Virginia Mason fails to report "superbug" outbreak

The Seattle outbreak entailed dangerous or deadly infections spread by tainted dueodenoscopes, even after cleaning according to Manufacturer’s guidelines.  This latest report from the Washington State Department of Health faulted Virginia Mason for failing to properly notify state health officials of the outbreak, via a required report that tracks such dangerous events – Virginia Mason detected 39 infections and 18 deaths linked to the outbreak.  Virginia Mason issued a statement explaining how the reporting of the incident came to be.  But for the readers of our Products Blog, it's important to note that Virginia Mason was not found to be at fault for its handling of the procedures conducted here, including how it cleaned the duodenoscopes in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines.  This is to say that the report confirms that this is first and foremost a product design (and perhaps product warning) problem.  Virginia Mason may well be liable in other ways for its handling of the case, but that will play out in court and indeed Virginia Mason is facing lawsuits by families of patients harmed by the bacteria.  Virginia Mason has in turn sued the manufacturer of the devices.  The fact that patients could contract a nightmare bacteria this way is an outrage; we can only hope that the lawsuits will help to ensure that dangerous products are not brought into our hospitals, and will educate our hospitals on how to handle such situations should they arise again.

Fiat Chrysler accused of neglect in 23 recalls

Here at SGB we hold product manufacturers accountable. Our defective automobile product liability team commends everyone reading this New York Times article concerning the strong allegations of Chrysler's neglect and corner cutting, all of which needlessly endangers lives. Bravo to the Federal Regulators for conducting the rare public hearing concerning safety issues focused on a single auto manufacturer. If you drive a Chrysler, you should look into the various recalls; it  might help you to avoid driving a vehicle that is defective and dangerous.

Deadly Asbestos: the story goes on

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has fined two asbestos removal companies $379,100 for failing to remove asbestos from a demolition site in Seattle. The recipients of the fines are Partners Construction of Bonney Lake and Asbestos Construction Management of Federal Way.  The material left behind consisted largely of asbestos based “popcorn” ceiling. This type of news report reminds us as to just how dangerous asbestos can be. Even asbestos found outdoors and not in a confined space is an alarming event, as evidenced by Australian officials concerns when a contracted mower accidentally mowed over illegally dumped asbestos. Any disturbance of asbestos fibers emits airborne carcinogens, which if breathed can result in deadly cancer and other asbestos related diseases. If you have popcorn ceiling or suspect asbestos anywhere in your home or office, you’ll definitely want to hire a professional to give you an assessment. Unfortunately, the asbestos story continues.

Defective Hip Implants: Stryker Agrees to a Settlement

We want to share this new information out of Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Stryker has agreed to settle its defective hip implants for at least $1.43 billion dollars.  The deal - brokered by a New Jersey Superior Court judge - resolves state and federal lawsuits against Stryker.  The all metal  devices create tiny particles of metallic debris that can damage tissue or muscle, which resulted in Stryker recalling the devices.

This is the latest settlement against a product manufacturer of a metal-on-metal hip implant. Last fall Johnson and Johnson agreed to pay $2.5 billion to resolve cases involving its DePuy ASR metal-on-metal hip implant.

This Stryker settlement will come as good news for many Washington State residents who have been saddled with these defective hip implants. It adds certainty to the process and puts an end to further protracted litigation.

SGB leads the way representing Washington State residents in defective hip and other product liability lawsuits.  If you think you may have a claim against Styker, give us a call. Our  product liability lawyers at SGB are happy to discuss this with you.

Auto Defects: Why are so many Deadly Cars on the Road?

You would think that with the advancement of technology that it would translate into safer automobiles.  It doesn’t.   Sure, many of the problems of yesteryear have long been resolved –the fuel tank problems of the Ford Pinto are thankfully no longer with us.  But they’ve been replaced by other defects, many of which are electronically activated features of the modern car, such as sudden acceleration or air bag defects.   Yesterday’s New York Times opinion piece by Clarence Ditlow and Ralph Nader, entitled Weak Oversight, Deadly Cars explains how this all happened:  industry regulators have been captured  by industry itself.   And when money trumps, safety recalls that should be promptly issued, aren’t.

We’ll be following up with a posting on post-accident things to explore in order to see if, unbeknownst to you, your accident was the result of an auto-defect. Meanwhile, SGB and its team of auto-defect lawyers urge you to check the  safercar.gov  website or the NHTSA recall website to see if the car you are driving has been recalled.