Access To Justice

Just days after the NHTSA intensified its investigation into stalling problems with more than 1 million Toyota Corolla and Matrix vehicles, Toyota Motor Corp. announced it will recall about 1.13 million of the cars in North America because of an engine defect that could cause them to stop while being driven. Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles for safety and quality issues since last year.

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Two DePuy Orthopaedics ASR hip replacement systems were recalled by  Johnson & Johnson (J&J) after a new study found a high rate of second replacement surgeries in patients whose artificial joint didn’t fit properly. Earlier this week DePuy, a unit of J&J, received an FDA warning that it was illegally marketing two other joint systems.

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) is recalling 18,450 Char-Broil vertical gas smokers after receiving five reports of injuries inflicted after smoker explosions caused the doors to burst open and hit consumers, causing them burns to face and head, head concussion, and cuts.

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A class action lawsuit filed last week in Tulsa County District Court in Oklahoma alleges that BOK Financial Corp. and Bank of Oklahoma maximized customers’ overdraft fees by manipulating the order of electronic debit transactions to quickly deplete a customer’s available funds.

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Octapharma USA is voluntarily recalling 31 lots of its Octagam Immune Globulin Intravenous 5% Liquid Preparation as a precautionary measure in response to increased reports of blood clots, some of which were serious.

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To settle a class action alleging it mismarketed surgical cardiac ablation devices for an unapproved use, device manufacturer AtriCure will ante up $2.8 million.

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has begun investigating whether the gas tank placement in some Jeep Grand Cherokees increases the risk of a fire in the event of a rear-end or rollover crash. Regulators are looking at approximately 3 million vehicles in model years between 1993 and 2004.

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Avandia users face the same risk of a heart attack, heart failure, or death as those who take Actos, a rival diabetes medication, according to new research by health insurer WellPoint that differs sharply with earlier studies. The finding comes as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mulls whether GlaxoSmithKline’s Avandia should be pulled for safety reasons.

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Millions of backyard and public pools are using drain covers that haven’t been adequately tested and whose use may lead to “serious injury or deaths,” according to a confidential industry study reported on by ABC News.

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The results of a new Danish study add more evidence to earlier research that suggests a higher risk of cancer for diabetics who take insulin, although why this is so remains unclear. Two earlier studies have suggested a link between Lantus, a glucose-lowering drug used to control diabetes, and increased cancer risk in diabetics who use it.

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