Lexi Hazam summarized the charges Evans and Mechaley have brought against DePuy: “DePuy was aware its ASR hip implant was failing at a high rate, yet continued to manufacture and sell the product to unsuspecting physicians and patients.”

The complaint alleges a current failure rate of thirteen percent of all DePuy ASR hip implants. However, evidence indicates that the true failure rate may rise much higher than thirteen percent.

The New York Times recently reported that Dr. Art Sedrakyan, a researcher at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University, used data collected in other countries to predict that “tens of thousands” of U.S. patients will experience device failure in the coming decade.

The National Joint Registry of England and Wales has found a forty nine percent failure rate within six years of ASR hip implantation. 40,000 U.S. patients received DePuy ASR hip implants before Johnson & Johnson’s 2010 recall – in the coming decade, many of these still-young devices may prematurely fail, and the U.S. may catch up to the British forty nine percent failure rate.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration states more than 50% of patients do not take over-the-counter medication as directed.  Research confirms that overdosing on over-the-counter painkillers may lead to organ failure, strokes, and even death.

Consumers that frequently and repeatedly take painkillers are urged to reexamine their behavior and talk to a doctor to avoid potential danger.

Lieff Cabraser currently represents patients who have suffered health injuries from popular over-the-counter drugs.  Patients are welcome to contact an attorney to discuss your legal rights at no cost or obligation.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the electrical cords on the monitors can be dangerous for babies if placed too close to their crib

More than 40 different models of handheld, digital and color monitors, are being recalled by Summer Infant. The monitors were sold at major retailers between 2003 and 2011. Going forward, the company will provide new on-product warning labels and instructions about monitor placement.

For more information on model numbers of recalled monitors, consumers can contact Summer Infant at 800-426-8627.

Lieff Cabraser currently represents parents whose children have been injured from defective health and baby care products. If your child has been injured from a defective product, we welcome you to contact a Lieff Cabraser defective product attorney. We will review your claim in confidence without charge or obligation.

The chemical, naphthalene, has already been banned in the European Union as a chemical harmful to children. The naphthalene-filled mothballs are used as a preservative for storing clothing and other articles susceptible to damage from mold or moth larvae.

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority issued a report stating that more than 100 infants are treated annually to overcome the adverse effects of the toxic mothballs.

Acetaminophen is a widely used pain reliever found in many popular over-the-counter medicines such as Tylenol and Nyquil, which treat headaches, sore throats, fevers and muscle aches.

The Food & Drug Administration will ask manufacturers to limit acetaminophen used in combination prescription drugs to 325 milligrams per capsule.  The agency is also asking drug makers to strengthen their warnings about severe liver damage on the labels of the prescription medicines.

FDA’s action follows publication of studies showing that acetaminophen is the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S., recording more than 50,000 emergency room visits and 200 deaths.  Regulators estimate that over half of these annual deaths are linked to the prescription drug combinations that use acetaminophen.

Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas that is produced by burning fuel, such as gasoline, wood, paper, natural gas, or kerosene.  When inhaled, carbon monoxide CO quickly enters the blood stream and prevents oxygen from being transported to the body’s cells.

A car used by the group was found running in a closed garage underneath the room.  Friends told The Miami Herald the car had needed a jump-start earlier and could have been left running to keep the battery charged. A door to a staircase up to the room had been left open, and high levels of carbon monoxide were found inside.

It is estimated that each year carbon monoxide poisoning kills 5,000 persons in the U.S. and injures over 10,000 persons.  Many of these deaths are due to faulty or defective products, including lawn mowers, gas stoves, hot water heaters, furnaces, fireplaces or snow blowers.  Exposure can occur even in the outdoors. Cases have been reported of children who suffered carbon monoxide poisoning from exposure to boat and jet-ski exhaust fumes.

Persons who have suffered brain damage, or the families of loved ones who have died, have filed lawsuits against the product manufacturers and/or property owners for the injuries they suffered. Lieff Cabraser represents victims of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Following his hip replacement surgery in 2007, John Chisnell of Raleigh, North Carolina, suffered great pain and agony due to the failure of his Durom Cup, manufactured by Zimmer, Inc., to properly attach to his hip bone. The pain was constant and significantly limited his mobility and ability to engage in sports and physical activities as well as interfering with his work.

