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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 …

June 20th, 2012

On May 18, 2012, Ben Present of The Legal Intelligencer wrote an article called “State Supreme Court to Address Admissibility of Text Messages” which, as its title suggests, explains the circumstance surrounding what will surely be a noteworthy precedent regarding whether or not “unauthenticated” text …

June 13th, 2012

Some medical errors are more avoidable than others, and some of the most avoidable must be prescriptions. To clarify, the issue is not the drugs themselves, but the slips of paper on which a doctor writes drug information to be decoded later by pharmacists. Many …

June 6th, 2012

The sex abuse scandal that has publicly rocked the Catholic Church for more than a decade has actually been around much longer than that. Rachel Zoll of The Associated Press writes that one priest, who happens to have founded an entire religious order dedicated to rehabilitating …

May 30th, 2012

Priapism is a prolonged, unwanted and often painful erection which requires prompt medical treatment to avoid the risk of permanent sexual dysfunction and impotence. Due to the sensitive nature of the topic of priapism, sufferers may be hesitant to report it, but delay by the …

May 23rd, 2012

The disease of shingles is a reactivation of the varicella zoster (chicken pox) virus. It is in the herpes family. The herpes diseases like chicken pox remain latent or hidden in certain nerve roots in the spinal cord. With shingles, there is a reactivation of …

May 9th, 2012

On the topic of social media, this blog has already covered the judicial precedents being set in the state of Pennsylvania with regard to insurance companies probing plaintiffs’ Facebook profiles. As judges become more familiar with the sensitive nature of an individual’s social media profile …

May 2nd, 2012

The number of users on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ is growing, and as it does, its prominence in law suits increases exponentially. In February 2012, this blog covered the precedents being set in the state of Pennsylvania about whether insurance …

April 25th, 2012

Though not a new phenomenon, school bus accidents have been increasingly prevalent in the news in recent months, locally, nationally, and even internationally. We have heard of injuries to children, bus drivers, other motorists and even several deaths. But what are the facts about school …

April 18th, 2012

Have you ever wondered how well pharmacies are able to detect and protect against drug interactions between the various prescriptions you may be taking? Many pharmacies use computer software designed to search for possible drug interactions between the medications prescribed for you by your various …