Defective & Dangerous Products | InjuryBoard Los Angeles

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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, 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., 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...

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,...

Two more pets foods have been recalled today. Natural Balance has recalled Venison and Brown Rice Dry Dog Food and Venison and Green Pea Dry Cat Food. It is unknown if the recall is linked to the massive recall of Menu Food brands dog and cat food. The Food and Drug Administration said the company has received complaints about animals vomiting and developing kidney problems after eating its...

The huge recall of pet food produced by Menu Foods of Canada has many owners of dogs and cats worried. The recall includes over 90 brands of pet food including Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba. The recalled food is all canned or foil packet wet style food and may cause kidney damage. Investigators are looking into a supplier of the wheat gluten used to make the food.Ontario,Canada-based Menu Foods --...

FDA requires new ADHD warning labels. Added warnings advised on ADHD drugs.An FDA advisory panel voted on Thursday to recommend the most serious type of warning labels for drugs treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The new warning will include cautionary language of those medications causing psychiatric and heart problems, including death.Approximately 3.3 million children and 1.5...

Trasylol linked to increased risk of death. New study reports heart surgery drug increases risk of death. Aprotinin, a drug commonly used to prevent bleeding during heart surgery increases the risk of dying in the five years after surgery by almost 50 percent. That is the conclusion of a recent study published on Wednesday in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study...

FDA pledges to improve its safety program. New promises from the FDA. Last week the Food and Drug Administration promised to make significant changes to the U.S. drug safety program. Its pledge comes as a result of last falls scathing report issued by a blue ribbon panel that found the FDA's drug safety program is in serious need of change. Specifically, the panel found that FDA officials were...

States investigating Lilly for risks of Zyprexa. Documents show Lilly played down risks of Zyprexa. State prosecutors in Illinois and Vermont have demanded that Eli Lilly turn over information about how the company advertised and promoted its best selling drug Zyprexa. Illinois and Vermont have become a part of a consolidated five state civil investigation into how Lilly promoted Zyprexa, a...