The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) has released a statement indicating that it has fined Japanese airbag manufacturer Takata $200 million for mishandling the recall of its airbag inflators, which have been linked to at least seven deaths of Americans. On May 19, 2015, the United States Department of Transportation…
Earlier this month, a California federal court dismissed a class action lawsuit seeking to recover damages from the makers of Jim Bean, claiming that the company violated state consumer protection laws by labeling some of its whiskey and bourbon products as “handcrafted.” Dating back to the 1820s, bourbon is a…
According to news reports, eight patients who underwent heart bypass surgery at a Pennsylvania hospital most likely suffered bacterial infections because of a contaminated medical device used during the surgeries. The device is a heater-cooler unit used to control a patient’s blood pressure during open-heart surgery. Of the eight patients…
While a number of states are moving to legalize the use of cannabis, manufacturers of products containing marijuana may not be entirely clear when it comes to understanding how product liability rules will apply to them. In the recent case of Flores v. LivWell, Inc., two marijuana consumers sued the defendant, claiming…
A 24-year-old woman was found dead inside a cryochamber at a cryotherapy salon where she worked in Nevada. According to one local news article, the woman is believed to have suffocated inside one of the ice chambers at the salon. In whole-body cryotherapy, a customer stands in a cylindrical or…
According to nationwide reports, families are bringing countless lawsuits against the makers of the drug Zofran and related substances, alleging that the use of the anti-nausea drug resulted in children being born with severe birth defects. As a result of the high number of Zofran and related drug lawsuits being brought, they…
In a landmark 2010 case, the Illinois Supreme Court decided that a cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases is unconstitutional. In the case, the plaintiffs, a minor and her mother, sued a doctor and hospital for medical malpractice, alleging that the defendants’ negligence caused the daughter to suffer…
A Chicago Transit Authority Red Line train traveling south near the Granville stop at Broadway derailed around 2:00 pm on Halloween today in Chicago. Hundreds of passengers were stranded for over an hour until power was shut off. All passengers were eventually evacuated and escorted to safety. Fortunately, it seems…
Last month, the Ohio State Court handed down a decision holding that courts cannot certify proposed class actions that include members who have not suffered any injuries. In Felix v. Ganley Chevrolet, Inc., the trial court granted class certification to a proposed class defined as including all consumers who purchased vehicles from…
In a recent case in front of an Illinois appellate court, a woman lost her right to recover for injuries that she claimed were due to negligent treatment by her attending physician. In the case, McDonald v. Lipov, the court determined that the “certificate of merit” requirement is strictly enforced…