Products Liability & Insurance
Products Liability & Insurance
TOP STORY—JURY VERDICTS—N.D.Fla.: Jury awards $77.5M against 3M for defectively designed earplugs
The jury found 3M liable for design defect, failure to warn, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, and fraudulent misrepresentation. A federal jury in Florida awarded $5 million in compensatory damages and $72.5 million in punitive dam...
The surviving spouse will have additional time to conduct discovery and amend his petition involving claims arising from the death of his wife, allegedly caused by a malfunctioning insulin pump. The Western District of Louisiana granted Tandem Diabet...
Ford is expected to send notification letters to owners on May 30. Ford Motor Company is recalling an estimated 464 2021 Mustang Mach-E vehicles equipped with all-wheel drive because the powertrain control module (PCM) functional safety software may ...
The defective seat belt assemblies will be replaced by dealers at no cost to the owner. Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) is recalling about 2,865 2022 Outlander vehicles because the Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) in the right front, se...
Remedies will be determined by the affected vehicle manufacturers. Plastic Omnium (Plastic Omnium) has submitted a Defect Information Report based upon the recall determinations made by Nissan North America, Inc. (NHTSA Recall No. 21V957 ) and Mitsub...
Dealers will update the software in the affected vehicles, free of charge. Blue Bird Body Company (Blue Bird) is recalling approximately 53 2023 Vision school buses equipped with an Allison transmission because the starter interlock settings in the v...
Although the manufacturer has stopped selling the device, it has not agreed to an acceptable recall, the agency said. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is cautioning consumers about dangers associated with BabyRescue Rapid Evacuation Devi...
Consumer Product Safety Commission actions, with links to source documents, are open for public comment until the dates indicated. As detailed in previous Products Liability Law Daily stories, the following Consumer Product Safety Commission actions ...
The meeting will be open to the public. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will meet on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, at 10 a.m. to be briefed on the following matter: “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Safety Standard for Recreational Off-Highway...
Products Liability & Insurance
Because there was conflicting evidence as to when the patient’s injuries were reasonably ascertainable, the question of when her claim accrued was best left to a jury, the court held. Product liability claims arising from injuries sustained by the im...
Friction might have caused metal debris to accumulate within the joint and bloodstream of the patient, but the court concluded the manufacturer did not know enough at the time to have caused the consumer to make a bad choice. The district court in Ba...
The company will provide a full refund for the cups. Moderne Glass Company Inc., of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, has recalled approximately 2,500 coffee cups because they can crack or break when hot water is poured into them, posing a burn hazard (CPSC R...
The affected tires will be replaced by dealers, free of charge. Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo) is recalling about 6,993 Sumitomo and Falken tires because a deformation may occur in the tires near the bead, which may result in bead separa...
Dealers will replace the quick disconnect fittings at no cost to the owner. Braxton Creek RV is recalling approximately 4,384 2022 Bushwhacker, Bushwhacker Plus, and Free Solo travel trailers because the quick disconnect fittings in the LP gas system...
Consumer Product Safety Commission actions, with links to source documents, are open for public comment until the dates indicated. As detailed in previous Products Liability Law Daily stories, the following Consumer Product Safety Commission actions ...
The automaker has confirmed 16 fires, most of which occurred in unattended vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued an alert notifying consumers that Ford Motor Co. is warning rental car companies and other owne...
The agency determined that the vehicles do not present an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has closed a preliminary evaluation (PE) relating ...
The agency provides details of its reported projections of traffic fatalities indicating increases in the numbers of fatalities in 2021 and its efforts to address the crisis. An estimated 42,915 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes last year,...
Products Liability & Insurance
The trial court’s finding that a hunter failed to present evidence that a tree-stand’s ratchet strap’s brittleness was a manufacturing defect improperly credited the manufacturer’s expert testimony that the strap’s condition indicated years of degrad...
The pleadings alleging design and manufacturing defects were sufficient to support the inference that the “Paint Kitchen” contained a defect that led to the explosion and fire. A federal district court in Pennsylvania has denied in part and granted i...
