Legal Blog | Feldman Shepherd Law Firm | Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyers

Search Resources

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 …

Neptune’s Fix Recalled: FDA Warns That Tianeptine-Containing Products Are Associated with Seizures, Loss of Consciousness and Death

When 32-year-old graphic designer Matthew Cornier decided to work late at his Point Pleasant, New Jersey, office, he went to a convenience store and purchased several shot-size bottles of Neptune’s Fix, a purported dietary supplement sold with a claim that it will improve mental focus. Several hours later Matthew was found dead in his office by his fiancée. The bottles of …

CPSC Warns Against Multiple Infant Loungers After Five Deaths

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers to stop using five brands of baby loungers that violate federal safety regulations and are linked to the deaths of five infants. The loungers were sold online on Amazon and Walmart under the brand names Mamibaby, Yoocaa, DHZJM, Cosy Nation and Hyhuudth. The CPSC believes that all five loungers were …

Study: Water Bead-Related ER Visits by Kids Increased Over 130% in One Year

Water bead-related emergency room visits by children increased by over 130 percent — from 55 visits in 2021 to 127 in 2022 — according to a new study published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine. Water beads are made of super-absorbent polymer crystals which can retain hundreds of times their weight in water. The beads — which are widely marketed …

January 15th, 2014

On December 26, 2013, President Obama and the House Budget Committee leadership reached a deal that set a new federal budget. The deal, according to Reuters, “reduces the risk of another government shutdown.” A less publicized section of the Bipartisan Budget Act, one that few …

January 8th, 2014

About one year ago, a fungal meningitis outbreak in New England affected nearly eight hundred individuals in twenty states, claiming over sixty lives in the process. The source of these infections was the New England Compounding Center (NECC) in Massachusetts, which was an active distributor …

December 11th, 2013

Over a year ago, this blog published an article about the dangers of Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a serious condition that causes a dark red rash to appear on the skin. Health Canada, Canada’s counterpart to the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recently sent an …

December 4th, 2013

Birth asphyxia, also known as birth hypoxia, or intrauterine hypoxia, occurs when a newborn is deprived of oxygen. This complication can lead to permanent brain damage and even death of the infant. In cases of brain damage, we typically see children diagnosed with cerebral palsy …

November 27th, 2013

It might surprise one to learn that 80 percent of pharmaceuticals currently prescribed in the United States are generic. But would it be surprising to know that brand-name drug manufacturers and those that make generic drugs were not always subject to the same rules? Earlier …

November 20th, 2013

The consumer activist and pro-civil justice blog ThePopTort.com informs us, somewhat in jest, that last week was the unofficial “House Tort Reform Week,” in which congressional leadership placed two so-called “tort reform” bills on the House floor and heard details in a subcommittee about a …

November 13th, 2013

“Tort Reform” was back in the news last month thanks to an article in Forbes by Steve Cohen provocatively titled “Can Obamacare Improve Patient Safety? Tort Reform Hasn’t?” In it, Cohen argues what this blog has been asserting for years, that tort reform has not …

Texas Tort Reform Claims Another Victim

November 6th, 2013

Texas resident Connie Spears had a terrible 2010, but her 2013 has not been much better. Three years ago, she went to a local hospital’s emergency room complaining of pain in both legs. When speaking with hospital staff, she informed them of her history of …

October 30th, 2013

Back in October 2012, this blog published an article called “A Surgeon’s Five Tips for Improving Hospital Safety.” The list was culled from an article written by Johns Hopkins surgeon and professor Marty Makary in The Wall Street Journal, and several of his arguments revolve …

October 23rd, 2013

On October 15, as a response to the now-resolved government shutdown, a group of public interest organizations co-signed a letter to congressional leaders urging them to “please ensure that this [civil justice] system is not further crippled in any respect as negotiations over the shutdown …

October 16th, 2013

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs are a popular therapeutic option for women going through menopause. The idea is that replacing the body’s diminishing supply of estrogen and progesterone may alleviate discomfort, prolong life, or even delay or reduce the onset of dementia. Three recently published …

October 9th, 2013

Just how many people die from medical mistakes in American hospitals? As Scientific American recently explained, researchers have struggled to establish an accurate figure for decades. The Institute of Medicine, a non-governmental non-profit, issued a report in 1999 called “To Err Is Human,” which reported …