Top Product Dangers in 2023

Once a product becomes available for purchase, it should be safe for consumers — but unfortunately, that’s not always the case. There are many known defective or dangerous products available on the market in 2023 that may pose a serious risk to consumers.

If you or a loved one was injured as a result of any of the dangerous products listed below, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

Get in touch with us today to see if Sokolove Law may be able to help with your case.

Get a Free Legal Case Review

woman wearing a medical face mask walking through a store

Erythritol Sweetener

New studies have linked erythritol — a popular sugar alcohol used to sweeten food and drinks — to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

Products containing erythritol may include:

  • Artificial sweeteners like monk fruit, Splenda, and Truvia
  • Gum
  • Granulated and powdered sugar substitutes
  • Keto ice cream
  • Sports drinks
  • Other low-calorie and zero-sugar products

If you or a loved one suffered a heart attack or stroke after regularly consuming erythritol, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation.

Read More

EzriCare® Eye Drops

EzriCare Artificial Tears

In January 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged all consumers and health care providers to stop using Delsam Pharma and EzriCare Artificial Tears over-the-counter eye drops for dry eyes.

Both Delsam and EzriCare eye drops have been linked to infections nationwide that have led to:

  • Permanent vision loss
  • Hospitalizations
  • Death

Learn more about your legal options if you or a loved one used EzriCare eye drops and suffered harm.

Learn More

Onewheel® Electric Skateboards

Future Motion’s Onewheel electric skateboards can stop suddenly in motion and eject the rider from the device. This can cause serious injuries and, in some instances, death.

All models of Future Motion’s Onewheel skateboards can put riders at risk of death and injuries:

  • Onewheel®
  • Onewheel+®
  • Onewheel+ XR®
  • Onewheel Pint®
  • Onewheel Pint X®
  • Onewheel GT®

If you or a loved one was injured from a Onewheel skateboard malfunctioning, you may be eligible to seek justice and compensation through a lawsuit against Future Motion.

Read More

Infant Head Shaping Pillows

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning about the safety and effectiveness of infant head shaping pillows, which create an unsafe sleeping environment for babies.

Using baby head shaping pillows can increase the risk of:

  • Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
  • Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID)
  • Suffocation
  • Death

If your child was hurt or killed because of an infant head shaping pillow, contact Sokolove Law today. You may be able to pursue compensation through a lawsuit against the product manufacturer.

Read More

Chemical Hair Relaxer Products

image of a black woman with straight hair

Emerging studies have found that frequent use of chemical hair relaxers may double the risk of uterine cancer in women.

Dangerous chemicals found in different brands of chemical hair straighteners include:

  • Bisphenol A (BPA)
  • Formaldehyde
  • Metals (like arsenic, mercury, and lead)
  • Parabens

If you’ve used chemical hair relaxer products to straighten your hair and were later diagnosed with endometrial or uterine cancer, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the makers of these products.

Find Out More

Social Media Platforms

Social media platforms have been known to target children and teenagers, which has led to an alarming increase in social media addictions.

Spending multiple hours a day on social media may cause young people to develop depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and more.

Sites that pose a particularly high risk to adolescents include:

  • Meta Platforms’ (Facebook and Instagram)
  • Snapchat
  • TikTok
  • YouTube

If you or your child suffered from physical or psychological harm due to social media addiction, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit against the social media platforms responsible.

Learn More

Tesla™ Autopilot & Self-Driving Technology

Tesla™ autopilot and self-driving features have long been marketed as safe, but recent reports identified over 270 Tesla accidents caused by these features between July 2021 and June 2022, leading many to question how safe this technology may be.

Lawsuits against Tesla allege that the software has caused cars to:

  • Crash into stationary vehicles
  • Fail to recognize emergency vehicles or motorcycles
  • Run red lights and veer into traffic
  • Stop suddenly and unintentionally
  • And more

If you own a Tesla with autopilot or self-driving software, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit against Tesla and pursue compensation.

Learn More

Tepezza® for Thyroid Eye Disease (TED)

Up to 65% of patients who were given Tepezza (the brand name of teprotumumab) for thyroid eye disease (TED) may be at risk of suffering some form of hearing damage, according to new research.

