Recently in Products Liability and Recalls Category

The Shoulderflex Massager produced by King International provided such a deep tissue massage, that it managed to strangle a consumer to death. After the death, King International worked with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to voluntarily recall the device.

However, during a recent audit, the FDA discovered that King International was no longer in business and not complying with the terms of the recall. As a result, the FDA is now warning all consumers not to use the device, reports the Philadelphia Daily News.

A Philadelphia jury determined that Pfizer must pay three Philadelphia women $72.6 million due to taking the menopause drug Prempro which gave them breast cancer.

This is just one of thousands of Prempro cases for which the company has set aside $300 million to pay, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. However, given the past history of Prempro judgments, Pfizer could see the jury award greatly reduced or even thrown out.

With 13 reported cantaloupe deaths, the listeria illness linked to Colorado cantaloupes is already the third deadliest food-related outbreak. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has announced a cantaloupe recall affecting 26 states including Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey.

Along with the 13 deaths, there have also been 59 reported cases of non-fatal illnesses related to the Colorado cantaloupes, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. None of the deaths or illnesses occurred in the Philadelphia region; however, consumers are urged to be wary.

Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York are just three of the states affected by a voluntary Colorado cantaloupe recall. The recall follows a multistate outbreak of listeriosis linked to the melons.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are currently working to determine the source of contaminated cantaloupes, and have not issued an official recall yet, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. However, many grocery stores have removed cantaloupes from shelves, and customers are urged not to buy cantaloupes most likely coming from Colorado’s Rocky Ford region.

The U.S. government and giant meat-manufacturer Cargill have announced the ground turkey recall of 36 million pounds of meat. This is one of the largest recalls ever and affects Pennsylvania residents as one person in Philadelphia and four people in other parts of the state have reportedly become ill with salmonella poisoning after eating the tainted meat. The recall could be a boon to Pennsylvania product liability attorneys.

According to the Associated Press, Cargill is recalling the meat manufactured at its Springdale, Arkansas plant from February 20 until August 2. The ground turkey is believed to have led to the death of one person in California, as well as 76 illnesses nationwide, including the five in Pennsylvania. There have been no reported illnesses in bordering New Jersey or Delaware.

Target and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have announced a voluntary recall of the Circo Children’s Task Lamp citing laceration and fire hazards.

According to the announcement, consumers are urged to stop using the products immediately. They can return the lamps at any Target store and receive a full refund. Approximately, 13,000 customers bought the lamps at Target stores across the country.

So far, six people have reported incidents relating to the lamps, says the CPSC. Apparently, the lamps can overheat causing the adhesive glue inside the lamp socket to melt. The CPSC says that the melted glue can lead to broken bulbs which can cause lacerations. In addition, the flammable glue poses a fire risk.

A Bucks County man was killed by fireworks after lighting a mortar in his Levittown neighborhood on July 4th.

Ray Criblear, 51, was known as the cool guy in his neighborhood that would set off fireworks every Fourth of July, reports phillyBurbs.com.

On Monday, things went terribly wrong when Criblear attempted to set off an illegal three-inch mortar.

According to phillyBurbs, Criblear ignited the firework, which had a short fuse, using a plastic bucket and a piece of PVC pipe. But instead of shooting off shells into the air, the mortar shot off straight into Criblear's head.

Danielle Jordan, a Philadelphia woman, is suing Dunkin' Donuts for allegedly serving her coffee containing so much sugar that it sent her into a diabetic coma. Jordan, who suffers from diabetes, filed a personal injury lawsuit against Dunkin' Donuts claiming that the donut and coffee retailer mixed up her order by placing real sugar in her coffee instead of the artificial sweetener that she requested reports the Philadelphia Daily News.

According to the Daily News, after drinking the coffee, Danielle Jordan suffered light-headedness, dizziness, numbness, and had a diabetic shock requiring an emergency room visit. In her lawsuit, Jordan is claiming unspecified damages including damages relating to "loss of life's enjoyment."

A teenager who suffered from a side effect after being given Children's Motrin as a three year old received a jury verdict awarding her $10 million dollars this week. A jury trial in a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court concluded by finding against Motrin maker McNeil Laboratories and parent company Johnson & Johnson, and in favor of now 13-year-old Brianna Maya, of Tennessee.

Maya was a toddler when she was given Motrin brand ibuprofen by her parents for a fever and cough, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. Motrin side effects began to appear including hives and a rash, but then Maya developed blisters in her mouth. The side effects developed into toxic epidermal necrolysis, a rare but known side effect of ibuprofen. This side effect occurs in about 1 to 5 of every million users.

As some Philadelphia locals may have heard, the Food and Drug Administration announced that the diabetes drug Avandia, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK), will be removed from U.S. pharmacy store shelves in November and only be available for purchase through a special program.

Bloomberg reported that the Avandia recall and the restrictions on the drug are part of plan established in September to limit the potential risks of the drug, especially after some data indicated patients who took Avandia had a higher possibility of suffering from a heart attack.

However, Glaxo spokesperson Mary Anne Rhyne also explained that patients, including those in Philadelphia, should not stop taking the diabetes drug without consulting their physician first.