When consumers take a medication, they understandably assume the medication will do more good than harm. Medications often contain powerful ingredients which can be dangerous or even deadly if managed improperly. Pharmaceutical companies must therefore be held to a high standard of quality and precision when it comes to manufacturing medications. Drug makers who sell medications they know to be defective must be held accountable. If you or someone you love has suffered because of a defective product, you should know that a defective product liability claim is one avenue for collecting compensation.  

FDA Continues Recalls of Several Popular Medications

Prinston Pharmaceuticals has decided to recall a blood pressure medication called “irbesartan” after it was discovered that the medication contained high levels of a cancer-causing ingredient. The medication is designed to block the effects of a hormone responsible for narrowing blood vessels. Chemical testing revealed that the medication contained unacceptable levels of nitrosodiethylamine, or NDEA, which is a probable carcinogen.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. This most recent recall is only one of several recalls linked to a pharmaceutical factory in China involving blood pressure medication. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has paused all new drug shipments from this factory. Another factory in India has also been linked to several medication recalls. In July 2018, the FDA issued a recall of several pharmaceutical drugs containing a component called “valsartan” due to the increased risk of cancer. Consumers of the recalled drugs are encouraged to speak with their doctor about alternative treatments.

The holiday season is upon us and everywhere parents, grandparents, and friends are buying children’s toys. You may have heard about children and baby products being recalled over safety concerns in the past. While the vast majority of children’s toys and other products are safe, many children are injured and even killed by defective toys, furniture, and other items. If your child was injured due to a malfunctioning or defective toy, you may be eligible for compensation.

Toy-Related Injuries Can Cause Lasting Damage

The Consumer Product and Safety Commission (CPSC) received thirteen reports of toy-related deaths during 2017. The victims were all under 12 years of age. Over half of the fatal incidents involved riding toys like scooters and ride-on cars. Emergency room physicians treated an estimated 251,700 children for injuries caused by toys in 2017. Some of the most common toy-related injuries include bruising and abrasions, burns, lacerations, bone fractures, puncture wounds, suffocation, and strangulation.

Assigning Blame in an Injury Case

Toy injury claims are like other personal injury claims in that they are based on the legal concept of product liability. Parents who wish to seek compensation after their child was injured by a toy must prove that:

If you were to ask a random person on the street to think of a personal injury lawsuit that did not involve a member of their family, that person might name any number of cases. If you were to ask that same person to think of a frivolous lawsuit, he or she will almost certainly bring up the idea of suing over a cup of coffee and being awarded millions of dollars.

In 1994, an elderly New Mexico woman named Stella Liebeck did, in fact, sue McDonald’s over a cup of hot coffee. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury did decide that she should receive nearly $3 million in damages. A closer look, however, reveals that labeling the lawsuit as “frivolous” is, at best, unfair to the woman who suffered gruesome injuries from coffee that was far too hot.

The Facts

Ms. Liebeck was 79 years old when her grandson took her to McDonald’s in 1992. As she sat in the passenger seat of the car, she started to remove the lid of her coffee so that she could add cream and sugar. The cup tipped over and spilled the coffee onto her lap. The spilled coffee was so hot that Ms. Liebeck suffered third-degree burns on her legs and genitals in a matter of a few seconds. Her injuries were so severe that she required skin grafts and extensive surgeries.

Despite the existence of federal agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), dangerous and defective drugs still manage to make it to pharmacy shelves with alarming regularity. Hardly a year goes by where without a major drug manufacturer being called out for products that injure those who take them. Unfortunately, such cases often drag on for many years. One example can be found in the case being brought against the maker of AndroGel.

Compensatory and Punitive Damages

According to court records, a Tennessee man began using the testosterone replace drug AndroGel in 2010. He used the product for two months and stopped when he suffered a heart attack. The man filed a lawsuit against AbbVie, the Chicago-based manufacturer of AndroGel, on the basis that the company failed to warn patients about the risks of heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots. His claim was one about 6,000 similar claims filed against the company.

In April of this year, a federal jury in Chicago found in favor of the man and awarded him $140,000 in compensatory damages. The jury also ordered AbbVie to pay $140 million in punitive damages. 

When consumer products are aimed at children—or the care and well-being of children—the manufacturers and distributors of such products may be absolutely sure that children are not being placed in danger by using the products. Unfortunately, dozens are children’s products are recalled each year, and consumer advocacy groups suggest that there has been little, if any, progress made in recent years toward improving children’s product safety.

A New Report

Kids in Danger (KID) is a children’s advocacy group based in Chicago. Earlier this month, KID held press conference, alongside Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and representatives from other groups, to announce the release of a new report that looked at children’s product recalls in 2017. The report also outlined the effectiveness of recalls issued in 2016.

The annual report is an effort to educate the public and product manufacturers regarding dangerous children’s products. Despite releasing the report every year since 2002, KID officials say there is still a long way to go. “It is disheartening [that] we don’t appear to be much closer to effective recalls now despite enormous leaps in communication resources to reach consumers,” said KID executive director Nancy Cowles.