with a defective product may be able to file an action for compensation, especially if they have been injured, if the manufacturer produced a defective product or the design of the product was defective as to cause injury. Additionally, a failure to warn customers could be considered another basis for a product liability lawsuit.

The publication ConsumerAffairs contains 30 complaints that are part of the class action. The site reports that the Polaroid LCD TVs use a lot of electricity and operate at a higher temperature than the cathode ray tube sets. As a result, the circuit board and electrical components are subjected to higher temperatures leading to the fires and causing the capacitors to fail.

ConsumerAffairs reports on the lawsuit which alleges Polaroid falsely claimed its LCD TVs were certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), which they are not. And Polaroid failed to notify the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) about the potential problem and dangers. A failure to do so in the past has led to fines for major manufacturers who withhold information, a violation of federal law.

If you have been injured due to a defective product and/or were not warned adequately of its potential dangers, contact the Florida failure to warn lawyers at Farah & Farah. We can help you determine whether you have a viable claim against a negligent manufacturer. Call our law offices to schedule your free consultation today.

Source:http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2011/06/class-action-suit-polaroid-lcd-tvs-a-fire-hazard.html

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on another computer battery recall for HP, the third in as many years. Another 162,000 Hewlett Packard notebook computer defective batteries have just been added to the recall list of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In May 2009, 70,000 notebook batteries from both HP and Compaq computers were recalled. Then a year later another 54,000 were recalled because of a potential for a fire.

These are lithium-ion batteries which can rupture when they overheat posing a burn hazard and a fire hazard to users. HP has received about 40 reports of overheated batteries that have ruptured. Seven consumers were burned, one person suffered from smoke inhalation and there were 36 reports of property damage.

Consumers can remove the battery from the notebook and check to see if it is involved in the recall. A call to the company and the consumer can receive a free replacement battery. HP can be contacted at (888) 202-4320 or visit http://www.hp.com/support/BatteryReplacement.

Product Liability Law in Florida
If a person bought or used a defective product who forseeably could have been injured by that defective product, they can hold the manufacturer, wholesaler, and distributor liable for the product defect that caused injuries. If the batteries became defective during manufacturing, a small number may be defective, however if all of the batteries are defective, a design defect may have caused the problem.

Farah & Farah’s Florida product liability attorneys will offer you a complimentary consultation if you have been injured as a result of a manufacturing or design defect. We may be able to help you obtain compensation for the injuries you have suffered.

Source: http://blog.chron.com/techblog/2011/05/hp-recalls-another-162000-notebook-batteries-for-fire-hazard/

The Miami Memorial Day weekend personal watercraft (PWC) crash of hip-hop singer Sean Kingston highlights the dangers associated with the machines. The Miami Herald reports Kingston is in a Jackson Memorial’s Ryder Trauma Center and his doctors say he will survive.

At first they weren’t sure. The 21-year-old slammed into the Palm Island Bridge on Sunday, May 29. For some reason he lost control of the Sea-Doo, which he had just purchased and his life vest fell off, causing him to sink. He suffered a broken jaw, fractured wrist, and water in his lungs. His passenger says they were going “really fast” before the collision and he lost control trying to avoid the bridge. Alcohol is not suspected to have played a role in the accident.

The personal watercraft (PWC) industry is dominated by five manufacturers, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Polaris, Bombardier (Sea-Doo) and Arctic Cat. The machines are designed for wave jumping and trick riding and are extremely difficult to control, according to The Safety Forum. With a water-jet engine and no rudder PWCs are considered the most dangerous watercraft in existence and account for about 40 percent of all boating accidents in Florida and across the U.S. In 1997, 40 people died using PWCs, primarily from blunt-force trauma of being hit by an object or another PWC.

While inexperienced riders are a problem so is the fact that a PWC is counter-intuitive. With most machines cutting the power and steering away will avoid a collision. PWCs are designed to make steering impossible when the power is cut. With a lack of brakes it takes about 300 feet to glide to a stop. Add that to an upward speed of 60 m.p.h., no occupant protection and little training and unfortunately we see too many accidents like the one that Sean Kingston was involved in.
PWC manufacturers understand how to design the watercraft to be safer, but the industry is poorly regulated and the manufacturers continue to stall safety improvements.

If a machine is poorly designed in such a way that it does not meet the ordinary expectations of the consumer but leads to consumer injuries and/or death, a product liability lawsuit can be filed against the manufacturer, the designer and/or the distributors. Farah & Farah’s Jacksonville defective product attorneys understand the complexities of product liability litigation and have an open door policy to discuss your case.

Sources: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/02/2247884/sean-kingston-on-the-mend-after.html, http://www.safetyforum.com/pwc/ and http://www.atla.org/cps/rde/xchg/justice/hs.xsl/login.htm?redirect-to=/Publications/trial/0608/brown.aspx#authorauthor

A trial is underway in Palm Beach County that puts Yamaha, manufacturer of the WaveRunner, on trial for the death of one teen and the grave injury of another on Easter Sunday in 2005. The Sun-Sentinel reports the two Cooper City teens, ages 14 and 15, told the watercraft owner they knew how to operate a WaveRunner and they took off in the Intracoastal. Five minutes later, the 14-year-old girl was dead and the 15-year-old girl was gravely injured when their WaveRunner hit the back of a boat. The teens were crushed then sliced by the boats propeller when they let up on the gas and lost the ability to steer. The trial started Thursday, May 5 and is expected to go on for a month.

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the product liability trial accuses Yamaha of showing a “reckless indifference to human life” in marketing a defective product. The jury could eventually decide to award the plaintiffs millions in punitive damages. Lawyers for the injured girl are asking for $7 million for medical bills, both past and future. Today she suffers from brain damage and a number of physical problems. The parents of the deceased girl will seek compensation for pain and suffering. Attorneys for the two girl’s parents have in their possession the 1986 to 2000 owner’s manuals for the Yamaha WaveRunner. It warns “don’t forget to accelerate” when you want to steer, but in 2001 the warning was removed. The girls were on the 2001 model which was later recalled due to a defective steering problem which was only corrected in 2003.

Attorneys for Yamaha say the operator was not yet 16, the legal age to drive a personal watercraft in Florida, and had not been properly trained. The Sun-Sentinel reports that attorneys will tell the jury the crash was avoidable and that Yamaha had ignored years of warnings about a defective steering system.

The Florida product liability attorneys at Farah & Farah has successfully represented many clients who have brought claims after being injured by defective and dangerous products. The manufacturer, marketer, designer and distributor can all be held liable for products that injure and kill consumers.