Articles Posted in Defective Products

Last week we highlighted the “superbug” outbreak at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center, where two people died and several others were infected with an antibiotic resistant bacteria called CRE (known as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae). We highlighted the need for hospitals to use reasonable care in sanitizing equipment and cleaning surfaces that may harbor bacteria, and how the failure to use such care in doing these things could lead to a lawsuit. 

But when it comes to litigation and multiple culpable parties, it may be difficult to determine which party is actually liable. And the superbug incident may be no different. According to a recent claimsjournal.com report, the manufacturer of the endoscope at the center of the controversy may be at odds with the hospital as to who would be responsible for the outbreak. 

After all, the endoscope is reportedly notoriously hard to clean, and the hospital claims that it followed the manufacturer’s protocols. Meanwhile, the manufacturer maintains that meticulous manual sterilization is necessary; which suggests that it believes that the hospital may not have been thorough in cleaning the instruments. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned doctors about the difficulty of completely cleaning these instruments.

In a prior post, we highlighted the record number of vehicles that were recalled in the United States last year. According to a recent New York Times report, 803 recalls were initiated last year that covered 64 million vehicles. Indeed, a large number of recalls were due to federal regulators calling for manufacturers to take action. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had 123 investigations that led to recalls. The others were due to automakers calling for cars to be brought back on their own initiatives. 

The notion that automakers led a majority of recall efforts should be comforting. After all, they have a legal obligation to report defects that consumers would not know about on their own and to take reasonable steps to correct them. However, the federal government was recently under fire because of the delays in investigating consumer complaints that could have led to recalls. The NHTSA recalled the fewest number of vehicles since 2010, and there were rumblings that the full extent of its legal powers were not exercised.

Aside from the epic recalls due to General Motors’ ignition switch problem and Takata Corporation’s airbag issue, arguably the most problematic (and least discussed) recall had to do with children’s car seats. More than six million car seats manufactured by Graco Corporation were recalled, along with 1.6 million seats by EvenFlo. Both manufacturers had the same problem; bulky buckles that could trap a child inside their seat in the event of an emergency.

If you are fortunate enough to find a new Keurig coffeemaker under your tree on Christmas morning, you may have to promptly bring it back to the store. According to a recent ABC News.com report, Keurig has issued a recall for its Mini Plus Brewing Systems. The recall could affect nearly 7 million machines sold in the United States and Canada.

Keurig reports that it has received 200 complaints of machines overheating and spraying water while it brews coffee. Additionally, 90 people reported suffering burns because of faulty brewers. 

Indeed, we have written a great deal this year about recalls, primarily auto recalls due to faulty airbags, ignition switches and even wiper blades. However, the same duty of care with regard to informing consumers about defective products applies to coffeemakers as it does automobiles. Essentially, a manufacturer has a duty to ensure that the products it offers for sale are safe for their intended uses. If it finds that a defect could put consumers in danger, it has a duty to keep consumers informed  and to make appropriate changes.

With this weekend being the last before Christmas, toy retailers such as Toys R Us are pulling out all the stops to get consumers into stores for one last shopping push before the big day. Basically, some stores pledge to be open continuously until Christmas Eve.

With all the focus on last minute shopping, we find it prudent to warn our readers about toys that may be hazardous to a child’s health. After all, more than 250,000 children wind up in emergency rooms each year because of injuries due to toys. Despite federal bans on hazardous chemicals that are included in some toys, there are still a number of products on the market that have lead, phthalates and chromium; all of which can be hazardous to a child’s health.

Also, there are a number of toys that can pose hazards to small children. Examples are toy pieces that toddlers can put in their ears and small magnets that can be swallowed, and loud toys that can damage a baby’s ears.

It seems like 2014 will be remembered for the year of the auto recall. First it was General Motors, with the ignition key problem that threatened to stop running cars based on the weight of a keychain. The recall reportedly affected millions of cars and led to GM being subject to a $35 million fine.

The latest recall has to do with airbags. According to an ABC News report, airbags supplied by Takata Corporation are responsible for scores of injuries and three deaths. Essentially, the canisters that house the airbags could disintegrate when the airbags inflate; thus sending shards of shrapnel like metal  into unsuspecting drivers. Takata airbags are in cars manufactured by many major automakers, including Honda, Nissan, BMW and General Motors. 

In November, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave an urgent warning to millions of car owners to immediately take their cars in to get their airbags replaced. The warning was especially critical for car owners in places with high humidity.

When you think about how airbags in vehicles are supposed to work, the overriding notion is that they are supposed to save lives. They are supposed to cushion the impact between a driver (primarily their head) and the steering column and the dashboard. The same could be said about airbags that protect passengers as well.

However, while many airbags save lives, there is a growing problem that is being discovered about the canisters that house them. Essentially they could disintegrate under the pressure of inflating during the impact of an accident, and could send metal shards into the occupants of a car, therefore creating serious lacerations and other injuries. 

According to a warning issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly five million vehicles across the United States could be affected.  The airbags, which were manufactured by Takata Corporation, have been included in Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans and BMWs sold over the past few years. However, new information has surfaced suggesting that more than seven million cars could have faulty airbags.

With all the questions that have arisen about how several health care workers contracted Ebola in the past month, it was only a matter of time before lawsuits would be filed claiming fault. According to a recent Reuters.com report, Kimberly-Clark is being sued for fraud in the marketing and sale of some of its surgical gowns.

Specifically, the lawsuit claims that the Kleenex tissue maker falsely asserted that its gowns could protect wearers from contracting Ebola. It also notes that Kimberly-Clark misled health regulators, as well as health care workers who believed that the gowns were impermeable, thus providing inadequate protection against Ebola. It is further alleged that the gowns failed industry tests, and did not meet relevant protection standards against such an infectious disease. 

As a matter of law, manufacturers cannot use phrases, slogans or sayings that could mislead a consumer (or federal regulators, for that matter) into believing that a product does something that it actually does not do. The Reuters report did not indicate specifically what phrases or marketing strategies were at issue. Nevertheless, manufacturers that are held liable for false advertising could be subject to a host of monetary damages stemming from liability to affected consumers.