The goal of the program is to modernize state data collection systems and enable full electronic transfer of motor vehicle crash data to the agency. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is requesting comments from all interested...
CPSC is asking for commenter input on what effect the petitions might have on the Commission’s continuing work on play yard mattress requirements with the ASTM F15.18 Subcommittee on Play Yards and Non-Full-Size Cribs. The Consumer Product Safety Com...
Consumers are advised to contact the firm for instructions on how to send the affected hoverboards to an authorized repair shop. DGL Group LTD., of Edison, New Jersey, is recalling about 93,000 Hover-1 Superfly Hoverboards because a software malfunct...
Dealers will replace the steering wheel clock spring. Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling about 310,203 2016 Super Duty F-250, F-350, F-450, and F-550 vehicles because dust may accumulate in the steering wheel clock spring, causing a disconnection...
The automaker urges owners to park their vehicles outside and away from structures until the remedy is performed. Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling approximately 39,013 2021 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator vehicles because an engine compartment...
Consumer Product Safety Commission actions, with links to source documents, are open for public comment until the dates indicated. As detailed in previous Products Liability Law Daily stories, the following Consumer Product Safety Commission actions ...
The automaker’s recall remedy sufficiently addressed safety-related concerns in affected pickup trucks and SUVs. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has closed a preliminary evaluation (P...
Products Liability & Insurance
A teenager’s parents have filed suit against Apple, Inc. stemming from injuries their son allegedly sustained when an Amber Alert suddenly sounded at a volume that “tore apart” his eardrum. The parents of a boy who, at 12 years old, sustained serious...
Whether an electric pressure cooker’s design was defective and whether this defect caused a user’s injuries were matters beyond the knowledge of a lay juror; consequently, expert testimony was needed to prove the user’s claims. In an action brought b...
The agency seeks to modify the information collection to increase the number and type of crashes investigated. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced that it will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget ...
Dealers will remedy the issue by replacing the quick disconnect fittings in affected vehicles. Grand Design RV, LLC (Grand Design) is recalling an estimated 34,021 2022 Grand Design Imagine, Reflection, Momentum, Solitude and Transcend travel trailer...
Owners should park their vehicles on flat surfaces until dealers update the Shifter Control Unit software in the recalled vehicles. Kia Motor America is recalling an estimated 9,014 2022 EV6 vehicles because a software error in the Shifter Control Un...
John Katerndahl brings extensive experience representing manufacturers in asbestos litigation. John P. Katerndahl has joined Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as a partner in the firm’s Environmental/Toxic Tort and Product & General Liability practice gr...
Because of the low rate of thermal incidents at the minivan charge hub, as well as there being no reports of serious injury, crash, or death, the agency closed the investigation. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of ...
Products Liability & Insurance
The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to determine whether the federal standard prohibits the greater level of safety required under Texas common law. The estate of a boy who died after falling from an emergency exit door of a school bus that was tra...
The complaint sufficiently alleged defective design and failure to warn causes of action, but disputes as to the accuracy of the allegations were premature. In an asbestos-exposure action, a federal district court in North Carolina denied a motion to...
The company will update the body control module software to remedy the issue. Electra Meccanica Vehicles Corp (ElectraMeccanica) is recalling about 129 2021 Solo vehicles because in the event of a rear turn signal wire harness short-circuit, the flas...
The company will work with vehicle manufacturers to provide replacement modules, free of charge. Weldon Division of Akron Brass (Akron Brass) is recalling certain V-mux Hercules HC Node 1.5 electrical multiplex modules, with part number 6060-1000-00,...
Drivers of affected Ioniq 5 vehicles are advised to use the electronic parking brake to park their vehicle until the software update remedy is performed. Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling approximately 10,729 2022 Ioniq 5 vehicles because ...
The agency provides guidance on how to stay safe while using portable generators. With June 1 marking the beginning of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is cautioning consumers about the increased risk ...