Tennessee Injury Lawyer Blog

We all take over the counter medicines and prescriptions for our illnesses, aches, and pains, or health problems, even here in Tennessee. When we take these medicines we expect that they will make us feel better and not worse. We all know that every medicine has some risks of side effects or allergic reaction, but we expect that the drug companies will put the health of the consumer, before their sales and warn us about these side effects. However, this is unfortunately not always the case.

Accutane is a drug prescribed for acne and other inflammatory problems or pain issues. However, many people have discovered that this medicine can have some severe and very serious and even dangerous long term effects. The minor side effects may include but are not limited to:
• Dry skin and lips
• Nose bleeds
• Rash
• Irritation of the eyes
• Blurred vision
• Nausea
• Mood changes
• Severe stomach pain
• Joint and muscle pains
• Yellowing of the skin
• Hair loss

Some more serious and possibly life alternating side effects may include but are not limited to:
• Depression and suicidal thoughts
• Birth defects
• Permanent loss of vision
• Arthritis
• Stevens Johnson Syndrome

Some of these side effects may seem worse than others, but one of the more serious ones is Stevens Johnson Syndrome. This is a severe allergic reaction to over the counter and prescription drugs that can lead to severe rashes and burning of the skin from the inside out. It is seen mostly in people that are sensitive to medicines and are between twenty to forty years old. However, it can be seen in infants as well as anyone who takes medicine. The Food and Drug Administration have started putting warning labels on medicines that at a higher risk for this kind of reaction.

Continue reading "Accutane Medication has dangerous side effects leading to lawsuit" »

Many of us here in Tennessee and across the country may have read reports or seen the news about foul smelling Chinese drywall and the problems it can cause for many homeowners and people across the country and right here to the residents of Tennessee. However, this is the first trial about the drywall reports.

Armin and Lisa Seifart, a Florida couple left their dream home because of the foul smelling Chinese drywall and was awarded 2.4 million in damages in the nation’s first trial over the defective drywall that will come up in many lawsuits in the future. The jury felt that the couple deserved more than just compensation for gutting and renovation and awarded damages for the loss of enjoyment of their 1.6 million home and damages for the loss of resale value caused by the drywall stigma. This case is only the beginning of what some people may be able to seek in Chinese drywall damages.

The Seifarts were not told of the drywall problem when they moved in, in March of 2008. They accuse the Banner Supply Company, of concealing knowledge it had as early as 2006 of the drywall problems including recommendations from the manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard Tianjian that they think the wallboards should not be used.

Banner’s attorney Todd Ehrenreich only acknowledged some of the blame and only wanted to pay the couple direct expenses, arguing that the “hidden and undetectable” and that the problem may not become clear until years later. The jury held Banner fifty-five percent responsible and felt that and that Knauf and two related entities were responsible for the rest.

This case follows one in Louisiana where a federal judge awarded 2.6 million in damages to seven families in Virginia for bad Chinese drywall. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has recommended removing any bad drywall, affected wiring, fire alarm systems, and gas pipes.

Continue reading "2.4 million Awarded in first Chinese drywall lawsuit " »

By now millions of Americas know about the Toyota recall and the crash problems related to the acceleration. We all have heard reports about people being unable to stop their vehicles because the floor mats were not secure and got stuck under the accelerator causing it to be impossible to stop the speeding vehicle. Residents of Tennessee are no exception to these reports and this massive recall.

Many of us do not know however, that Toyota may have known about these problems in September of 2007 but it was only considered a “technical service bulletin” and only given to about 1,500 Toyota and Lexus dealers. Then in April of 2008 an almost identical bulletin was sent out cautioning that improperly installed floor mats could cause crashes in the Camry, Corolla, Matrix, Sienna, Tundra, Sequoia and Land Cruiser.

In both of these cases, the notices were told to Toyota dealers and to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and were more serious than the warnings given to the public. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had an agreement with Toyota to replace all weather related floor mats with new ones and make sure they were secure and will not slip under the accelerator. Drivers of the Prius hybrid and Avalon were also “strongly urged” to make sure their floor mats were secure. Even with all these warnings however, the risk of crashes and other danger were not mentioned.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is currently investigating whether or not Toyota provided all the information that safety regulations require in a timely manner.

Continue reading "Toyota may have had “Silent Recall” in September 2007" »

As consumers we place our trust into companies and manufacturers to provide us with safe and effective products for our families and other loved ones. Unfortunately, many times products are found to be unsafe, even here in Tennessee and then a recall of the defective product is made by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and other federal agencies to try and protect us from further damages and personal injuries.

