Toyota Tacoma recall
The drama continues. Toyota now is recalling 2010 Tacomas because of cracks in the front drive shaft. This could lead to "...separation of the drive shaft..."
Honda airbag
Honda Motors Inc. has issued another recall to replace of more than 430,000 faulty airbag deflators that could rupture, causing death or harm to the driver. This is the third recall Honda will issue for this problem. The latest recall applies to 2001 and 2002 model-year Accord, Civic, Odyssey, CR-V, Pilot and 2002 Acura TL and CL vehicles in the United States.
Lexus E350 acceleration
Information has now come to light that there was an acceleration problem causing crashes in the Toyota made Lexus. Although the incidents were high enough to cause concern, there was no recall or publicity. Toyota never found a conclusive reason for the crashes. Yet here we are in 2010 with a massive recall of other Toyota vehicles with the same problem. Toyota first blamed floor mats and now a sticky gas peddle rod. My guess is that the true problem has yet to be discovered.
Continue Reading...Prius brakes
As if Toyota didn't have enough safety quality issues, now there is evidence of a serious safety problem on their hybrid Prius. The brakes fail causing injury and death.
Toyota recall
Toyota is recalling 2,000,000 of its cars because of a defect in its accelerator. Tragic injuries and even death have resulted from a sudden acceleration of Toyota vehicles. At first Toyota announced that the mat could hold the gas peddle down but now it appears the the problem is in the system itself. These problems have had a ripple effect as to some American cars such as the Pontiac Vibe.
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Candidacy for Supreme Court
"When can a plaintiff win in the Texas Supreme Court?"
"When one insurance company sues another." -- from Judicial Tort Reform in Texas
"When one insurance company sues another." -- from Judicial Tort Reform in Texas
That’s a joke among law clerks in the Texas Supreme Court, a reference to the court’s reputation for ruling in favor of corporations and insurance companies.
It’s included in a recent study by a University of Texas law professor that documented that bias, finding that the court ruled in favor of corporations or the insurance industry 87 percent of the time.
A separate study by Texas Watch, a non-partisan, advocacy organization reached much the same conclusion based on the court’s rulings for 2007-2008, stating in a recent article that “Texas families and consumers do not have a level playing field at the Texas Supreme Court. The Court has exhibited a clear bias towards insurance and corporate special interests for several years.”
As a candidate for Place 9, Blake Bailey is seeking to restore balance to the court. "We don’t want unfair decisions against insurance companies. We simply want a level playing field," Bailey said, "and we want the court to honor every American's right to a trial by jury.
"In many opinions the Supreme Court has held against a Texas citizen by deciding that the 12 members of the jury, the trial judge and the three Court of Appeals judges were 'unreasonable' in their fact findings."
"This is tantamount to stealing our right to trial by jury ... a right that is guaranteed by the U.S. and Texas constitutions.”
Continue Reading...Medical negligence
The rules in Texas are so onerous and recovery so limited, medical negligence litigation is all but prohibited.
According to a recent investigative report by Hurst Newspapers "Experts estimate that a staggering 98,000 people die from preventable medical errors each year. More Americans die each month of preventable medical injuries than died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001."
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Suffication of children
On July 2, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled of 400,000 Simplicity drop-side cribs because their risk of suffocation. Federal officials said that plastic hardware can lose its structural integrity and create a potentially deadly gap between the drop side and the crib mattress.
It’s the latest in a series of Simplicity recalls. Simplicity is now out of business.
Similar hazards have been found in cribs made by many other companies. Since 2007, more than 4.6 million cribs have been recalled. .
Continue Reading...Zicam
Zicam is a homeopathic cold remedy that you take through your nose. Consumers are at risk for losing their sense of smell and taste. The FDA is now involved and the maker has suspended shipments. This product should not have been marketed as an over the counter medicine. How did this come about? The litigation will answer many questions.
Continue Reading...Pharmacutical
The United States Supreme Court opened the door for legitimate litigation concerning unreasonably dangerous pharmacuticals when it rejected the preemption defense based on FDA approval. Several drugs are now involved in litigation. The following are a few:
1. Fentanyl Patch is used for chronic pain but can easily be overdosed, causing death. It is critical to rule out misuse since this medicine is used by patients in significant pain. Misuse can be eating, injecting and smoking the medication. If an attorney is considering such a case he needs to locate the patch.This can be hard since it may have been taken off by EMS or in ER. Check the written report and photos in autopsy.
This litigation is not yet in an MDL
2. Hydroxy cut is used for weight loss but can cause heart and liver damage. Since the drug is used by people who are over weight, it is important to rule out confounding variables before taking the case. Of course it isn't necessary to prove that this medicine is the sole cause of heart or liver damage.
3. Fosmax is used for osteoprosis. Unfortunately it can cause osteonecrosis of the jaw. This basically bad blood flow to the bone. The risk is literally losing the jaw. The unusual danger is that the drug has a half life of ten years. This means that those who have taken the drug are at risk for many years. There is a MDL in New York.
4. Kugal Mesh is a medical device used in hernia repair. The danger is two fold: The ring can spring loose causing internal damage. Also the adhesive side can become dislodged, adhering to organs.
5. Prempro is used by menapause. It is derived from horse urine. The medication causes breast cancer. This risk should have been emphasis in a "black box" warning on the package. Wythe did not follow up on studies after it was introduced into the market so the black warning was not on the packaging until about five years ago. There is a MDL in Littlerock.
6. Reglan is used for Acid Reflux. It cause a bazarre condition called Tardive Dyskinesia. It is important not to use the product for more than ninty days. Warnings have been totally inadequate. There is no MDL on this product.
7. Avandia is used for Diabetes. It can cause heart attacks. It is in a MDL.
