Just when you thought it was safe, several iconic brands and their manufacturers have become the focus of lawsuits for hazardous products.
You are probably aware of the recent multi-billion dollar jury verdict against Monsanto for Roundup®, their weed killing product. It is used by many people in their gardens and it has widespread use on farmland, in landscaping and for horticulture Monsanto, the manufacturer and now part of the big German conglomerate Bayer continues to vigorously dispute that the product causes Non-Hodgins Lymphoma, untreatable cancer.
The U.S. giant healthcare and pharmaceutical company Johnson and Johnson also received big verdicts related to the asbestos in its talcum-powder products causing ovarian cancer. Who would have ever thought that something as seemingly innocuous as talcum powder could be so injurious?
Many of us probably associate 3M with Post-It® Notes. However, in late 2018, it came to the attention of many that 3M had settled a whistleblower case regarding defective earplugs that they had manufactured and sold to the U.S. Military. The result was that many military personnel, not just those in the battlefield, were exposed to sounds that are have potentially caused deafness, partial hearing loss and tinnitus. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) reports that 2.7 million veterans receive benefits for hearing loss, in addition to the suffering by those currently serving.
Mesothelioma, asbestos and hernia mesh are among the many other pending major lawsuits that you may be aware of from TV ads, billboards, social media and the press.
With our dynamic economy, more and more products are being launched in increasingly shorter timeframes. The informed consumer needs to be alert to the risks that these products can potentially expose users to. Whether it is a drug designed to manage a chronic medical condition, a device to improve the quality of life or preventative treatment, even with correct usage, defects and unintended consequences can emerge which users should be cognizant of.
Over the years, my law firm Gregg Goldfarb LLP has considerable experience and expertise in this area of product liability. We have handled a wide array of defective product cases such as the drugs Phen/Fen, Vioxx, and hip replacement devices. However, it doesn’t stop at this as we continually monitor the health, wellness and medical fields to make sure that the products and services being offered are doing what the claim for the user and nothing detrimental.