Articles Posted in Recalls

Playtex Recalls 1.25 million pacifier holder clips

Playtex has announced the recall of their pacifier holder clips, affecting approximately 1.25 million clips. This post talks about this defective product and how the tort system does little to keep consumers safe with these kinds of products.

The Playtex plastic pacifier holder clip, used to attach a pacifier to items such as clothing, a diaper bag, or stroller, can crack allowing small parts to break off and pose a possible choking hazard.  Playtex has received 99 reports of broken clips, thankfully with no injuries.

The pacifier holder clips feature a Playtex copyright logo that slides up and down to adjust the clip, as well as a ribbon and clear plastic ring that stretches to fit the pacifier. The clips were sold in green with a monkey figure, pink with a flower, and blue with a truck, and were sold at online and Walmart and Target, as well as other major retailers and baby stores from July 2010 through October 2013.  Continue reading

A recent recall has been issued by Combi USA Inc.’s on their child safety seats. Three particular models – Coccoro, Zeus Turn and Zeus 360 – have been deemed incompatible with the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act’s child restraint standards. Continue reading

More Problems for Volkswagen and BMW

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced another BMW and Volkswagen recall.  Both companies show concern that, should these recalls not be adhered to, drivers and passengers would increase their likelihood of a crash and/or injuries.
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Honda will recall about 374,000 Odyssey minivans and Acura MDX SUVs. There is an electrical problem that may cause a airbag malfunction.

Honda recalls approximately 374,000  vehicles for airbags

The company reports that an electrical interference may lead to the vehicles’ supplemental restraint systems to inflate the airbags for no good reason. The car maker characterized the concern as a small but growing number of complaints in recent months of cases where the airbag deployed without caused. Honda says there have been no crashes as a result. It didn’t mention injuries. Ever been popped in the face with a airbag? I remember one breaking my hard contract lens back in 1993.

More than 2 million dehumidifiers are being recalled as a result of reports of fires and property damage totaling $2.15 million. These household appliances have been linked to 46 fires, though thankfully no reports of injuries have been received. The recall affects 12 brands of dehumidifiers prone to overheating, smoking, and even catching fires.

Recall of 2 Million Dehumidifiers

The recall involves the 20, 25, 30, 40, 45, 50, 65, and 70-pint dehumidifiers from the following brand names:

The lawsuits involving Pradaxa have been proceeding along. We think these are high value cases that will ultimately settle for a lot of money. It is not surprising to see Xarelto, Pradaxa’s little brother, also in the sites of injury and wrongful death lawsuits.

Xarelto Problems Increase

Xarelto, a relatively new anticoagulant in the same class of medications as Pradaxa, has been climbing the charts when it comes to adverse reports and even deaths. With a reported increase of 240% in the use of Xarelto after just a year and a half on the market, the problems associated with the increased numbers seems to be comparable.  With 968 adverse events having already been reported in 2013, which includes 72 deaths, the numbers are way up from the 750 adverse events reported in all of 2012, which included 58 deaths.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys had known for some time that there were problems with DePuy’s ASR hip replacement because we generally pay attention to adverse reports and we hear from potential plaintiffs long before we even know there will be grounds for a suit in the first place.

But what put the whole thing into overdrive was the recall itself after J&J, who really owns DePuy, looked at the whole thing and said, we need to get out now while we can because (1) people are getting hurt (which I do think they care about to varying degrees), and (2) our legal liability is going to be through the roof if we don’t do something.   There are now nearly 7,800 suits and DePuy is going to be paying – I predict, anyway – a ton of money on these claims.  So they wanted to cut their losses.

With the first MDL trial around the corner, DePuy wants to keep the recall out of evidence.  Why?  Because it is pretty much game, set, match for the idea that the ASR metal-on-metal replacement was awful.