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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 …

August 22nd, 2012

In April 2012, the Senate passed a bill that would require auto manufacturers to install event data recorders (EDRs), also known as “black boxes,” in all cars. They have been around for more than a few years in automobiles: Sarah Jacobsson Purewal of PCWorld reports …

August 15th, 2012

As the relationship between technology and the law both widens and deepens, we were bound to see more rulings on issues of social networking and privacy. We have written about the issues, especially Facebook, on several occasions. Adding to this list is Allegheny County Common Pleas …

August 8th, 2012

Do you remember Vioxx, the anti-inflammatory drug recalled and later withdrawn because it was linked with elevated risk of heart attack or Fen-phen, the weight loss drug that was found to cause potentially fatal pulmonary hypertension? These medications were once approved by the Food and …

August 1st, 2012

It’s safe to say that technology is here to stay. It’s spreading at an incredible rate and into previously unconnected places, like the dashboards of our automobiles. A particularly rich and detailed infographic posted on the tech website Mashable estimates that 15 percent of American …

July 25th, 2012

When we think of robots easing burdens for humans, we may think of Rosie from The Jetsonsor the droids from Star Wars. But robots are already helping us with surgeries in real life. The robotics firm Intuitive Surgical has rolled out a product called the …

Tort Reform State-by-State: Texas

July 18th, 2012

In today’s post, we again address the issue of tort reform. In previous months, we have published pieces on the pro victims’ rights documentary Hot Coffee, how tort reform has affected the healthcare system of Ohio and “loser pays” rules in Texas. As part of …

July 11th, 2012

As of April of 2012, courts in Union County, New Jersey had 863 civil cases in backlog, that is, 863 cases that could not be heard because there are no judges to preside. This is the largest backlog in this county’s history and will now …

July 3rd, 2012

The Guttmacher Institute (a non-partisan reproductive health think tank) conducted a survey from 2006 — 2010 in an attempt to determine how many American women have used birth control at some point in their lives. Birth control advocates trumpeted their findings throughout the media: 99 percent …

June 27th, 2012

In recent months, this blog has covered issues related to birth defects, specifically those that fall under the umbrella of neural tube defects (or NTDs) like spina bifida, anencephaly and encephaloceles, some of which are linked to a lack of b-vitamin folic acid or use …