Defective & Dangerous Products

• California Closer to Banning BPA in Plastics

  Paul Kiesel | June 02, 2009 6:40 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  From the Los Angeles Times: Reporting from Sacramento -- Despite a fierce lobbying effort by the U.S. chemical industry, the state Senate narrowly approved a proposal Tuesday that would ban the use...

• Paralyzed Woman Gets $82.6 Million From Ford

  Lance Rubin | March 12, 2008 10:06 AM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Benetta Buell-Wilson was in her Ford Explorer when the SUV fishtailed then rolled over four times. Now the mother of two is paralyzed. Her lawyers went to court and sued Ford. The jury awarded her $368 million, much of it in "punitive" damages -- damages that are meant to punish Ford for their bad business practices and ignoring their own testing that showed their SUVs, particularly the...

• $11 Million Awarded in Defective Seatbelt Case

  Miriam Schimmel | February 27, 2008 1:32 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Mitsubishi was found liabile this week for a defective seatbelt which caused the death of a 25 year old passenger in a Montero SUV.Car manufacturer Mitsubishi was ordered by a West Palm Beach, Florida court to pay $11 million to a couple whose 25 year old son died in a crash when the Montero SUV he was riding in rolled over. Of that amount, $10 million was awarded for pain and suffering over...

• 143 Million Pounds of Frozen Beef Recalled

  Jenny Albano | February 17, 2008 8:57 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  On Sunday, February 17, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture recalled 143 million pounds of frozen beef form a slaughterhouse in Southern California that is being investigated for mistreating the cattle. This recall is the largest beef recall in the U.S. since 1999.The recall affects beef from Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Agency dating to February 1, 2006. This company supplies meat for the federal...

• Possible Problems Found In Blood Thinning Drug Heparin Highlight FDA's Inability to Protect You

  Michael Eyerly | February 15, 2008 6:08 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  In a previous blog entry I lamented the steady decline of our public agencies' ability to protect particularly vulnerable segments of our society, as well as Big Business's ability to use its influence and power to further stifle meaningful consumer protection. For example, California's budget crisis has resulted in across the board budget reductions for state agencies charged with protecting...

• FDA: Anti-Smoking Drug May Pose Serious Neuropsychiatric Risks to Users

  Shehnaz Bhujwala | February 04, 2008 5:50 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  The Food and Drug Administration issued a public health advisory last Friday to alert health care providers, patients, and caregivers to new safety warnings concerning Chantix (varenicline), a prescription medication used to help patients stop smoking. Government regulators believe the connection between Pfizer's anti-smoking drug Chantix and serious neuropsychiatric problems is "increasingly...

• Beware Defective, Unsafe and Lead Tainted Toys This Season

  Paul Kiesel | December 14, 2007 11:51 AM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  The volume of lead-tainted toys recalled from the market this year has been staggering. Parents face very difficult choices this holiday season as they try to shop for kids. Many stores have not bothered to clear aisles of toys that are free of lead, and some stores simply haven't been able to remove all the lead toys because of the sheer volume of the recalls:Many Chicago-area stores are...

• Baja Motorsports Recalls Youth ATVs to Repair Lack of Equipment

  Jenny Albano | November 21, 2007 6:05 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Baja Motorsports, in cooperation with the CPSC, is recalling around 16,000 Baja youth ATVs because they do not have a tire pressure gauge or a flag pole mounting bracket. With out these pieces of equipment riders could become injured.The recalled youth ATVs include the Baja 90, Baja Wilderness 90 and Baja Wilderness 90u. The ATVs came in blue, green, red and camouflage and "Baja" is written on...

• Ohalee Inc. Recalls Youth ATVs Because of Mechanical Hazards

  Jenny Albano | September 06, 2007 1:27 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Ohalee Inc., in conjunction with the CPSC, is recalling around 36 Ohalee FA-A70 Youth ATVs because mechanical hazards could put young riders at a risk of injury.These youth ATVs lack front brakes and a tire pressure gauge, the date of manufacture is not printed on side of the tires, and the front suspension is solid and does not allow for travel. Additionally, the flag pole bracket is not the...

• Doctor Receives Misconduct Allegations from Autism Vaccine Link Study

  Jenny Albano | July 17, 2007 3:49 PM | 0 CommentsLos Angeles, CA

  Dr. Andrew Wakefield is being investigated by Britain's General Medical Council because of problems with a study he did on the autism vaccine link. The council states that the study was conducted without proper ethical approval, and failed to disclose his link information to the autism litigators. Dr. Wakefield denies all the allegations.His study, which was published in The Lancet in 1998,...