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DOJ Launches Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program

In 2024, the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division launched the Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program to combat corporate crime. The Corporate Whistleblower Pilot Program will run through 2027, before being re-evaluated, and is modeled on other successful whistleblower programs like those administered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The Pilot Program is designed …

Tabletop Fire Pits Can Explode, Cause Serious Burn Injuries and Death

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers to immediately stop using alcohol-burning or other liquid fuel tabletop fire pits following two deaths and at least 60 injuries in the past five years. Tabletop fire pits — also called fire pots, miniature fireplaces and personal fireplaces — are small, portable fireplaces that can be placed on a tabletop or …

NHTSA Issues Final Rule for Auto Whistleblower Program

On December 12, 2024, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) published the final rule formalizing its whistleblower program, as required by the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower Act. The final rule deviates little from the rule proposed by NHTSA in April 2023, which addressed definitions of key program terms, tip-filing requirements, award applications, how decisions are made on award applications, …

SEC Obtains Orders for a Record $8.2 Billion in Financial Remedies in Fiscal Year 2024

In fiscal year 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed 583 enforcement actions and obtained orders for $8.2 billion in financial remedies—the most ever obtained by the SEC in a single fiscal year. The $8.2 billion consisted of $6.1 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and $2.1 billion in civil penalties. The SEC also obtained orders barring 124 individuals from serving …

When Fun Toys Kill: The Products Liability Case Against Water Beads

Water beads are sold for children as toys, educational materials, art materials, sensory tools, and as projectiles for “gel blaster” guns. Adults use them as decorative, crafting and gardening supplies. When these small, colorful beads are swallowed by children, they do not simply get digested and pass through a child’s body. Instead, they absorb fluids and expand to many times …

The Products Liability Case Against Tianeptine: The Deadly “Dietary Supplement” Found at Your Local Store

You see them displayed by the cash register. Neptune’s Fix and other tianeptine-based products promise to help brain function, treat anxiety and depression, and even manage opioid addiction. Unbeknownst to many consumers, these products have been associated with severe adverse medical events, including seizures and even deaths. This article, written by John M. Dodig and Jason A. Daria and published in …

Fisher-Price Recalls Snuga Swings After Five Infant Deaths

In a recall that one federal safety regulator has characterized as “doomed to fail,” Fisher-Price is offering its customers $25 to remove components from its Snuga Swings — which have been linked to five infant deaths — instead of offering a meaningful remedy that would get this unsafe product out of people’s homes. On October 10, 2024, Fisher-Price announced the recall …

Lawmakers Seek to Address Supersized Vehicles That Kill Pedestrians

Federal lawmakers have introduced legislation aimed at reducing the number of pedestrians who are killed and seriously injured in crashes with supersized passenger vehicles. Recent government data show that there are more than 40,000 fatal car crashes per year in the United States. Between 2013 and 2022, pedestrian fatalities increased 57 percent from 4,779 to 7,522, according to the National Highway …

CPSC Warns Against Two Cradle Swings That Pose Suffocation and Fall Hazards

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning parents and caregivers to stop using DNYSYSJ and OUKANING cradle swings due to the risk of suffocation and falls. According to the CPSC, the cradle swings violate federal safety regulations for bassinets and cradles. The warning, issued on August 15, 2024, states that the “folds” of the cradle swing’s segmented sleeping pad …

Affordable care Act

Malpractice “Reform” should focus on eliminating malpractice, not legal rights of victims

April 24th, 2017

As House Republicans continue to advance their agenda in Washington in efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act, one of their anticipated changes to the civil justice system includes a change to medical malpractice laws. Their proposed bill would impose a limit of $250,000 on …

June 18th, 2016

Everyone who owns a piece of IKEA furniture knows that it can be a real pain to assemble. But, tragically, items from the Scandinavian retailer have proven to be dangerous–and in some instances even deadly. Such is the terrible case of Curren Collas, a two-year-old …

June 11th, 2016

On April 29, the New York Times health blog Well published a post titled, “Why Doctors Are Sued.” In its first sentence, it promises to reveal the answer to the question: “What kind of medical error accounts for most malpractice payments?” The answer, its author tells …

September 16th, 2015

Back in the summer of 2013, this blog wrote about statute of limitations amendment that couldn’t make its way out of the New York state legislature. Lavern’s Law is named after a Brooklyn woman whose curable lung cancer went undiagnosed for years–despite several rounds of …

September 2nd, 2015

Few in our society are as fragile and defenseless as seniors, particularly those in long-term care facilities. This is the reason why a proposed change to Medicare and Medicaid regulations–one that would outlaw forced arbitration as a precondition of entry into such a facility–is so …

High Stakes in PA Supreme Court Race

August 26th, 2015

Whether they know it or not, in November, Pennsylvanians will cast their votes for (among other positions) three seats on the bench of the commonwealth’s Supreme Court. This is the first time three such positions have been vacant at any one time in the Supreme …

August 19th, 2015

Texas–a state that already has on the books some of the toughest and most draconian tort reform measures in the country–was until recently in the process of passing a bill that would have (according to the Texas Tribune) made “it harder for homeowners and companies …

August 12th, 2015

Supporters of so-called tort reform measures would have the American public believe that medical malpractice cases are not only running rampant in the country’s civil justice system, but that they consistently lead to astronomical verdicts (which, in turn, are driving doctors out of business). Not …

August 5th, 2015

We’ve been writing about the ineffectiveness of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for years now. From big-name pharmaceuticals to generic drugs to plastic water bottles to herbal supplements, the agency has consistently failed to protect Americans from corporations willing to jeopardize individuals’ health …

July 29th, 2015

Shortly after the most recent round of midterm elections, we predicted that one of the priorities of the new Congress would be to enact as many tort reform measures as possible. We suggested this might include both a push to enact the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction …

July 22nd, 2015

Back in June of 2013, we published an article detailing a 45-percent decline in the number of medical malpractice case filings statewide. Armed with a few more years’ worth of data, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania corroborates these statistics, indicating that such cases are at …

July 15th, 2015

One of the most daunting prospects a recent graduate of law school has to face is the dreaded bar examination. For decades, each state had its own version of the test, but in 2011, Missouri rolled out a so-called uniform bar exam that fifteen other …