Products Liability

March 5, 2012

“Buckeyballs” Magnets a Threat to Digestive Tract

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-fXPLRUf3s

A 3 year old girl from Oregon is recovering from swallowing 37 high powered magnets. As KPTV reports, after she ate the magnets they formed a dangerous ring inside her digestive tract. As the ring of magnets snapped together so did her intestines and in doing so ripped holes in both her small intestine and her stomach. Kelli Bushnell, Payton Bushnell’s mother, said after seeing an x-ray taken of her daughter and seeing a ring, they initially thought she had swallowed a bracelet. A report from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says there have been 22 cases of children swallowing magnets since 2009. The New York Times reported that swallowing a single magnet rarely poses problems, swallowing even just two can prove fatal. The Canadian government gives information on a site stating that once someone has swallowed more than one magnet, the magnets can travel through the intestines until they link up. Along the way they can create dangerous blockages and even slowly tear through the intestinal walls. Thankfully Payton Bushnell survived and is expected to make a full recovery. The Centers for Disease Control says accidental injuries are the leading cause of death for children ages 1-4, beating out disease, birth defects, infections and other illnesses combined. Accidents continue to be our biggest threat until about age 24. If you or a loved one have been injured contact experienced attorneys Zneimer and Zneimer for a free personal injury consultation. Payton’s parents will be keeping a closer eye on their daughter and said they have come forward with their story as a warning for other parents.

Buckeyballs has released a statement on their website;

February 22, 2012

TV’s and Dressers: A Danger to Your Children

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

A 2 year old Aurora girl was hurt in her home over the weekend when a TV fell on top of her. Unfortunately such stories have been in the news much too often recently. The toddler, Aurora police said, had a boxlike TV fall from a bookshelf onto her in the 100 block of South Union Street. The girl’s 18 year old uncle was babysitting her and 3 other children at the time. The uncle was also looking after an 18 month old boy, a 17 month old girl, and a 6 year old boy said Police spokesman Dan Ferrelli. The uncle was looking after the 17 month old in the living room while the other children were in another room. He then heard a loud noise and went to check on the children, he found the 2 year old lying under a 20 inch TV. The TV was on top of a cabinet and was not bolted to the wall. The girl was taken to an area hospital around 2:50 p.m. and was later airlifted to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. Thankfully the hospital determined she had no fractures and her injuries were not life threatening. Police do not suspect foul play and will not charge the uncle. Thankfully this child was not seriously hurt but it’s an incident that has become too common. Although accidents such as these are preventable victims should take the time to learn their legal rights. Experienced attorneys at Zneimer & Zneimer can guide you through learning your legal rights should you experience a similar situation. Contact Zneimer & Zneimer p.c. for a free personal injury consultation.

There have been other victims of falling TV’s including Gianna Hadjis, 4, the girl was killed in January after a television in her home fell on her head. A 1 year old boy from the Roseland neighborhood also died when a TV fell on him the afternoon of February 7th. Arvey Levinsohn of A&H Childproofers said TVs and dressers can be dangerous no matter how sturdy they appear to be.

November 13, 2011

Dollars for Doctors

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

It is not a secret that pharmaceutical companies use doctors and other medical professionals to promote certain drugs. The idea of a doctor receiving dollars from a drug company for prescribing its pills raises a lot of ethical questions, and one wonders whether in prescribing a certain pill, the doctor has the patient’s best interest in mind. The drug companies have long been rewarding doctors with fees for speaking engagements (promoting the drug), consulting fee, or research grants. However, until recently, what goods and dollars were exchanged was not public information.

According to ProPublica reporters Dan Nguyen, Charles Ornstein, and Tracy Weber, some of the drug companies have begun publicizing the details of payments they make to physicians, hospitals, in other health professionals for promoting their drugs. The payments are usually in the form of consulting fee, speaking engagement fees, or research fees. Most of the money goes to physicians, however, nurses and pharmacists also work with pharmaceutical companies. ProPublica has pulled the disclosures made by the pharmaceutical companies into a searchable database. Check if your doctor has received benefits from the drug companies.

Many patients suffer personal injuries from defective drugs. The list of recalled drugs by the FDA is rather long. A lot of the drugs on this list were recalled after many patients have suffered personal injuries.

September 2, 2009

Product Liability in Illinois

by Zneimer & Zneimer, P.C.

Product liability is when defective or dangerous products cause serious injury or even death. Thousands of people in the US are injured every year by these. Product Liability Law is different than other forms of injury law and can sometimes make it easier to recover damages. The manufacturer or seller of these products is held responsible or liable for distributing these dangerous products. In layman’s terms a product must live up to the ordinary expectations of a consumer or it does not meet the requirements of the law. Each state sets its own laws about product liability.

On May 1, 2009, the FDA recalled fourteen Hydroxycut products after reports of effects on consumers such as liver damage and failure, heart problems, muscle damage and in some cases kidney failure. The product liability here rests on the manufacturers and distributors. The manufacturers should have known that their product was unsafe and never should have distributed it in the first place. The manufacturers and distributors did not properly warn consumers of the drug’s dangers. The Hydroxycut company may be held liable for manufacturing defects or marketing defects in this case.

In such cases there is something known as ‘strict liability’. This means that the consumer does not need to show that the manufacturers or distributors were actually negligent. There are three guidelines that determine liability here. The first is that the product had an “unreasonably” dangerous product that caused injury. The second is that the product was used by the consumer in the way the packaging/instructions detailed. And the third rule is that the product had not been substantially changed from the condition it was meant to be sold in.