Recent Posts in Defective Products/Product Liability Category

The family of a 7-year-old girl filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Allergan, Inc., the maker of the popular cosmetic drug Botox, alleging the company failed to warn doctors that prescribing large dosages of the drug to children could be dangerous.

Earlier this month an Orange County, California jury sided with Allergan, stating that the drug maker did provid adequate warnings about the drug’s risks and dangers.

The lawsuit was filed by the family of Kristen Spears, who was receiving large doses of Botox to help treat the side effects of her cerebral palsy. Botox helps relax contorted muscles and reduce limb spasticity, something Spears was suffering from. Spears’ mom, Dee, claims that after her daughter received large doses of the drug she developed pneumonia and respiratory failure, and later passed away. In her lawsuit, Dee Spears claims Allergan failed to provide adequate labels warning doctors of the drug’s dangerous side effects in children. Although some members of the jury agreed the drug does pose a risk of danger that “ordinary consumers” may not recognized, they ultimately determined that Allergan did not breath its duty to warn doctors and consumers of the drug’s risks, and therefore was not held liable for the drug’s adverse effects.

Last week the U.S. Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada announced that Starbucks Coffee Company has voluntarily recalled 11,000 glass water bottles in the United States and 1,200 water bottles in Canada.

The coffee giant decided to issue the recall after it received 10 reports of water bottles shattering, 8 of which resulted in hand lacerations. The water bottles usually shatter as the consumer is removing or inserting the stopper.

Product Description:

The recalled product is a 20-ounce bottle labeled with the words, “Glass Water Bottle” in blue. The SKU number on the bottle is 11003503. The bottles were retailed for approximately $9 each in Starbucks stores, as well as at Starbucks locations within other stores. The bottles were available for purchase during January 2010.

All consumers who purchased one of these water bottles is urged to stop using them right away and return them to the Starbucks location where it was purchased, where they will receive a full reimbursement. Each person will also receive a complimentary beverage.

Contact a Phoenix Product Liability Lawyer

When a person suffers an injury or death due to a defective product, they have the right to sue the product manufacturer, distributor, and/or retailer for damages in a product liability lawsuit. 

There are three main types of product liability lawsuits that can filed, depending on the type of defect:

• Design Defect:  This refers to an inherent defect in the design of the product. 

• Manufacturing Defect:  When there isn’t a defect with the design, but rather a product becomes defective during the manufacturing process, it is referred to as a manufacturing defect.  

• Marketing Defect:  Failing to include warning labels or failing to provide instructions on how to properly use the product are two examples of a marketing defect.