Illinois Injury and Mass Tort Lawyer Blog

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 →

As you likely already know, Stanley tumblers are trendy water bottles. They are so popular that the Valentine’s day limited edition version of the tumbler triggered physical confrontations and campouts at Target. They are often used as a fashion accessory and the company’s use of influencers on social media has caused huge sales of the tumblers. However, the manufacturer of the tumblers, Stanley, states on its website that the vacuum insulation technology that controls the contents of the cup at an ideal temperature is sealed with an industry standard pellet that contains some lead. However, according to the company, after the bottle is sealed, the manufacturer covers that portion with stainless steel rendering the lead inaccessible to those drinking from the tumbler, so there isn’t anything to worry about in terms of health hazards.

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Even so, a number of social media posts on YouTube, X, Reddit, Instagram, and TikTok have remarked on concerns that there is lead in the tumblers. There are also tumbler owners who used kits from home to test the lead; experts say those are not reliable. The lead discussion continues on Facebook, as well.

Recently, professor of public health Jack Caravanos who studies lead and is a global exposure expert assured the public that the Stanley cup is not dangerous to consumers. He tested the cups of different sizes using an X-ray fluorescence detector. This detector decides what the elements of the material are, and this one did not find superficial lead, even, on any part of the cup, Dr. Caravanos reports. He says that the danger to human health is negligible since your mouth isn’t going to go near the surface, and the lead won’t dissolve into the stainless steel. He was unable to deconstruct the tumbler to look at what’s beneath the stainless steel but wasn’t able to get that part open; this is a sign, he says, that lead material is highly unlikely to get out of the cup and become something that could be consumed.

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Recently, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation centralized the Ozempic lawsuits, at least 55 of them, in Pennsylvania federal court. These lawsuits allege that defendants Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly failed to warn people of severe side effects linked to the diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro. The plaintiffs allege they were prescribed drugs to treat diabetes or assist in weight loss but weren’t warned about serious side effects like stomach paralysis and intestinal obstruction. If you were harmed by Ozempic or Mounjaro, call the seasoned Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in product liability cases with which we’ve been involved around the country.

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In its order, the JPML agreed it would send all the Ozempic and Mounjaro cases to United States District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania where 13 of the cases were already pending. The JPML believes the drugs are similar enough that one MDL for the cases would make discovery and other proceedings more efficient; it will also avoid the risk of inconsistent rulings. Judge Pratter can issue rulings and make consistent decisions that apply to side effect cases related to the relevant diabetes and weight loss drugs.

The defendant pharmaceutical companies denied the allegations in court and moved to dismiss the lawsuits on the grounds that the drugs’ potential side effects are known to the public and that the labels on the drugs announce the side effects, thereby providing adequate warnings.

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The Philips DreamStation 2 CPAP machine, used both at home and in medical settings, is prescribed to provide positive airway pressure for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. Recently, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned patients and health care providers to diligently attend to whether their Philips DreamStation 2 continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines are overheating. The warning was issued after the FDA realized that reports about thermal issues like burns, smoke and fire were increasing in connection with these CPAP machines; the agency received 270 reports of problems between August 1, 2023–November 15, 2023. If you were burned, suffered smoke inhalation, or another injury due to a CPAP machine overheating, should call the trustworthy Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in cases with which we’ve been involved.

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As a patient or caregiver, you should be aware that the affected Dream Station 2 CPAP machines were shipped in order to replace recalled DreamStation 1 CPAP machines. The foam used in the machines does not appear to be causing the safety issue. Rather, in a developing situation, it appears that there is an electrical or mechanical malfunction within the machine that can cause it to overheat under specific circumstances.

Patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers have been asked to ensure that the manufacturer’s instructions in the user manual are carefully followed. Among these instructions are to let the CPAP machine’s heater plate and water tank cool for 15 minutes prior to tank removal to reduce the burn risk and to inspect and examine the CPAP for atypical smells or appearance changes. If the machine exhibits any altered smell, appearance or sounds, or starts performing differently, the CPAP should be unplugged and left unused. Patients should ask their primary care physician or sleep doctor for next steps. Reports should be made to the FDA about these issues. Meanwhile the FDA continues to investigate and to discuss the manufacturer about mitigation strategies.

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Recently, federal safety regulators asked consumers to stop buying and using magnetic toy ball sets for their children’s use. These magnetic balls have now been associated with hundreds of serious injuries as well as 7 fatalities, 5 of them within the U.S. When swallowed, these toys magnets may attract to each other, which can result in intestinal blockages, blood poisoning and perforations of critical organs. If your child was injured or killed by magnetic toy balls, you should call the seasoned Chicago-product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in cases with which we’ve been involved.

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Six notices about the magnetic toy ball sets have been issued. Once swallowed, toy magnets may attract to one another and cause severe injuries. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has identified 6 children’s toys that don’t comply with safety regulations because they include magnets that are small enough to be consumed by a child. There were 2400 ER hospitalizations from 2017–2021 involving people who ingested toy magnets.

One of the companies implicated, Xpressgoods.com, has agreed to issue a recall of 728 units of a magnetic ball set manufactured in China. Customers have been advised to return them for a full refund or store credit. However, other manufacturers based in China and South Korea haven’t agreed to offer remedies to consumers. The toy magnetic balls in questions are Magic QQ 216-Piece Mixed Color Magnetic Ball Sets, Ming Tai Trade’s 216-piece 5mm Magnetic Ball Sets, Sunny House 125-Piece 5mm mixed Color Magnet Ball Sets, Allvre 216-Piece 5mm Magnetic Ball Sets, Carrara Magnetic Ball Sets sold by myKmarket.com.

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Tesla makes almost 50% of the electric passenger cars sold in the United States. Recently, however, Tesla recalled more than 2 million of its cars. Previously, to no avail, federal regulators had pressed Tesla to update its Autopilot system, which can accelerate, steer, and brake by itself, and to make sure the cars’ drivers are paying attention in spite of the automatic driving features. This recall was Tesla’s fourth in under two years, and it covers almost all of the electric vehicles the company has made in the country since 2012. If you were injured because of Tesla’s electric vehicles, you should call the trustworthy Chicago-based lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in lawsuits around the country with which we’ve been involved.

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Tesla has been successful in selling and marketing its electric passenger cars but has seen its market share slip as competitors have started selling electric cars. The recall, instituted after a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) investigation into Tesla’s driver-assistance system, Autopilot, further damages Tesla’s image. Autopilot is designed to control vehicles on their own while driving down highways, but owner manuals ask drivers to continue to keep their hands on the wheel and resume control of the car in the event something goes wrong.

The investigation started in 2021 after fatal accidents occurred in cars that included the driver assistance technology. The agency identified 11 incidents that had occurred in which the Tesla vehicles were on the road with Autosteering engaged. Over the course of its investigation, the NHTSA said, it reviewed 956 crashes in which Autopilot was engaged, and focused on 322 crashes that included situations in which Autopilot might have been engaged inadvertently. The company has issued wireless software updates to some vehicles, and others will receive these updates later. The updates will involve more noticeable visual alerts while using autosteer, which will be suspended if drivers repeatedly fail to use it in a responsible manner.

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