Jonesboro Personal Injury Lawyer - Defective & Dangerous Products

Salmonella Tainted Peanut Butter and Trial Lawyers

Paul Ford — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:36:59 GMT

The New York Times published an interesting article today about the peanut butter plant in Blakely, Georgia, owned by Peanut Corporation of America of Lynchburg, Virginia, responsible for the salmonella tainted peanut butter outbreak resulting in hundreds of people being sick and 7 deaths. No doubt someone will say something negative about greedy trial lawyers, but thank goodness we have trial lawyers. The Times article is proof enough.

The plant has been repeatedly inspected and on multiple occassions has been found to be in non-compliance with health and safety regulations. The repeated inspections were all a part of the the Food and Drug Administration system in place to insure a safe food supply for all of us. Unfortunatley, the system of inspections and violation reports are not enough. Despite the knowledge of the repeated violations, they continued. And now, tragically, lives have been lost because of the negligence of this company to comply with safety regulations.

What is my point......while safety regulations are great and necessary, they are not enough. Our founding fathers knew that a system of government needed a system of checks and balances. They were so right. Notice it is a "system" and checks and balances are in the plural sense, not singular. This is where trial lawyers come in.

When a corporation fails to comply with safety regulations in place for the safety of its customers, those injured customers are not left to hope that government inspections and regulations will resolve the problem. They may turn to the legal system to seek due compensation for their injuries and/or death. That right has been a fundamental aspect of our system of law and order. Despite the fundamental and essential nature of seeking legal redress in a trial by jury, the system is under attack. It is under attack because it works.

Corporations and individuals should be held accountable for their actions that injure others. Yet, as sad as it is to say, many well organized corporations and individuals seek to limit and avoid that accountability by a constant and continued attack on our system of laws. Yes, that's right. It is called Tort Reform.

Trial lawyers, though constantly vilified and insulted, stand in the fight against this well organized foe to protect the rights of those who are not organized. Fighting to protect the rights of the families left behind after 7 needless deaths were caused by salmonella tainted peanut butter. Fighting to hold corporations accountable for such unacceptable behavior. So the next time you hear someone insult a trial lawyer, know they are really attacking you and the rights of you and your family to hold corporations such as this accountable for their actions.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Ford

Tumble Tower Infant Rattles Recalled

Jeanie Oliver — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:51:56 GMT

When a post is about a defective product recall, I find that a picture would be worth a 1000 words. For most of us, hearing or reading that a certain baby rattle can cause choking leaves a blank space in the memory. More importantly, who remembers what the brand name was on the toy you purchased a month ago? I am not certain, either, that I would recognize the dangerous item from a written or spoken description. So I tried an interesting experiment. I tried drawing the tumble tower rattle from the description at the U.S.Consumer Product Safety website. The reality is I would have missed this in the toy box. Then I went to Google images and pulled up a picture since the toy is still sold on internet sites. Even if it has been pulled from sales, it doesn't mean that it was magically pulled from the toy basket. Now I was faced with the dilemma of getting you, the reader, a picture or a link to one. I hope this all worked as I think the minute you see it, you'll know whether you have one at home. Or, once seeing the tumble tower rattle, you can inform someone else of the hazard presented if the blue end caps break and choking results.

So to recap:

Tumble Tower Infant Rattle

Manufactured by the Manhattan Group LLC, of Minneapolis, Minn.

Manufactured in China

Danger of the 5 inch long baby rattle incurring breakage in the two blue endcaps-Choking

For a more in-depth description, click on the link provided for the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, go to recalls for May. A huge picture of the defective rattle will be at the bottom of the page entitled, "Manhattan Group Recalls Infant Rattles Due to Choking Hazard".

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeanie Oliver

Is The Federal Government Supporting Negligent Corporations?

Frank Bailey — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:58:16 GMT

The Bush administration’s effort to limit consumer’s access to courts and protect negligent corporations has reached new heights. It is rewriting the bureaucratic rulebook.

Jon Haber, AAJ’s chief executive officer, says the agencies are engaging in “a brazen end run around Congress, the Constitution and the states in an effort to let negligent corporations off the hook and knowingly put consumers at risk.”

Dennis Quaid and his wife will testify before congress about their suit against the maker of the blood-thinner heparin in Illinois state court. Their newborn twins were given massive doses of the blood thinner at a hospital. They have alleged the manufacturer was negligent in packaging different doses of heparin in similar vials with blue backgrounds.

The defendant, Baxter Healthcare Corp. is seeking to use the doctrine of preemption to shield it from any civil liability, claiming that once the FDA approved the labeling and packaging it is immune from civil suits.

Joan Claybrook says, “What the companies want is complete immunity and the regulators in the Bush administration are helping them.”

