Marietta Injury Lawyer Blog

CooperVision Inc. announced this week they are expanding a recall first issued in August and are recalling more than five million contact lenses. The contacts were sold under the brand name Avaira, and are being recalled because they may be tainted with silicone oil residue that could result in blurred vision, eye injuries, and severe pain. The recall comes after the FDA issued a Class I warning about the lenses last month. Class I warnings are the most serious warning issued and involve problems in which there is a reasonable chance of serious health consequences or death.

By the end of October the FDA had received more than forty reports of problems associated with the contact lenses. According to the FDA, at least fifteen of the lenses were sold under the Avaira Toric label, and at least two were sold under the brand name Avaira Sphere. Avaira Toric users have reported a wide range of problems with the lenses, from hazy vision to the much more serious condition of torn corneas that require emergency surgery.

Some Product Liability Attorneys have accused CooperVision of issuing a "stealth recall" that did not properly alert many consumers to the possible danger.The FDA apparently agrees and has said that the company should have put more effort into making customers of the recall.

Consumers with problems or questions related to the recalls should contact the company at 855-526-6737. CooperVision says it has reached out to affected consumers to ensure their safety. The company says they are cooperating fully with the FDA, and as of now they are unaware of any permanent damage caused by the lenses.

An Atlanta area man was stunned last week when the air bag in his 2008 Honda Accord deployed unexpectedly. Chris Androvic said he was driving his car under normal conditions when his airbags exploded in Forsyth County last Monday afternoon. Androvic was traveling in heavy afternoon traffic when the air bags above his head and his seat inexplicably deployed.

Surprisingly, a local Honda dealership said that the problem was his responsibility. Adrovic says they gave him a bill for over $5,000, as there were no recalls in place for this type of defect in Honda Accords making the damage his responsibility. But Adrovic, through his research on safecar.gov, found dozens of complaints specifically of other 2008 Honda Accord owners for similar incidents.

Honda responded to the situation with a letter stating that, "Neither NHTSA or Honda have initiated any recall action." Adding that, "Customarily, a recall would be initiated only when a defect has been observed in many cases . . ." Though Honda said they will continue to carefully monitor the situation.

Continue reading "Atlanta Driver Surprised by Unexpected Airbag Deployment " »

As a Georgia products liability lawyer and father of three I'm always interested in safety recalls with child safety implications. Hundreds of thousands of the popular B.O.B. jogging strollers are being recalled because of a choking concern. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission made the announcement this week of the voluntary recall by the manufacturer, B.O.B. Trailers Inc. The recall involves all B.O.B. Strollers manufactured between November 1998 and November 2010. Strollers manufactured after October 2006 have a white label attached to the back of the strollers with the manufacturing date printed on, and strollers with no manufacturing date listed were produced before October 2006 and are also part of the recall.This is not the first recall of the year for B.O.B. as 357,000 of its strollers were recalled in February due to a drawstring on the stroller that posed a strangulation hazard.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the recall is due to the fact that the logo embroidered on the back of the stroller's canopy backing patch can detach, which poses a significant choking hazard to baby's and young children. The C.P.S.C. has received six reports of children mouthing the logo, with two of those incidents resulting in choking. In each of the reported incidents, the children were seated in a car seat attached to the stroller.

Over 400,000 of these strollers were sold in the United States between November 1998 and October 2011. REI, Babies R'Us and Amazon.com are among the retailers who sold the product. The strollers were sold in single seat and double-seat models and are embroidered with the BOB, Ironman, or Stroller Strides brand name on the canopy.

If you are the owner of one of these strollers the C.P.S.C. advises that you immediately contact B.O.B. Trailers for instructions for removing the canopy logo, and stop using the recalled strollers until the backing patch is removed from the interior of the canopy.For additional information, contact B.O.B. Trailers toll-free at (855) 242-2245 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday, or visit the B.O.B. company website.

The traditional drop side crib that millions of parents have trusted and relied on to cradle their babies for generations has now been outlawed by the government. After many recalls and the deaths of over 30 infants and young toddlers over the last 10 years, drop side cribs will no longer be a choice for parents when shopping for a crib. The Consumer Product Safety Commission came to a unanimous vote to ban all operations involving the drop side crib in which on side moves up and down, so that a mother or father can easily remove their child. The ban of all operations, involving this crib include: a ban of manufacturing, selling, or reselling in any way. The government has approved a new standard that ensures the safety of all children that need to be in a crib. Cribs will only have fixed sides so children can't climb out or fall out over the side. The government has also banned all child care institutions, as well as hotels, from using drop side cribs in their establishments.