On March 24, 2010, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada in cooperation with the company Infantino, LLC in San Diego, California has recalled the “SlingRider” and “Wendy Bellissimo” infant slings. They are now offering a free replacement program for these products. One million of these slings are being recalled in United States, and 15,000 are being recalled in Canada due to a suffocation risk.

Three deaths have occurred from using these slings in 2009 as reported by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. These products are soft shoulder strap carriers that were used to help parents and caregivers carry around infants weighing up to twenty pounds. The “Wendy Bellissimo” slings were exclusively sold at “Babies R US”. The slings were sold between January 2003 and March 2010 at various stores carrying other related baby and infant products.

Consumers are advised to stop using these baby slings immediately and to contact Infantino to receive a free replacement product. It is also important not to try and fix the carriers.

Continue reading "Baby Slings Recalled Nationwide" »

A recent Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alert has identified shoulder pain pumps as a likely cause of severe cartilage damage and joint pain. The joint pain has most clearly been identified in the shoulder joint, but they are not ruling out joint pain in other joints as a result of the pain pump. The consequences of the damage are severe and can include medication for life, multiple surgeries and even reconstructive shoulder surgery.

The condition caused by the pain pumps is called postarthroscopic glenohumeral chrondrolysis, PAGCL or just chrondrolysis for short. Chrondrolysis has been noted to cause severe pain in the shoulder and other joints by the researchers at the American Journal for Sports Medicine. The FDA is requiring physicians to inform their patients about the substantial risk that the insertion of shoulder pain pumps may lead to Chrondrolysis. Despite their rather widespread use, the FDA never approved pain pumps for use in joints.

The shoulder pain pumps operate to release a local anesthetic to the shoulder area following operations. Chrondrolysis has developed following this procedure in young, athletic and relatively healthy individuals. Initially, medical researchers and physicians were puzzled by the appearance of chrondrolysis, a relatively rare ailment which causes joint cartilage to die. The death of the cartilage causes a grinding bone-on-bone joint resulting in the severe pain.

Continue reading "Shoulder Pain Pumps may cause severe cartilage damage and joint pain" »

Stomach sickness and a strange smell forced Johnson and Johnson (J&J) division McNeil Consumer Healthcare to finally recall from market a total of 27 products, including Tylenol, Benadryl, Rolaids and Motrin, their second recall this month. The company claims the recalled medicines, manufactured in a Puerto Rico plant, became tainted by the wood storage pallets where it was stored. Pallet manufacturers have openly and aggressively challenged this claim that chemical treatment 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA) could, as J&J claims, permeate the boxes, packaging, and bottles to taint the recalled medication.

Moldy-smelling, musty bottles of Tylenol Arthritis Relief caplets were first reported 20 months ago, and since people have complained of digestive problems, including nausea, vomiting and stomach pain. Apparently FDA officials knew about the odor in 2008, having received over 100 complaints by August 2009, but only took critical action recently.

Kickbacks were the cause of a False Claims lawsuit against nursing home pharmaceutical provider Omnicare for which J&J was implicated. The $98 million settlement was based on allegations that the nursing home pharmacists were unnecessarily, and dangerously, prescribing nursing home residents with dementia the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. Unfortunate for the nursing home resident, Risperdal isn't approved to treat agitated patients with dementia, but, according to the Justice Department (DOJ), this kickback scheme worked extremely well for J&J, tripling Omnicare’s sales of J&J drugs, from $100 million to $280 million with Risperdal making up $100 million of the latter sales figure.

Continue reading "Massive Drug Recall and Whistleblower (False Claims) Lawsuit Impact Pharmaceutical Giant Johnson & Johnson" »

According to an article in the Tennessean, a Nashville man died as a result of electrocution when a drilling rig he was operating came into contact with power lines. According to the paper, the man was in the process of moving the drilling rig through a cornfield when it contacted with the power lines. He was pronounced dead shortly thereafter upon arrival at Gateway Medical Center.

The operation of heavy equipment near power lines has been the subject of recent product’s liability litigation focusing on the ways and manners in which the manufacturer of heavy equipment can design and manufacture their equipment to eliminate, or at least lessen, the risk of this type of tragic accident. The litigation is separate and apart from any claim that the deceased is entitled to under the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Act for injuries sustained on the job.

Some of the issues that arise regarding the operation of tall, heavy industrial equipment near power lines look to the probabilities that the equipment could contact power lines and the things a manufacturer can or should do to avoid this. There have been many instances where heavy equipment has come into contact with power lines resulting in death and/or serious injury. It can be argued that the risk of death from this type of event is so great that the manufacturer has a duty to do what it can to prevent its equipment from being operable near power lines.