“The pain went on for so long, both the incapacitation from having a bad hip–it went on for over two years before having revision surgery, and now my legs have mismatched length,” stated Chisnell. “The implant never healed the way it was advertised.  It put my life on hold for two years.  It is just wrong for Zimmer to market such a device.”

In January 2010, Chisnell underwent revision surgery to replace the faulty Durom Cup.  The revision surgery has resulted in Chisnell’s left leg being one-half inch longer than his right leg, causing him continued pain to the present.

Learn more about the Zimmer hip recall lawsuits.

DaimlerChrysler appealed a jury’s 2008 verdict awarding $5.08 million to the family, but Friday’s ruling by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal rejects the company’s claim that the judge presiding over the trial made several errors. The couple initially assumed the 1999 accident had been caused by leaving the car in reverse, but they sued in 2001 after receiving a call from a Los Angeles Times reporter investigating similar “park-to-reverse” complaints about Jeep Grand Cherokees.

A three-judge panel from the 4th Circuit rejected the company’s claim that the suit should be thrown out because the Guillots missed a deadline for suing. The couple didn’t have “the appropriate information to file a claim at the moment the accident occurred,” the court said. A “vehicle defect was never suspected by the investigating officer, and Mr. Guillot blamed himself for the accident for two years,” the ruling says. The court also concluded the jury’s award wasn’t excessive.

Scott Nealey of Lieff Cabraser, a lawyer for the Guillots, said the couple was “extremely pleased” with the court’s ruling. “The most important thing for them was just the vindication of the jury’s verdict,” he said, adding that the company had blamed them for the accident and claimed it was “all their fault.”

Persons who have been injured in accidents involving faulty transmissions, or family members of loved ones who have died, have filed lawsuits against Chrysler and other manufacturers for the injuries they suffered. Lieff Cabraser represents victims of park to reverse defects.

William Kokoszka, a 54 year-old Connecticut resident, has filed a personal injury lawsuit against Zimmer Inc., for extreme pain and injuries due to a defective artificial hip manufactured by Zimmer.

In each case, the patient experienced excruciating pain following implantation of the Zimmer Durom Cup and all have, or soon will, be forced to undergo a painful revision surgery.

“At my age, I wanted to continue my active lifestyle, including spending time with my family, working with my charities, traveling with my husband, and being able to perform basic daily activities,” stated Renee Donnelly, age 74, of Paradise Valley, Arizona, one of the patients that filed a lawsuit. “However, once I was implanted with the defective Durom Cup, my life became very limited.”

“I used to lead a very fulfilling and active lifestyle, traveling abroad, exercising regularly, volunteering, and working in my garden. Now, my life is so limited due to the pain that the defective Durom Cup implant has caused me,” stated plaintiff Karen Hoggarth, age 54, of Westerville, Ohio. “I can’t even walk up the stairs without pain.”

“The quality of life physically and mentally, today and in the future, for myself and my family has been permanently damaged by the defective Zimmer Durom Cup I received in 2006,” added William Kokoszka, another plaintiff from Meriden, Connecticut. “Zimmer should be accountable for its negligence and disregard for the safety of patients implanted with the Zimmer Durom Cup.”

Zimmer Durom Cup Lawsuits

The Durom Cup was first sold in the nation in 2006 and was implanted in over 12,000 patients over a two year period. The estimated failure rates of the Durom Cup ranges between 20% and 30%.

After the Durom Cup was introduced in the United States, Zimmer began receiving complaints from physicians that the artificial hip was failing. “Despite warnings from leading orthopedic surgeons, Zimmer continued to aggressively market the Durom Cup in 2007 and into 2008, blaming surgeons for the growing failure rate,” stated attorney Wendy R. Fleishman of the national law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP.

Learn more about the Zimmer Durom Cup and defective hip implant lawsuits.

GlaxoSmithKline insists that the study was reliable and that it demonstrated that the drug is safe. Critics assert that the study conducted by GlaxoSmithKline was flawed, manipulated and that its findings cannot be trusted.

The nation’s leading medical advisory group, The Institute of Medicine, released a report last week “concluding that Avandia increased the risks of stroke, heart failure and death compared with Actos.”

Beginning today, the FDA will determine in two days of hearings on whether Avandia should be withdrawn from the market.

Read an earlier entry outlining a New York Times report that exposed how Avandia is linked with risks of heart failure.

Patients taking Avandia that suffered serious side effects are welcome to contact a Lieff Cabraser attorney to learn about their legal rights for no charge or obligation.