Illinois Injury and Mass Tort Lawyer Blog

Published on: August 26, 2025

Consumer Advocacy Groups Oppose Elimination of the CPSC

job-5382501_1280-e1754760475318 The Trump Administration has proposed elimination of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a bipartisan independent agency created by Congress that handles numerous product safety questions. An elimination of the agency would take crucial data-driven safety rules that protect people around the country from dangerous and defective products and immediately leave those rules vulnerable to political aims. The CPSC’s own 2026 budget request to Congress was the vehicle for the proposal of both agency elimination and an alarming reduction in consumer safety funding and staffing. This budget request, as well as an earlier leak of Administration documents that revealed a plan to get rid of the CPSC, have been strongly condemned by the Consumer Federation of America and other groups. There is still recourse if you or a loved one was injured by a defective or dangerous product. You should consult the seasoned product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group to determine whether you have a viable claim. Billions have been recovered in lawsuits with which we’ve been involved.

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The CPSC budget request proposes that CPSC functions be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Meanwhile, the HHS is also experiencing a dramatic reduction in both funding and workforce. There have been layoffs, grant cancellations, and disruptions to public health programs around the country. In its criticism of the budget request for elimination, the Consumer Federation stated that it was fantastical to think that a new assistant secretary position could effectively utilize HHS administrative and support functions in the face of HHS’s huge budget cuts. The budget request, it says, will impair the ability to discover, respond to, and ultimately stop dangerous products from entering homes.

There are also 121 consumer advocacy groups that have called on Congress to reject the plan to collapse CPSC into HHS on the grounds that moving the agency could delay and weaken oversight, including the taking of important safety actions around dangerous products. The groups have asked Congress to maintain CPSC’s independence in the interests of household safety, and they’ve also asked Congress to fully fund the original fiscal year 2026 budget request from CPSC rather than follow the transfer plan. With the funds from the original budget request, the CPSC could conduct detailed investigations of emerging dangers, inform the public more clearly about safety problems, modernize its outdated technologies, stop dangerous items at ports of entry, and improve enforcement of product safety laws.

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Published on: August 19, 2025

High Noon Seltzer Products Mislabeled as Celsius Energy Drinks

By Moll Law Group

splashing-165192_640 Recently, the popular alcoholic beverage maker High Noon had to recall certain alcoholic seltzer products that were incorrectly labeled as nonalcoholic Celsius energy drinks. The recalled Beach Variety 12 packs had been mislabeled as Celsius Astro Vibe Sparkling Blue Razz Edition cans. Drinking what’s in the can will result in accidental consumption alcohol, which could cause significant problems for the unsuspecting consumer. If you or a loved one were injured as a result of consuming an improperly labeled High Noon alcoholic beverage, call the seasoned Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in defective product lawsuits with which we’ve been involved.

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Mislabeled 12-packs were sent to stores in eight states between July 21-July 23. They went to distributors and retailers in Florida, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin. They were sent only to distributors in Michigan and Oklahoma.

The recalled High Noon Beach Variety Packs, which are 12-packs of 12 fluid ounce cans, have the following lot codes on the exterior of the 12-pack box: L CCC 17JL25 14:00 to L CCC 17JL25 23:59 and L CCC 18JL25 00:00 to L CCC 18JL25 03:00. The recalled Celsius Astro Vibe Sparkling Blue Razz Edition, consisting of 12 fluid ounce cans, have the following lot codes on the bottom of the cans: L CCB 02JL25 2:55 to L CCB 02JL25 3:11.

