Dangerous/Defective Products

Product Liability Update; Many Stunned by U.S. Supreme Court’s Ruling On Generic Drugs

June 27, 2011 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

In a 5-4 decision on Thursday, the United States Supreme Court ruled that manufacturers of generic pharmaceutical drugs could not be sued under state law over allegations that they failed to provide adequate label warnings about potential side effects. This ruling should be of a great concern to anyone who uses generic pharmaceuticals.

In the original lawsuit, Gladys Mensing, alleged that taking a generic form of metoclopramide, a common drug used to treat heartburn, gave her a severe neurological movement disorder. None of the generic manufacturers and distributors of metoclopramide made any effort to include warnings on the label for metoclopramide. Manufacturers of the generic metoclopramide, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, UDL Labratories, and Actavis Inc. argued that federal law barred such a suit becausethe drug is approved by the FDA, (federal law requires generic drugs only to have the same labels as their brand name equivalents). They argued that because government regulations only require them to have the same label on metoclopramide as is on its brand name equivalent, Reglan, that they had no duty to include additional warnings for their generic form of metoclopramide.

The majority of the court, including Justice Clarence Thomas, who wrote the opinion, sided with the pharmaceutical companies. Thomas stated in his opinion that the federal drug regulations applicable to generic drug manufacturers directly conflict with and thus pre-empt state lawsuits. The net effect of this opinion is that it gives generic drug manufacturers zero liability for medication injuries that could have been avoided by an updated warning label.

Dangerous and Defective Product Update; Safety Advocates Demand Recall of ’93-’04 Jeep Grand Cherokee

June 15, 2011 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

If you are the owner of one of the 3 million Jeep Grand Cherokees made between 1993 and 2004 there may be cause for concern. The consumer watchdog group, The Center For Auto Safety, is pushing the U.S. Government for a recall of a poorly protected fuel tank that is causing fire in some rear-end crashes in the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) acknowledges that there have been 44 Grand Cherokee Crashes and 55 deaths since 1992 where fire was listed as the most harmful factor.

The problem stems from the placement of the fuel tank in the 1993 – 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The tank, which is made of plastic, is positioned below the rear bumper and behind the rear axle, which provides very little protection to the tank in the case of a rear end collision. Paul Sheridan, a former safety manager at Chrysler, says that the “design of the tank if a fundamental safety defect. No Question about it.” Sheridan explains that when one of these Jeep’s is hit from behind that another vehicle could easily slide under the rear bumper of the Jeep and tear the tank open. This creates a situation where gas covers the interior of the Jeep creating a potential disaster if there is any sort of spark.

DePuy ASR Hip Implant Recalls Lead to Litigation in Georgia and Nationwide

March 11, 2011 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

At the end of August, 2010, DePuy Orthopedics, a division of Johnson & Johnson, announced a DePuy Hip Replacement Recall expected to affect an estimated 93,000 patients. The DePuy ASR hip replacement system has been failing at unusually high rates in patients all over the country including Georgia. Implant loosening, fractures, dislocations, and potentially toxic metals entering the bloodstream have led to frequent repeat surgeries in patients that received DePuy ASR hip implants.

Particularly troubling is the fact that DePuy was able to bypass Food and Drug Administration testing by exploiting the implant loophole. A product such as a hip implant can be sold to the public without testing if it is a device that is similar to a product that has already been approved by the FDA for use on patients.

The DePuy implant is not the only hip implant system causing extensive post surgical complications, but it’s the implant currently causing the most problems. A large number of people have been affected by the DePuy ASR implant, because Johnson & Johnson waited over two years after it first became clear there was a serious issue with the product to announce the recall and pull the product from the market.

$8 Million Dollar Verdict Against Merck for Fosamax “Jaw Death” Injury Reduced by Federal Judge to $1.5 Million.

October 8, 2010 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

Drug executives and product liability lawyers have been closely watching the trial of Shirley Boles, a 72 year old woman that developed jawbone necrosis (jaw death) while taking the drug Fosamax. An unusually large number of Fosamax patients have developed osteonecrosis of the jaw, a condition that causes the gums to fall away exposing jaw bone that appears moth eaten. The condition is often described as jaw death. The manufacture of Fosamax Merck is currently defending over 900 federal and state lawsuits filed by women that developed osteonecrosis of the jaw on Fosamax. It has been alleged Merck misrepresented the drug’s safety and failed to warn doctors and patients about the risks associated with taking Fosamax. Merck denies any responsibility for the hundreds of injuries suffered and claims Fosamax is a safe and effective medication.

Ms. Boles’ case sparked national interest because it is one of the first of the Fosamax cases tried to a verdict. In her case, the jury held Merck responsible and awarded $8 million dollars in damages. As often happens with large verdicts, U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan in Manhattan reduced the juries’ award from $8 Million to $1.5 Million. Judge Keenan is a veteran of the bench appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1983. In his decision, Judge Keenan wrote “a significant damage award is warranted, but the $8 million deviates substantially from what would be reasonable compensation,”

The law concerning verdicts that will apply in this case is virtually the same to state and federal court in Georgia. A judge may reduce a large verdict for any reason. The decision to reduce a verdict is completely in the judge’s discretion and not subject to appeal. When a verdict is reduced, the injured plaintiff must choose between the reduced award or another trial. If the plaintiff takes the second option then she must wait until the judge offers another opportunity for trial, which can take months.

