Category Archives: Product Liability or Medical Devices

Toyota Recalls Corolla and Matrix Models as NHTSA Investigates Engine Stalls

Written On August 30, 2010 By Bob Kraft

The AP reports, “Toyota recalled 1.33 million Corolla sedans and Matrix hatchbacks in the US and Canada Thursday because their engines may stall,” noting that this is one of the largest Toyota recalls since its safety crisis began last year. Meanwhile, GM “is recalling 200,000 Pontiac Vibes in North America due to the same problem, GM [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

Compatibility of Hospital Tubes Creates Danger for Patients

Written On August 26, 2010 By Bob Kraft

I just wrote yesterday about hospital errors causing injuries and deaths needlessly. Now an article from the New York Times brings up a point that most hospital patients would never even consider — you can die because a nurse or aide hooks up your feeding tube to your medication IV, or vice-versa. The article is [...]

Posted in Medical Malpractice, Product Liability or Medical Devices

Consumer Groups Ask FTC to Force Rental Companies to Fix Recalled Cars

Written On August 13, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Here’s one more thing for you to worry about on your next vacation or business trip — car rental companies are apparently not bothering to repair vehicles that have been recalled for safety defects. As reported in the ”Wheels” blog of the New York Times:
“Two consumer safety groups are asking the Federal Trade Commission to order Enterprise [...]

Posted in Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

Preliminary NHTSA Report Finds No New Defects in Toyota Electronic Systems

Written On August 12, 2010 By Bob Kraft

The Department of Transportation’s preliminary findings from investigation into the data records of 58 Toyotas involved in unintended acceleration incidents received heavy media coverage, including over two minutes of airtime, total, between segments on all three major networks, as well as articles in major national papers, including one front-page article. The reports focused on the [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

Honda’s Recall Could Signal An Industry-Wide Problem

Written On August 11, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Honda Motor Company has announced a recall of almost 400,000 vehicles that have potential problems with their ignition interlock systems. The recall includes about 200,000 Accords and more than 100,000 Civics from 2003 and about 70,000 Elements from 2003 and 2004. The ignition interlock on any vehicle is supposed to keep the driver from removing the ignition [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

High Risk of Supplements Gets Exposed Again

Written On August 6, 2010 By Bob Kraft

It was disconcerting, to say the least, to read that Consumer Reports magazine, in its latest issue, labeled a dozen supplements as dangerous — especially because I have taken some of those supplements myself. USA Today agrees with my concern, and wrote about it in an editorial. Here are excerpts:
We Americans do love our dietary [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Prescription Drug Claims, Product Liability or Medical Devices

FDA Moves Toward Tighter Medical Device Oversight

Written On August 5, 2010 By Bob Kraft

The Food and Drug Administration has sometimes been a bit lax on regulation of medical devices, partly due to policy decisions and partly due to a lack of manpower at the agency. That situation may change soon, according to an Associated Press article. Here are excerpts:
Makers of X-ray machines, drug pumps and other medical devices [...]

Posted in Medical Malpractice, Product Liability or Medical Devices

A Tougher Car Safety Agency is Needed

Written On August 3, 2010 By Bob Kraft

A tougher National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is what’s been called for in an editorial that ran in the New York Times a few days ago. The editorial is worth reading, and I certainly agree with the newspaper. Here are excerpts:
The United States has done a fairly good job so far of policing the safety of [...]

Posted in Government, Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

Toyota Recalling 400,000 Vehicles to Fix Steering Problems

Written On August 2, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Sadly, Toyota is still struggling with bad publicity. Now there’s a new recall:
Washington Post (7/30, Cha) reports that Toyota announced yesterday the recall of “412,000 Avalons and Lexuses for steering problems, bringing the number of cars recalled around the world since October to nearly 9 million. The 373,000 recalled Avalons, dating from between 2000 and [...]

Posted in Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

Toyota Does an About-Face on Reliability of Black Boxes in Its Vehicles

Written On July 30, 2010 By Bob Kraft

The Los Angeles Times reports that Toyota has often dismissed the data collected by its event data recorders as “unreliable” and collected by “unproven technology. … Now, facing continued claims that its vehicles are defective, Toyota appears to have done an about-face” and “has been citing data from black boxes in Toyota and Lexus vehicles [...]

