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Mandatory Safety Standard for Infant Loungers and ‘Support Cushions’ Is Now in Effect

A new federal safety standard that aims to reduce the risks of suffocation, entrapment and falls associated with infant loungers and similar pillow-like products is now in effect. Starting on May 5, 2025, manufacturers of infant loungers and other “infant support cushions” must adhere to a mandatory safety standard which was unanimously approved by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) …

U.S. Leads High-Income Countries in Traffic Deaths

The United States leads 27 other high-income countries in its number of pedestrian deaths and overall road traffic deaths, according to a report recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report regards preventable pedestrian accident traffic deaths in the U.S. as a “major public health problem.” Between 2013 and 2022, U.S. pedestrian death rates increased 50 percent …

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 …

September 18th, 2013

A study published on August 14 by Johns Hopkins Medicine (in the journal Epilepsy and Behavior) suggests that American neurologists’ pharmaceutical knowledge may be lacking. A press release reads, “A study by Johns Hopkins researchers shows that a fifth of U.S. neurologists appear unaware of serious …

September 11th, 2013

Imagine a nation in which every “economically significant” regulatory measure–whether related to healthcare, environmental protection, air travel, pharmaceutical oversight, or even Wall Street banking–were subject to a yes-or-no vote from one of the most polarized and gridlocked Congresses in history. On the face of it, …

September 4th, 2013

Early this past spring, we published an article titled “The Slip between the Cup and the Lip: The FDA’s Lax Regulation of Potentially Harmful Products,” which elaborated on yet another example of the relative inability of the FDA to regulate products and chemicals that may pose …

On Roller Coasters and Regulation

August 28th, 2013

In May of this year, we posted an article about the surprising prevalence of injuries to children at amusement parks. In the first study of its kind, a team of researchers based in Columbus, Ohio estimate that nearly 4500 children under the age of eighteen …

August 21st, 2013

The blog aboutlawsuits.com recently published a blog post by Irvin Jackson about a new study that deals with doctors receiving “kickbacks” from pharmaceutical companies or drug representatives for prescribing a given medication. Scholars at the Rady School of Management at University of California, San Diego …

August 14th, 2013

The British Medical Journal: Quality and Safety recently published a study evaluating the role equipment and technology play in surgical mistakes. The article appeared on July 25 on the journal’s web site and is titled, “Surgical technology and operating-room safety failures: a systematic review of …

August 7th, 2013

Last July, we posted our first article on the potential dangers of the NuvaRing method of birth control (manufactured by Merck) a vaginal ring that patients wear for a period of about three weeks, during which time it slowly releases hormones into the bloodstream. It …

July 31st, 2013

This blog has published many posts that mention the United Stated Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and we have on a few occasions taken the position that the organization often fails in its duty to protect consumers from corporations whose goal is the bottom line …

Roosevelt Boulevard — A Death Trap

July 24th, 2013

Too many tragic deaths have to occur and too many years have to pass before simple changes are made to improve safety on the Roosevelt Boulevard and to protect citizens of the Philadelphia and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Without significant changes, Roosevelt Boulevard will remain a …