Tepezza hearing-related side effects may include:

  • Autophony: Your own voice echoing or sounding too loud
  • Hyperacusis: Extreme or unusual sensitivity to sounds
  • Hypoacusis: Partial loss of hearing
  • Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Deafness or permanent loss of hearing
  • Tinnitus: Ringing in the ears

If you or a loved one experienced hearing loss or damage after receiving infusions of Tepezza, you may be able to seek justice through a Tepezza lawsuit.

Find Out More

Acetaminophen or Tylenol® Pain Relief Medication

New studies suggest that taking Tylenol (the brand name of pain relievers acetaminophen and paracetamol) while pregnant may increase the risk of multiple disorders in children.

Some of the most common disorders include:

Johnson & Johnson may have known about the risks associated with taking Tylenol during pregnancy. However, they failed to place a warning label on their products or notify the public of these risks.

If your child was diagnosed with ASD or ADHD after Tylenol use during pregnancy, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation.

Learn More

Gardasil® HPV Vaccine

Thousands of adults and adolescents who received the Gardasil HPV vaccine have reported suffering from severe and debilitating side effects.

Some of the Gardasil side effects include:

  • Autoimmune disorders
  • Chronic fatigue
  • Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
  • Movement disorders
  • Neurological disorders
  • Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS)

If you’ve experienced serious side effects after receiving the Gardasil vaccine, we may be able to help you pursue compensation through a Gardasil side effects lawsuit.

Read More

Exactech® Implants

Exactech Inc. has recalled various implant and replacement products due to the risk of premature device failure and other adverse health events.

Included among the recall are certain models of:

  • Exactech ankle implant systems
  • Exactech hip replacement systems
  • Exactech knee replacement systems

If you or your loved one suffered side effects from an Exactech ankle, knee, or hip replacement, you may be eligible to pursue compensation through an Exactech lawsuit.

Learn More

Chemotherapy Drug Taxotere®

Taxotere®, which is the brand name of docetaxel, is an intravenous chemotherapy drug that works by slowing or stopping the growth of cancerous cells.

This chemotherapy drug is used to treat various types of cancer, including:

  • Breast cancer
  • Head/neck cancer
  • Lung cancer
  • Prostate cancer
  • Stomach cancer

Unfortunately, Taxotere has been linked to severe, potentially permanent, eye injuries and vision damage. If you or a loved one suffered eye damage after being treated with Taxotere, you may be entitled to compensation.

Find Out More

Royal Sovereign Portable Air Conditioners

Over 30,000 Royal Sovereign and Royal Centurian portable air conditioners were recalled due to the risk of serious injury, property damage, and death.

A faulty drain motor can ignite the unit’s plastic encasing and pose fire and burn hazards to consumers.

The recalled Royal Sovereign portable AC units include the following models:

  • ARP-3012
  • ARP-3012 KIT
  • ARP-3012S
  • ARP-3014
  • ARP-3014 SC
  • PAC-3012
  • PAC-3012 RB

If you or your loved one suffered injuries from a recalled Royal Sovereign AC unit, you may have legal options available to you.

Learn More

Drive DeVilbiss® Adult Bed Rails

Nearly 500,000 Drive DeVilbiss® adult bed rails were recalled in December 2021, following at least two asphyxiation deaths nationwide.

The recall affects certain models of the following adult bed rail products:

  • Bed Assist Handle
  • Bed Assist Rail with Folding Board
  • Home Bed Assist Handle

If you suffered injuries, or your loved one died, from using a recalled Drive DeVilbiss adult bed rail, you may be eligible to take legal action to pursue compensation.

Learn More

Cow’s Milk-Based Baby Formula and Milk Fortifiers

powder milk baby formula blue spoon

Cow’s milk-based baby formula and milk fortifier products can greatly increase the risk of low-birth-weight and premature babies developing a serious, potentially fatal, intestinal disease called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

Unfortunately, many popular baby formula and milk fortifier products on the market today have cow’s milk in them, including:

  • Enfamil™
  • Similac®

If your baby was premature and developed NEC after being fed cow’s milk-based formula products, even while still under hospital care, you may be able to seek justice and compensation through a baby formula lawsuit.

