Defective & Dangerous Products

• FDA Panel Urges Strict New Warnings for Ritalin

  Robert Wolf | February 13, 2006 11:16 AM | 0 CommentsDallas, TX

  Stimulants like Ritalin could have dangerous effects on the heart, and federal regulators should require manufacturers to provide written guides to patients and place prominent "black box" warnings on drug labels describing these risks, a federal advisory panel voted on Thursday. "I must say that I have grave concerns about the use of these drugs and grave concerns about the harm they may...

• Welding Products Cause Neurological Damages

  Staff Writer | February 08, 2006 10:22 PM | 0 CommentsDallas, TX

  A welding products worker sued his former employer for his debilitating neurological damages, including his Parkinson's disease. He claims that his employers were negligent and should be found liable because they failed to warn him of the dangers associated with exposure to magnesium and for not providing him with fume extraction systems in the workplace. Suits such as these are becoming more...

• Sea-Doo Manufacturer Settles Wrongful Death Suit

  Clint Gilbert | February 08, 2006 12:04 PM | 0 CommentsDallas, TX

  Bombardier Inc., the maker of the popular Sea-Doo personal watercraft, settled a wrongful death lawsuit involving a 12-year old girl that was fatally wounded after crashing a Sea-Doo in 1999. The parties reached the private settlement agreement after jurors informed the trial judge that the jury was deadlocked after a 6 day trial and lengthy deliberations....The suit was brought by Tammy...

• Texas Lawsuits Filed by Families of TASER Victims

  Jeremi Young | February 07, 2006 5:07 PM | 1 CommentDallas, TX

  The families of two men who died after being shot with a TASER gun have sued the City of Amarillo, Texas and the manufacturer of the TASER.Although the defendants claim the weapon is safe, the families of Corey Calvin Clark and Troy Dale Nowell who were killed, feel differentlyThe defendants claim that deaths from TASER shocks are rare and typically occur only when the person shocked has heart...

• FDA Shuts Down Human Tissue Broker

  Robert Wolf | February 06, 2006 12:36 PM | 0 CommentsDallas, TX

  The Food and Drug Administration ordered a New Jersey-based broker of human tissue closed this week in the midst of accusations that the company took body parts from cadavers without family permission and did not always screen these body parts for diseases.The agency said an investigation showed that the company, Biomedical Tissue Services of Fort Lee, had improper documentation of the cause of...

• Physician E-Mail Describes "Messy" Vioxx Problem

  Robert Wolf | January 30, 2006 9:23 AM | 0 CommentsDallas, TX

  An editor for a prestigious medical journal sounded pleased, yet exasperated in an e-mail to another scientist as they went over an editorial criticizing researchers for leaving out critical data from a study of the painkiller Vioxx."Thanks again with all the time you have spent on this Vioxx situation. The more we get into it, the messier it becomes," Dr. Gregory D. Curfman, executive editor of...

• Release of Records May Spell Doom for Defective Product Made by Guidant

  Staff Writer | January 26, 2006 3:19 PM | 0 CommentsDallas, TX

  Late last week, Indianapolis-based Guidant lost its battle to keep secret certain documents that may sink its defense in its product liability litigation involving defective heart implantable devices. The New York Times and two Texas citizens won access to certain documents they allege prove that Guidant knew the dangers associated with certain heart defibrillators and pacemakers. In their...

• 2005 A Record Year For Recalls

  Staff Writer | January 12, 2006 11:32 AM | 0 CommentsDallas, TX

  According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 397 consumer products were recalled in fiscal year 2005. This was the most recalls in a decade. The Commission also set a record for the amount of fines levied against companies for failing to report product defects. Six different companies were fined a total of $8.8 million.Federal law requires manufacturers, distributors, retailers and...