Defective Products Legal News Articles & Interviews

Atlanta, GA Several Georgia women who filed a lawsuit against L'Oreal for negligence and fraud related to the use of hair relaxers have been given the go-ahead by the Georgia Court of Appeals. The French multinational personal care company had previously asked the courts to dismiss the complaints. Plaintiffs, including Kiara Burroughs, accuse the companies of selling hair relaxation, or lanthionization, products that caused or increased the risk of women developing uterine, ovarian or breast cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibroids or other injuries to the reproductive system. 

Santa Clara, CA A new study has found glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, in human sperm: it found that more than 55 percent of sperm samples from a French infertility clinic contained high levels of glyphosate. Researchers warn that glyphosate can contribute to infertility, damage DNA in the sperm, and could cause health problems in the men’s offspring.  

Santa Clara, CA Chemical companies making PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals” are advised to “do what you can, while you can, before you get sued”, but the battle has already begun for some manufacturers. For instance, 3M agreed to pay water utilities nationwide at least $10 billion for cleanup costs and at least thirty state attorneys general have also sued PFAS makers for widespread contamination. If you aren’t familiar with the extent of PFAS damages, a recent New York Times article is an eye-opener, to say the least, and the fallout will likely feed into PFAS litigation.

Santa Clara, CA Just days before the Suboxone deadline to file, thousands of new Suboxone dental injury plaintiffs--many of whom have likely suffered more than tooth loss--have filed complaints against the manufacturers. June 2024 marked the second-year anniversary of a label warning update and potentially marked the statute of limitations on some claims.

Trenton, NJ In May, Johnson & Johnson offered to pay roughly $6.48 billion over 25 years to settle all current and future talcum powder lawsuits. These lawsuits allege that baby powder containing asbestos-contaminated talc caused ovarian cancer. Erik Haas, J&J's worldwide vice president of litigation, insists that this offer is fundamentally different than the two that courts rejected before. If accepted, it would resolve 99.75 percent of J&J’s remaining talc lawsuits in the U.S.

Santa Clara, CA When it comes to regulating products, hair relaxers in the U.S. are like the wild west. Despite the FDA announcing a proposed ban for April 2024 on hair straighteners containing formaldehyde (it has missed that deadline), and despite the EPA announcing that exposure to formaldehyde is an “unreasonable risk to human health”, nothing has been done to remove this known human carcinogen from the market.

Philadelphia, PA The last few months have been busy for both Bayer and plaintiffs alleging Monsanto’s Roundup causes cancer. The Philadelphia court slashed a Pennsylvania man’s verdict from $2.25 billion to $400 million and Roundup cases continue to be filed in the multi-district litigation. As for Bayer, it is looking to lawmakers for support. Legal experts are doubtful that protective legislation will affect existing lawsuits but on the other hand it could limit future claims. 

Santa Clara, CAChemical companies making PFAS, also known as ‘forever chemicals” are advised to “do what you can, while you can, before you get sued”, but the battle has already begun for some manufacturers. For instance, 3M agreed to pay water utilities nationwide at least $10 billion for cleanup costs and at least thirty state attorneys general have also sued PFAS makers for widespread contamination. If you aren’t familiar with the extent of PFAS damages, a recent The New York Times article is an eye-opener, to say the least, and the fallout will likely feed into PFAS litigation.

Santa Clara, CA The FDA has missed its own April deadline to ban formaldehyde in hair-relaxers, despite mounting pressure to remove the hazardous chemical from all hair-straightener products, and despite no opposition to its removal. Critics say the agency’s failure to deal with the proposed new regulation would do far too little, in addition to being far too late. After all, the FDA's role is to prevent harm from happening in the first place. Many Black women with serious health issues linked to these products have filed over 6,000 hair relaxer lawsuits against manufacturers and the longer the FDA stalls, more complaints are inevitable.

Santa Clara, CA Philips Respironics has agreed to settle over 700 lawsuits for $1.1 billion. Since the massive 2021 recall of its faulty breathing machines and ventilators that released toxic and carcinogenic fumes into customers’ mouths, throats and lungs, more than 50,000 people have been involved in the litigation.