Florida Injury Lawyer Blog

Drop-side cribs have been a safety issue for several years. Following the largest recall of drop-side cribs in the United States - 2.1 million cribs manufactured by Stork Craft - there was another recall this summer that included over 2 million drop-side cribs from seven different manufacturers. Over the last five years, more than nine million cribs have been recalled. Many of these recalls are the result of design defects which have led to serious, and sometimes fatal, results. Drop-side cribs have caused 32 deaths and hundreds of injuries to children since 2000.

Last month the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted unanimously to ban drop-side cribs and also recommended new crib safety standards. When the new standards are implemented, the manufacture and sale of drop-side cribs will be forbidden, and hotels and daycares will be prohibited from using them. With child safety being the main concern, new standards also call for better construction and improved mattress support. These standards will be published by the end of the year, and after a final vote, are expected to be implemented next year.

Continue reading "Drop-Side Crib Ban Looming, Government Recommends New Crib Safety Standards" »

Drop-side cribs are dangerous. That is the message Congress wants parents to know. The tragic death of a 6-month old baby boy from Long Island, New York, is a grim example. The infant became trapped and suffocated when the side rail on his drop-side crib malfunctioned. At least 32 babies in the last 10 years have suffocated or were strangled in drop-side cribs. In addition, 14 infant fatalities have been linked to drop-side cribs in that time frame.

According to reports, efforts have been made in Congress to prohibit the making, selling and reselling of all drop-side cribs and to ban them from establishments such as hotels and day care facilities. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is taking action to get the ban underway and is urging parents to understand the dangers of using drop-side cribs. The Consumer Product Safety Commission plans to make fixed-side cribs the new standard and to ban the sale and manufacture of drop-side cribs by the end of 2010.

Since 2005, over 7 million drop-side cribs have been recalled, usually due to malfunctioning hardware which can cause the drop-side rail to loosen or break. When the rail becomes detached, it creates a space between the side rail and mattress where a baby can get trapped and become strangled or suffocate. Although the crib industry favored fixed-side over drop-side cribs last year by voting to do away with the drop-side design, it is not yet mandatory for crib manufacturers to make only fixed-side cribs.

Some retailers, including Wal-Mart and Babies R Us, have already stopped selling drop-side cribs. Despite the warnings from the CPSC and Congress, drop-side cribs are still widely available online. Parents and caretakers should be aware of the dangers in using drop-side cribs and should avoiding using them at all costs.

Continue reading "Florida Parents Beware: Drop-Side Cribs Soon to be Banned Nationwide" »

A 13-year-old Davie boy has died after he was found with a hammock wrapped around his neck on May 2. The young man's father found him in his room entangled in the hammock and attempted to revive him through CPR. At the hospital, the young man was placed in a medically-induced coma, but never recovered. How he became entangled in the hammock and his exact cause of death are still being investigated according to reports.

Although the details of how this tragic death occurred remain unclear, hammocks have a history of being strangulation risks. This risk is especially prevalent in devices characterized as baby- or mini-hammocks which consist of light weight, nylon mesh and do not employ a spreader bar. These hammocks have been identified as strangulation and suffocation risks to babies and young children by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) for years and have undergone numerous recalls. The risk stems from a defective design that fails to provide a spreader bar to keep the mesh from pulling tight into a single rope which children can become entangled in while getting into and out of the hammock.

The death of this young man, while extremely tragic, is not unprecedented. In 2008, an eight-year-old Indiana boy reportedly died after a hammock he and his brothers were playing on became wrapped around his neck causing suffocation. Twelve children between the ages of 5 and 17 years old died after becoming entangled in mini-hammocks without spreader bars from 1984 to 1995 according to the CPSC.

Continue reading "Deadly Hammocks: Florida Teen's Strangulation Shocks Broward County" »

Users of some well-known anticonvulsant drugs may be at risk of committing or attempting suicide, according to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston in a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last month.

