Defective & Dangerous Products

• Will Tort Reform Kill Playground Improvements?

  Bob Carroll | December 08, 2005 10:50 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  An unintended consequence of Tort Reform may be less safe or imaginative playgrounds. This is one of the conclusions in an article by Benjamin Barton in the Florida Law Review entitled Tort Reform, Innovation, and Playground Design. When confronted by potential product liability it seems that entrepreneurial companies do not simply patch failed products. In many instances they fully rethink...

• 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.

• 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...

• 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.,...

• Barbie Accessories Recalled for Excessive Lead

  Chrissie Cole | September 05, 2007 7:09 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Mattel announced a voluntary toy recall of 675,000 Barbie accessories due to excessive levels of lead in the surface paints, which is prohibited by law and toxic to small children.The toy recall includes several Barbie toy accessories that were manufactured between September 30, 2006 and August 20, 2007. You can view a full list of recalled barbie accessories to determine if you have any. The...

• Errant Golf Club Head Injures Golfer

  Bob Carroll | February 02, 2006 11:05 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Golf balls are supposed to come off the head of a golf club at a high velocity. The golf club head, on the other hand, is supposed to remain on the end of the shaft. In Colorado the head of a Wilson pitching wedge left the shaft and struck the head of another golfer, causing very significant injuries. This week a jury tallied up the score.The Colorado story appeared in the Rocky Mountain...

• Don't Recline That Passenger Seat Too Far

  Bob Carroll | January 13, 2006 5:40 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Do you think it's safe to recline in your passenger seat as long as you have your seat belt on? Think again. From CBS News the story of one reclining passenger:Tami Martin has spent the last six years in a wheelchair after her spine was damaged in a car crash. As CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reports, the problem was not the seat belt - she was wearing one - but how she was sitting,...