Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

Published on: June 11, 2024

3M Knew Its Fluorochemicals Were Contaminating Human Blood But Failed to Do Anything

science-5314419_1280-e1718065686874-300x200 Recently, the New Yorker ran a very important piece, reported by investigative journalist Sharon Lerner, in collaboration with ProPublica, with the headline “How 3M Discovered, Then Concealed the Dangers of Forever Chemicals.” 3M Corporation makes products like building materials and adhesives. The article tells the story of Kris Hansen, a chemist at 3M, who was asked by her boss, Jim Johnson, to test human blood to see if it had been contaminated with fluorochemicals, manmade compounds that are found in a number of 3M products including Scotchgard and firefighting foam. Unbeknownst to Hansen, Johnson had made several discoveries about the contaminants years before in some cases, he’d been directed to do the work by 3M’s lawyers.

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At that time, Johnson told Hansen that PFOS, one of these fluorochemicals, often entered the bloodstream of workers in the 3M factory but didn’t harm them. However, Johnson had also been told that an outside lab kept finding contaminants in blood samples from the American Red Cross, taken from the general population who shouldn’t have had those contaminants present.

Hansen’s job then was to figure out whether the lab had erred in its findings. In testing, she, too, found that PFOS was in the sample, which was from someone who hadn’t worked for the company; the other samples she and her team tested were also contaminated. She told her boss, but subsequently found that her warnings about the contamination were left out of official meeting notes.

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Published on: March 16, 2022

CPSC Complaint Against Leachco for the Podsters

By Moll Law Group

newborn-gc398873d0_640-300x200 Leachco, Inc. manufacturers infant loungers called the “Podsters.” After reports of two infant deaths in connection with these loungers, the company refused to undertake a voluntary recall. The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) filed an administrative complaint about the loungers against Leachco. The complaints concern Leachco’s Podster, Podster Plush, Bummzie and Podster Playtime. If your baby was suffocated in one of the Podsters, or another infant lounger, you should consult the seasoned Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group about whether you have recourse. We represent clients around the country. Billions have been recovered in lawsuits with which we’ve been involved.

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Podsters measure 71-75 inches in circumference and are about 23.75 by 21.5 by 8 inches. They’re designed with a removable cover with a core of elastic nylon-spandex and padded insert and come in a variety of prints. Around 180,000 Podsters have been sold. However, the CPSC found in January that public safety required a warning of the suffocation hazard the Podster presents. In an administrative complaint filed against Leachco, the CPSC Chair noted that the Commission wouldn’t ignore products that put vulnerable infants at unnecessary risk and that the CPSC was filing the complaint as a last resort because the manufacturer had failed to respond to safety concerns previously raised.

The complaint explains that the infant loungers may obstruct airflow if an infant moves, rolls, or is put in a position in which his nose or mouth are obstructed by the Podsters. The loungers include warnings and instructions about using the product but the complaint reasons that caregivers will foreseeably use the infant lounger for sleep, leaving the infant without supervision. By law, the actual use of a product is part of the evaluation of whether a product is defective.

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Published on: March 3, 2022

Second Infant Died After Consuming Recalled Abbot Baby Formula

By Moll Law Group

baby-g909db3e6f_640-e1646267137939 Recently, Abbot Nutrition expanded its recall of baby formula after a second baby died from infection after consuming the formula Abbot Nutrition’s Similac PM 60/40 with a lot code 27032K800. Four reports of Cronobacter sakazakii infection have been reported in connection with products from the plant. If your baby was harmed, hospitalized, or died because of its consumption of Abbot Nutrition’s Similac, you should call the experienced Chicago-based product liability lawyers of the Moll Law Group about whether you have a claim against the manufacturer. Similac PM is specifically intended for infants that are helped by lowered mineral intake; the specific formula in question wasn’t included in a prior, February 17 recall for lots of Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare, powdered formulas, that were also produced at the same plant. No parent should have to go through the anguish of a baby who dies because of a formula that should have been safe.

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The FDA has updated its website to investigate another illness due to another Cronobacter sakazakii, which is a rare and dangerous bacteria that causes serious medical complications, including blood infections. A child died after hospitalization and an infection with this germ may have contributed to his death. He had consumed Similac before becoming infected. While four infections involving Cronobacter sakazakii were reported to the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a Salmonella Newport infection was also reported alongside the outbreak. The five infants who became sick were all hospitalized. Two died.

Following the second baby’s death, Abbott Nutrition recalled the powdered formula the baby had consumed. To determine whether you are using a lot of powdered formula that has been recalled, you can look at the 7-9 digit code and expiration at the bottom of the package. Take a look at whether the first two digits of the code are 22 -67, the code contains Z2, SH, or K8, and the expiration date is April 1^st or later. You can type in the code on the bottom of your package at Similacrecall.com to make sure it’s part of the recall.