The study researched records of over 297,000 patients who took anticonvulsants between 2001 and 2006 and were 15 years of age or older. The analysis revealed 801 attempted suicides, 26 suicides and 41 violent deaths in the first 60 days of patients taking anticonvulsant drugs. This research comes after a 2008 FDA drug warning on anticonvulsants in which the FDA made it mandatory for anticonvulsant drug manufacturers to have a warning about suicidal risks on product labels. The FDA took action after nearly 200 studies were conducted on 11 different medications. The studies revealed that patients who took anticonvulsants doubled their risk of suicide.

Neurontin, manufactured by Pfizer and Novartis's Trileptal were among the drugs researchers found to increase suicide risk by as much as double in people taking these drugs for the first time.

GlaxoSmithKline's Lamictal, and Gabitril, made by Cephalon were also found to increase suicide risk. It is uncertain as to why some anticonvulsant drugs raise the risk of suicide, but it is known that these drugs cause behavior and mood changes.

Anticonvulsant drugs are commonly used by patients with epilepsy; however, drugs such as Lamictal have also been marketed to treat conditions including bipolar disorder and migraine headaches.

The FDA allows doctors to prescribe any medicine they consider suitable for any condition, which means doctors may prescribe drugs off-label (meaning prescribing it for uses unapproved by the FDA) if they think it's necessary. Drug manufacturers, on the other hand, are only allowed to market the drugs for uses that are FDA-approved. However, drug manufacturers don't always follow FDA guidelines for marketing drugs. Earlier this year, in January, Novartis paid a 185 million dollar fine for off-label marketing of the epilepsy drug Trileptal.

Continue reading "Drug Alert: Patients Using Certain Anticonvulsant Drugs may be at Risk of Suicide" »

Baxter International has been instructed to recall and destroy its Colleague line of hospital infusion pumps because of what has been described by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as "a long-standing failure" on the part of Baxter to correct numerous defects of the medical device. Although the FDA has for years tried to work with Baxter to correct the pump problems, the agency found Baxter's most recently submitted plan to address the defects was unacceptable because it exposed patients to potential injury for too long a time. The recall will affect about 200,000 pumps according to a Baxter spokesperson.

Infusion pumps are used to deliver timed and calibrated amounts of fluids and medication to hospital patients. However, the Baxter Colleague pumps, which have been labeled by the FDA as causing "persistent safety problems", have been the subject of previous recalls for defects such as battery problems, inadvertent shut-off, and other potentially dangerous or fatal errors.

The FDA has documented approximately 56,000 reports over a five year period of complications with infusion pumps in general including serious injury and more than 500 deaths. Although not all of these incidents are linked to the defective Baxter pumps, in 2005, the FDA confiscated 7000 Colleague pumps after receiving adverse incident reports of 16 patient injuries and seven deaths associated with the defective Baxter device. Hospira, a competing manufacturer and maker of the Symbiq infusion pump, also recently announced it was withholding shipment of its infusion pump amid customer complaints of defective alarming devices.

Continue reading "Baxter Ordered to Recall & Destroy Defective Medical Pumps" »

Florida residents and consumers across the country have been advised not to purchase the Lexus GX 460 SUV until issues with the vehicle's electronic stability control are resolved. This latest warning comes from Consumer Reports after labeling the car a "Don't Buy: Safety Risk" as a result of on-track safety testing. According to ConsumerReports.org, the Lexus SUV is a rollover risk because the electronic stability control fails to engage quickly enough to prevent the back wheels from sliding and causes the vehicle to go sideways.

The test conducted by Consumer Reports simulated a driver taking a curve at high-speed and then attempting to slow down by releasing the accelerator through the turn. Although most cars with electronic stability control compensate for such a situation by cutting engine power and braking individual wheels, the Lexus stability control took too long to engage and correct such driving pattern and allowed the wheels to slide out from under the vehicle. Consumer Reports conceded that neither of the two Lexus SUVs tested actually rolled over during testing, but the poor performance of the vehicle makes the back wheels more likely to come into contact with a curb or leave the roadway causing the vehicle to overturn.

