Personal Injury Litigation Blog

According to a Los Angeles Times article, a new federal safety regulation announcement reveals that at least 34 people have been killed within the last decade in Toyota auto accidents involving vehicles that allegedly accelerated out of control. Since the initial reports of 13 fatalities connected to the gas pedal issue were made public and the Toyota recall list was announced, the number of official motorist complaints’ filed has dramatically increased. These additional complaints of unintended acceleration have been pouring in to federal regulators and it is uncertain how many more incidents will be reported when all is said and done.

The new fatality report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) includes 13 deaths reported since January 27, 2010, which was the day after Toyota put a hold on the sale and production of eight of its auto models in the United States. This was done in order to fix gas pedals that the automaker said can stick and cause unintended acceleration. Most of the reported incidents of fatal acceleration took place between 2003 and 2009, according to an analysis of the data by The Times. In addition, The Times found that all but one of the fatalities reported to NHTSA by motorists in 2010 actually took place in previous years. Some incidents even go back as far as 1992.

The complaints filed with NHTSA display accounts of Toyota and Lexus vehicles suddenly accelerating forward, colliding with other vehicles, buildings and pedestrians. Federal regulators reported that 22 people have been injured from Toyota unintended acceleration accidents, with injuries ranging from bruises and lacerations to a woman who was left in a coma due to a crash. A spokeswoman for the NHTSA stated, “It is normal for NHTSA to receive an increase in consumer complaints after a recall is announced…The agency is quickly gathering more data on all of these additional complaints to help guide our examination of sudden acceleration…as well as other safety issues.”

Toyota has resumed sale and production of the eight models that were previously put on hold to fix the gas pedal issue. Dealers are in the process of installing shims on gas pedals to fix what is being called a defect that could make the accelerator pedal stick.

The experienced Toyota gas pedal recall attorneys at the reputed personal injury law firm of Panish Shea & Boyle LLP are currently representing severely injured people in unintended acceleration accidents involving Toyota and Lexus vehicles. If you or someone you care about has been injured in a car accident with one of the recalled Toyota autos, our skilled auto product liability lawyers can help. Call Panish Shea & Boyle LLP today at 800-591-8116 to schedule a free case evaluation.

Source:http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-toyota-deaths16-2010feb16,0,481821.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fmostviewed+%28L.A.+Times+-+Most+Viewed+Stories%29

Separate from the continuing recall of 4.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles, Toyota announced a new recall on January 21, 2010 of 2.3 million vehicles for gas pedals becoming stuck without the presence of floor mats. The issue in the previous recall was attributed to loose floor mats; however, the problem with some of those vehicles may be connected to a flawed design of a computerized engine control system without emergency override. As a result of some vehicles suddenly accelerating out of control with or without a floor mat, several individuals have been killed or seriously injured. Toyota said there is an overlap of 1.7 million vehicles that are on the new and on-going recall list.

According to a money.cnn.com article, the new recall relates to certain accelerator pedal mechanisms mechanically sticking in a moderately depressed position or not returning to the idle position quickly enough. Although Toyota has said that this situation is rare, it may occur in worn accelerator pedal mechanisms or gradually over time.

As Toyota determines a solution to the gas pedal problem, owners have been told that they can keep driving their vehicles. In the event of the gas pedal sticking, drivers should apply force firmly and steadily upon the brakes instead of pumping the brakes. Vehicle owners with any questions can call the Toyota customer service line at 800-331-4331. The vehicles affected by the new recall include: 2009-2010 Toyota Rav4, Corolla, Matrix, 2005-2010 Avalon, 2007-2010 Camry, 2010 Highlander, 2007-2010 Tundra and 2008-2010 Sequoia. The Camry Hybrid is not included in the new recall.

Anyone who has been injured or lost a loved one in a car collision caused by a fixed accelerator while driving one of the Toyota models mentioned above should contact the Los Angeles Toyota gas pedal recall lawyers at Panish, Shea & Boyle LLP. Their California auto product liability attorneys may be able to help you recover financial damages for your losses. Contact the California personal injury law firm of Panish, Shea & Boyle LLP today for a consultation.