Unfortunately, many manufacturers turn a blind eye to the problem and do not develop or incorporate available solutions into their equipment. One potential solution is the incorporation of signal alarms that sound an alarm when the equipment gets within a certain distance of live power lines. Another solution is the inclusion of a shut-off device that is activated when the equipment gets within a specified distance of live power lines. A final solution would be to incorporate into the equipment an operator’s platform that is insulated against electrical current from the mast or other part of the equipment that potential may contact power lines or to develop an operation system that allows the operator to work the equipment by remote control.

Continue reading "Nashville, TN man electrocuted while operating a drilling rig in Clarksville" »

In California, Evelyn Rogoff was fixing herself hot tea on an electric stove when her chenille robe caught fire. Her husband attempted to smother the flames. He would die in the pursuing months from the attempt but not before hearing that his wife had passed. She had survived breast cancer; she could not survive the unsafe product that caused her third-degree burns and took her and her husband’s life. That product was a Blair chenille robe.

Meanwhile, survivors of a mother whose Blair chenille robe likewise caught fire leading to her injury and subsequent death have filed a wrongful death lawsuit and product liability claim against the manufacturer. The late Atwilda Brown was in her kitchen, presumably cooking, when her Blair robe caught fire and killed her in 2005. Ms. Brown is one of six persons to suffer fatal burns from a chenille robe, the majority of whom are elderly women who died while cooking and wearing the dangerous product.

The recalled Blair robes were manufactured in Pakistan by A-One Textile & Towel and distributed by Blair online, through Blair Catalogs, and at the Blair company’s Pennsylvania and Delaware stores. Blair has issued two recalls since April this year for roughly 300,000 flammable chenille products it sells. These include chenille full-length robes, chenille jackets, and chenille tops. The initial recall in April mentioned three reports of robes catching fire, one of which caused to second-degree burn injuries.

The recalled clothing does not meet federal flammability standards, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Ms. Brown had purchased her robe three weeks prior to her death from what the death certificate lists as fatal injury “from clothing catching on fire.” With her product liability lawsuit, her daughter seeks to garner public attention to this hazardous product that may still be being worn unknowing by loved ones.

If you have been injured by a defective product that a seller or manufacturer knew or should have known was defective or dangerous, I encourage you to speak with one of Higgins Law Firm’s personal injury attorneys. Our Nashville, TN law offices pursue claims throughout Tennessee, as well as select product liability and wrongful death cases in Kentucky and Georgia.

Hospira, Inc., a Illinois medical device manufacturer, has initiated a product recall for medical devices with defective AC power cords. These cords are manufactured by Electri-Cord Manufacturing Corporation. Click for a defective power cord image courtesy of FDA Recall page.

This medical product recall was initiated in response to reports of these defective power cords’ sparking, charring, and catching fire. Yes, for the following medical products designed to ensure the health and longevity of U.S. citizens, a patient may find him or herself subject to electrical shock, immolated, or injured from total device failure:

Continue reading "FDA Dangerous Device Recall –
Hospira Medical Equipment Recall for Defective AC Cords" »

Individuals who have had total hip replacement surgery involving the use of a Duron Cup, manufactured and distributed by Zimmer Holdings, Inc. may experience problems due to the failure of the device.

The Durom Cup is a metal alloy implant made from a single piece of material. The Durom Cup was used in approximately 13,000 hip replacement surgeries before it was widely discovered that there was an unacceptable fail rate. Around 5% of all surgeries using the Durom Cup resulted in complications and failures that caused patients to undergo further painful and costly surgeries. This is happening with some of our client in Tennessee and throughout the country.

In April, 2008, a prominent California Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr. Lawrence Dorr, issued a public warning after having complications following 14 of the 165 surgeries involving the Durom Cup. This warning prompted the Zimmer to investigate the hip replacement part and the packaging and instructions provided with the part.

Zimmer did not issue a recall on the product, but did stop selling the products in July, 2008. Zimmer claims that there is not a manufacturing or design defect, but will wait to reintroduce the product until it is able to develop more comprehensive instructions and product labeling.

At the Higgins firm, we represent individuals who are victims of faulty products and have suffered injuries. We offer free consultations to anyone who has had a hip replacement surgery and has developed complications due to the component parts used in the surgery. If you feel you or a loved one has been injured by a faulty product, please contact the Higgins Firm.