Vehicles that fail to properly prevent rollover accidents because of defective safety equipment should be of great concern to Florida drivers since this state sees more than its fair share of rollover accidents every year. According to the 2008 Traffic Crash Statistic Report from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, 348 fatal crashes, 8,748 injury crashes, and 1,729 vehicle/property damage crashes involved an overturned vehicle during the reporting year.

Toyota responded to the concerns over its luxury brand's SUV by agreeing to conduct similar testing to identify the problem. Toyota said that similar testing was conducted on the Lexus GX 460 during development and that the vehicle had met all federal testing requirements. This latest safety concern adds to the growing list of Toyota complaints that began with defective pedals and uncontrollable acceleration of many of their models.

Consumer Reports is advising people not to purchase the Lexus GX 460 until a solution is made available potentially through a software update. Owners of the Lexus SUV were instructed to exercise caution when on highway exit ramps and winding roads, to be alert for road hazards, and to always obey the speed limit.

Continue reading "Toyota's Lexus SUV a Potential Rollover Risk" »

Last summer the FDA issued a warning on the drugs Chantix and Zyban, used by people trying to quit smoking, for their link to suicides. Zyban is also sold as Wellbutrin and is also used to treat depression. A July 2009 New York Times article states that Chantix has been linked to 98 suicides and 188 attempted suicides; Zyban is linked to 14 suicides and 17 attempted suicides.

According to FDA reports as well as information gathered from clinical trials, many people started experiencing mental health side effects a short time after taking the drugs, which ended after they stopped taking the medication. In addition to suicidal thoughts, some people also reported depression and behavioral changes such as irritability. Although some of these changes may be linked to patients experiencing withdrawal symptoms, some patients experienced side effects while they continued to smoke.

The FDA has made it mandatory for the manufacturers of Chantix and Zyban to alert the public about their risks. Pfizer, the maker of Chantix, will add a black box warning to the drug. GlaxoSmithKline already has a black box warning on Wellbutrin, which includes suicidal thoughts as a danger of taking the drug, and plans to add a warning to Zyban. The FDA is also requiring Pfizer and Glaxo to do clinical trials to determine the psychiatric effects on patients taking these drugs.

Continue reading "Chantix and Zyban, Used to Quit Smoking, Linked to Over 100 Suicides" »

The popular diabetes drug Avandia has been reported to cause hundreds of heart attacks each month and has also been linked to heart failure. According to a Senate report and as reported by The New York Times, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is urging a recall on Avandia because of the health risk associated with the drug. The reports state that heart failure and heart attacks suffered as a result of Avandia would be prevented if diabetes patients were instead given the drug Actos.

The Senate report says GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer of Avandia, was aware of Avandia's health risks for years but did not tell the public. In 2007, The Journal of the American Medical Association challenged Avandia's safety. The same year, a scientific study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed a 43% higher risk of a heart attack from using Avandia. The pharmaceutical giant stood by its product, saying it was safe. Not too long after the study, the FDA added a black box warning of Avandia's heart attack risks.

Avandia (Rosiglitazone) has been on the market since 1999 for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. GlaxoSmithKline continues to stand by its product, claiming there is no link between Avandia and heart attacks. However, the drug is estimated to have induced nearly 100,000 heart attacks in the 11 years it has been on the market.

Continue reading "FDA Urges Avandia Recall, Diabetes Drug Linked to Heart Problems" »

The deaths of three babies, all under one year of age, have spurred a nationwide recall of Generation 2 Worldwide and "ChildESIGNS" drop side cribs. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled these cribs, which are sold in many stores including Walmart, because they pose a threat of death or serious injury. Parents are advised to no longer use these cribs because babies can suffocate or be strangulated by these defective products. The CPSC warns to not try to fix the recalled cribs.

