Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.

Articles Posted in Product Liability

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le5 BODY CAMERAA potentially defective lithium-Ion battery in Vievu-brand LE-5  body camera led the NYPD to pull almost 3,000 body cameras from use.

The decision was made after one of the cameras worn by a Staten Island police officer exploded into flames.  The officer who was assigned to a midnight shift  in the 121st Precinct on the northwestern shore of Staten Island suddenly noticed smoke coming out of his body camera. Thankfully he wasn’t injured in the accident. He just had the time to remove the camera and to drop it on the ground in the precinct before it exploded and caught fire. After the incident, all officers wearing the same model of camera were instructed to immediately remove them and bring them back to their commands. The NYPD had around 15,000 cameras in use and only the Vievu LE-5 is being recalled. The previous version Vievu LE-4 which is also used by some of the police officers is not recalled. Officers who were wearing the LE-5 model will temporally work without body cameras.

CONTROVERSIAL DECISION 

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Asbestos_fibresAsbestos is a dangerous product that was used in construction materials decades ago. After it was found that exposure to asbestos could lead to lung cancer, mesothelioma and other respiratory diseases, its usage became strictly regulated in the US.

Now the Environmental Protection Agency is looking at options to use asbestos again in new uses such as “adhesives, sealants, roof and non-roof coatings; extruded sealant tape and other tape; high-grade electrical paper; millboard; pipeline wrap; reinforced plastics; roofing felt; asbestos floor tile and any other building material other than cement” according to a significant New Use Rule (SNUR) proposed by the agency.

Anyone who wishes to comment on this rule proposal can do it until August 10th.

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finger chicken is the most dangerous food in the US
Among all food products offered to American consumers, chicken products  are the most dangerous. They have the highest risk to be contaminated with salmonella or other pathogens and to cause illnesses to consumers according to a recently released study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Researchers at the CDC analyzed 5,760 reports of foodborne disease outbreaks that occurred between 2009 and 2015. These outbreaks resulted in 100,939 illnesses, 5,699 hospitalizations, and 145 deaths.

While fish recorded the highest number of contamination followed by dairy products and chicken, chicken was responsible for the most illnesses related to contamination. During the period under review, 3,144 consumers got ill after eating chicken, 2,670 after eating pork and 2,572 after eating seeded vegetables.

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3.3 million units of four varieties of Goldfish Crackers have been recalled over fears that the products might be contaminated with salmonella. Peperidge Farm, the manufacturing company, indicated the potential contamination was caused by whey powder used in the fabrication of the crackers. The varieties of Goldfish Crackers being recalled are:

  • Flavor Blasted Xtra Cheddar
  • Flavor Blasted Sour Cream & Onion
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OxyContinWhen Purdue Pharma launched OxyContin in 1995, the Food and Drug Administration permitted the company to make a unique claim for it: that its long acting formula would reduce its appeal to drug abusers who preferred short-acting opiates such as Percocet and Vicodin.

The exact opposite occurred and OxyContin became the most expensive and the most sought after drug on the black market. The New York Times obtained a copy of a confidential report from the Justice Department that indicates that shortly after the new drug was launched company officials were aware that the drug was being crushed, snorted, stolen from pharmacies and that doctors were being criminally charged for selling it to drug abusers.

A four year investigation found that despite being fully aware that OxyContin was one of the most abused drugs, the drug company failed to warn about its dangers, lied and continued to promote it as a drug less prone to abuse than any other prescription opioids. In 2006 the prosecutors recommended that 3 Purdue Pharma executives be indicted on felony charges. One of the charges was conspiracy to defraud the United States. That meant jail time for the 3 executives.  At the time, Georges Bush was the president and Justice Department officials declined the recommendation. Instead, the case was settled in 2007.

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keyless carMultiple owners of key-less cars have been dying of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning after mistakenly thinking that their car had stopped running. In most scenarios the car owner parks the vehicle in the house garage and takes the wireless key fob thinking that the car has shut down while it hasn’t. Overnight the garage and the house fills with odorless carbon monoxide gas, leaving the owner and other potential house residents dead or severely injured.

There are no exact records of how many people have died or how many people were left with serious injuries such as brain damage after inadvertently leaving their car running but 24 deaths nationwide were reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration since 2006 when the first known case occurred. 70 year old Jeanette Colter, a Florida resident who  left her Toyota Avalon running in the garage ended up collapsing and dying between her kitchen and her living room. Her 89 year old husband died in the bedroom.

In 2009 after several other similar accidents were reported, the Society of Automotive Engineers formed a panel to develop recommended practices to address key-less ignition hazards. In 2011, the group recommended an externally audible or visual alert or automatic shut off of the engine if all doors are closed and the key fob is not present. That same year the NHTSA proposed a new rule with similar recommendations.

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A very well organized network of profiteer personal injury law firms, doctors, marketers and finance executives have teamed up together to try to make profit out of women who previously had a vaginal mesh surgery by leading them into believing something is wrong with their implant. A recent article in the New York Time looks at the cases of multiple women who previously had a vaginal mesh implant and were contacted by unidentified callers lying to them and pretending that their implants were defective to lure them into expensive, dangerous and unnecessary surgery.

Hired and trained by a marketing company, the callers usually know most of the medical history of the women that they were calling. Victims of these calls are often told that if they don’t undergo surgery to remove the mesh they might die. The caller then set the woman up with:

  • the law firm that initially hired the marketing company
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even Hills School Hillsdale campus from aboveA teenager died after being crushed by a defective car seat after making two agonizing phone calls to 911. Sixteen year old Kyle Plush was in his van, a Honda Odissey, on the parking lot of the Seven Hills School – Illsdale Campus in Madisonville, OH when the second-row seat accidentally tipped forward slowly crushing the young man to death. 46 people previously reported minor injuries for a similar issue and Honda issued a recall of this model last year to fix the problem.

“I probably don’t have much time left, so tell my mom that I love her if I die,”

As the seat was crushing him, Kyle picked up his cell phone and called 911 begging for help. He told the operator he was at “Seven Hills” but she couldn’t understand where it was. He made a second call and told the operator “I probably don’t have much time left, so tell my mom that I love her if I die,” he said. “I’m trapped inside my gold Honda Odyssey van. In the (inaudible) parking lot of Seven Hills Hillsdale. Send officers immediately. I’m almost dead.”

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JohnsonA New Jersey jury recently found that Johnson & Johnson baby powder contained asbestos and that the tainted product caused mesothelioma to a New Jersey banker. Mesothelioma is a deadly cancer linked to asbestos.

Stephen Lanzo was awarded $30 million for his pain and suffering and his wife was awarded $7 million in damages as well. 70% has to be paid by J&J and the other 30% by talc supplier Imery Talc America.

Both companies are planning to appeal. They pretend the banker developed cancer after being exposed to another asbestos source such as his school or childhood home.

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Defective-sign-NYCA 6 year old boy was seriously injured by a falling New York Street sign yesterday afternoon. The young boy was a tourist visiting from Argentina. He was on the sidewalk at the southeast corner of 32nd Street and Seventh Ave when a heavy street sign detached from the pole and fell on him. The boy was unconscious and transported to the hospital. According to the NYPD he woke up and he is now in serious but stable condition.

The defective sign, a large blue street sign marking West 32nd Street outside the East entrance of Penn Station fell after large gust of winds of up to 40 mph were recorded in the area. It was taken away by the NYPD.

The wind was so strong yesterday in Manhattan that it took down banners and damaged scaffolding all around the city. In the Tri-State area many trees fell down and thousands lost power.