Drop sides cribs have been criticized for decades for many reasons. These drop side cribs have been known to have malfunctioning hardware, cheaper plastics, and most commonly, assembly problems. Assembly problems have caused numerous instances in which the drop side rail detaches from the crib itself. When this detaching happens, it commonly creates a V-gap between the mattress and side rail. This can cause an infant or toddler to get stuck in this V gap and suffocate causing a needless death. A mother in New York lost her 10 month old son in 1997 when his side rail detached and his neck became trapped between the mattress and side rail. A mother wants to feel a sense of safety when she puts her infant or toddler down to sleep and not have to worry about them possibly suffocating or dying through the night. It is an awful feeling to wake up to your son or daughter trapped and not be able to help them.

Continue reading "Georgia Child Safety and Product Liability Update - Drop-Side Cribs Outlawed For Causing Numerous Infant Deaths" »

A New Mexico couple has filed suit against Georgia companies, Simply Thick, LLC, the owners of SimplyThick, a product used to thicken breast milk and infant formula, and Thermo Pac, LLC, who manufactures and supplies the product in Georgia State Court. The complaint is believed to be the first filed following a warning issued in May of this year by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that SimplyThick may cause the life-threatening necrotizing entercolotis (NEC). After the May warning, the FDA inspected Simply Thick's Stone Mountain, Georgia manufacturing plant and found numerous deficiencies. At that point a complete recall was issued for every product manufactured at the Stone Mountain plant. The suit alleges that Simply Thick failed to properly thermally process and test the safety of its product, and as a result the SimplyThick ingested by the couple's daughter was responsible her developing NEC.

The infant was born prematurely, and after being discharged from the hospital the couple was given samples of SimplyThick with instructions to use it when feeding. The couple says after using the product the baby's health deteriorated so rapidly from the NEC that she had to be airlifted from a local hospital to a specialty Children's Hospital in Albuquerque. NEC is a rare disease in infants post-hospital discharge that is normally life-threatening causing inflammation and death of intestinal tissue. NEC has a death rate of 25% and can cause severe impairment in children who survive.

Continue reading "First Personal Injury Lawsuit Following May 2011 FDA Warning Concerning Breast Milk and Infant Formula Thickening Agent" »

Several people throughout the country are claiming that one recent fitness technique used to get in shape is actually hazardous. Sketchers, the makers of "Shape Ups," the shoe which the company claims promotes weight loss, tones muscles, and improves posture without going to the gym are being sued throughout the country. The latest suit by an Illinois woman claims the shoes are a dangerous product because of the shoe's "elevated and unstable, rocker bottom sole." The woman claims that she suffered a torn tendon while sightseeing in Washington D.C. when the shoe suddenly "pronated inward and caused her left ankle to roll sideways resulting in excruciating pain." According to the complaint the injury required surgery to repair.

The same firm representing the Illinois woman has files similar suits in Kentucky and Ohio, and is planning to file in Georgia, Virginia, and Utah. There is also a class action suit pending against Sketchers in the Southern District of California that claims the "Shape Ups" are being fraudulently marketed as having health befits.

Continue reading "Are Sketchers "Shape Ups" a Dangerous Injury Causing Product?" »

General Motors is being pushed by safety organizations and trial lawyers to recall its older vehicles and install trunk safety switches. This year alone 20 children have died as a result of being locked inside hot cars with three of those deaths from children being trapped inside car trunks that were manufactured by GM. In Oklahoma this month, an 8 year-old boy died in the trunk of his parents 1998 Chevy Cavalier. Last month there was a similar story when two brothers were trapped in the trunk of their mother's 2000 Chevrolet Malibu and also died.

The safety organization KidsandCars.org is calling on GM to recall all vehicles with trunks from the 2000 and 2001 model years and retrofit them with internal releases. Beginning in the 2002 model year all cars came equipped with a glow in the dark release handle inside the trunk. This is not the first time that GM has been called on to retrofit cars from the 2000 and 2001 model years with internal trunk releases. KidsandCars.org also tried to persuade GM in the 2009 after the death of a 5-year-old Arkansas boy and his 4-year-old sister in a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu. Janette Fennel of KidsandCars.org says that no one has ever died in the trunk of newer models that have the safety releases.