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Published on: August 12, 2025

Recall of Magnetic Floating Stackers Due to Risk of Serious Injury or Death

By Moll Law Group

Tegu’s Magnetic Floating Stackers are children’s wooden toys that have a base, six pieces of different colors that stack, two posts, and two figures. All of these connect with magnets. Recently, Tegu recalled the Magnetic Floating Stackers toys due to the risk that a child would ingest the magnet, risk of serious injury or death, and a violation of the mandatory standard for toy magnets. If your child was harmed after ingesting magnets from the Teju magnetic floating stackers, you should call the seasoned 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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The Tegu Magnetic Floating Stackers were recalled on July 31, 2025—the recall affects 25,850 units in the country. The reason that the toys violate the mandatory standard for this type of toy is because the high-powered magnets in them can get loose and break free from the toy, presenting a danger to children. The consumed magnets may attract each other within a child’s digestive system. The result may be twisting, blockage of the intestine, perforations, blood poisoning, and even death. So far, there have been 31 reports to Tegu of magnets detaching from the toy stacker.

The affected model numbers are STA-BGY-801T (Rainbow) and STA-BTP-806T (Big Top). These were sold for around $40 at toy, children’s stores, and specialty stores around the country, and also on Tegu.com and Amazon.com from August 2018-April 2025). Consumers have been asked to take the product from children and reach out to the manufacturer for instructions to receive a free replacement stacker toy. However, if your child was injured or killed due to ingesting magnets, you should keep any remaining pieces in case they’re needed as evidence.

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Published on: August 5, 2025

Fresh & Ready Foods Voluntarily Recalls Ready-to-Eat Sandwiches and Snacks

By Moll Law Group

sandwich-4638226_640 Recently, Fresh & Ready Foods, LLC voluntarily recalled certain ready-to-eat sandwiches and snacks that were sold in California, Washington, Arizona and Nevada due to potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. These were sold under the brand names Fresh & Ready Foods, Fresh Take Crave Away, and City Point Market Fresh Food to Go and distributed between April 18, 2025-April 28, 2025, in various facilities, buildings and corporate offices. The contaminated food has use-by dates from April 22, 2025- May 19, 2025. If you were harmed by Listeria-contaminated food, you should call the seasoned Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in cases with which we’ve been involved around the country.

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This issue was identified through environmental monitoring conducted by the FDA during a site inspection, which resulted in a positive finding for Listeria monocytogenes on a piece of equipment. Fresh & Ready Foods has taken immediate corrective actions including removing equipment to address this issue to ensure ongoing food safety and compliance with FDA guidance.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, a Listeria monocytogenes infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

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Published on: July 29, 2025

Little Remedies Honey Cough Syrup Has Been Recalled

By Moll Law Group

cough-syrup-2557629_640 Recently, the manufacturer Medtech Products Inc., a Prestige Consumer Healthcare Inc. company voluntarily recalled five lots of the popular, widely used Little Remedies Honey Cough Syrup for children because the bacteria Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) was discovered. B. cereus can cause two kinds of food-borne illnesses. Parents trust that medicines for children are safe. If your child was made sick by Little Remedies Cough Syrup, you should call the seasoned Chicago-based lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in cases with which we’ve been involved. We represent clients around the country.

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In one kind of food-borne illness caused by B. cereus, the person who got sick has symptoms of stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea that commence 1-6 hours after consuming the contaminated food item. In the other kind of food-borne illness from B. cereus, the sick person suffers from diarrhea and cramps that typically start 8-16 hours after consuming contaminated food. Exposure to high levels of B. cereus can result in death, but most healthy people only experience short-term illness.

The Little Remedies Honey cough syrup at issue comes in 4 fluid ounce amber bottles. They’re sold with their lot codes appear on the label on the bottle and on the bottom of the crate they come in. The lots affected by B-cereus were distributed around the country through retailers and online from 12/14/2022 – 6/04/2025. The affected lots and their expiration dates are 0039 (11/25), 0545 (1/26), 0640 (2/26), 0450 (5/26), and 1198 (12/26). Other Little Remedies products haven’t been made part of the recall.

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Published on: July 22, 2025

Select Newport Ventilators and Service Parts Have Been Recalled.

