Defective Products Legal News Articles & Interviews

LaCrosse, WI On March 4, the City of La Crosse filed a lawsuit in the Wisconsin Circuit Court alleging that 3M Company and 22 other defendants produced and marketed products containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS/PFOA) with knowledge that these substances were likely to contaminate public and private wells throughout the city.

Santa Clara, CA Bayer has been working out Monsanto’s Roundup settlement since acquiring the glyphosate manufacturer in 2018. The corporation expects to resolve future claims that its weedkiller causes cancer by mid-May. Here is a brief history of Bayer’s $11 billion outline settlement.

 

Seattle, WA Despite mesothelioma victim Cliff Little providing a substantial amount of evidence in his asbestos lawsuit against Pryor-Giggey, a company that manufactured asbestos-contaminated boiler refractory insulation, the company successfully argued that there was no evidence to prove its products were used at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard where Little worked.

Washington, DC  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ordered Ford to recall three million cars that contain defective driver’s side airbags. The airbags contain potentially faulty Takata inflators that may cause the bags to rupture, resulting in catastrophic airbag injuries. This follows a similar 2020 order affecting General Motors.

San Francisco, CA To resolve future claims that Monsanto’s Roundup causes cancer, Bayer is coughing up a $2 billion settlement that includes benefits for people—mainly farmers and gardeners-- who were exposed to Roundup and develop the cancer in the future.

Atlanta, GA The Ethicon Physiomesh bellwether trial schedule, which was delayed due to COVID-19, has been confirmed by U.S. District Judge Richard Story in the Northern District of Georgia. The first hernia mesh complications case will go before a jury in March 2021.

Peshtigo, WI Peshtigo residents have reached a $17.5 M settlement in a firefighting foam lawsuit filed against Tyco Fire Products and two other companies over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. Plaintiffs claimed their drinking water from private wells was contaminated with “forever chemicals” from the use of firefighting foam at Tyco’s Fire Technology Center in Marinette and nearby sites.

Washington, DC  The EPA on January 19, 2021 finally announced two preliminary actions toward regulating “forever chemicals” in Americans’ drinking water. These toxic chemicals include PFAS, which do not break down in the environment. They are linked to serious health issues, including cancer, reproductive and developmental harm, and reduced effectiveness of vaccines. Over 2,300 sites in the U.S. are contaminated with PFAS.

Houston, TX PFAS contamination lawyer Bill Barfield, with McDonald Worley law firm, says the number of calls they receive about PFAS exposure is on the rise, from individuals worrying that their drinking water is contaminated to first responders exposed to firefighting foam at vehicle accident scenes. “Their first question is, ‘Do I have a claim?’ and their second question is, ‘Where can I get PFAS testing?’” says Barfield. 

Columbus, OH Having been delayed three times now, the first C.R. Bard hernia mesh lawsuit is slated for April 19, 2021. The bellwether jury trial has been centralized before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus in the Southern District of Ohio. At issue is that Bard and its subsidiary Davol knew and when they knew about their defective hernia mesh.