Recalls

April 24, 2013

$7.25 Million Award for Defective Cochlear Implant

A Louisville, Kentucky jury awarded an eleven-year-old girl and her family $7.25 million dollars in compensatory and punitive damages as the result of a defective cochlear ear device.

Born deaf, the little girl had a cochlear ear device implanted in her head when she was four years old. Four years later, an electrical short from the device shocked her horrifically; she was thrown to the ground, vomiting and convulsing.

Before the device was removed and replaced 13 months later, she was shocked two more times. The open-head surgery to remove the device from her skull took more than seven hours.

July 30, 2012

CPSC Files a Complaint Over Buckyballs

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

CPSC Suit Against the Manufacturer of Buckyballs

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has asked Buckyball manufacturer, Maxfield and Oberton, to stop sales of the Buckyball product, and to alert consumers that it is defective. Not only have they asked Maxfield and Oberton to stop sales, they have gone so far as to file an administrative complaint against the company.

The CPSC is claiming that there is a defect in the design, packaging, warnings, and instructions, posing a substantial risk of injury to the public. The complaint was filed after discussions with the company and its representatives failed to result in a voluntary recall plan that CPSC staff considered to be adequate. What is important here to note, is that this type of legal action against a company is rare, as this is only the second administrative complaint filed by CPSC in the past 11 years.

January 16, 2012

Smith & Nephew Knee Replacement Defect Lawsuits

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Smith & Nephew knee replacements are failing at an unacceptable rate

Our lawyers are investigating knee replacement lawsuits against Smith & Nephew.

These knee replacements have been on the market for some time. The reason for the lawsuits is simply: the Smith & Nephew knee replacements are simply failing at an unacceptable rate. These were supposed to be knee replacements that would last for 10 to 20 years. Patients who have these devices implanted may be entitled to revision surgery, medical expenses, lost wages and pain and suffering damages.

December 1, 2011

All-Metal Hip Replacements: No Advantage Over Older Implants

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

We recently reported on a study that revealed that the metal-on-metal hip replacements failed three times more often than other artificial hips. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered twenty-one (21) artificial hip manufacturers to conduct studies of the Metal-on-metal (MoM) hip replacement devices, and how they can adversely affect patients, after having received close to 11,000 reports of defective hip failures from January through September 2011.

All of this concern may be for nothing, as findings of a new study reveal that the all-metal artificial hip replacements provide no advantage when compared to older types of hip implants – they just appear to carry a greater risk of problems.

FDA researchers just published a report in the British Medical Journal in which the effectiveness of a number of types of hip implants was examined. Metal-on-metal hip implants were examined, as were ceramic-on-ceramic implants, and they were compared to the older metal on polyethylene implants and ceramic on polyethylene implants. The comparative study looked at 3,139 patients in 18 comparative studies. Data from 83,000 operations worldwide was reviewed.

March 9, 2011

Topamax Lawsuit

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Topamax, also known by its generic name topiramate, is an antiepileptic medication developed by Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. It was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1996. Initially, Topamax was primarily used for the treatment of epilepsy and seizures, as it demonstrated efficacy in reducing the frequency and severity of seizures in patients.

Topamax works by affecting neurotransmitters in the brain, particularly gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate. GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that reduces brain activity, while glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter that increases brain activity. By modulating the balance between these neurotransmitters, Topamax helps to prevent excessive electrical activity in the brain, reducing the likelihood of seizures.

Topamax Birth Injury Lawsuits