The drop side of these cribs can detach, causing a space where babies have no way of escaping, which can lead to suffocation or strangulation. In addition to the three deaths reported, several injuries, including bruising and a broken arm, have also been reported to the CPSC.

Last month Dorel Asia recalled several crib models because their defective drop sides also posed a threat of strangulation or suffocation. Around the same time, the CPSC recalled 1.5 million dangerous Graco strollers.

Continue reading "Infant Deaths Prompt Nationwide Crib Recall" »

When Toyota recalled over 2 million cars last month, it was too late for one Houston family. Michael Harris is suing Toyota for an accident that caused his wife's death just a week before Christmas 2009.

Trina Harris was killed instantly when her car ran a stop sign and hit a cement wall on December 18th. She was driving a 2009 Corolla, one of the vehicles that Toyota recalled in January. Mr. Harris says his wife had mentioned that her car sometimes sped up on its own. He wants Toyota to be held accountable for its alleged negligence.

Mr. Harris claims Toyota was aware of the vehicle defect in the 2009 Corolla his wife was driving but did nothing to fix the problem. He is also suing the vehicle's gas pedal manufacturer and the company that leased the car to his wife. Mr. Harris, who serves in the Navy, is now left to take care of his two daughters.

Toyota recalled over 4 million cars in November to fix accelerator issues. Unfortunately, the recall did not involve the 2009 Toyota Camry that Trina Harris was driving. In January, it recalled 2.3 million vehicles because of accelerator problems and soon after that stopped sales in the U.S. on several of its models.

In recent news, Toyota has recalled over 400,000 hybrids, including Prius, around the world because of brake issues.

Continue reading "Houston Man Sues Toyota over Accident that Killed his Wife" »

After a recent recall that affected 2.3 million vehicles, Toyota has put the brakes on sales of eight of its models in the U.S. because of accelerator problems. In the latest reports, the recall has just been extended to Europe and China, and possibly Britain as well.

Toyota Motor Corp. has announced its decision to stop sales and North American production so that the gas pedal issue on the affected models can be fixed. It is not yet known how many vehicles in Europe or Britain could be recalled. According to the UK's Guardian, plans for Toyota to stop production at its British plants have not yet been announced, however the company warned that 750 jobs could be cut in the UK. Toyota also plans to recall over 75,000 RAV4 vehicles made in China between March 2009 and January 2010.

Toyota has also announced plans to inspect 1.1 million vehicles in the U.S. in addition to the 2.3 million it most recently recalled.

The recalls have been prompted by reports of involuntary acceleration resulting from gas pedal defects. Toyota previously recalled over 4 million vehicles in the U.S. in November 2009 due to gas pedal issues. Several car accidents, and some fatalities, were reported from sudden speed caused by defective gas pedals. U.S. Congress has just announced it will launch an investigation on Toyota's manufacturing problems that may have led to the death of 19 people in the last decade.

The affected models in the U.S. recall include the popular Camry, Corolla and RAV4. For a complete list, visit the Toyota website.

Toyota's cost-cutting methods have been scrutinized in the past few years as the company has aggressively pursued leadership in global sales. Many have blamed Toyota's vigorous growth for the problems in vehicle quality. Toyota's former president, Katsuaki Watanabe, admitted to this after a 2006 criminal investigation was conducted by the Japanese government. Nobody was charged in this investigation, which associated vehicle problems to some car accidents in Japan.

If you have been injured as a result of defective vehicle manufacturing, call us today for a free consultation. Our personal injury attorneys are experienced in handling car accident and dangerous product cases, and will fight to get you the compensation you may be entitled to.

Dan Irving Cytryn is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer handling injury and accident cases for more than 29 years. He has received a 10.0 rating on AVVO, a lawyer rating service, which is the highest rating given for a lawyer. He is also rated the highest ability and ethics rating, "AV", by Martindale Hubbell, a company rating lawyers for more than 100 years.