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Published on: November 17, 2021

Fatal Crowd Control Problems at Astroworld

By Moll Law Group

crowd-gde46314f6_640-e1637169569866 It is crucial for organizers and personnel to take seriously the need to address crowd control accidents at big public events. Crowd surges can have deadly consequences, as we recently saw with the Astroworld Music Festival in Houston. Even before it was underway, there were signs that crowds could dangerously get out of control. There were 50,000 at the sold-out show, and after the festival began on November 5^th, concertgoers had gotten through the main gate inappropriately. People breached the gate and jumped the barricades. There were 3000-5000 concertgoers who were not scanned before they came into the venue and the situation only became more chaotic. Ten people were killed as a result of the crowd surge, some of whom were children, and at least 300 were injured. If you were injured as the result of a crowd surge, you should call the experienced Chicago-based lawyers of the Moll Law Group. We represent accident victims around the country.

By evening, the police reported that one stage had dangerous crowd conditions. The festival organizer took the stage at 9 p.m., by which time over 260 people had already sustained injuries, including crush injuries. Several were trampled and fell unconscious. A mass casualty incident was reported within an hour of headliner Travis Scott taking the stage. Seventeen had been taken to the hospital, including six suffering from cardiac arrest, from 10 p.m. – 11:40 p.m.

More than 90 civil suits were filed in state court in short order. These lawsuits were brought against promoter Live Nation, concert organizers, city officials and performers. The allegations are that security personnel, organizers and risk directors did not protect the thousands coming to the festival. The numbers of medical staff were insufficient. One concertgoer, who later fainted, reported that paramedics did not respond to a woman with a seizure in the crush of people.

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Published on: February 1, 2017

Plaintiff’s Wrongful Death Claim Bars Subsequently Filed Claims Arising Out of the Same Series of Events

By Moll Law Group

In a recent case arising out of allegedly negligent medical care provided by the defendants, the court dismissed three wrongful death claims that were filed during the pendency of another wrongful death claim. According to the court’s opinion, the plaintiff had filed a medical malpractice claim against her father’s doctor in one lawsuit, against another doctor in a second lawsuit, and against a medical center in third and fourth lawsuits. All of the claims were based on the same event: the death of her father.

The court looked at an older case and explained that when two lawsuits involve the same parties and the same wrongful death claim, the court that first acquires jurisdiction retains jurisdiction over the case, and subsequent lawsuits are prohibited. The court explained that the first state court that has jurisdiction over a wrongful death claim then has exclusive jurisdiction over the case, and other subsequently filed claims should be dismissed. Thus, as long as a wrongful death claim is pending, other subsequently filed claims have “no effect.”

In this case, the plaintiff first filed a wrongful death claim for the alleged wrongful death of her father. After that claim was filed, she then filed three more wrongful death claims involving the same events. The court looked at the previously decided line of cases and determined that the subsequently filed cases were properly dismissed. The court explained the rule applied both in cases with multiple plaintiffs and in cases with multiple defendants. As a result, the subsequent cases were dismissed, and the only option the woman had to bring claims against the other defendants was try to amend her original complaint.

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Published on: January 23, 2017

Chrysler Hit with $40 Million Verdict Due to Exploding Gas Tank in Jeep Grand Cherokee

By Moll Law Group

In a recent case, Chrysler challenged a $40 million verdict against it after a tragic accident involving one of its Jeep vehicles. Evidently, a four-year-old was killed in a collision when a pickup truck hit the back of a 1999 Chrysler Jeep Grand Cherokee. When the pickup truck hit the Jeep, the Jeep’s gas tank was punctured, and the car caught fire. The child was in the backseat and died in the fire. The child’s parents filed a lawsuit against Chrysler, alleging that it acted with a reckless or wanton disregard for human life in its design or sale of the Grand Cherokee. They also alleged Chrysler breached a duty to warn the public of the danger.

The case proceeded to trial, and the jury found in favor of the parents. The parents were awarded $30 million in damages for their son’s wrongful death and $10 million in damages for pain and suffering. Chrysler was found to be 99 percent at fault.

Chrysler appealed the decision, arguing the court should not have denied its motion for a directed verdict. Before the jury deliberated, Chrysler had filed a motion for a directed verdict on the parents’ claims that Chrysler acted with a reckless or wanton disregard for human life and failure to warn. The claims were based on the allegations that Chrysler knew that the location of the fuel tank in the 1999 Grand Cherokee was dangerous but continued to manufacture and sell the car, failing to warn the public.

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Published on: July 1, 2016

Boy Killed in Skateboarding Accident Barred from Compensation Because He Assumed the Risks of the Activity

By Moll Law Group

In some cases, a plaintiff’s own conduct may contribute to an injury, decreasing the amount of damages awarded. In other cases, the plaintiff’s conduct may bar compensation completely. In a recent case, a boy’s family was barred from compensation after he was killed in a skateboarding accident.

Two brothers were skateboarding in a resort town when one of the brothers tragically died in a skateboarding accident. The two brothers had been riding their skateboards down a hill when one boy’s skateboard hit a small gap between the road and the concrete surrounding a manhole cover. The skateboard stopped, and the boy was thrown from the board. The boy was not wearing a helmet and suffered a traumatic brain injury. He ultimately died as a result.

The boy’s father and brother brought a wrongful death claim against several defendants, including the local water district and the local community association. The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that by participating in skateboarding, the boy assumed the inherent risks of skateboarding. The court of appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision to grant the summary judgment motion, since the claim was barred by the assumption of the risk doctrine.

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