Articles Posted in Product Liability

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a warning that airborne beach umbrellas can kill explaining that incidents with these umbrellas have become “all too common.” Wind gusts have pulled up beach umbrellas on crowded beaches and sent them hurtling towards people. The results have been deaths and serious injuries like lacerations and impalements. There is now a voluntary safety standard to assist manufacturers in making sure that the danger is minimized. If your loved one was killed or you were injured by a beach umbrella that went flying, you may be able to recover compensation. The seasoned Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group can go over your legal options.

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The new voluntary safety standard ASTM F3681-24 requires that beach umbrellas and their anchor systems, along with beach umbrellas that are used with complaint anchors need to offer a resisting force of at least 75 pounds. Alternatively, they need to stay secure in wind speeds of up to 30 miles per hour, when the compliant anchor is secured in the sand.

Its expected that products compliant with this safety standard will be available soon. Consumers should look at the labels of anchors, which will state whether it meets the new safety standard by indicating that it “MEETS ASTM F3681 FOR WIND SPEEDS UP TO 30 MPH.” This will also set forth the maximum canopy size for an umbrella used with the anchor.

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On May 30, 2024, the manufacturer Black & Decker recalled its CRAFTSMAN® V20 Cordless Tillers/Cultivators because the instructions for its assembly could result in consumers incorrectly putting in the bottom part of the tiller upside-down. This can cause tines to rotate towards the person operating the tiller and present the risk of cuts. Around 44,400 units were recalled. If you were cut or dealt with lacerations from a tiller/cultivator, you should call the Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group.

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The tillers/cultivators in question were made in China and sold at Ace Hardware, Lowe’s, Amazon.com, Blain’s Farm and Fleet, and some Army & Air Force Exchanges between October ’22 – April 2024. The purchase price was $129-179. No injuries have been reported in connection with the recalled product thus far. The company has received a single report of incorrect attachment of the lower part of a cordless tiller/cultivator. Consumers have been asked to stop using these products and call Craftsman at (855) 237-6848 between 8 a.m. and 6.pm on weekdays or visit the Craftsman recall page. The company will provide new assembly instructions. The company is also contacting those it knows bought the product to give them instructions. This recall is similar to an earlier recall in May of Walk-Behind Leaf Blowers and Vacuums and Tow-Behind Leaf Vacuums, which also posed laceration risks.

If you’ve already been injured, you may want recourse, not simply new assembly instructions. It’s important to talk to our experienced product liability lawyers about your legal options. When you’ve been injured by a defective product, it may be appropriate to pursue damages against the manufacturer by filing a product liability lawsuit. These lawsuits are pursued when a product is defective in terms of its manufacturing, marketing, or design. In this case, since the assembly instructions were flawed, it’s possible that the court could find a marketing defect. Often defects must be proven with the assistance of expert witnesses.

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Recently around 1.6 million Black+Decker garment steamers were recalled by Empower Brands in a major expansion of an earlier recall of 518,500 units because of the risk of burns. Now all Black+Decker Model HGS011 Easy Garment Steamers have been recalled, including those that had been repaired as part of the earlier recall. You can identify the affect garment steamers because they have BLACK+DECKER printed at the base of the steamer, which is 11 by 6 inches. Each steamer has a model number printed on the bottom as well as on the sides of its package, and you should check to see whether you have an affected model. The affected models are HGS011, HGS011F, HGS011S, HGS011T. Packages with these UPC codes, printed on the package, are affected: 0 50875 82840 7, 0 50875 82839 1, 0 50875 82838 4, and 0 50875 00272 2. If you were burned by a Black+Decker garment steamer or another steamer, you should call the seasoned Chicago-based lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in lawsuits with which we’ve been involved.

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People have reported they were burned by the affected steamers. However, people also reported that they suffered injuries due to steamers that had previously been recalled in 2022 and repaired with a replacement upper assembly. Specifically, there have been 317 reports of hot water coming out of the recalled steamers. Of those, 82 people have reported getting burned by the hot water, and of those that were burned, 7 people suffered second-degree burns. 94 of the reports, including of 19 burn injuries, involved units that had supposedly been repaired in the 2022 recall or in units that had an updated design.

The company has asked consumers to stop using the recalled steamers and to contact Empower Brands to obtain a full refund. However, if you were injured by the steamer, you may need further recourse and you may be wondering what to do. When a consumer is injured by a product made dangerous due to a manufacturing, design, or marketing defect, he or she can bring a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer. The company could be held liable for injuries caused by the defective product under theories of negligence, strict liability, breach of warranty, breach of contract, statutory violations, or fraud, depending on the state laws and the circumstances. Often, strict liability provides the most straightforward theory of liability because it requires attorneys to prove only: (1) the product was defective, (2) the defects caused your injuries, and (3) the injuries resulted in damages.