Posted in Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

Tainted Food Sometimes Remains on Shelves Despite Recalls

Written On July 29, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Far too often, food contaminated during the manufacturing process is recalled, but word of the recall never reaches consumers or even the owners of grocery stores, according to an article in the Chicago Tribune. Here are some disturbing excerpts from the story:
Until three years ago, Kenneth Maxwell enjoyed Banquet chicken and turkey pot pies so much [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Product Liability or Medical Devices

Toyota Still Doesn’t Get It

Written On July 27, 2010 By Bob Kraft

That was the headline in a New York Times editorial, referring to the auto maker’s repeated failure to report known safety defects to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Here are excerpts:
The latest omission to be brought to light — and not by the automaker — regards problems with steering wheel relay rods, which transmit [...]

Posted in Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

Federal Grand Jury Subpoenas Toyota Over Potentially Faulty Steering Mechanisms

Written On July 22, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Bloomberg News (7/21, Ohnsman, Fisk) reports that a Federal grand jury in New York is compelling Toyota to “provide documents related to flaws in steering relay rods, the company said in a filing yesterday.” The piece alludes to NHTSA’s ongoing investigation into safety issues at the automaker, but notes that this issue “is separate from [...]

Posted in Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

NHTSA Makes No Conclusions Yet in Toyota Acceleration Probe

Written On July 16, 2010 By Bob Kraft

The Detroit Free Press ran an article yesterday about the Toyota runaway acceleration problem and the possibility that some of the incidents may have been driver error. Here are excerpts:
U.S. auto safety regulators have drawn no conclusions about whether drivers are to blame for sudden acceleration complaints in Toyota vehicles, the head of the National [...]

Posted in Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

FDA Panel Votes to Keep Avandia on Market With More Restrictions

Written On July 15, 2010 By Bob Kraft

ABC World News (7/14, story 5, 0:25, Sawyer) reported, “A surprise decision on Avandia [rosiglitazone]. Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended keeping Avandia on the market,” although most “advisers did recommend stricter warning labels and the FDA will now decide which course to take.”
The New York Times (7/15, A1, Harris) reports on its front [...]

Posted in Prescription Drug Claims, Product Liability or Medical Devices

Driver Error Found in Some Toyota Acceleration Cases

Written On July 15, 2010 By Bob Kraft

The recent Toyota runaway acceleration cases may have a bit in common with the Audi cases from the 1980’s. Back then Audi took a huge public relations hit after a few well-publicized cases that were later determined to be driver error. Now similar reports are surfacing about Toyotas. Here are excerpts from a recent article [...]

Posted in Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

Complaints Related to Latest Toyota Recall Started in 2007

Written On July 8, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Bloomberg News reports that Toyota received complaints about engine stalls as far back as March, 2007. The problems “sparked recalls this week of more than 100,000 Lexus and Toyota vehicles in Asia.” The first complaints about “defective valve springs” came in March. “The problem occurs when foreign substances enter the material used to make the [...]

Posted in Product Liability or Medical Devices, Vehicle Law or News

Government Recalls More Children’s Jewelry Due to Toxic Cadmium

Written On July 7, 2010 By Bob Kraft

The latest recall of toxic cadmium toys involves some distributed, ironically, by doctors and dentists. These were little trinkets given to kids for being good patients during their office visit. I used to get a lollipop when I was a kid, and that apparently was much safer.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Product Liability or Medical Devices

Officials Worry About Consumers Lost Among the Recalls

Written On July 6, 2010 By Bob Kraft

Are U.S. consumers becoming “jaded” by the recent onslaught of product recalls? Are we at the point where we just don’t pay attention? That’s the question asked by the Washington Post in a recent article. It’s an important question, because the defective product in each of the many recalls could have a devastating effect on [...]

Posted in Consumer Information, Product Liability or Medical Devices

Pfizer to Withdraw Cancer Drug Mylotarg

Written On June 29, 2010 By Bob Kraft

The Food and Drug Administration said Monday Pfizer Inc. is withdrawing its cancer drug Mylotarg from the U.S. market after a clinical study showed the drug wasn’t effective and had more safety problems. The Wall Street Journal detailed this story well. Here are excerpts:
Mylotarg, marketed by Wyeth until Pfizer bought the company last year, was [...]

Posted in Prescription Drug Claims, Product Liability or Medical Devices