Consumer Advocate

Published on: December 11, 2012

Honda Announces Major Recall on Family Vehicles

Honda has recalled almost 900,000 minivans and SUVs across the globe because they can “roll away even though drivers have removed the keys from the ignition.” The recall affects primarily vehicles sold in the United States. More than 807,000 of the 870,000 recalled vehicles were sold in the United States.

The models affected include 347,000 Honda Odyssey minivans and 277,000 Pilot SUVS from the years 2003 and 2004 and 247,000 Acura MDX SUVs from 2003 to 2006. “The mechanism that locks the key in the ignition while the vehicles are in gear can wear out.” When that happens, drivers can remove the key without putting the vehicle into “Park.” Some vehicles have rolled off while in hear. Vehicles brought to authorized Honda dealerships will have the ignition interlocked replaced or repaired for free.

Over 43 complaints were filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The defect has been linked to 16 crashes. Two individuals were hurt in the crashes; one driver suffered a broken leg in the crash. The driver had parked the van in his sloped driveway. After he walked away from the vehicle, it began to roll backwards and the driver tripped while trying to prevent the van from rolling any further.

Honda recalls more than 800,000 minivans, www.miamiherald.com November 27, 2012.

Published on: November 9, 2012

Massachusetts Health Officials Crack Down After Meningitis Outbreak

by Friedland | Carmona

After the deadly meningitis outbreak that has spanned several states, The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has closed another compounding pharmacy over sterility concerns. The surprise inspection of the Infusion Resource premises revealed “significant issues with the environment in which drugs were being mixed.” Infusion Resource primarily mixes sterile injectable drugs for recently-released hospital patients. While there have been no complaints at the facility since it opened in 2009, Dr. Madeleine Biodolillo of the state Department of Public Health revealed that the current manager at Infusion Resource was a former employee of “Ameridose which owned by the same people who ran New England Compounding Center,” which is the facility that has been primarily responsible for the meningitis outbreak.

Dr. Biodolillo has not revealed what drugs or issues led to the closure of the facility, but she did reveal that the primary concern was sterility. After the inspected, the company voluntarily gave it up pharmacy license and Infusion Resource has agreed to contact forty patients and their doctors to request that they return unused medication. The company facility also had an area to “administer intravenous drugs, which it was not licensed to do.” Infusion Resource’s CEO stated the company will take immediate action to comply with the issues noted in the inspection. “No issues were cited relating to the integrity of our products nor to the quality of our compounding practices,” he said in a statement.

The inspection came weeks after a nationwide outbreak of fungal meningitis killed over twenty people and sickened more than 300. The tainted steroid has been linked to the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts and has forced public health officials in the state to crack down on several health facilities. Dr. Lauren Smith, interim commissioner of the state Department of Public Heath stated that the five new inspectors will be added to the department to review all the compounding pharmacies by the end of the year. Prior to outbreak, compounding pharmacies were only inspected when they opened or moved or if the department received substantive complaints. She also said the state is taking steps to tighten reporting requirements for compounding pharmacies.

Mass. shuts down another compounding pharmacy, www.miamiherald.com November 09, 2012.

Published on: November 8, 2012

Chrysler Recalls Almost 1 Million Vehicles

by Friedland | Carmona

Chrysler has recalled over 900,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Liberty SUVs after discovering that the airbags can inflate while the car is being driven. All Grand Cherokees from 2002 through 2004 and Libertys from 2002 through 2003 have been recalled. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “a part can fail in the airbag control computer, and the front and side air bags can inflate while the SUVs are being driven.

The agency’s investigation unveiled that the airbags inflated unexpectedly more than 215 and caused more than 80 injuries. The investigation did unveil that no crashes were reported as a result of this problem but the agency believes that the unexpected inflation could potentially cause a wreck. Dashboard warnings do light up before the airbags are inflated and when it happens, owners should contact their nearest Jeep dealership.

To alleviate the problem, Chrysler will install an electrical filter at no cost to the owner. Almost 745,000 of the 919,000 recalled vehicles are in the United States, with about 50,000 in Canada and 20,000 in Mexico. The investigation began in October of last year when Jeep owners began reporting problems of the airbags deploying and seatbelts tightening as if bracing for a collision. Owners should visit their closest Jeep dealer to have the replacement part installed as soon as possible.

Chrysler to recall 919,000 SUVs to fix air bags, www.miamiherald.com November 08, 2012

Published on: October 19, 2012

Defective Medication Leads To Meningitis Outbreak; 3 Dead In Florida

by Friedland | Carmona

A tainted steroid medication has led to at least three deaths in Florida and almost twenty across the nation. Dr. John Armstrong, Florida’s Surgeon General and Secretary of Health, said that the tainted steroid has led to the onset of meningitis symptoms in at least thirteen Floridians. Over 240 people across the nation have contracted meningitis from the contaminated medication.

The medication, which was to be used for back pain, originated in the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts. Federal health officials are still trying to determine how the medication was contaminated. Officials are also trying to determine if any other medications from the facility have been contaminated.

Over 260 health care facilities in Florida have received the contaminated medication. State officials are urging doctors and heath care centers to contact any patients who may have been treated with the medication, particularly patients who were treated for eye or heart surgery, since January. Armstrong did note that the only medication “implicated in infection is the steroid used for epidural back injections.” At least one lawsuit has been filed against a health center that administered the contaminated medication.

3rd person dies from Fla. meningitis outbreak, www.miamiherald.com October 17, 2012.

Published on: October 10, 2012

Toyota Announces Its Largest Recall Yet; Recalls Over 7 Million Vehicles

by Friedland | Carmona

Toyota is recalling over seven million vehicles due to defective power window switches. The defective switches have led to several vehicle fires and even some deaths. This the largest recall for Toyota and comes only two years after Toyota was forced to recall almost 4 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

In August 2009, a California family of four was killed in a fiery crash while riding in a Lexus loaner vehicle. The mats trapped the gas pedal and led to the crash. In October, Toyota recalled 3.8 million vehicles because the floor mats trapped the gas pedal. A month later, Toytoa announced a plan to shorten the gas pedal to eliminate the problem but also increased the recall to over 4 million vehicles. In January of the following year, Toyota recalled another 2.3 million cars because the gas-pedal assembly stuck and led to “unintended acceleration,” and suspends production on eight Toyota models. In Feburary, over 400,000 Priuses are recalled for brake issues. In July, Toyota opens six offices in the United States to research information about its ongoing safety issues. In December 2010, the U.S. government slaps $48.8 million in fines for delays in to reporting Toyota’s ongoing recalls to the government. Today, Toyota announces its largest recall to fix the faulty window switches.

A look at Toyota’s safety struggles, www.miamiherald.com October 10, 2012.

Published on: August 22, 2012

Does Progressive Pay?

by Friedland | Carmona

Last week, Matt Fisher wrote a blog post on his personal blog entitled, “My Sister Paid Progressive Insurance to Defend Her Killer in Court,” detailing his family’s experiences with Progressive Insurance after his sister’s death. In the post, he detailed how his sister Katie was killed when another driver ran a red light and crashed into her vehicle in June 2010. The other driver’s insurance company settled with the Fisher family almost immediately, but Katie’s insurer, Progressive, refused to pay. Katie had carried a policy that required Progressive to pay the difference between an underinsured driver’s policy and her policy limit. Instead of paying, Progressive required the Fisher family to sue the driver who hit Katie, establish his negligence in court and then use the verdict as leverage to try to force Progressive Insurance to pay the remainder of the policy. The family filed a wrongful death suit in the hopes that Progressive would settle, but Progressive never offered more than one-third of the policy limit. At trial, Progressive Insurance represented the man who killed Katie Fisher.

Matt Fisher’s blog went viral and became a public relations nightmare for Progressive Insurance. According to the Wall Street Journal, “more than 1,000 people on Twitter claimed to have dropped Progressive as their insurer in a four-day span last week.” Another 1,600 Twitter users stated that they would not do business with the company in the future. After the media firestorm, Progressive Insurance released a statement revealing that it had reached a settlement with the Fisher family.

Sadly, the Fisher family is likely not the only family that has had to deal with the run-around from Progressive Insurance. The Friedland | Carmona has represented dozens of clients insured by Progressive and dozens of clients that have been injured by other drivers who were insured by Progressive in their Personal Injury Protection (PIP) claims against the insurance company. The attorneys at the Friedland | Carmona have litigated a number of medical bill claims that Progressive Insurance refuses to pay. Often, Progressive Insurance will delay paying medical bills, forcing attorneys to file a lawsuit in order to have the bills paid. Even then, Progressive will delay paying the bills until their doctors review the claims or until a judgment is rendered, regardless of the injured party’s condition.

Published on: August 16, 2012

Many Luxury Cars Receive Poor Safety Ratings

by Friedland | Carmona

Sometimes you don’t always get what you pay for. Since early last year, both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety have implemented more rigorous crash-testing procedures that makes a five-star rating more difficult to achieve. As a result, only three of the eleven cars that had previously received a five-star crash test safety rating managed to receive a five-star rating on their newest model.

Both the Acura TL and the Volvo S60 sedans received “good” ratings and the Infiniti G earned an “acceptable” rating. However, the Mercedes Benz C-Class, Lexus IS 250/350, Audi A4 and the Lexus ES 350 all received a “poor” rating. The Insurance Institute scores are often referenced in car advertisements and “most of the models evaluated in the new overlap test, including those that received marginal and poor ratings, were otherwise named 2012 IIHS “top safety picks” for top scores” for side and rear-impact crash tests.

Since crash tests have been implemented, crash-related deaths are no longer on of the leading causes of death in the United States. However, “nearly every new car performs well in other frontal crash tests conducted by the Institute and the federal government, but we still see more than 10,000 deaths in frontal crashes each year.” Crash tests are working to mimic real life crashes to determine how people are seriously injured and how these injuries can be prevented. Researchers are looking at straight-on front end crashes, small overage crashes and crashes in which a car strikes a stationary object in “more of a glancing blow.”

Luxury Cars Struggle In New Crash Tests, www.forbes.com August 14, 2012.

Published on: July 12, 2012

Almost 500,000 Chicco Highchairs Recalled

by Friedland | Carmona

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission and manufacturer Artsana USA have announced a voluntary recall of almost 500,000 units of the popular Chicco Polly Highchair. The highchairs, which were manufactured prior to October 13, 2010, have pegs that stick out from the back legs. The pegs are intended for tray storage.

The highchairs are being recalled after reports of children falling on or against pegs that stick out from the back of the highchair. There have been twenty-one reported injuries of bruising and lacerations resulting from the falls. Several of the injuries required “medical closure,” meaning stitches or some other closure device was used. Another incident led to a scratched cornea.

The highchairs are typically sold through large retailers, including Babies R Us, Toys R Us, and Burlington Coat Factory, and other online retailers, including Amazon.com and Target.com. Twenty-six models have been recalled. The model number and date code are located underneath the seat. Contact Chicco at (800) 807-8817 if you believe your highchair has been recalled.

Man killed after crashing into Lehigh home ID’d, www.chiccousa.com July 12, 2012.

Published on: April 9, 2012

Spontaneous Fires In Chevrolet Cruze and Jeep Wrangler Investigated

by Friedland | Carmona

A federal investigation has been opened following complaints of fires erupting in the Chevrolet Cruze car. There have been two reports that General Motor’s best selling car has spontaneously caught fire while being driven. GM is looking into 19 warranty claims that involve fires in the Cruze. The Cruze is one of GM’s top selling models, with over 230,000 cars sold last year, outselling the Honda Civic, the Ford Focus and the Toyota Corolla. In one instance, a driver of a 2011 Cruze Eco smelled smoke and stopped the car. Suddenly, “a flame appeared under the hood and the car was completely engulfed in five minutes.” The warning light on the dashboard only clicked on after the flames had appeared. In another case, a driver was waiting at an intersection when another driver shouted that the car was on fire. Similar to the other fire, the car was almost instantly engulfed as well.

The investigation of the Cruze comes only two months after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed a similar investigation relating to fires in the Chevrolet Volt. GM added “structural reinforcement better protects the Volt’s battery pack from puncture or a coolant leak in a severe side crash” to the vehicle to prevent the spontaneous fires.

An investigation looking into the Jeep Wrangler sport-utility vehicle has also been opened after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration received eight complaints of engine fires in the 2010 Jeep Wrangler. Seven of the complaints stated that the fires erupted as the SUV was being driven.

Fires in Chevrolet Cruzes, Jeep Wranglers spark probe by feds, www.sun-sentinel.com April 1, 2012.

Published on: June 27, 2011

Fort Lauderdale Family Files Wrongful Death Suit Against Toyota

by Friedland | Carmona

The family of a Fort Lauderdale woman who died of carbon monoxide poisoning has filed a wrongful death suit against Toyota. Twenty-nine-year old Chasity Glisson was found dead and her boyfriend Timothy Maddock was found nearly dead in Glisson’s Boca Raton home with her keyless Lexus still running in the garage.

Keyless ignitions, which allow drivers to start their cars by simply pushing a button, have been blamed for several deaths nationwide. Toyota has other wrongful death claims filed against them for deaths similar to Glisson’s. A similar suit was filed in November 2010 after a seventy-nine-year old lawyer was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his Queens home, with his Lexus still running in the garage. Glisson’s family has also sued the townhouse community over its ventilation system. In regards to the accident, the family attorney stated, “We believe there should be some type of safety features that prevent something like this from happening. There may be personal responsibility here for people, but that responsibility shouldn’t result in someone’s death.”

Toyota sued over carbon monoxide death, www.upi.com June 15, 2011