Ford recently settled for a confidential amount with a woman who was paralyzed in a 2005 collision involving a 2002 Ford Explorer. This decision came after a jury considered punitive damages and had already ordered Ford to pay over $16 million to compensate for negligently designed rear seats and seat belt structure on the Ford Explorer.

Lynn Wheeler was a passenger in the Explorer when it was struck head on by another driver. She was riding in the back seat between the booster seats her grandchildren were sitting in. The only thing restraining Wheeler was a lap belt. Upon impact, the rear seat latch broke, causing the back seat to collapse on her. Her head and neck were pushed forward into the center console, resulting in devastating spinal cord injuries. She is now in a wheelchair and on a ventilator.

Wheeler's lawsuit challenged Ford's decision to install a lap belt instead of a three-point shoulder belt and accused Ford of negligently designing the rear seat latch. Now, thanks to a law that went into effect in 2007, automobile manufacturers are forbidden from installing lap-only seat belts for rear middle seats.

Ford argued that it met government safety standards and defended its decision to install lap belts in the Explorer's rear bench seat.

The jury sided with Wheeler - Ford was ordered to pay over $16 million in damages. The driver who collided into the Explorer was ordered to pay $1.2 million.

Ford has been in the press several times in relation to rollover accidents. A California woman's rollover accident involving her 1997 Ford Explorer is an example of one major case where Ford was under fire for being prone to rollovers. The woman sued Ford when the roof on her Explorer collapsed on her during her rollover accident. She became paralyzed as a result of the spinal injuries she suffered in the accident. The jury found Ford was aware the roof on the Explorer would collapse during a rollover accident, and awarded her over $82 million.

Each year, thousands of people are injured or killed in SUV accidents. Vehicle manufacturers have a responsibility to make safe vehicles for consumers. At the same time, consumers should be armed with as much knowledge as possible before buying a vehicle. The following websites contain important vehicle information:

Safercar.gov is a government website that has information on crash test ratings, recalls, safer driving tips, etc.

Consumerreports.org is a nonprofit established to protect consumers and offer objective product reviews.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety provides vehicle ratings, statistics, news and more.

Dan Irving Cytryn is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer handling injury and accident cases for more than 29 years. He has received a 10.0 rating on AVVO, a lawyer rating service, which is the highest rating given for a lawyer. He is also rated the highest ability and ethics rating, "AV", by Martindale Hubbell, a company rating lawyers for more than 100 years.

Toyota has recently announced a recall of several models of both Toyota and Lexus vehicles that is estimated to affect some 4.26 million vehicles throughout the United States and Canada. The recall comes because of complaints that the gas pedal in these vehicles can become stuck in the depressed position causing uncontrolled acceleration.  According to reports, this "pedal entrapment" has been blamed for the deaths of 19 people since the 2002 model year.  The problem was initially thought to be caused by mispositioned floor mats, but the recall goes beyond floor mats and addresses design issues of the gas pedals, floor board, and computer system.

The initial recall of potentially defective Toyota and Lexus vehicles began in September when Toyota warned that owners of specific models should immediately remove the floor mats to help prevent unanticipated acceleration from pedal entrapment.  This most recent recall includes Toyota technicians physically modifying the gas pedal to reduce the length by three-quarters of an inch, replacing genuine Toyota or Lexus all-weather floor mats, and installing a brake override system that will cut engine power when both the accelerator and the brake are pressed at the same time.  Some vehicles will also have the padding beneath the gas pedal replaced with a thinner pad to increase clearance between the pedal and the floorboard.

The latest rounds of repairs are scheduled to begin January 2010 and are estimated to exceed $250 million in parts and labor.  The potentially defective pedals that are modified during this time are anticipated to be replaced by properly manufactured parts when they become available.  The brake override system, which is often referred to as "smart pedal" technology and utilized by other auto manufacturers, is scheduled to be implemented as standard equipment on all Toyota and Lexus vehicles manufactured after January 2010.