1.2 Million Chuck E. Cheese Rings and Eyeglasses Recalled – Products Pose Serious Injury Risk to Children

September 15, 2010 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has ordered the recall of 1.1 Million light up rings and 120,000 star glasses because these defective products can cause serious injury to children. These toys were manufactured in China and distributed at Chuck E. Cheese restaurants in birthday party packages and promotions. The toys are dangerous because children are able to remove the small button sized batteries. These batteries pose a choking risk to children and can cause stomach and intestinal problems. Parents should return the products to Chuck E. Cheese or throw them away.

Inflatable Slides and Moon Bounces Pose Serious Injury Risk to Children

September 10, 2010 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

A huge focus of my blog deals child safety issues, because in addition to being a personal injury lawyer, I’m a father of three. Like most parents my number one goal is keeping my children safe. Recently I’ve discovered moon bounces and inflatable slides can pose a serious injury risk. More and more I’m hearing about deaths and serious head injuries from incidents on inflatables, or as my kids call them “jumpy jumps.” Naturally I’m worried and want to read more to find out how these incidents happen.

I started with last year’s report by the U.S. Consumer Consumer Product Safety Commission on the estimated number of injuries and deaths associated with inflatable amusements from 2003 – 2007. According to the study, approximately 6,000 people are injured every year from the use of inflatables. Most of the incidents involved moon bounces (91%) and the most common injuries were fractures (29%). Of course what scared me the most were the reported deaths. How did they happen? From the report and other sources I found numerous death reports.

Cobb County Jury Awards $1.1 Million Dollar Verdict for 77-Year-Old Woman’s Serious Injuries Caused by Negligent Repair of Recalled Auto

September 3, 2010 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

This week a Cobb County jury awarded, 77 year old, Ramona Roper a $1.1 Million dollar verdict for the shattered pelvis injury she suffered from a dangerous and defective vehicle. Ramona worked full time as the City Clerk for the City of Jasper for 30 years. She lived on her own and had a very active lifestyle before the incident.

The case involved a 1994 Dodge Intrepid. It had a defective gear shift assembly which caused it to move out of park when the keys were out of the ignition. Chrysler recalled the Intrepid in 2004. Ramona took the car into Jasper Jeep to have the recall work done on three separate occasions between 2004 and 2007. The first two times the recall part was not in. The third time, the Jasper Jeep technician did not perform the recall work properly.

Shortly after the negligent repairs, Ramona was dropping off some food for her grandchildren when the incident occurred. Her three year old granddaughter reached into the center console of the car to pick up a drink and put her hand on the gear shifter causing it to shift out of park. Ramona’s driver side door knocked her over and the car ran her over. Had the repairs been performed correctly this incident would have been prevented. She suffered numerous fractures to her pelvis, was hospitalized for a week and was in a nursing home for approximately 6 weeks for recovery.

Video – “A World Without Lawyers.” A Look At Civil Justice

September 2, 2010 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

A World Without Lawyers – Amazing videos are here

Judge Frees Man Serving 8 Years in Prison for Fatal Toyota Acceleration Crash

August 8, 2010 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

Today, the words unintended acceleration and Toyota go together like peanut butter and jelly, but in 2007 unintended acceleration was a foreign concept to most people. 2007 was the year Koua Fong Lee was sentenced to eight years in prison after his Toyota Camry accelerated without warning and crashed into two cars killing three people. Mr. Lee was on his way home from church with his pregnant wife, father, daughter, brother and niece when the acceleration incident occurred. Mr. Lee always maintained his Toyota accelerated without warning and would not stop even though he was pushing the brake. Toyota denied there was a problem, no one believed Mr. Lee, and he was convicted of vehicular homicide.

Two and half years in prison and 8 million recalled Toyota’s later, Mr. Lee is a free man. Last week a Minnesota judge ordered a new trial and the prosecutor dropped the charges. The civil case against Toyota for causing multiple deaths in that fatal crash remains pending.

Another Dangerous Product Recall; Chrysler Recalls Nearly 600,000 Unsafe Vehicles

June 10, 2010 | Benjamin S. Persons, IV

In a summer that has seen several dangerous and defective product recalls, Chrysler recently recalled nearly 600,000 vehicles involving five models in the United States.

The recall includes the Dodge Grand Caravan minivans and Chrysler Town and Country minivans for the years 2008 and 2009. These vehicles have the potential to catch fire due to a problem with the sliding door electrical system.

Also included are the Chrysler Jeep Wranglers for 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. These jeeps could experience brake failure as a result of leaking brake fluid.