Posts Tagged ‘“Boston product liability lawyers”’
Products Recalled to Protect Children
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and two companies have issued widespread recalls of defective products that pose a safety hazard to children.
In the first case, Lowe’s has recalled 11 million Roman shades and roll-up blinds. The move is part of a farther-reaching recall that began in December 2009 and has so far involved 25 retailers. Lowe’s sold the largest number of blinds and shades, followed by Ikea. Walmart, JCPenney, Ethan Allen and Jo-Anne Fabric and Craft Stores also sold significant quantities.
The Roman shades and blinds were sold between 1999 and January 2005. Both products can cause strangulation because a child playing could become entangled in the cords and the fabric or plastic blinds.
The recall began after the CPSC learned about two incidents of children who became entangled in the Roman shade’s cord. Neither suffered personal injury. But after the recall was initiated, another 4-year-old boy did suffer personal injury, including rope burn to his neck after getting caught in the cord.
No incidents of personal injury have been reported for the roll-up blinds from this particular store.
Consumers should stop using the shades and contact the Window Covering Safety Council for free repair kits at 800-506-4636.
The CPSC has received five reports of wrongful deaths and 16 near strangulations in Roman shades since 2006. It has received three reports of accidents leading to deaths in roll-up blinds since 2001. The commission recommends consumers use cordless blinds and shades in homes where children visit. If your blinds and shades have cords, keep them inaccessible and install tension devices.
The other product recalled was The First Years American Red Cross Cabinet Swing Locks. About 41,300 locks were sold at Toys R Us, Babies R Us and other retailers.
The locks were designed to keep children from accessing cabinets.
But The First Years company received seven reports of latches breaking. Consumers should stop using the locks immediately and contact the company to obtain a coupon toward purchase of another product. Visit this link for more information.
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FDA Considers Banning Diet Pill Meridia
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now weighing whether to ban the diet pill Meridia following a split vote by its advisory panel.
The panel voted 8-8 on Sept. 15. Half the members voted to continue marketing the drug, which a study has shown increases risk for heart attacks and strokes. Half the panel voted to remove it from the shelves. European regulators banned the drug in January, but the FDA had wanted input from its advisory panel before acting.
Meridia is produced by Abbott Laboratories and has been on the market since 1997. Data released in November 2009 shows that when patients with heart disease took Meridia, they had a more than 11 percent risk of cardiovascular risks, compared with 10 percent taking a placebo. The study included 10,000 patients.
Meridia is one of only three prescription pills currently approved for weight loss. Many say the marginal benefits are not worth the risk. Among study participants, the average patient lost five pounds and 30 percent kept the weight off.
“We do make the assumption that weight loss is beneficial and that translates into clinical benefits, but we’re not presented with those here,” said Dr. Katherine Flegal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “On the whole, there are not the benefits that justify the risks.”
Prescriptions of Meridia have declined in recent years. About 283,000 Meridia prescriptions were filled in the U.S. last year, just more than half the number in 2005.
To read more about the Meridia product ban discussion, click here.
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DePuy Orthopaedics Recalls Hip Implants–Massachusetts Patients Affected by Defective Product
The DePuy Orthopaedics unit of Johnson & Johnson has recalled two types of hip implants that have failed one in eight patients and required a second surgery within five years. The standard hip implant lasts for 15 years.
DePuy recalled its ASR XL Acetabular System, a traditional hip implant procedure, and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System last week. Only the traditional hip implant procedure is available in the United States. About 93,000 DePuy devices have been implanted worldwide.
The recall was issued because of friction between the implant’s metal components. The friction generates metal ions which affect the healing of the joint in some people. The device is also difficult for surgeons to properly implant in the precise location.
In the past two years, the Food and Drug Administration has received about 400 complaints about DePuy hip implants.
The product recall is the latest in a series for Johnson & Johnson, which has pulled Tylenol and Acuvue contact lenses from shelves in recent months. The Tylenol recall is the subject of a federal inquiry over the company’s handling of over-the-counter product recalls.
If you have a DePuy hip implant, it is important you consult your surgeon. To find out what to expect, visit the Breakstone, White & Gluck website.
Product Safety Recall: Baby Tents Pose Strangulation Risk
Just weeks after a massive children’s crib recall, a portable playard tent linked to a young boy’s fatal strangulation has been pulled for safety.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada, in cooperation with Tots in Mind Inc. of Salem, New Hampshire, has announced the voluntary recall of 20,000 Cozy Indoor Outdoor Portable Playard Tents Plus Cabana Kits. An additional 85 tents were recalled in Canada.
The tent is a white dome-shaped covering designed to fit over playards that contain a child. In December 2008, a two-year-old boy from Vinalhaven, Maine died when he climbed out of the playard. He was found hanging with his neck entrapped between the playard frame and the metal base rod of the tent. In this case, the tent had been tied to the playard with pieces of nylon rope and partially attached with the tent’s clips because the child knew how to remove the clips.
In three other incidents, children removed the clips on the tent and were able to place their necks between the tent and the playard. The children were not injured.
The unsafe cribs were made in China and sold at Walmart, Amazon and various baby stores from January 2005 to February 2010.
Consumers should immediately stop using the playard tents. They can contact Tots in Mind to get free replacement clips. Replacement clips will be available in late August or early September.
This is the second major product safety recall affecting parents and children in recent weeks. In June, the CPSC recalled two million cribs because of an unsafe drop-side rail, which created a gap where a baby’s head could become trapped. Government officials say this could lead to suffocation or strangulation.
The companies involved in the recall include Evenflow, Delta Enterprises Corp., Child Craft, Jardine Enterprises, LaJobi, Million Dollar Baby and Simmons Juvenile Products Inc.
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