Source:http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/21/autos/toyota_recall/

After several reports of Toyota vehicles undergoing unintended acceleration, and a resulting  recall of practically four million autos, Toyota has announced that it will install brake override systems by the end of 2010 in all new Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles. According to a U.S. News & World Report article, starting this month in January, the Toyota Camry and Lexus ES350 will be the first models to receive the new brake override system.

AutoWeek reported that the new brake override software system will operate by shifting the engine to idle if it detects the driver is trying to apply the brakes without success. The new system will only work for new vehicles. This leaves existing vehicles affected by the Toyota accelerator recall to only have the option of replacing their floor mats and accelerator pedal with a reshaped one.

Although Toyota claims that these incidents were caused by defective floor mats becoming stuck under accelerator pedals, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has determined that the floor mats were not necessarily the only problem. Auto manufacturers have the responsibility of not only accurately designing vehicles, but also ensuring that automobiles are properly manufactured and placed on the market without any defective components that may inflict harm upon motorists or passengers.

At Panish, Shea, & Boyle, our experienced automotive defects attorneys understand the serious repercussions of defective auto parts and vehicle recalls. Although many auto recalls help protect consumers, a substantial amount of them occur only after innocent people have been hurt or killed because of the recalled product. If you or a loved one has been affected by these dangerous acceleration pedals or any other auto part defect, please call Panish, Shea & Boyle to find out how we can help. Call 800-591-8116 for a free consultation or visit our website www.psandb.com to learn about our many successful automotive defect settlements and verdicts.

A recent article from scientificamerican.com reported on a serious hospital error that has left residents of Los Angeles and citizens throughout the United States shocked and questioning the standard of care provided by hospitals and medical professionals, as well as the quality of medical devices. According to the report, health care workers at the Los Angeles Cedars-Sinai Medical Center are responsible for an error that was made when resetting a computed tomography (CT) scanner. As a result, 206 patients who underwent an x-ray CT scan received eight times the normal dose of radiation during brain scans over an eighteen month timeframe. Shockingly, this mistake remained unnoticed from February 2008 until this August after a stroke patient notified the hospital that he had experienced significant hair loss after having a scan.

Apparently, the CT scan had to be re-set to override the preprogrammed instructions and accommodate new protocol for CT brain perfusion scans so that doctors could properly examine any disruptions in the flow of blood to brain tissue and diagnose strokes. As it turned out, the use of this protocol caused the amount of radiation to be eight times higher than the expected dose.
There is no doubt that radiation exposure is a serious issue, and there is no excuse for hospital professionals to make a mistake that puts trusting and innocent patients at risk of radiation overdose, nor is it acceptable for a defective medical device to go unnoticed by its manufacturers or be used on patients by doctors.

As the skilled CT scan radiation exposure attorneys at Panish, Shea & Boyle, LLP continue to monitor the inaccurately calibrated and potentially defective GE CT scan machines, we advise anyone who has experienced radiation overdose from such machines to contact our firm. Our lawyers are well-versed in product liability, medical malpractice, personal injury, and pharmaceutical litigation, lending us the wide range of legal experience and knowledge that you need to successfully obtain compensation that you deserve from negligent parties. For more information about defective CAT scanners , or if you or a loved one has experienced any ill-effects from such scans, please call Panish, Shea & Boyle, LLP at 1-800-591-8116.

Source:http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=hospital-error-leads-to-ct-scan-rad-2009-10-13

Yaz and Yasmin, a popular form of oral contraception, has recently been scrutinized for findings that show those who use the Bayer Pharmaceuticals drug open themselves up to a variety of health problems that can even lead to death. Although neither Yaz nor Yasmin has been officially recalled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), numerous studies have shown that, while users of any birth control pill increase their chances of experiencing health complications, users of Yaz and Yasmin have an even greater chance of experiencing serious health problems. The reasoning for the increased danger in using Yaz and Yasmin lies in one of the active ingredients that they both incorporate.

