Defective Products

$10.8 million for a wrongful death against a tire manufacturer and auto supply chain.

The San Francisco based company Bike Works has issued a voluntary recall of 4,100 bikes for “safety reasons” citing several customer reports that pedals had either cracked or broken. The recall involves 18 different models of men’s and women’s bikes sold over the past two years. According to Bike Works, the bicycles included in the…

When implant devices fail, it is often difficult to tell whether the implant manufacturer or the doctor who performed the implant surgery is at fault. That’s the case for a new set of recalls involving Zimmer’s NexGen knee implants. The New York Times reports, in fact, that this dilemma came to a head last year, when one of Zimmer’s high-paid consultants said that the complications were likely a result of NexGen’s design, not doctor errors. This debate will likely have a serious impact on potential lawsuits against the popular Zimmer NexGen knee implant model.

Even after a heavy year for medical product recalls, medical device companies have vamped up their criticism of government regulation, and are actively seeking to undermine efforts to make safer products. Last week, for example, the New York Times mentioned DePuy faulty hip implants in an article about companies who say the safety regulations will send business overseas. But a study released this week has shown that the Food and Drug Administration used an abbreviated approval process for more than 70 percent of the products that were recalled over the past five years. For good reason, this study is likely to dampen any hopes for decreased FDA scrutiny.

$3.2 million for a man suffering from CRPS after a hanging display disabled him.

$340,000 for a San Leandro woman who suffered leg injuries when a radiator broke.

$1 million settlement for client who severely injured her hand when it became caught in the teeth of a gasoline-powered wood chipper.

$1.9 million for the wrongful death of a husband in a defective tire/rollover case.

$2 million for a passenger who suffered an eye injury presumed to be caused by a defective airbag.

$3.25 million for two children burned when a smoke detector failed.