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Med Mal Lawsuits and Aortic Dissection – The Deadly Condition Often Missed in the Emergency Department

If left untreated, aortic dissection carries a mortality rate nearing 50% within 48 hours of symptom onset. Alarmingly, fewer than half of all cases are correctly diagnosed in the emergency department at first presentation. This article, written by Bethany R. Nikitenko and published in The Legal Intelligencer, provides a brief overview of the condition, the standard of care for …

Mandatory Safety Standard for Nursing Pillows Is Now in Effect

A new federal safety standard that aims to reduce the risks of suffocation, entrapment and falls associated with nursing pillows is now in effect. Nursing pillows are horseshoe-shaped pillows that are designed to fit around an adult’s torso and lift a baby to a more “ergonomic” position for breast or bottle feeding. They are not an infant sleep product, but their …

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 …

November 16th, 2011

After premiering at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, the documentary Hot Coffee made its television debut on HBO. The first movie directed by former attorney Susan Saladoff addresses complex problems in the country’s civil justice system including mandatory arbitration, corporate financing of judicial campaigns, caps on …

September 3rd, 0214

On the topic of birth control, this blog has focused much of its attention on the NuvaRing, whose links to deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and death (among other side effects) resulted in a $100 million settlement spread over 700 plaintiffs. Were every patient to …

$23 Billion Verdict Hits Big Tobacco

July 30th, 0214

In 2006, a Florida Court of Appeal established that individuals could not band together into a class to file a class action lawsuit against tobacco companies for misleading consumers and misrepresenting the dangers their products pose. So, instead of a few cases, courts across the …