General Motors has not had a good year. Earlier this year, it came to light that the ignition switch in several of the company’s more popular models was faulty, causing drivers to lose control of the car at full speed. At least 13 deaths have been attributed to the faulty…
The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) began consolidating claims against Bayer and other pharmaceutical companies related to the oral contraceptive Yaz in 2009. Since then, the multidistrict proceeding has grown to include more than 11,000 cases. In re Yasmin and Yaz (Drospirenone) Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation,…
A prank involving a portable toilet led to tragic consequences when the victim of the prank suffered permanent paralysis. His lawsuit named the two pranksters as defendants, as well as the company that provided the portable toilet and its manufacturer. While the claims against the pranksters, who are the plaintiff’s…
A company that manufactures strollers has issued a voluntary recall, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), citing a risk of finger injuries. The company has received several reports of such injuries, including at least one partial amputation, due to consumers getting their fingers stuck in the stroller’s…
A series of lawsuits brought by hospital technicians accuses the hospital where they worked of failing to maintain adequate shielding around its CT scan machine. The plaintiffs, in five individual lawsuits, allege that radiation exposure caused a variety of injuries and will require them to undergo cancer screenings for the…
A group of households in Baltimore County, Maryland recently settled their lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp. for property damage and other injuries allegedly resulting from a massive gasoline leak near their homes in 2006. Jury verdicts against the oil company totaled more than $1.6 billion, but the Maryland Court of…
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled earlier this year on a products liability case that attempted to exclude expert testimony regarding defective product design, and implicate the defense of “assumption of risk” in a personal injury case. The decision, Wilson Sporting Goods Co. v. Hickox, 59 A. 3d…
A victory was recently reported in a lawsuit against C.R. Bard, the manufacturer of the Avaulta line of vaginal mesh devices. The jury ordered the company to pay a Georgia woman $2 million for her serious injuries. The individual lawsuit was filed on behalf of a plaintiff whose vaginal mesh…
A mother filed suit against Monster Beverage Corp., this week, alleging that her teenage son’s death from cardiac arrhythmia was attributable to his habitual consumption of the company’s energy drink. The woman’s son was taken to the hospital for cardiac arrest, and died shortly thereafter. Monster released a statement in…
Toyota announced earlier this month that it will pay some $29 million to 29 states (includingMaryland) and American Samoa as part of its settlement related to safety recalls. The settlement is in response to the lawsuits filed in 2010 (by several state attorney generals), following in the wake of the…