Tyler Personal Injury Lawyer

Deere & Company Recalls John Deere Tractors Due to Collision Hazard

Jenny Albano — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 15:52:03 GMT

Deere & Company, in conjunction with the CPSC, is recalling about 5,400 John Deere Compact Utility Tractors due to a collision hazard.

The forward drive pedal can get stuck, posing a risk of loss of control and injury to the operator and bystanders. Deere & Company has received seven reports of incidents. No injuries have been reported.

The recalled product has a model number that is 3203, which is located on the side of the tractor. The recall includes the following serial numbers:
LV3203H000001 through LV3203H000010
LV3203H190001 through LV3203H193434
LV3203H393093
LV3203H394001 through LV3203H396669

The serial number is located above the right front wheel on the tractor's frame. The recalled tractors were available at John Deere dealers across the U.S. from September 2007 to December 2007. The product was made in the United States.

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

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Sweetwater Valley Farms, Inc. Recalls Southern Cheddar Jack Volunteer Special Cheese

Jenny Albano — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 20:22:43 GMT

Sweetwater Valley Farms Inc., in conjunction with the FDA, is recalling its Southern Cheddar Jack Volunteer Special Cheese because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Pregnant women, young children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are most vulnerable to Listeria. Symptoms of Listeriosis include, but are not limited to, fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Treatment typically involves antibiotics.

Southern Cheddar Jack Volunteer Special Cheese, Lot Number 539 was distributed in 7, 10, 15 ounce, and 5 pound blocks and through retail stores in Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, and Alabama. The product was also distributed to 48 contiguous states in gift baskets marketed by the firm's website.

The cheese was distributed from September 19, 2006 to November 18, 2007. So far no illnesses have been reported to the company. The problem was discovered by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture during a routine sampling. Sweetwater Valley Farms has stopped distributing this product while it investigates the cause of the contamination problem.

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

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Third Recall for Mattel Because of Lead-Tainted Toys

Jenny Albano — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:00:15 GMT

Mattel has announced another recall on toys, which has been the third recall in less than five weeks. All the recalled toys have been pulled from the shelves because of excess lead in the surface paint.

This worldwide recall involves 11 different toys, including eight pet and furniture playsets sold under the Barbie brand and three Fisher-Price toys -- two GeoTrax toys and a Big, Big World bongo set. No Barbie dolls are affected. A total of 844,000 toys are involved, about two-thirds of which were sold in the U.S. The toys were all made in China by several different vendors.

Robert Eckert, chairman and chief executive of El Segundo, Calif.-based Mattel, said that there may be more recalls because the company has increased investigations into the Chinese factories that manufacture their goods and intensified production checks. The company spent more than 50,000 investigating its vendors and testing their toys. As a result of these investigations a number of manufacturers will no longer be making toys for Mattel.

Here is the list of recalled toys:

-Fisher Price Big Big World 6-in-1 Bongo Band toys, sold from July, 2007 to Aug. 2007.

-Fisher-Price Geo Trax Locomotive Toys, sold from Sept. 2006 through Aug. 2007

-Various Mattel Barbie Accessory Toys, sold from Oct. 2006 through Aug. 2007:

-Barbie Dream Puppy House�"� (lead paint on dog)

-Barbie Dream Kitty Condo�"� Playset (lead paint on cat)

-Barbie Table and Chairs Kitchen Playset (lead paint on dog, chip platter, dinner plates)

-Barbie Bathtub and Toilet Playset (lead point on cat)

-Barbie Futon and Table Living Room Playset (lead paint on cat)

-Barbie Desk and Chair Bedroom Playset (lead paint on dog)

-Barbie Couch & Table Living Room Playset (lead paint on purse)

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

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Cloud's Tuna and Egg Salad Sandwiches Recalled Due to Contamination

Jenny Albano — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 13:45:57 GMT

CFS Operating Ltd. is recalling 4219 units of Cloud's Tuna Salad Sandwiches and Egg Salad Sandwiches because they may be infected with Listeria monocytogenes, which is an organism that can cause serious infections in children, elderly people, and those with weak immune systems and may even cause death. For healthy adults the infection may cause high fevers, headaches, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. For women that are pregnant the infection can cause miscarriages and stillborns.

The sandwiches were available in convenience stores in East Texas, West Louisiana, and Southwest Arkansas. The problem was discovered when FDA officials during normal sampling and inspections.