We need to contact our Senators and Congress and put a stop to this practice NOW!

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Frank Bailey

Botox Linked to Deaths

Jeanie Oliver — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:09:49 GMT

Botox is associated with anti-aging and continuing that youthful look. Most people don't realize that a death warning should come with the use of the drug. Botox is classified as a drug and is given for a variety of conditions. Unfortunately, it has become the latest subject of a FDA warning.

On Friday, February 8, 2008, the FDA warning came 2 weeks after the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen,www.citizen.org, petitioned the FDA to strengthen warnings that users of Botox were life threatening. They cited 180 reports of patients in the U.S. suffering from the following symptoms: fluid in the lungs, difficulty swallowing, or pneumonia. This report, sadly, included 16 deaths.

The most horrifying aspect of these deaths is that are occurring in children. Botox (Botulinum toxin Type A) is used in children being treated for spasticity in their limbs associated with cerebral palsy. The adverse reactions seem to be associated with the spread of the toxin in the child's system. The results appear to mimic the symptoms of botulism. However, despite the above possibilities, the FDA has still not issued an advisory to health care professionals to stop prescribing this off-label use of Botox. Once again, in America, we won't be proactive in the safety of our citizens, but reactive. No matter how prevalent this outraged reaction is, it won't be able to overcome damage to the patient. And most certainly, outrage can never overcome death.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeanie Oliver

Duragesic-Fentanyl Patches Cause Overdoses and Death

Jeanie Oliver — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:32:54 GMT

Medicine should relieve our pain or enable us to live better lives. In the case of Johnson and Johnson's Duragesic pain patch, death and life-threatening conditions have been the unfortunate effect on patient's lives. Before I talk about the details in these cases, let me put one fact out there: Duragesic generated $l.29 billion in global sales last year.

This makes it Johnson and Johnson's 6th best-selling product.

The patch relieves pain by a transdermal transfer of the pain medicine called fentanyl. If the edges of the patch are not correctly sealed, then deadly amounts of fentanyl, a medication stronger than morphine, are leaked directly onto the skin. This causes an overdose of a powerful medicine that was suppose to be issued into the body in a controlled dose.

This patch as resulted in at least 120 deaths. It has been very difficult for the FDA to accurately track the number of deaths caused by the drug because it is often worn by patients with cancer. The FDA has issued numerous recalls of the patches because of the danger of leaking. The patches continue to be produced despite Johnson and Johnson agreeing to settle a wrongful death suit in Florida. Hundreds of wrongful death suits are still pending.

Bloomberg News reports that as many as 300 to 400 overdose cases because the patches leaked fentanyl have been filed. This brings me back to my opening statements about the amount of money that Duragesic makes for the Johnson and Johnson family of companies; obviously enough to overcome any twinges of conscious on the part of this powerful company's decision makers.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeanie Oliver

Red Toy Wagon Recalled by Tricam

Jeanie Oliver — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:50:00 GMT

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeanie Oliver

Polaris Recalls Ranger Utility Vehicles

Jeanie Oliver — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:03:32 GMT

Faulty fuel tanks that can leak gas and cause fire hazards are the reason for the recall issued by Polaris. The company's popular utility vehicle, the 2008 Polaris Ranger RZR 800EFI model, has been proven to pose a danger to consumers.

Anyone with one of these rangers should stop using it immediately and contact their local dealership. The danger of burns or even death could be the result of continuing to drive this vehicle as the fuel seeps out. Contact the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission at www.cpsc.gov for more information on this and other product recalls.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jeanie Oliver

Toy Beads, Aqua Dots, Endanger Children

Sach Oliver — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 07:23:16 GMT

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued another recall on a toy for children. The Spin Master Aqua Dots are covered by a toxic chemical coating, the government said last week. One of the first original cases that spurred panic and the recall of this toy involved 20-month old Jack Esses of Arkansas.

The recall covers 4.2 million of the Aqua Dots Toys which consist of colored beads that can be arranged into designs and then fused together when sprayed with water. What seems like a great creative toy for innocent children, however, is covered with a chemical that metabolizes into the compound gamma hydroxy butyrate--the so-called date rape drug. This compound can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma, and death.

The CPSC follows up with retailers to ensure the removal of the deadly product. However, what about those innocent consumers who have already relied on retailers like to Wal-Mart to only sell them safe toys for their children to play and learn with in their homes. A beloved child can already have been endangered and sickened by another product from China's toy industry before a recall is issued. If your child or someone you know has been hurt by yet another unsafe toy , contact us here at the Bailey and Oliver Law Firm. We follow closely the product liability laws and will insure that justice is served for all innocent children hurt or damaged by unsafe products in their environment. We believe in your case.

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

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Sach Oliver