Find Out More

Irbesartan Blood Pressure Medication

white pills and prescription bottle

Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has recalled all batches of the following high blood pressure medications due to potential health risks:

  • Irbesartan (which is sold under several brand names, like Avapro®)
  • Irbesartan hydrochlorothiazide (sold under brand name Avalide®)

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the company found unsafe levels of a probable human carcinogen known as N-nitrosoirbesartan in certain batches.

If you took either of these medications and were later diagnosed with cancer, you may be eligible to file an irbesartan recall lawsuit.

Read More

Boppy® Pillows

After at least eight infants suffocated to death in Boppy® Newborn Loungers, The Boppy Company issued a recall of all 3.3 million makes, models, and color variations of their Newborn Lounger products.

The recalled Boppy baby products include:

  • Boppy Original Newborn Loungers
  • Boppy Preferred Newborn Loungers
  • Pottery Barn Kids Boppy Newborn Loungers

If your child was injured in a Boppy baby lounger, you may be able to file a Boppy lawsuit to pursue compensation.

Read More

Philips Ventilators, BiPAP, and CPAP Machines

woman sleeping with a cpap machine

Philips Respironics recently recalled a variety of their respiratory care and sleep apnea machines due to potential health risks.

The affected products include various models of:

  • Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure (Bi-level PAP or BiPAP) Devices
  • Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) Machines
  • Mechanical Ventilators

A sound-reducing foam used in these products can break down and be inhaled by the user, potentially leading to sinus infections, respiratory issues, cancer, and more.

Read More

NuVasive Precice® System Devices

older woman rubbing calf muscle in pain

NuVasive Specialized Orthopedics, Inc. issued an urgent advisory for both their stainless steel and titanium-based Precice® System devices due to biocompatibility issues or concerns.

Precice System devices are designed to help with:

  • Lengthening or shortening limbs
  • Fixation or resetting and stabilizing bone fractures
  • Malunions and nonunions
  • Pseudoarthrosis
  • Transporting long bones

NuVasive and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have advised health care providers to monitor patients with any of these devices until more is known.

Read More

NuVasive MAGEC® System Devices

young child getting a spinal adjustment from medical professional

NuVasive Specialized Orthopedics, Inc. issued an urgent field safety notice for its MAGEC® System spinal rods, advising health care providers to monitor children implanted with these devices.

A mechanical component failure in these spinal growing rods can lead to a range of health risks due to biocompatibility issues.

MAGEC devices are used to help:

  • Correct spinal curvature and deformities as the child grows
  • Lessen the severity of early-onset scoliosis
  • Prevent the need for future invasive surgeries

While the MAGEC X device is back on the market, all other models have been discontinued at this time, pending further biocompatibility testing.

Read More

Gopher Resource Lead Smelter

lead smelter pouring hot liquid lead

The Gopher Resource lead smelting plant in Tampa, Florida focuses on recycling lead-acid batteries. Workers extract lead from used car batteries, melt it down, and reform it as a block of metal.

However, according to an investigation by the Tampa Bay Times and PBS Frontline, Gopher Resource:

  • Exposed employees to lead levels that were hundreds of times higher than the federal limit
  • Knew about the excessive lead dust but didn’t provide workers with effective protection
  • Failed to warn their employees of the dangers of lead dust exposure and lead poisoning

Unfortunately, Gopher Resource’s actions didn’t just put their workers at risk. Their employees often went home covered in lead dust, unknowingly exposing their loved ones as well.

Read More

FiberCel Fiber Viable Bone Matrix

woman rubbing ankle in pain

FiberCel Fiber Viable Bone Matrix is a surgical bone product used to help bones and fractures heal more quickly. In June 2021, however, Aziyo Biologics, Inc. issued an urgent recall of one lot of its fiber powder product due to contamination.

Some of the procedures that utilize the contaminated FiberCel fiber powder product include:

  • Fracture repairs
  • Orthopedic or reconstructive bone grafts
  • Spinal fusions

Patients who received FiberCel from the contaminated lot may have been exposed to the bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB). Over 100 patients may have been exposed so far.

Read More

Montelukast (Singulair®)

woman clutching chest, trying to catch breath from asthma attack

Montelukast is an asthma and allergy prescription drug that has been marketed and sold under the brand name Singulair® by Merck & Co., Inc. since 1998.