These sandwiches are labeled with "Cloud's Tuna Salad" and "Cloud's Egg Salad" located on the product label. The product was packaged in flexible plastic film and plastic wedges. Recalled products are as follows:
Cloud's Tuna Salad Sandwich on White Bread, 5 oz., date code 62607-72507
Cloud's Egg Salad Sandwich on White Bread, 5 oz., date code 41907-72507

So far no illnesses have been reported to CFS. The company is working with the FDA to rectify the problem.

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

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

TB Patient from Arkansas Flees Hospital

Jenny Albano — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:17:26 GMT

Franklin Greenwood, 50, was placed under isolation at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital on June 29. He was seen coughing up blood outside the building for traffic court. After being held at the hospital for a few days Greenwood broke a window and fled the hospital. Hosptial authorities kept a civilian worker outside his room so he would be unable to leave.

Arkansas health officials said that the form of tuberculosis that Greenwood had was treatable, unlike Georgia lawyer Andrew Speaker, but it was still contagious. A UAMS spokesperson Leslie Taylor stated that the hospital had no authoirty to hold the man against his will, but still left a guard outside his room. State police were told to keep an eye out for Greenwood.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Food and Drug Administration to Strengthen Warnings for Antidepressant Drugs

Bruce Roberts — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:47:18 GMT

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved the strongest possible warnings for antidepressants to warn patients and physicians that the drug could increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in adults 18 to 24 years of age.

The action comes after a Food and Drug Administration committee recommended the warning after finding small increases in suicidal thoughts, and behaviors by young adults taking commonly used antidepressants. According to the study approximately 5 of every 1,000 patients ages 18 to 24 were at increased risk. There are some 16,000,000 people in the United States who take antidepressants and about 8 percent are people under age 25.

"The risk is small but the risk is real, and it is something that needs to be paid attention to," Dr. Thomas Laughren, director of the FDA's division of psychiatry products, said during a news conference.

In an unusual move, Laughren said the new labels would carry both a warning and positive information on the benefits of antidepressants.
The labels would emphasize weighing the risks associated with the drugs against the danger of failing to treat depression and other psychiatric disorders that contribute to suicide

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bruce Roberts

Oxycontin Manufacturer Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay Fine of $600,000,000

Bruce Roberts — Mon, 28 May 2007 16:36:30 GMT

The company that makes the narcotic painkiller OxyContin and three current and former executives of Purdue Pharma, the company that markets OxyContin pled guilty in Federal Court to criminal charges that they misled doctors, federal regulators and patients as to the addictive nature as to the prescription drug, OxyContin. OxyContin is a powerful, long-acting narcotic that provides relief of severe pain for periods up to 12 hours.

When OxyContin was first released on the market, its manufacturer claimed that its time-release formulation would pose a lower threat of abuse and addiction than other painkillers including Percocet or Vicodin. This claim became part of an aggressive marketing campaign to get doctors like general family practitioners with little training in pain management and/or addiction behavior to begin prescribing the drug.

The scheme worked. By 1996, annual sales of OxyContin had reached $1,000,000,000.00. Unfortunately with increasing sales came evidence of increasing addiction and overdoses.

Federal officials said that internal Purdue Pharma documents show that company officials recognized even before the drug was marketed that they would face stiff resistance from doctors who were concerned about the potential of a high-powered narcotic like OxyContin to be abused by patients or cause addiction.
As a result, company officials developed a fraudulent marketing campaign designed to promote OxyContin as a time-released drug that was less prone to such problems. The crucial ingredient in OxyContin is oxycodone, a narcotic that has been used for many years. But unlike other medications like Percocet that contain oxycodone along with other ingredients, OxyContin is pure oxycodone, with a large amount in each tablet because of the time-release design.
The drug has proven to be valuable in treating serious, long-lasting pain.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bruce Roberts

United States Supreme Court Orders Lower Court to Review Punitive Damage Award

Bruce Roberts — Thu, 24 May 2007 16:24:41 GMT

The United States Supreme Court has ordered a California appeals court to review its decision upholding an 82.6 million dollar Award to a woman who was paralyzed after her Ford Explorer rolled over. The Justices on the Supreme Court want the California court to review its decision to make sure it follows the a recent United States Supreme Court decision overturning a 79.5 million dollar Award of punitive damages on a tobacco case.