By Moll Law Group

hospice-4135835_640-e1752357257868 In May of this year, the manufacturer Medtronic voluntarily recalled Newport HT70 and HT70 Plus ventilators, along with specific service parts related to those models. Consumers were asked to remove these devices from use and substitute an alternative ventilator for patients. In June, the FDA designated the voluntary recall as a Class I recall—the most serious type of recall as it means the product has a reasonable possibility of causing severe medical problems or death. If you were injured or a loved one died due to Newport ventilators, you should call the seasoned Chicago-based lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in cases across the country with which we’ve been involved.

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Ventilators, as their name indicates, provide a patient with ventilation, helping him or her to breathe by themselves. When a patient can’t breathe on their own, the result may be lowered oxygen levels and heightened carbon dioxide in the patient’s body, which in turn can result in brain injury or death. One family of recalled ventilators, HT70, is meant to be used at home to provide continuous or intermittent positive pressure mechanical ventilatory support for people that need mechanical ventilation. They are also used in cases involving infant or pediatric patients in subacute care, a hospital, an emergency department, and for emergency response situations, specifically because this population is at heightened risk of death or injury due to unpredictable ventilator failures.

The company has advised that certain of its ventilators no longer be used in clinics. Customer complaints led to Medtronic finding two distinct capacitators that could and cause the ventilator to shut down while it was being used or the shutdown alert alarm not sounding properly. When a ventilator experiences one of these failures and adequate ventilation isn’t provided, the person using the ventilator might not be able to breathe by themselves.

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Published on: July 15, 2025

USC Study Shows Relationship Between PFAS and Cancer Incidence

By Moll Law Group

water-6533726_640-e1752356897649 Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS, also known as forever chemicals) are used in many different consumer products. They are found in around 45% of the United States’s drinking water supplies. The chemicals are slow to break down and have been linked to medical problems in the past. Earlier this year, the Keck School of Medicine at USC published a study in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology that showed communities that are exposed to drinking water contaminated by PFAS suffer a 33% higher incidence of specific cancers. These cancers are kidney cancer, testicular cancer, liver cancer, thyroid cancer, thyroid disease, and ulcerative colitis. If you were diagnosed with cancer and believe it’s related to PFAS drinking water contamination, please call the seasoned Chicago-based lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in cases with which we’ve been involved. We represent plaintiffs across the country.

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The study from the Keck School of Medicine of USC is the first to look at cancer and PFAS-contaminated drinking water. It’s an ecological study that deploys large population-level datasets to find patterns of exposure and related risks. They compared two datasets, one related to all cancer cases reported between 2016-2021 and the other covering data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Program on PFAS in drinking water around the United States.

Between 2016-2021, the study found, counties with PFAS-contaminated drinking water had higher incidence of specific cancers—the PFAS-contaminated drinking water is estimated to be involved in 6800 cancer cases every year. There are differences in cancer incidence between the sexes. Males in counties with contaminated water had higher rates of leukemia, urinary system cancers, and brain and soft tissue cancers than males who lived in counties with uncontaminated water. Females had higher rates of thyroid, mouth, throat and soft tissue cancers. Other factors that can influence risk of cancer were controlled for at different levels as well, including age, urbanicity, socioeconomic status, smoking rates, and prevalence of obesity.

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Published on: July 8, 2025

Tomatoes Recalled in 14 States Due to Risk of Deadly Salmonella

By Moll Law Group

tomatoes-769999_640 Two brands of tomatoes from Williams Farms Repack, LLC were recalled in May in 14 states because of the risk of salmonella contamination. A little over a month ago, the recall was elevated to a Class I recall—meaning that the tomatoes carry a deadly risk. The affected tomatoes include 3 count packages, 10-pound boxes, 25-pound boxes and 60-count 2-layer boxes. One set of recalled tomatoes were four-count Vine Ripe tomatoes sold by Gordon Food Service Stores in 11 states, which included Illinois. Salmonella contamination can affect many different kinds of food, and it’s important not to consume food recalled due to salmonella, particularly food subject to a Class I recall. If you suffered salmonella or a lost a loved one due to salmonella contracted from food, you should call the seasoned Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in cases with which we’ve been involved and represent clients around the country.