Tennessee Law Blog is happy to report that, in a follow-up to an earlier TN law blog on defective product eye injuries caused by ReNu with MoistureLoc, the contact lens solution maker Bausch and Lomb has settle over 600 personal injury lawsuits to the tune of $250 million.

As discussed in another previous Tennessee Law Blog, injuries from the tainted contact lens solution were caused by a potentially blinding fungus present in the solution. The potential for fungal infection (Fusarium keratitis) was high, leading to a recall of the product. The CDC had confirmed 180 cases in 35 states as of September 2006. In Tennessee, one Tennessean had to have an eye removed, as did six other people in the U.S. To date, over 700 contact lens wearers have stepped forward with claims to have been exposed to the blinding fungal infection., some of whom have required corneal transplants to preserve vision in one or both eyes.

The culprit, keratitis, is so rare that doctors were at first puzzled by the seeming outbreak, which began in Hong Kong and reached Tennessee and other states by 2006. Eventually, the correlation was made between the potentially blinding infection and the new, multipurpose lens cleaner on the market, MoistureLoc, though the exact mechanics of why this one product caused this particular eye injury remain unclear.

Keratitis sufferers often complain of eye irritation that progresses to sudden searing pain. 2.3 million of our country’s 30 million soft contact lens wearers used MoistureLoc.

In the years since, Bausch & Lomb has marketed its older product, ReNu MultiPlus.

In Kentucky, Georgia, or Tennessee, if you have been injured by a defective consumer or medical product, contact the Higgins Firm for a fair, firm assessment of your legal situation. Contact our Nashville-based product liability lawyers online or toll-free at 800.705.2121.

Deaths from defective Medtronic heart devices continue despite recall in 2007. When Medtronic first announced its recall of Sprint Fidelis leads, the company acknowledged five defective device-caused deaths. This month, Medtronic updated its defective Sprint Fidelis death count to thirteen, nine of which due directly to defibrillator failure from faulty Sprint Fidelis leads.

Despite the Medtronic recall, the device remains in use. Many patients with Medtronic's Sprint Fidelis leads face the difficult decision of to keep the prolific recalled device. One reason the medical device's danger is so widespread is the delay in recalling Sprint Fidelis leads from market. Medtronic waited until 2007 for issuing their Sprint Fidelis recall; this despite FDA officials receiving reports of the device’s defective equipment as early as 2004. By year-end 2005, FDA had received 30 complaints about the device. Whether Medtronic knew of that defects in the Sprint Fidelis posed safety problems remains open to question.

Continue reading "Medtronic Sprint Fidelis Deaths –
13 Admitted Fatalities from Defective Heart Device" »

For more than 30 years the TN consumer protection act has been the law in Tennessee. This law protects consumers from fraudulent, deceitful and misleading business tactics. Now the legislature wants to gut the act and take away much of its power. Why the legislature is worried about protecting criminal business and not their citizens is beyond me.

In my office alone we have used this law to help our clients when they have been ripped off by apartment complexes keeping their security deposits without reason, car dealers selling cars they new were salvaged, bad faith insurance companies denying claims without reason and many other deceitful business acts. Without the consumer protection act we would not have been able to pursue some of these cases.

Please call your representative and tell them to leave the act alone. Tell them to protect their citizens and not the fraudulent acts of some shady business. If you need more information about the changes or how to contact your legislature please feel free to contact our Nashville Law Office.

Recalls, recalls, recalls--FDA officials were busy working with manufacturers of dangerous medical devices last week to inform the public of potentially injurious medical products it has decided must be removed from market. Included in these FDA recalls were Baxter International’s Colleague Volumetric Infusion Pumps and Covidien’s tracheostomy tubes for children. Excluded from these FDA recalls was immediate action to protect patient safety and health.

Serious injury and death have been reported caused by Baxter International’s defective Colleague infusion pumps. These medical devices are used to deliver regular, controlled amounts of medication or other fluids to patients.

Continue reading "FDA Recalls Two Defective Medical Devices
Baxter Infusion Pumps and Covidien Pediatric Trach Tubes" »

We represent a client who was injured as a result of what we believe was a defective miter saw. Specifically, our client was using a miter saw when a bolt failed and the blade came free cutting into our client's leg. This appears to be a classic products liability case. We are looking for similar instances where a saw has injured a person while being used in a normal manner and the failed under normal stress.

If you or someone you know has been injured by a defective saw, please contact our office. We believe knowledge of similar instances could help all parties involved. You may contact our Tennessee Law Office via email or toll free at 800-705-2121. Thank for your help