Specifically, both Yaz and Yasmin contain a hormone known as drospirenone (DRSP). The majority of other birth control pills do not use this hormone, and for good reason. DRSP has been linked to a variety of health ailments. DRSP may increase potassium levels in a Yaz or Yasmin users, and, for those individuals that either have or are susceptible to liver, kidney, or adrenal disease, increased potassium levels can create additional health problems. Users of Yaz and Yasmin have also been documented as suffering from deep vein thrombosis, commonly known as a blood clot. In fact, a study in the Netherlands showed that those individuals that use Yaz or Yasmin increase their odds of suffering from a blood clot by a whopping 6.3 times (although it should be noted that all birth control pills increase blood clot probability, just not as much as Yaz and Yasmin do). Blood clots can be deadly, and those individuals that experience blood clotting as a result of using Yaz and Yasmin may not be able to recover in some instances. Furthermore, Yaz and Yasmin users have also been known to suffer from heart attacks and strokes, both of which may have been caused by the presence of DRSP in Yaz and Yasmin.

The FDA did issue a letter of warning to Bayer Pharmaceuticals, but it doesn’t appear as though the pharmaceutical giant is putting much stake into the warning. As of October 22, 2009, the Bayer website is displaying an article about a study that shows that all methods of oral contraception increase the probability of blood clots occurring in users. This issue, for all intensive purposes, has never been challenged by those afflicted by health ailments resulting from Yaz/Yasmin use. Rather, and what Bayer is failing to point out, is that while the percentage of increased risk of blood clots for those users of Yaz and Yasmin may be comparable to other birth control bills, it is still greater than those birth control pills nevertheless. Bayer, essentially, recognizes that their product is more dangerous than others but is choosing not to make any sort of change to its product.

Yaz and Yasmin use may lead to complications that can result in heart attacks, strokes, and pulmonary embolisms. Even if the risk of injury is only slightly higher than other birth control pills, Yaz and Yasmin have still been shown by studies to increase the likelihood of serious ailments occurring. The Yaz and Yasmin side effect attorneys at Panish, Shea & Boyle are monitoring the Yaz & Yasmin drug situation and are currently investigating Yaz & Yasmin side effect complaints. We represent clients throughout the U.S., as well as globally, and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call Panish, Shea & Boyle today at 800-591-8116 for more information about your Yaz or Yasmin personal injury case.

The Los Angeles CBS channel 2 website reported in an article on January 21, 2009 that warnings were being handed out at three southern California schools over worries of salmonella contamination. According to Sweet Success Fundraising Inc.; based in Ontario, the peanut butter was distributed to three schools.  Fremont Elementary in Alhabra, 93rd Street Elementary in Los Angeles, and Barstow Intermediate School in San Bernardino County, are the schools in question.

The cookie dough comes in three pound tubs at a cost of $14 each. Sweet Success claims that 170 of the tubs are contaminated. State officials say that no reports of illness or personal injury in California that have been tied to the cookie dough.

Reports by the California Department of Public Health said that the frozen cookie dough may have been prepared with peanut butter that was willingly recalled by the Peanut Corporation of America.  No “use by” dates or lot codes were used in the packaging.

Health officials said that the Peanut Corporation of America recalled some of its peanut butter made at its Blakely, GA processing facility. This facility had been labeled as a “potential” for contamination with salmonella and sold to Sweet Success after December 8.

Serious and sometimes fatal infections can be caused by the salmonella bacteria, particularly in the young, elderly, and people with a weak immune system. Healthy individuals who become infected can experience the following symptoms: diarrhea, fever, vomiting, nausea, and abdominal cramps. Officials ask that anyone who purchased this cookie dough can call Sweet Success for a full refund at 909-947-5800.

If you or a loved one has become sick from eating contaminated food, you need the help of the experiened Los Angeles product liability lawyers at Panish, Shea, & Boyle. The firm’s attorneys are consistently recognized for their work in consumer law; including several leadership roles in major nationwide consumer litigation, and repeated nominations for national lists of the nation’s biggest verdicts and most influential trial lawyers. Please call 1-866-992-1700 for a free consultation.