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Salmonella can range from mild to serious. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and fever. When it’s serious—as when the tomatoes have been subject to a Class I recall—people who are infected by need to be hospitalized. The infection could cause arthritis, endocarditis, and arterial infections. Members of vulnerable groups, such as small children, frail elderly people, and others who are immune-suppressed or have a weakened immune system, may die. In this case, the FDA said that no illnesses had been reported from the tomatoes thus far, but recommended consumers toss out the tomatoes or return them if unopened. If you bought these tomatoes and froze them, they should not be consumed.

The tomatoes initially at issue were sold in plastic clamshells with “VINE RIPE TOMATOES” printed on the label. Labeling also includes the words “Packed by Ray & Mascari Inc.” They were distributed between April 23-28, 2025, the FDA explained in a separate notice. But the tomatoes subject to a Class I recall come in a range of sizes: 4×5 2 layer, 60ct 2layer, 3ct trays in the Williams Farms Repack label, and 5×6 25lb, 6×6 25lb H&C Farms Label.

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Published on: July 1, 2025

Plaintiffs Bring Motion to Centralize Port Catheter Litigation

By Moll Law Group

happens-770461_6401-e1750645915222 When there are a number of different cases pending in various districts against common defendants and featuring common factual and legal issues, it may be appropriate for plaintiffs to seek to have the cases centralized in a single district. When cases are centralized in this way, pretrial proceedings and discovery can be streamlined. Centralization also prevents judges’ inconsistent rulings on various pretrial matters, particularly evidentiary challenges. Recently, the plaintiffs in 19 lawsuits moved to centralize the port catheter litigation in the Western District of Missouri. These are lawsuits brought against defendants AngioDynamics, Inc., Navilyst Medical Inc., and PFM Medical, Inc in connection with the port catheters they manufacture—these are medical devices used to obtain easy access to veins and administer long-term intravenous treatments like chemotherapy. Patients have reported serious injuries believed to be the result of the devices. Many product liability lawsuits have been filed against the manufacturers.

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The port catheter litigation involves 23 pending lawsuits in 16 districts. There are 33 possible tag-along actions. Defendants AngioDynamics, Inc. and Navilyst Medical Inc. opposed centralization in Missouri. Alternatively, they suggested centralizing the actions in the Northern District of New York, the Southern District of California, or the Middle District of Alabama. Likewise, defendant PFM Medical, Inc., opposed the plaintiffs’ motion and suggested centralization in the Southern District of California and didn’t object to centralization in the Northern District of New York.

The United States Judicial Panel found that the lawsuits involved common factual questions and that centralizing the matters in the Southern District of California would serve the parties’ and witness’ convenience and promote just and efficient conduct in the lawsuits.

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Published on: June 24, 2025

FSIS Issues Public Health Alert for Ground Beef Products

By Moll Law Group

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) recently issued a public health alert for one-pound vacuum packed packages of Organic Rancher 95% lean and 15% fat ground beef. These were products sold at Whole Foods Market that carry the risk of E. coli O157:H7 contamination and have a use or freeze-by dates of June 19 or June 20. If you were made sick by Organic Rancher ground beef, you should call the seasoned Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group.

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The raw ground beef product was made on May 22, 2025, and May 23, 2025, by Organic Ranger. In Illinois and other states, the products were available from May 26 through June 3. The label on the vacuum-packed containers of raw ground beef has expiration dates of June 19, 2025, and June 20, 2025. Because the beef isn’t available in stores anymore, the FSIS issued a public alert rather than a recall. In addition to being shipped to Illinois, the ground beef was also shipped to Connecticut, Georgia, and Maryland, as well as Whole Foods Market retail locations around the country. The vacuum-packed packages were processed in Vermont and have an establishment number Est. 4027 inside the USDA mark of inspection.

The FSIS warned consumers to only consume ground beef cooked to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

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