Defective & Dangerous Products

• Judge Gives Preliminary Approval for $65 Million Snuff Settlement

  Chrissie Cole | September 04, 2007 9:08 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  A Milwaukee County Judge has given preliminary approval for a class action tobacco lawsuit filed in 2002, that has reached a $65 million dollar settlement. The final hearing is set for December.The settlement terms will allow Wisconsin snuff users to each receive more than $800 in coupons to buy smokeless tobacco at a steep discount over the span of twenty years.The lawsuit claimed Wisconsin...

• Unstable Ford Explorer Causes Rollover And Teenage Death

  Bob Carroll | November 18, 2005 4:52 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  The stability and handling of the Ford Explorer was the focus of the recent trial of a wrongful death case brought by the parents of a teenager who was killed in a vehicle rollover crash. In the eyes of the Ford attorneys a sleepy driver was the cause of the rollover. I go with the tires or the design of the SUV itself as the cause. Nobody has been reporting large numbers of rollovers in...

• Kugel Mesh Hernia Patch Recalls and Patient Safety

  Joe Saunders | October 13, 2008 10:37 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  The Kugel Mesh hernia patch recall has caused untold suffering among those who thought they were having a routine hernia repair surgery. If they received the Kugel hernia patch in their hernia...

• Jalepeno Now Salmonella Focus, Florida Tomato Growers Lose Millions

  Shannon Weidemann | July 24, 2008 4:02 PM | 1 CommentTampa Bay, FL

  FDA investigator finally found salmonella in one of the thousands of samples it had tested following a huge nationwide outbreak. It was not found on a tomato however, the initial focus of the...

• Heparin Finger Pointing Has Already Started

  Brenda Fulmer | March 06, 2008 8:01 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  "A series of independent assessments, inlcuding one by the agency's own Science Board, have found that the F.D.A. is increasingly overwhelmed by its many responsibilties and is incapable of protecting the public from unsafe drugs, medical devices and food - particularly from China." While the Food & Drug Administration continues its investigation into contaminated Heparin blood thinner...

• FDA Will Probe Popcorn Additive

  Staff Writer | September 07, 2007 10:56 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  ConAgra Foods, most recently in the news for peanut butter contamination, is once again drawing the attention of federal authorities. This time, it's because of an additive in their microwaveable popcorn. The additive, diacetyl, gives popcorn the buttery flavor. It's also known to contribute to lung cancer in workers who handle large quantities of the additive. The FDA has stated that...

• Children's Necklace Recalled for Lead Poisoning

  Christina Cole | May 04, 2007 2:01 AM | 1 CommentTampa Bay, FL

  The Oriental Trading Company, in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is volunarily recalling 132,000 Children's Religious Fish Necklaces because they contain high levels of lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by small children and can cause serious health effects.The recalled necklaces hang from a black cord and have a silver fish pendant. The necklaces were sold through...

• Listerine Recalled by Johnson & Johnson

  Shannon Weidemann | April 15, 2007 10:25 PM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  4 Million bottles of Johnson & Johnson's Listerine Agent Cool Blue Plaque-Detecting Rinse have been recalled. The recall affects all bottles of the Rinse that have been produced. There are concerns that the product does not control all germs found in the mouth.The company conducted a thorough assessment and concluded that the risk of illness in healthy individuals following use of this product...

• Individual Florida Smokers' Claims Upheld Again

  Bob Carroll | December 22, 2006 7:36 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  Florida's Supreme Court gave ailing smokers a boost to file individual lawsuits against the tobacco industry, though it upheld an earlier decision to throw out a $145 billion award. That is the gist of yesterday's Supreme Court opinion.State court aids ill smokersThe Florida Supreme Court Thursday snuffed out the tobacco industry's strategy to slow down thousands of ailing state smokers in...

• All I Can Say Is Fabuloso!

  Bob Carroll | November 29, 2006 6:08 AM | 0 CommentsTampa Bay, FL

  There are times when the system works. Fabuloso's better bottle - thanks to youIn March 2006, after being alerted by a Consumer Reports reader, we reported on all-purpose cleaners whose packaging may entice children to drink them. The vivid-colored, sweet and fruity-smelling bottled cleaners also lacked child-resistant caps, which federal law does not require, since their labels described the...