Defective & Dangerous Products

• Bausch & Lomb Acquired by Warburg Pincus

  Joe Saunders | November 02, 2007 5:10 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Bausch & Lomb, Inc., the maker of ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution, has been acquired by the private equity firm Warburg Pincus for $3.67 billion. This may have implications for the pending for the lawsuits pending against the eye contact lens manufacturer. ReNu with MoistureLoc has been associated with fusarium keratitis, a bacteria that has the potential to cause blindness. As of...

• Hickory Barbecue Sauce Recall

  Joe Saunders | November 01, 2007 2:32 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Another food product has been recalled due to mislabeling. This time it's a hickory barbecue sauce manufactured by Dutch Kettle. The issue has to do with the company's failure to include anchovy as an ingredient. Anyone with an allergy to fish protein could be susceptible to a serious, life-threatening reaction if the barbecue sauce is ingested. The company is recalling 94 cases of 12/19 oz....

• Bausch & Lomb Named in 573 Renu Suits

  Joe Saunders | October 23, 2007 9:37 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  According to company sources, Bausch & Lomb has stated that it is a named defendant in 573 lawsuits involving its defective ReNu contact lens solution. The majority of the lawsuits are individual with one federal class action suit filed. A year and a half ago, ReNu contact lens solution was pulled off the market after consumers began contracting fungal eye infections that can cause blindness.

• Medtronic Defibrillator Sprint Fidelis Has Faulty Lead

  Joe Saunders | October 17, 2007 10:18 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  In another setback for Medtronic, its cardiac implant device, the Sprint Fidelis has been shown to have a faulty lead wire. The defect can cause the defibrillator to jolt the heart when the heart's rhythm doesn't need to be adjusted and/or it can fail to send the necessary electric impulse when the heart actually needs to be brought back into a normal cardiac rhythm. The Sprint Fidelis is...

• Banquet Pot Pies Recalled for Salmonella

  Shannon Weidemann | October 16, 2007 8:14 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  An advisory about not fully cooking pot pies has turned into a larger recall for name brand and generic pot pies sold by ConAgra. The recalled pot pies my have been contaminated by salmonella. There have been 174 reported cases of food poisoning linked to the recalled pot pies. The outbreak has prompted a voluntary recall of some Banquet and generic-brand pot pies made by ConAgra Foods.The...

• 2007 - Not a Good Year for Tobacco Defendants (Part 1)

  Brenda Fulmer | October 15, 2007 7:54 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  After years of scorched earth litigation tactics and many successes, the tide appears to be turning. The tobacco industry is no longer dominating the court system. Those who have suffered the ravages of smoking are being heard - and not just in Florida where the Florida Supreme Court rendered a stunning defeat to tobacco defendants in Engle that will be felt for years to come as former class...

• Supreme Court Rejects Tobacco Industry Appeal

  Chrissie Cole | October 07, 2007 11:27 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  The tobacco industry appealed a ruling from last year by the Florida Supreme court that jury findings, including deception and negligence by the tobacco companies, could now be used in individual lawsuits by former class action members.In the other issue appealed to the nation's highest court, the industry said the generalized jury findings rested on evidence, arguments and theories of liability...

• NIH to Fund New Study Regarding Exposure to Cigarette Smoke

  Brenda Fulmer | October 05, 2007 9:11 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania recently received a $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for a new study focusing on the chemical changes that occur when the body is exposed to cigarette smoke.Previous research has shown that chemical changes in the body can occur after exposure to cigarette smoke and that smoking and exposure to cigarette smoke is the...

• Agreement reached by five major hip and knee manufacturers

  Brenda Fulmer | October 04, 2007 3:44 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Five companies who market most of the hip and knee surgical implantation devices in the United States have been accused of making deals with orthopedic surgeons in order for their products to be used by those medical providers. Four of the companies, Zimmer Holdings, DePuy Orthopaedics, Smith & Nephew & Biomet, have reached nonprosecutory 18 month agreements which include reforms and federal...

• FDA Clamps Down on Marketing of Unapproved Hydrocodone Products

  Joe Saunders | October 03, 2007 9:53 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  The FDA plans to take enforcement action against companies that continue to market drug products containing the popular but addictive hydrocodone. The move is intended to target those drugs marketed especially to children to suppress coughs. "Companies marketing these unapproved products have not demonstrated the safety and efficacy of these drugs," said Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H.,...