Defective Products

An implantable cardioverter defibrillator device, or ICD, is a miracle device. It’s a little box, powered by a battery, that attaches to your heart and records your heart’s rhythm. If it detects an arrythmia – a change in rhythm – it will send an electrical current to the heart. ICDs are a bit different from…

The Takata airbag recall is the largest and probably most complex safety recall in United States history. This recall, affecting cars from model years 2002 to 2015, involved a design defect in manufacturer-installed airbags that could deploy in an explosive manner, injuring or killing occupants of the vehicle. An inflator inside the airbag would sometimes…

On April 11, a New Jersey couple was awarded $80 million in punitive damages from Johnson & Johnson and Imerys Talc America. This comes a week after a Middlesex County jury had already awarded Stephen Lanzo $30 million and $7 million to his wife in compensatory damages. Lanzo claims his long-term use of asbestos-contaminated J&J…

In 1996, Goodyear started installing the G159 275/70R 22.5 tire – the G159, from here on – on RVs. That same year, the first complaint was made, claiming that the tire failed. To hear Goodyear tell it, there have only been 7 injuries and 58 tire failure reports since 1996. In truth, there have 74…

As we move into a new year with a new round of car models hitting the market, let’s look back on the past year and some of 2017’s significant auto recalls.  It’s worth noting that the number of recalls in 2017 dropped sharply from 2016—from 52,985,779 down to 28,146,661—although that difference was likely affected by…

For the last few years, e-cigarettes have become the go-to product for people trying to quit smoking. While no one debates the dangers associated with traditional tobacco products (lung cancer, COPD, mouth and throat cancer, heart disease – the list goes on and on), there is a fierce debate over whether or not “vaping” is…

If you are like most holiday shoppers, you want to find gifts that will be loved and appreciated by your friends, family and loved ones. For some of us, though, the best gifts are the ones we give to the children in our family. Of course, you want to make sure those gifts for the…

Playtex, one of the leading manufacturers of children’s products, has recalled over 3 million dining sets after receiving reports of children choking on unexpectedly detached plastic. The brand has a history of product safety issues (particularly in the cases in the 1980’s concerning toxic shock syndrome). In recent years, the company has struggled to avoid…

Back in 2010, a young woman named Brooke Melton died in a car crash after the ignition switch in her 2005 Chevy Cobalt slipped into a different position. The lawsuit resulting from her death revealed that General Motors had known about the defective switch since 2001, covered it up, and done nothing to fix the…