product liability

Product Liability – What You Need to Know

Published on: February 22, 2024 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

There are three types of product liability claims: defective design, defective manufacture, and failure to warn or instruct. You or a loved one can be injured by any type of product: a vehicle, household item, toy, recreational item, medical device, pharmaceutical or over-the-counter drug, or any other man-made product. As a Florida personal injury lawyer, I have helped many clients injured by a wide variety of products recover damages to compensate them for the injuries, loss of income, expenses, and pain and suffering caused by a company’s negligence.

Defective design

If a product is designed poorly, it could increase the risk of injury even during proper use of the item. Defective design is often the cause of many auto recalls, but unfortunately, some of those defects are not discovered – or at least not reported – until someone gets hurt. An electric blanket’s design may cause burns when set at the highest temperature or may short out, causing burns. Power tools may not include safety features, which exist but were not included in the design. Products designed for children may be choking hazards.

Mounjaro Lawsuits

Published on: October 18, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Mounjaro, manufactured by Eli Lilly and Co., is an injectable prescription medicine that is used along with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Mounjaro received FDA approval in May of 2022.

Mounjaro is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, like Ozempic, which is produced by Novo Nordisk. In addition, Mounjaro also activates glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), a hormone that helps release insulin after consumption.

Eli Lilly claims on the Mounjaro website that studies showed 3 out of 4 people reached an A1C under 7%, from an average starting at 7.9% to 8.6%.

Ozempic Lawsuits in Florida

Published on: October 1, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Ozempic is a prescription drug designed for treating type 2 diabetes. It is also being used off-label for weight loss. Like all pharmaceuticals, Ozempic has a list of side effects, but some people are now suing Ozempic for serious injury not listed as a potential risk. If you have taken Ozempic and believe it has adversely impacted you, please call our office to discuss the details.

About Ozempic

Ozempic is made by Novo Nordisk, a Danish company that was founded 100 years ago to make the newly-discovered drug, insulin, for patients with diabetes. Ozempic, the brand name for semaglutide, is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analog that received FDA approval on December 5, 2017.

Airbag Recalls: Toyota, Lexus, and More

Published on: August 25, 2023 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Airbags are a tremendous development in automobile safety, saving untold lives every year. But when they don’t work properly, the passengers and drivers are not protected, and the defective airbags themselves can, in fact, cause harm. It’s important to check your manufacturer’s recalls to determine if your car is safe. If you have already been injured by faulty airbags and you are a resident of Florida, I may be able to help you receive the compensation you deserve for their negligence.

2023 Toyota and Lexus airbag recall

The most recent recall, July 2023, is the recall of over 110,000 Toyota and Lexus vehicles to repair faulty wiring in the steering column. Apparently, an electrical connection was not welded properly at the factory. The cable within the column could detach, disabling the driver-side airbag and causing the airbag light to be illumined.

Current Major Mass Tort Lawsuits or MDLs

Published on: October 24, 2022 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

The news is full of examples of major companies being sued for damage caused by their products. As a Florida personal injury lawyer, I help individuals fight against big corporations and their teams of lawyers in order to guarantee that those hurt by the negligence of others receive the compensation they deserve.

What is an MDL case?

A multidistrict lawsuit (MDL) refers to a mass tort, or a circumstance in which many people are suing a manufacturer over the same product. To simplify the process and keep the court system from being overwhelmed, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) may determine that a certain type of case should be handled as an MDL, in which a single judge is appointed to oversee the discovery, pre-trial motions, and settlement conferences since the processes would be similar in all cases.

Can I Sue When I Get Hurt by a Product?

Published on: October 18, 2022 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Essure birth control implants and 3M Earplugs are two recent high-profile product liability cases in which tens of thousands of users who were injured sued for damages. In both these cases, the sheer volume of lawsuits would swamp the courts if taken individually, thus they are class-action lawsuits.

Essure’s manufacturer, Bayer Healthcare, received nearly 40,000 lawsuits for its permanent birth control device by 2019 when it was pulled from the market. Bayer has recently settled a portion of these lawsuits with a $1.6 billion settlement.

3M Company has received nearly 250,000 claims against its Combat Arms earplugs, which were standard issue to our servicemen and women between 2004 and 2015 but were ineffective as ear protection. New claims are constantly being filed, which have been consolidated into a multi-district lawsuit (MDL) before a U.S. District Judge in Florida in preparation for trial next year.

How to Start a Lawsuit for a Defective Product

Published on: September 22, 2022 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Products sold to consumers are supposed to be safe. There are many safety standards that need to be met, but often, either they are not met or the standards are not sufficient. Many defective products are recalled each year, and many others are never recalled, but still cause harm.

Some defective products can cause burn and fire hazards, such as space heaters, electric blankets, lithium batteries, vaping equipment, and sprays such as PAM.

Defective gym and sports equipment can cause serious physical injury due to the collapse or tipping of an exercise machine, failure of a pulley or weight locks, or poor safety equipment such as helmets, pads, and masks.

Handgun Misfires and Lawsuits

Published on: January 13, 2022 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Alec Baldwin’s accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of a Western movie he was filming highlights the dangers of mishandling a gun and the problem with defects in deadly weapons. Accidental injury and death from firearms are sadly fairly common and can be attributed to human error, product defect, or both.

Product defect

A number of guns have histories of malfunction. For instance, the Sig Sauer P320 handgun can accidentally discharge when bumped or dropped or when an object touches it in a certain way. They have even gone off when holstered. A Philadelphia SEPTA police officer’s holstered gun went off on a crowded train, narrowly missing injuring riders. Several soldiers have had their holstered firearms go off, injuring them in their legs. The P320 is also known to fire if it is dropped and lands at a certain angle. Numerous other lawsuits of this type have been filed against Sig Sauer.

Benzene Exposure in Sunscreen: Know Your Rights

Published on: September 1, 2021 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

Here in Florida, the Sunshine State, people use a lot of sunscreen. We are told that it protects us from the harmful rays of the sun, but recent research suggests that the sunscreen itself might be harming us. This summer the FDA has announced that it will be closely studying the negative effects of sunscreen. In early 2021, an independent pharmaceutical testing lab, Valisure, tested 294 batches of sunscreen and other sun products and found that 78 of the batches contained benzene. The FDA is now investigating the presence of additional carcinogens.

What is benzene?

Benzene is a known carcinogen that causes cells to malfunction in ways that can cause immunity issues, and long-term exposure to it has been linked to leukemia. It is produced naturally in crude oil and gasoline, forest fires and volcanic eruptions, and cigarette smoke. It is also used extensively in the manufacturing of plastics and synthetics and is found in lubricants, dyes, detergents, drugs, and pesticides. Research into benzene several decades ago led the federal government in 1987 to limit benzene exposure in the workplace, adopting standards 50 times lower than previous standards. But some medical experts believe the exposure limits are still too high.

Personal Injury at Home

Published on: May 3, 2021 | Anthony Quackenbush, Esq.

As with any other personal injury lawsuit here in Florida, when you are injured in your own home or on your own property, you must be able to demonstrate negligence on the part of a third party to receive compensation. For instance, if you slip and fall in your own kitchen because of your wet tile floor that has been properly installed, you cannot file a claim against your homeowner’s insurance or the installer of the floor for compensation because you are the negligent party. However, that does not mean that all injuries on your property are your fault.

Product Injuries

Product injuries happen every day in the United States, and sometimes those injuries are serious. Power tools, lawnmowers, baby cribs, electronic devices, large appliances, and kitchen equipment are common items that cause injuries. Other injuries may be caused by defective chemical products, such as cleaning agents or hygiene items.