California Injury Blog

In response to another tragic display of Yaz side effects, Joan Cummins has decided to pursue compensation for the wrongful death of her daughter, Michelle Pfleger. Michelle died shortly after experiencing a heart attack on the way to class last year during which time she had been taking Yaz as an oral contraceptive. According to bizjournals.com, Pfleger's autopsy report showed that she died from cardiac arrest caused by a blood clot in the lungs, and the lawsuit alleges that the clot was caused by Pfleger's use of Yaz.

Continue reading "Mother of Yaz Side Effects Victim Pursues Compensation" »

As the number of Darvon and Darvocet lawsuits continues to rise, consumers are starting to question the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's continued approval of this 50-year-old defective product. Darvon and Darvocet's active ingredient, propoxphene, was approved in 1957 as a strong painkiller, but Darvon's side effects have been well-documented with little to no action to pull it from the shelves.

Continue reading "Ban on Darvon and Darvocet (Propoxyphene) Came Too Late to Save Consumers" »

A Los Angeles-based company is recalling its seafood salad products over food poisoning concerns. According to an Associated Press news report, Frankly Fresh Inc. has voluntarily recalled these products packed under its label because they could be contaminated with listeria, which is a type of deadly bacteria. The products involved in this recall come in a variety of sizes in plastic containers and were made between March 19 and April 23. The salads were distributed through retail supermarket stores in California and Nevada. Company officials say that the contamination was discovered during a routine sampling and testing program conducted by the Food and Drug Administration. So far, no illnesses have been reported.

Food Poisoning Statistics

According to the Department of Health and Human Services' statistics, each year, 5,000 people die due to food poisoning. It is even more disturbing to note that the number of safety inspections has fallen sharply in recent years. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspects fewer than 25 percent of food production facilities each year. Also, nearly 75 percent of all food facilities have gone five or more years without an FDA inspection. Inspections are even more rare or non-existent when it comes to foreign food producers.

Continue reading "Seafood Salads Recalled for Listeria Contamination " »

Health officials in Alabama are now saying that cases linked to contaminated IV bags, which killed nine patients and sickened many others, started well before this month's recall. According to a report in The Birmingham News, others are worried that the contaminated intravenous fluid could be in other pharmacies.

Ongoing Federal Investigation

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are investigating an outbreak of the deadly serratia marcescens bacteria in six Alabama hospitals. So far, 19 patients have tested positive for the infection. Nine patients have died. A majority of infections occurred in March, but one case was reported in January and another in February, officials say.

All of the patients who were infected by the bacteria received intravenous fluids mixed by Alabama-based Meds IV. The company, on March 24, 2011, recalled all of its IV products manufactured since January 1. The company reportedly provided the contaminated IV bags to six hospitals in Alabama. This type of bacterial infection is treatable with medication in the early stages, but can be lethal, if not detected.

Continue reading "Cases Related to Tainted IV Bags Documented since January" »

Two people died and six were injured in a three-car rollover car accident in Utah early morning July 12, 2009. According to a news report in The Spectrum, most of the injured victims were from Los Angeles and the Southern California area. The fatal car accident occurred when 29-year-old Juan Garcia, who was driving south on the 15 Freeway, swerved to avoid a deer. Garcia's 1993 Range Rover rolled over several times. His two children--Zapatista Angulo, 3, and Assata Angulo, 5 months, were ejected from the SUV.

The baby--Assata Angulo--died of head injuries. Olegario Angulo, 31, a passenger in the Range Rover, suffered fatal head injuries after the SUV's roof and door caved in. He died at the scene. Chantel Manuel, 22, suffered injuries to the lower torso and Garcia sustained head and arm injuries. Zapatista Angulo was also taken to the hospital with injuries.

Mario Mendez, 67, was driving a 2006 Toyota 4Runner south when he saw the debris, but missed the Range Rover crashing into it. He was not injured. But a third driver, 47-year-old Jennifer Jordan of Rancho Santa Margarita crashed her Toyota Tacoma into the Range Rover and suffered ankle injuries. Her son, Jeremy, 20, suffered minor injuries.

Continue reading "Fatal SUV Rollover Accident Injures Los Angeles residents" »

The California Zicam lawyers at Bisnar | Chase continue to receive inquiries regarding lawsuits and class-action suits about defective over-the-counter Zicam cold medications, which have apparently caused hundreds of Americans to lose their sense of smell and/or taste. These Zicam defective products were meant to relieve cold congestion. However, the defective Zicam nasal cold remedy products clearly have done more harm than good.

Matrixx Initiatives Inc., the manufacturer of the Zicam cold remedies that are believed to be responsible for hundreds of users nationwide losing their sense of smell is expecting to face more Zicam lawsuits, in addition to the ones already filed, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers about Zicam drug effects, according to a Dow Jones news report. Last month, federal officials cautioned consumers to stop using Zicam cold and allergy medications because they can cause permanent loss of smell.

Matrixx officials have said that they are facing a lot of legal action including two economic Zicam class-action lawsuits and a personal injury lawsuit involving 117 plaintiffs. They are now saying that additional Zicam lawsuits involving individual plaintiffs making allegations that its nasal gel products have caused a permanent loss or diminishment of the sense of smell or smell and taste, have been filed. Matirxx officials have also said that they absolutely disagree with the FDA's stance that these drugs are dangerous and defective and that they intend to vigorously defend each and every one of these lawsuits. However, Matrixx has started a formal recall of all of its Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel and Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swab products in a move to comply with the FDA's request.

Continue reading "More Zicam Lawsuits Filed" »

The General Motors-Chrysler bankruptcy has caused much anxiety among consumers because it seeks to throw out auto product liability and personal injury lawsuits against them. Now, a new report predicts that a loophole created by the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler will make it possible for the companies to avoid issuing product recalls of defective cars that were manufactured prior to the bankruptcy filings.

According to a news article on Consumer Reports, this new report released by Safety Research and Strategies (http://www.safetyresearch.net/chrysler-gm-bankruptcy) looks into the implications of a provision in the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies that allows the automakers to avoid liability for the vehicles made before the bankruptcy. The report projects that based on information provided by both GM and Chrysler and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 3,400 Americans will be injured or killed by a defective Chrysler of GM vehicle during the first year after the bankruptcy.

Continue reading "GM-Chrysler Bankruptcy Will Have Chilling Effect on Product Recalls" »