Product Liability Archives - Page 7 of 11

Peanut Exec gets Record 28 Year Sentence for Deadly Food Poisoning Outbreak

Staff - September 22, 2015

Parnell was convicted on multiple charges including knowingly shipping peanut products that were tainted with salmonella to merchants throughout the country. An ensuing outbreak between 2008 and 2009 in 46 states contributed to over 700 illnesses and at least nine deaths. Judge Sands also sentenced Parnell’s brother, 56 year-old Michael Parnell, a peanut broker, to 20 years and the plant’s quality assurance manager Mary Wilkerson to five years. Stewart Parnell’s 28 year sentence is the longest ever given for a food poisoning-related offense.

Volkswagen Emissions Fallout Begins: and it’s Really, Really Bad

Staff - September 22, 2015

Tangible damage has already begun on a grand scale for the company since the announcement, as its stock has plunged over 35 percent by midday trading on Tuesday, including closing down 18 percent on Monday, already dropping the company’s value by nearly $17 billion even before Tuesday’s announcement. The scandal and costs associated with EPA-ordered recall will likely cost the company at least that much factoring in federal penalties from the U.S. as well as in other nations. In addition, the amount of civil liability and class-action lawsuits could also range in the billions.

AutoNation CEO: ‘Company will not Sell Recalled Vehicles’

Staff - September 8, 2015

In an industry that set a record for recalls in 2014, and with over 34.5 million vehicles recalled by the end of July, 2015, Jackson believes that dealers should take a more active role in protecting consumers. The CEO said, “If every time a vehicle, new or used, moves through the franchised automotive retail system, every recall is completed, then the completion rate on recalls in total, both how fast they get done and the percentage that get done, will increase significantly.”

Alleged Cover-up Could Blow Roof off of Asbestos Litigation

Staff - September 5, 2015

The appeals ruling involved a class-action suit filed by relatives of alleged asbestos victims who accused BASF and Cahill of a systematic cover-up involving the destruction of key documents involving Engelhard asbestos litigation. Although the case in itself is not injury related, evidence of a cover-up could revive many previously litigated cases and cases in which plaintiffs settled for less than they would have had they attained access to factual information.

Sincerely Nuts Recalls Macadamia Products due to Salmonella Scare

Staff - September 5, 2015

According to the FDA, Persons infected with the salmonella organism “often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain” that in rare circumstances, “can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.”

Virginia to Conduct New Testing of ET-Plus Guardrails

Staff - September 4, 2015

The tests come as several critics dispute the validity of eight road tests that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) claims that the ET-Plus passed in March. The ET-Plus guardrail is designed to act as a shock absorber when a vehicle collides with it, but many believe that the guardrail can buckle and splinter instead, spearing the vehicle and possibly drivers with jagged pieces of metal piercing through the door or window. Currently, there are over 200,000 ET-Plus guardrails installed throughout the U.S. highway system.

Takata Recall Total Lowered amid Widened Side-Airbag Probe

Staff - September 2, 2015

Original projections had estimated about 34 million airbags, with faulty inflators that could send shrapnel flying into the passenger cabin upon impact. The revised total estimates the number to be 23.4 million, with roughly 4 million of the airbags having already been replaced. The agency also estimates that 4 million of the affected vehicles have at least two of the recalled airbags, bringing the actual number of vehicles affected by the recall in the U.S. to around 19 million.

‘Deadly’ Keyless Ignition Systems Blamed in Class-Action Lawsuit against Ten Automakers

Staff - August 27, 2015

In addition to suing for compensatory and punitive damages, the plaintiffs are seeking an injunction mandating that the automakers install the automatic shutoff components in all current and future vehicles with keyless ignition systems.

Is there Really Such a thing as Bad Bacon?

Jeremy Lesh - August 26, 2015

This is the first story I’ve covered for Legal Reader that has made me question everything that I’ve ever known. In what has to be one of the biggest, most tragic cases of meaticide in history.

Final Ex-Executives Plead Guilty over West Virginia Chemical Spill

Staff - August 20, 2015

Charleston U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin said that his agency was focused on pursuing prison time for the former executives as a stronger deterrent than financial penalties. Goodwin said, “Executives are used to writing checks. It sends a stronger message if they have to trade their three-piece suits for a prison jumpsuit.”

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