In that particular case the United States Supreme Court held that, a jury may punish a defendant only for the harm it caused in that particular case, not for the general harm the defendant had done in other cases. In the Ford Explorer case, the consumer, Denetta Duell-Wilson, age 51, was driving on an interstate in San Diego, California when she swerved to miss a metal object in the road. When she swerved, she lost control of the Ford Explorer and it rolled over approximately four times. Denetta Duell was paralyzed from rollover. She then filed her personal injury lawsuit against Ford seeking actual and punitive damages.

In June 2004 a San Diego jury found that her Explorer was defective because of instability and a weak roof.
A jury initially awarded $369 million, including $246 million in punitive damages. It was the first damage award against the Ford Motor Company involving a rollover of an Explorer and one of the biggest personal-injury awards ever against an automaker.
Courts twice cut the size of the award. The $82.6 million approved by a California state appeals court now includes punitive damages of $55 million.
Ford's legal team, led by former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, asked the court to take the case because it said Ford was being punished even though the design of the vehicle met federal safety standards.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bruce Roberts

Victims of Hurricane Katrina file lawsuit against Army Corp of Engineers

Bruce Roberts — Mon, 21 May 2007 16:08:08 GMT

With the deadline approaching for filing claims against the United States government and the Corps of Engineers more than a quarter of a million people have filed personal injury and property damage claims against the court demanding compensation. These lawsuits claim that the Corps of Engineers was negligent in designing the waterworks that go throughout New Orleans and the surrounding areas.

The rush to meet the deadline to file claims for personal injuries and property damage rush so overwhelmed the federal agency responsible for claims that a traffic jam formed in front of its offices. Two months after the deadline, federal workers are still compiling the paperwork.

Legal experts note that the simple filing of a claim and lawsuit does not mean that the consumers will receive the compensation they desire. Even if all the allegations are in fact correct, the United States is still immune from these types of claims, attorneys for the Corp of Engineers content. Nevertheless the claims filed to date now exceed over $278,000,000,000.00.

Nevertheless, Plaintiff's attorneys remain optimistic. The evidence, they say, supports their claims.

An engineering review panel convened by the Corps noted that although Katrina was worse than the type of storm the levee system was designed for, the performance of the flood works "was less than the design intent." The devastation "was aided by the presence of incomplete protection, lower than authorized structures [levees], and levee sections with erodible materials," it said.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bruce Roberts

California Moves to Ban Flavoring in Popcorn Linked to Workers' Illness

Bruce Roberts — Thu, 17 May 2007 16:47:24 GMT

Since 2001 academic studies have shown causal links between bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare and life-threatening form of restrictive lung disease and the chemical used in artificial butter flavoring called Diacetyl. Flavoring manufacturers have already paid out more than $100,000,000.00 in personal injury lawsuits by people sickened by what is now known as "popcorn workers' lung" over the past five years. One death from the disease has already been confirmed.

Unfortunately, despite the mounting evidence and increasing number of personal injury and wrongful death claims there are no federal laws to regulate the chemical's use. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency designated to protect workers from such potentially dangerous chemicals has yet to decide what standards, if any should be implemented to protect workers on their job site.

Of growing concern however is how this chemical affects consumers. So far, there are very few if any studies on the effects of eating Diacetyl in the butter-flavored popcorn or breathing it in in a freshly popped bag of microwaveable popcorn. The Environmental Protection Agency has done a study but amazingly has declined to release that study until the chemical flavoring industry has an opportunity to review it.

The Food and Drug Administration, another agency charged with food safety, has said that Diacetyl is on its list of substances "generally recognized as safe". It has not however ever studied it.

Meanwhile California has moved ahead.

So far, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, or Cal/OSHA, has found eight flavoring workers with fixed obstructive lung disease, most of those with bronchiolitis obliterans. Twenty-two more have below-normal lung capacity, which may be the beginning of the disease.
"They're finding it there because they're looking there," said David Michaels of the department of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University. Michaels, assistant secretary of energy in the Clinton administration, accuses OSHA of "regulatory paralysis."
"It's not some carcinogen where you get cancer 30 years from now or something. The people are dying right in front of you," Michaels said. "You can't wait until you have all the evidence. You have to regulate it."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Bruce Roberts