Singulair, however, has been linked to many neuropsychiatric or mental health side effects, including:

  • Aggression and irritability
  • Anxiety and depression
  • Disorientation, hallucinations, or confusion
  • Sleep problems like insomnia and nightmares
  • Suicidal thoughts and action

Multiple Singulair class action lawsuits have been filed and are still pending in court. If you or your child took Singulair and experienced mental health side effects, you may be able to take legal action to pursue compensation.

Read More

Peloton® Tread+™

woman running on a treadmill

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has called for all households with children and pets to stop using the Peloton Tread+, an at-home treadmill, immediately, citing:

  • Dozens of past reports of children being trapped, pinned, or pulled under the rear roller of the product
  • An accident in February that severely injured a 3-year-old
  • A second safety incident that resulted in a child’s death

As a result of these dangers, the Peloton Tread+ was recalled and pulled from the market. If you or your loved one were injured on a Peloton Tread+, contact Sokolove Law today.

Read More

Fisher-Price® Rock ‘n Play™

baby sleeping peacefully

The Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper has now been pulled from the market, after an investigation by Consumer Reports found that the overall design of the sleeper poses life-threatening risks to babies.

According to this groundbreaking investigation by Consumer Reports:

  • At least 32 babies have died inside the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper
  • A cardinal rule of infant care is that newborns must lay flat on their backs
  • The Rock ‘n Play Sleeper allows babies to lay on their backs at an incline
  • Laying at an incline increases the risk of a baby accidentally suffocating

The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning to consumers in 2019, but these dangerous infant sleepers remained on the markets for years afterwards.

Read More

Roundup® Weed Killer

bottles of Roundup weed killer on a shelf

The active ingredient in the weed killer Roundup is glyphosate, an herbicide that has been linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other cancers.

Monsanto, the company that makes the weed killer, recently banned the use of glyphosate in residential products — but it remains in products used by agricultural professionals.

Those at risk of developing Roundup-related cancers include:

  • Avid gardeners
  • Farmworkers
  • Garden center and nursery workers
  • Groundskeepers
  • Horticulturists
  • Landscapers

If you or a loved one was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma or another cancer after being exposed to Roundup, you may be eligible to take legal action against Monsanto.

Read More

Talcum Powder

talcum powder spilled across a table

Talcum powder is made from talc, a mineral that's mined from the earth. However, talc can be contaminated with microscopic asbestos fibers. Exposure to asbestos in talc products, like Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder, can lead to serious and sometimes fatal illnesses.

Lawsuits allege that Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder can cause:

  • Lung cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Stomach cancer
  • Uterine cancer
  • Other forms of cancer and serious illnesses

If you used talcum powder and were later diagnosed with cancer, you may be able to file a talc lawsuit and pursue compensation.

Read More

Paraquat Herbicide

risk of herbicide paraquat

For decades, the toxic herbicide or weedkiller paraquat has been sprayed on commercial farms to prevent weed growth near crops. Unfortunately, paraquat exposure has been linked to Parkinson’s disease, a neurodegenerative brain disorder that gradually becomes worse with time.

Exposure to paraquat can happen if you:

  • Apply, load, or mix paraquat
  • Come into contact with sprayed plants
  • Get paraquat on your skin
  • Inhale or ingest the weedkiller

Learn more about filing a paraquat lawsuit to pursue financial compensation for your care.

Read More

Fight Back Against Dangerous Products with Sokolove Law

If you were injured as a result of a dangerous defective product like those listed above, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit to pursue financial compensation for your injuries.

As a nationwide law firm, Sokolove Law has helped thousands of clients across the country secure over $8.8 Billion in total results during the last 40+ years.

Get a free case review today to see if we may be able to help you too.

All brands are trademarks of their respective companies.

Author:
Sokolove Law Team

Contributing Authors

The Sokolove Law Content Team is made up of writers, editors, and journalists. We work with case managers and attorneys to keep site information up to date and accurate. Our site has a wealth of resources available for victims of wrongdoing and their families.

Last modified: March 22, 2023

  1. thisisbossi from Washington, DC, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
  2. Michael Sheehan, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons