Posts by Michael Phelan
Another Person Killed by a Takata Airbag
Days after Honda Malaysia announced a recall of an additional 145,000 Hondas to replace defective front passenger airbag inflators, a Malaysian woman died after the airbag in her Honda ruptured in a minor collision. When police arrived at the scene, the driver airbag had ruptured and the driver was bleeding from her chest from a…
Read MoreTakata Airbags and Products Liability Law
Takata Airbag Recall Largest in U.S. History
Mark Rosekind, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), announced on Wednesday that NHTSA was requiring Takata to work with automakers to recall an additional 35-40 million Takata airbags. This brings the Takata airbag recall number in the U.S. to nearly 65 million airbags, the largest in U.S. history. NHTSA’s announced reason for…
Read MorePinnacle Hip MDL: 5 Things to Know
This is part two of a two part question and answer piece about the DePuy Pinnacle metal-on-metal hip implant system. Part one focused on the recent $502 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson and its unit, DePuy Orthopaedics. This part focuses on the multidistrict litigation (MDL) involving the Pinnacle Hip Implant litigation. We first wrote…
Read MoreThe Challenges of Proving Traumatic Brain Injury
One of the most challenging aspects to proving a case involving traumatic brain injury is rebutting the testimony of medical expert witnesses hired by the defense who claim that no such injury exists. The very defense experts who make their living testifying against plaintiffs in traumatic brain injury cases have also testified against brain-injured veterans…
Read MoreTakata Airbag Recalls and Deaths Mounting
Takata airbags have been recalled in approximately 25 million vehicles worldwide, and at least 12 deaths have been attributed publicly to the defective airbags. I say “publicly” because there have been confidential settlements, which may have been kept from the […]
Read MoreNBC Exposes Bard IVC Filters
Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) filters are medical devices used in patients who are contraindicated for anticoagulant therapy. They are spider-shaped metal filters implanted into the largest vein in the body called the inferior vena cava, and are designed to prevent blood clots from traveling up to the heart and lungs. Medical device giant, C.R. Bard, made…
Read MoreClass I Recall of MicroPort’s ProFemur Hip Implant due to Fracture Rate
The FDA announced that it is recalling MicroPort Orthopedics’ ProFemur Long Cobalt Chrome 8 Degree Varus and Valgus Modular Neck implants over issues with the acute fractures. The agency labeled the recall as a Class I, the most serious type of recall, […]
Read MoreAfter the truck accident: what now?
If you have been involved in a tractor trailer truck accident or other big truck accident in Virginia, you need to take care of your medical needs first. However, it is very important that you also understand that the trucking company will likely send to the scene its own attorneys, phtotographers, and truck accident investigators as soon…
Read MoreThink the FDA tests products it approves? Think again.
Hundreds of products and drugs get approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration every year. Many people mistakenly believe that the FDA, because it has approved a device or drug, has also tested the product before allowing the sale. But this is not the case: the FDA conducts no independent testing, but rather relies…
Read More