GM's response provides little comfort to consumer advocates as they responded by stating that because they make more cars than any other company accidents are bound to happen in vehicles. They go even further by putting the responsibility back on the parents stating they have "worked . . . to alert parents and caregivers to the dangers of leaving children unattended in or around vehicles." They also stated they have no plans to issue a recall.

Continue reading "Child Safety Update;Trunk Entrapment Deaths on the Rise" »

In a 5-4 decision on Thursday, the United States Supreme Court ruled that manufacturers of generic pharmaceutical drugs could not be sued under state law over allegations that they failed to provide adequate label warnings about potential side effects. This ruling should be of a great concern to anyone who uses generic pharmaceuticals.

In the original lawsuit, Gladys Mensing, alleged that taking a generic form of metoclopramide, a common drug used to treat heartburn, gave her a severe neurological movement disorder. None of the generic manufacturers and distributors of metoclopramide made any effort to include warnings on the label for metoclopramide. Manufacturers of the generic metoclopramide, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, UDL Labratories, and Actavis Inc. argued that federal law barred such a suit becausethe drug is approved by the FDA, (federal law requires generic drugs only to have the same labels as their brand name equivalents). They argued that because government regulations only require them to have the same label on metoclopramide as is on its brand name equivalent, Reglan, that they had no duty to include additional warnings for their generic form of metoclopramide.

The majority of the court, including Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the opinion, sided with the pharmaceutical companies. Thomas stated in his opinion that the federal drug regulations applicable to generic drug manufacturers directly conflict with and thus pre-empt state lawsuits. The net effect of this opinion is that it gives generic drug manufacturers zero liability for medication injuries that could have been avoided by an updated warning label.

Continue reading "Product Liability Update; Many Stunned by U.S. Supreme Court's Ruling On Generic Drugs" »

If you are the owner of one of the 3 million Jeep Grand Cherokees made between 1993 and 2004 there may be cause for concern. The consumer watchdog group, The Center For Auto Safety, is pushing the U.S. Government for a recall of a poorly protected fuel tank that is causing fire in some rear-end crashes in the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) acknowledges that there have been 44 Grand Cherokee Crashes and 55 deaths since 1992 where fire was listed as the most harmful factor.

The problem stems from the placement of the fuel tank in the 1993 - 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The tank, which is made of plastic, is positioned below the rear bumper and behind the rear axle, which provides very little protection to the tank in the case of a rear end collision. Paul Sheridan, a former safety manager at Chrysler, says that the "design of the tank if a fundamental safety defect. No Question about it." Sheridan explains that when one of these Jeep's is hit from behind that another vehicle could easily slide under the rear bumper of the Jeep and tear the tank open. This creates a situation where gas covers the interior of the Jeep creating a potential disaster if there is any sort of spark.

Continue reading "Dangerous and Defective Product Update; Safety Advocates Demand Recall of '93-'04 Jeep Grand Cherokee" »

At the end of August, 2010, DePuy Orthopedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, announced a DePuy Hip Replacement Recall expected to affect an estimated 93,000 patients. The DePuy ASR hip replacement system has been failing at unusually high rates in patients all over the country including Georgia. Implant loosening, fractures, dislocations, and potentially toxic metals entering the bloodstream have led to frequent repeat surgeries in patients that received DePuy ASR hip implants.

Particularly troubling is the fact that DePuy was able to bypass Food and Drug Administration testing by exploiting the implant loophole. A product such as a hip implant can be sold to the public without testing if it is a device that is similar to a product that has already been approved by the FDA for use on patients.

The DePuy implant is not the only hip implant system causing extensive post surgical complications, but it's the implant currently causing the most problems. A large number of people have been affected by the DePuy ASR implant, because Johnson & Johnson waited over two years after it first became clear there was a serious issue with the product to announce the recall and pull the product from the market.

While this recall has informed some, many patients are still confused. As a Georgia Product Liability Attorney I've spoken with many patients experiencing severe complications following their hip replacement procedure, and although some have received letters informing them of a specific recall, most have no idea what company manufactured their particular implant. One way to find out whether you have a DePuy hip implant is to call your surgeon and ask them.

Litigation is pending in State and Federal Courts across the country for injuries caused by the DePuy ASR hip implant system, with new Plaintiffs being added as they are discovered. Johnson & Johnson denies there is any problem with the product and is vigorously defending these suits.