Although Toyota seems to deny that an actual defect exists in the affected vehicles, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a statement to correct what it described as "inaccurate and misleading information" being propagated by Toyota.  The NHTSA stated that removing the floor mats in these potentially dangerous vehicles was only an interim measure and did not correct the underlying defect in the vehicle which causes pedal entrapment.  The NHTSA assured consumers that it would continue to investigate the issue until the defect is corrected with a vehicle-based solution.

Continue reading "Florida Vehicle Alert: Toyota Issues Massive Defect Recall" »

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Class I recall of Synthes USA's Synex II Vertebral Body Replacement. The Class I recall is the most serious recall and was issued because the medical device presents a reasonable probability of serious injury. The defective medical device, which is used to replace damaged vertebrae in the thoracic and lumbar spine, may fail after implantation causing a loss in the vertebral body replacement height.

According to the FDA, the failure of the device can lead to neural injury, pain, kyphosis, and the need for corrective surgery. Because of the danger associated with this defective medical device, surgeons and hospitals have been ordered to cease using the vertebral body replacements immediately. The defective products subject to recall were manufactured from June 2007 through September 2009. A complete list of the vertebral body replacement part numbers subject to the Class I recall can be found on the FDA's website.

Action by the FDA comes after Synthes USA began recalling the Synex II device in September amidst six adverse incident reports of the vertebral body replacements' failure. Patients with increased pain or other symptoms are advised to contact their surgeon for evaluation. Patients can report adverse incidents to the MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program established by the FDA.

Continue reading "FDA Recalls Defective Synex II Vertebral Body Replacement after Failures" »

Target Corp., the owners of Target locations nationwide, recently settled an automatic door personal injury lawsuit filed against them by an 80-year-old customer.  According to reports, the customer claimed that Target had failed to inspect and maintain a set of automatic doors that malfunctioned and injured her.  The customer was injured after the automatic door struck her and knocked her to the ground causing her to hit her head.  She was then struck in the head again by the door when it continued to open and close while she was on the ground.  The customer also claimed that Target did not follow the safety guidelines set out by the automatic doors' manufacturer, Besam USA, who was also named in the lawsuit.  The injured party also claimed that the doors did not have a proper fail-safe system which would alarm to obstructions.

The elderly customer suffered brain injuries that prevented her from taking care of her eldest daughter with special needs.  The injured customer also claimed that she had to enter a nursing home to obtain the proper daily care after her injuries.  According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the second leading cause of nonfatal injuries in the United States among people 65 years of age or older in 2007 was being unintentionally struck by or crushed by a human, animal, or inanimate object other than a vehicle or machinery.

Of course, the technology behind these doors that open and close based on sensors or the push of a button is quite helpful in everyday life.  Automatic doors provide access to people carrying objects into and out of buildings, large crowds, physically challenged individuals, and have numerous other useful applications.  However, when these doors are not maintained properly or designed defectively, they can be extremely dangerous and cause serious injuries such as broken bones, traumatic brain injury, and severed fingers or limbs.  Automatic door injuries are often caused by defective or poorly maintained systems closing with excessive force or closing unexpectedly.

Traumatic brain injuries are more prevalent than one might imagine.  According to the CDC, approximately 1.4 million people in United States suffer traumatic brain injuries each year.   Of those, approximately 50,000 die from their injuries, 235,000 are hospitalized, and 1.1 million are treated and released from the emergency department.  Injuries to the brain can be difficult to self-diagnose as the signs and symptoms may be subtle and not appear until days or weeks after the injury.  People that have suffered a traumatic brain injury may appear fine, but changes in their behavior or health may signify injury.

Some signs of traumatic brain injury include:

• headache or neck pain that does not subside
• difficulty remembering, concentrating or making decision
• slowness in thinking, speaking, acting, or reading
• see more signs and symptoms at CDC.gov

Continue reading "Target Settles Automatic Door Injury Lawsuit for $7 Million" »