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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 …

Defective Products

Help Your Client and Change the World

January 21st, 2022

Some cases provide an opportunity for personal injury and product defect attorneys to not only obtain a just recovery for their client(s) but also to make an impact that can save lives. This article, written by Alan Feldman, appeared in the January issue of Trial …

bunk bed injuries

Longwood Forest Recalls 40,000 Bunk Beds Due to Risk of Entrapment and Strangulation to Children

January 11th, 2022

In the shadow of multiple recalls involving infant sleepers that put babies at serious risk for death by asphyxiation, a recent recall of children’s bunk beds signifies that unsafe sleep products can be a problem even for older children. On December 22, 2021, importer Longwood Forest …

Philadelphia Rowhouse Fire

Deadly Philadelphia Rowhouse Fire Raises Question of “Did This Have to Happen?”

January 7th, 2022

As Philadelphians mourn the deaths of 12 people, including nine children, who died in the early morning house fire on January 5, all eyes will turn to whether this horrific tragedy could have been prevented. What’s known at this time from news reports is that the …

birth injury

Florida’s NICA Program: A Tragic Lesson on How Tort Reform Harms Birth-Injured Children

October 29th, 2021

A series of reports by investigative journalists at ProPublica and the Miami Herald shines a spotlight on what can go horribly wrong when parents are stripped of their right to sue when their child is catastrophically injured at birth due to medical negligence. “Birth Rights: Investigating …

crib bumpers

Those Adorable, Padded Crib Bumpers May Suffocate Your Baby

October 6th, 2021

As all eyes are focused on The Boppy Company’s recall of 3.3 million pillow-like infant loungers that have been tied to the deaths of eight babies, another pillow-like infant product that poses a suffocation hazard has slipped quietly under the radar: padded crib bumpers. Studies have …

Boppy Death

3.3 Million Boppy Baby Loungers Recalled After 8 Babies Die

September 27th, 2021

Following a spate of heartbreaking infant fatalities over a five-year period, The Boppy Company has finally recalled one of its most popular baby products that unbeknownst to many new parents was putting their infants at serious risk for asphyxiation. On September 23, 2021, The Boppy Company …

Magnet Injuries

Zen Magnets, Neoballs Magnets Recalled Due to the Risk of Ingestion by Kids

September 2nd, 2021

In the culmination of a nearly decade-long battle that pitted the U.S. government agency charged with product safety against a manufacturer of dangerous magnetic balls made from rare-earth magnets, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has taken the rare step of forcing a mandatory recall. On …

vacation home elevator accidents

Is the Elevator in Your Family’s Vacation Rental Home Safe?

July 14th, 2021

As Americans head off for summer vacation and some much-needed relaxation as the COVID-19 pandemic finally eases up, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning that kids can be crushed to death by the elevator in their family’s vacation rental home. On June 24, 2021, …

Roosevelt Boulevard

How Dangerous Road Design Impacts Philadelphia’s Most Vulnerable Residents Who Live Near Roosevelt Boulevard

June 21st, 2021

While most Philadelphians denounce Roosevelt Boulevard as a confusing, chaotic stretch of road that is lying in wait for crashes, the people most affected by the Boulevard’s poor roadway design are seldom talked about. A new report may change that. One out of every three people who …