Drug executives and product liability lawyers have been closely watching the trial of Shirley Boles, a 72 year old woman that developed jawbone necrosis (jaw death) while taking the drug Fosamax. An unusually large number of Fosamax patients have developed osteonecrosis of the jaw, a condition that causes the gums to fall away exposing jaw bone that appears moth eaten. The condition is often described as jaw death. The manufacture of Fosamax Merck is currently defending over 900 federal and state lawsuits filed by women that developed osteonecrosis of the jaw on Fosamax. It has been alleged Merck misrepresented the drug's safety and failed to warn doctors and patients about the risks associated with taking Fosamax. Merck denies any responsibility for the hundreds of injuries suffered and claims Fosamax is a safe and effective medication.

Ms. Boles' case sparked national interest because it is one of the first of the Fosamax cases tried to a verdict. In her case, the jury held Merck responsible and awarded $8 million dollars in damages. As often happens with large verdicts, U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan in Manhattan reduced the juries' award from $8 Million to $1.5 Million. Judge Keenan is a veteran of the bench appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1983. In his decision, Judge Keenan wrote "a significant damage award is warranted, but the $8 million deviates substantially from what would be reasonable compensation,"

The law concerning verdicts that will apply in this case is virtually the same to state and federal court in Georgia. A judge may reduce a large verdict for any reason. The decision to reduce a verdict is completely in the judge's discretion and not subject to appeal. When a verdict is reduced, the injured plaintiff must choose between the reduced award or another trial. If the plaintiff takes the second option then she must wait until the judge offers another opportunity for trial, which can take months.

Merck will appeal stating the evidence did not support a verdict for the injured plaintiff. If I'm Merck I'm worried. Having a conservative judge agree with the jury that a significant award is warranted is certainly a bad omen for the hundreds of cases yet to be tried.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has ordered the recall of 1.1 Million light up rings and 120,000 star glasses because these defective products can cause serious injury to children. These toys were manufactured in China and distributed at Chuck E. Cheese restaurants in birthday party packages and promotions. The toys are dangerous because children are able to remove the small button sized batteries. These batteries pose a choking risk to children and can cause stomach and intestinal problems. Parents should return the products to Chuck E. Cheese or throw them away.

A huge focus of my blog deals child safety issues, because in addition to being a personal injury lawyer, I'm a father of three. Like most parents my number one goal is keeping my children safe. Recently I've discovered moon bounces and inflatable slides can pose a serious injury risk. More and more I'm hearing about deaths and serious head injuries from incidents on inflatables, or as my kids call them "jumpy jumps." Naturally I'm worried and want to read more to find out how these incidents happen.

I started with last year's report by the U.S. Consumer Consumer Product Safety Commission on the estimated number of injuries and deaths associated with inflatable amusements from 2003 - 2007. According to the study, approximately 6,000 people are injured every year from the use of inflatables. Most of the incidents involved moon bounces (91%) and the most common injuries were fractures (29%). Of course what scared me the most were the reported deaths. How did they happen? From the report and other sources I found numerous death reports.

Continue reading "Inflatable Slides and Moon Bounces Pose Serious Injury Risk to Children" »

This week a Cobb County jury awarded, 77 year old, Ramona Roper a $1.1 Million dollar verdict for the shattered pelvis injury she suffered from a dangerous and defective vehicle. Ramona worked full time as the City Clerk for the City of Jasper for 30 years. She lived on her own and had a very active lifestyle before the incident.

The case involved a 1994 Dodge Intrepid. It had a defective gear shift assembly which caused it to move out of park when the keys were out of the ignition. Chrysler recalled the Intrepid in 2004. Ramona took the car into Jasper Jeep to have the recall work done on three separate occasions between 2004 and 2007. The first two times the recall part was not in. The third time, the Jasper Jeep technician did not perform the recall work properly.

Shortly after the negligent repairs, Ramona was dropping off some food for her grandchildren when the incident occurred. Her three year old granddaughter reached into the center console of the car to pick up a drink and put her hand on the gear shifter causing it to shift out of park. Ramona's driver side door knocked her over and the car ran her over. Had the repairs been performed correctly this incident would have been prevented. She suffered numerous fractures to her pelvis, was hospitalized for a week and was in a nursing home for approximately 6 weeks for recovery.

Continue reading "Cobb County Jury Awards $1.1 Million Dollar Verdict for 77-Year-Old Woman's Serious Injuries Caused by Negligent Repair of Recalled Auto" »