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Around 15 million Philips Respironics CPAP and ventilator machines were impacted by a Class 1 recall. This class of recall is the most serious because it indicates that it’s reasonably probable that using or just being exposed to the affected products will result in serious adverse health ramifications or even deaths. Recently, the manufacturer Philips reached a $1.1 billion deal to settle claims from plaintiffs who alleged they were injured by the company’s CPAP sleep apnea machines, as well as BiPAP ventilators. Part of the settlement is expected to be allocated for medical monitoring. This settlement does not admit fault and it is not yet final; the deal was reached through a mediator and still needs to be formalized in federal court. If you were injured or a loved one died as a result of using a Philips CPAP sleep apnea machine, you should call the seasoned Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group to see whether you have recourse. Billions have been recovered in lawsuits with which we’ve been involved.

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The Philips CPAP machine recall occurred because thousands of CPAP users complained of suffering medical problems as a result of use. A subsequent investigation found that the polyurethane foam that had been used to muffle sound and vibration in the machine could break down, especially in a warm environment, such that the person using the device could breathe in bits of foam or chemicals from the foam, including formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds, that they couldn’t see. That exposure could result in toxic and carcinogenic impacts. It is expected that the impacted machines will be fixed by replacing the existing foam with a silicone-based foam.

The affected Philips CPAP devices were sold between 2008-2021. More than 116,000 medical device reports had been received since April 2021, including 561 reports of death, that were suspected to be connected to the insulating foam in the machines.

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Recently, Asensus Senhance Surgical System recalled its Senhance Surgical System in a Class I recall. The Class I recalls are the most serious recalls because they indicate that using the recalled device could result in death or serious injuries. The systems were distributed between April 13, 2023 – September 7, 2023. If you were injured as a result of a malfunctioning Senhance Surgical System, you should call the seasoned product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in product liability litigation with which we’ve been involved.

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You may be affected by the recall of the Senhance Surgical System if you’re going through or have gone through general laparoscopic surgical procedures or laparoscopic gynecological surgeries. Medical professionals use the Senhance Surgical System, which is a robotic surgery device, to help with laparoscopic surgeries.

The Senhance Surgical System is meant to be used by trained doctors when performing general laparoscopic surgical procedures and laparoscopic gynecological surgeries. The manufacturer expects this medical device to be used exclusively in an operating room environment, with reference to the instructions for use. Those who are two-year-old and older with a weight of at least 10kg and who can undergo conventional endoscopic techniques can be administered care through this device. It is intended for use by trained physicians in an operating room environment in accordance with the instructions for use.

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Recently, Walmart, Costco, and Trader Joe’s recalled certain cheeses after a listeria outbreak. The CBC had originally looked into the listeria outbreak back in 2017 and 2021, after it began making people sick in 2014, which was linked to sickness even in 2014, back in 2017 and 2021, but were unable to identify the specific brand responsible for the outbreak. However, evidence suggested that queso fresco and like cheeses were possible sources. The outbreak has made ill 26 people in 11 states. 23 of these people were hospitalized and two died as a result of consuming the cheese. If you were made sick or a loved one died due to contaminated cheese, you should call the seasoned Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group.

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The Mayo Clinic describes listeria as a hardy bacteria that has its home in water, soil, and animal excrement. The bacteria can survive refrigeration and contaminate a wide range of food items. If you consume listeria and become sick, the diagnosis will be listeriosis. Listeriosis can be especially dangerous for the elderly and within the country, it is the third leading cause of death from foodborne illness.

One listeria outbreak, which has lasted a decade, killed two and made sick many more as a result of contaminated cheese associated with a California cheese and dairy company, Rio López Foods, which voluntarily recalled around 60 dairy and cheese products that were made in its facility. Walmart, Costco, and Trader Joe’s, along with other nationwide retailers are recalling the company’s products given the ongoing listeria outbreak. Some of the recalled items include the following, when manufactured during specific windows of time: Don Pancho Cilantro Lime Crema, Rojo’s 6 Layer Dip, Chicken Street Taco Kit, Southwest Chicken Wrap with Sauce, Ready Pac Bistro Queso Crunch Salad Kit, Cilantro salad dressing, Chicken Enchiladas Verde, Elote Chopped Salad Kit, Southwest Salad, Fresh Express Salsa! Ensalada Salad Kit, Marketside Southwest Chopped Salad Kit, Marketside Bacon Ranch Crunch Chopped Salad Kit, and various Dole food kits. The cheeses were sold under a range of brand names at stores and delis around the country—some of these brand names were Tio Francisco, Don Francisco, Rizo Bros, El Huache, Rio Grande and 365 Whole Foods Market.

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In November 2023, a 6 month baby died in a Fisher-Price infant-to-toddler rocker. Consumer Reports asked Fisher Price and its parent company Mattel to launch a recall because of the safety concerns raised by the baby’s death and other deaths over the years. If your baby died due to the risks of inclined sleepers, you should call the seasoned product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in cases with which we’ve been involved across the nation.

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There were reports of a minimum of 13 infant deaths related to the rockers between 2009 and 2021.The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Fisher-Price issued a warning in 2022, in which they advised consumers not to use the rockers for sleep. Despite this warning, the rocker was not recalled.

Consumer Reports also found an event report from March of 2023 in which a baby was nearly harmed, though escaped without injury. It has recommended parents and caregivers to be particularly careful to make sure a baby that spends time in a rocker stays awake. Caregivers are supposed to move a baby that falls asleep in the rocker to a play yard, a crib, or a bassinet. In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics asked that babies be placed by themselves on a firm flat surface with a fitted sheet and no additional things like pillows, blankets, padded crib bumpers, toys, or blankets.

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Due to severe health risks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned against buying or using tianeptine products like Neptune’s Fix. Tianeptine supplements are commonly sold at convenience stores and gas stations under the name Neptune’s Fix. The drug tianeptine has not been approved for medical use in this country, though it is prescribed as an antidepressant in other countries. Synthetic pot was also found in supplements. On January 29, 2024, Neptune’s Fix was recalled after federal officials determined the supplements include an unapproved antidepressant drug that can increase the chances of consumers suffering severe side effects such as seizures, suicidal behavior, overdoses, and loss of consciousness, and potentially fatal prescription drug interactions. Tianeptine is also called gas station heroin because it operates on opioid receptors.. If you were harmed by gas station heroin, you should call the seasoned Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group.

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Neptune’s Fix is marketed as a dietary supplement to improve brain function, anxiety, depression, pain, and opioid use disorders, though it isn’t approved for medical use in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has noted an uptick in serious side effects associated with the supplement; poison control centers had received notification of 151 tianeptine exposures in 2020. Earlier, the FDA had asked gas stations and convenience stores to stop selling the product. In November, the FDA had also warned consumers not to buy Neptune’s Fix or other tianeptine products calling it a potentially dangerous drug that was illegally sold and marketed as providing improvements to brain function, pain, anxiety, depression, and opioid use disorder.

More recently, the FDA announced that the company voluntarily agreed to recall three Neptune’s Fix products: Neptune’s Fix Elixir, Neptune’s Fix Extra Strength Elixir, and Neptune’s Fix Tablets.

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Recently, a jury ordered Bayer AG’s Monsanto unit to pay more than $2.2 billion, $250 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages, to John McKivison, a 49-year-old former Roundup user who argued that the herbicide he used at home and at work caused his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer connected to glyphosate, Roundup’s active ingredient. He had worked as a landscaper and loaded 25 gallon tanks of the weedkiller on his tractor to deal with weeds and vegetation and used it on his home garden as well. McKivison received the largest verdict in five years of Roundup litigation. In Roundup litigation, users usually argue that Monsanto, in fact, knew that some researchers deemed glyphosate a carcinogen, but wanted to bury related studies. If you were harmed by Roundup, you should call our seasoned Chicago-based product liability lawyers.

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Although Monsanto has won 10 out of 16 trials related to Roundup, it has faced serious damages awards as well. For instance, before the $2.2 billion verdict, it was confronted with a $1.5 billion verdict in November of last year. In 2019, a husband and wife who used the weedkiller for 30 years and developed cancer won a combined $2.055 billion in damages, but the award was cut to $87 million.

Bayer, the German conglomerate that acquired Monsanto for $63 billion, is under significant pressure. Its shares fell nearly 3% before the jury announced its verdict after analysts downgraded the company in connection with the Roundup litigation. Bayer has set aside up to $16 billion to resolve over 100,000 Roundup claims but is now facing a second wave of lawsuits claiming that the herbicide contains carcinogens. Continue reading →