Widespread use of fire-resistant material asbestos has led to massive health problems with as many as 90,000 deaths a year from exposure to this material. Characterized by breathing problems, chest pain, fatigue, and a host of other symptoms, lung cancer and mesothelioma related injuries have resulted from people breathing air contaminated by tiny fibers that asbestos releases. We are taking cases for those who are afraid they may have received some type of contamination from asbestos. For additional information about the symptoms and diseases associated with asbestos, please visit our mesothelioma attorney practice center.

There are settlement funds available for individuals who have been injured by asbestos related diseases. Occupations most commonly affected due to close proximity to asbestos related materials are:

• Homebuilders
• Contractors
• Insulation installers
• Electricians
• Plumbers
• Shipyard workers
• Railroad workers
• Demolition experts
• Process and power plant workers
• Miners
• Automobile mechanics
• Do-it-yourselfers

We also have practice centers for our state specific sites.
Utah Asbestos Lawyer
Idaho Asbestos Lawyer
Spokane Mesothelioma Lawyer

Over 2 million baby cribs with drop down sides are being recalled after 16 entrapments have occurred with babies. No deaths are being reported at this time.

If you are the owner of one of these cribs, contact the manufacturer immediately to see if they have a repair kit to immobilize the drop down side, or other instructions for you.

• 750,000 Jenny Lind drop-side cribs distributed by Evenflo Inc.
• 747,000 Delta drop-side cribs. Delta is also urging parents to check all fixed and drop-side cribs that use wooden stabilizer bars to support the mattress. The company says the bars can be installed upside down, causing the mattress platform to collapse. CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said Delta “was not cooperative with providing the full number of units involved in the mattress support assembly problem.”
• 306,000 Bonavita, Babi Italia and ISSI drop-side cribs manufactured by LaJobi Inc.
• 130,000 Jardine drop-side cribs imported by Toys R Us.
• 156,000 Million Dollar Baby drop-side cribs.
• 50,000 Simmons drop-side cribs.
• 40,000 to 50,000 Child Craft brand stationary-side cribs and an unknown number of Child Craft brand drop-sides. Child Craft ceased operations last summer and sold its name to Foundations Worldwide Inc., which did not manufacture or sell any of the recalled cribs but will offer rebates for some of them.

If you have had a friend or member of your family hurt by a crib or other dangerous product, we hope you will give us a call and let us try to help you with your situation.

For decades asbestos was used in all kinds of building materials because of its high fire-resistant properties. Tragically, the material becomes airborne when disturbed and enters the lungs of those who breath it causing a variety of diseases including lung cancer and mesothelioma. Anyone exposed to homes or work environments that used asbestos in the construction may have mild to serious symptoms of these diseases. Symptoms include persistent coughing, labored breathing, chest pain, wheezing, fatigue (due to low oxygen intake), swelling or pain in the abdomen, sore throat, bowel difficulties, and more. Treatments for the diseases caused by asbestos exposure are either very difficult such as a lung replacement, or not available.

Settlements can be reached for individuals who have suffered the effects of asbestos exposure. We encourage you to visit our practice area and learn more about this disease and how we can help you with your case.

Asbestos Lawsuit Help

If you or someone you know has purchased one of the 12 million collectible Shrek glasses at a McDonalds restaurant, McDonald’s is asking that you return the glass immediately for a full refund. They have discovered the glasses contain cadmium which has been shown to have injurious health effects. A few months ago certain retailers including Walmart issued a recall over jewelry containing cadmium which we reported on as well. McDonald’s has said the levels of cadmium are far less than that in the recalled jewelry, but it still warrants a recall to protect people from the long-term exposure to a material known to cause kidney and other health issues.

Some individuals are saying McDonalds will take a hit for selling an unsafe product to the public, but mistakes do happen and it is comforting to see that McDonalds is doing the right thing in recalling the glasses immediately after discovering the issue. The true problems occur when there are cover-ups and deceptive practices to benefit the bottom line while causing widespread problems for people such as in cases like fen phen and other dangerous drugs.

When you or someone you know needs a product liability attorney, we hope you will turn to Gregory & Swapp.

On May 6th, 2010, the FDA released a report on their inspection of a Tylenol Plant in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. The report was very discouraging and one former employee of Johnson & Johnson was reported to have said the report was “the worst I’ve seen. It suggests that basically the FDA found an issue with almost every system at the plant.”

We previously reported the large scale Tylenol recall that parent company McNeil had issued for dozens of liquid products and want to reiterate the need for parents to take precautions that if you have one of these lots that you return it to the store and get new medicine, preferably a generic that hasn’t been potentially tainted in some way with contaminants or by being made too weak or too strong in the active ingredients.

The CEO of J&J has publicly apologized, but with as widespread a problem as this is and with controls at the plant so lax, it seems stronger measures need to be taken to send a message. CNN Money reports that among the options the FDA has would be to shut down the plant or impose constant inspections. What do you think is fair? Comment below.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled all cribs with tubular metal mattress support frames. You should contact the store where you purchased the crib for information regarding a refund, replacement, or store credit.

The problem with these cribs was in the way the frame can bend or even break away, creating a space for an infant to become entrapped in or wedged. There has been at least 1 death of an infant and several injuries.

The CPSC also reminds parents to never use a crib with a missing or broken part. Infants and toddlers have died in cribs with makeshift repairs.

A number of products are being voluntarily recalled by McNeil Consumer Healthcare due to poor quality control introducing too much or too little of the active ingredient, as well as some contamination of the medicine by bacteria. In some cases black flecks are visible in the liquid. The products include certain liquid infant’s and children’s Tylenol®, Motrin®, Zyrtec®, and Benadryl® products. For a full listing please visit McNeil’s recall website.

The company’s press release states:

“The company is conducting a comprehensive quality assessment across its manufacturing operations and has identified corrective actions that will be implemented before new manufacturing is initiated at the plant where the recalled products were made.”

If you need a Utah product liability attorney, contact us today. We are licensed in most Western states and have offices in Idaho and Washington state.

An Oregon man won a $4.5 million verdict in first of its kind trial on pain pumps patients use in their joints to alleviate pain. The law firm handling the case pointed out during the 2 week trial that:

“the FDA had only approved the pain pump for use in the body for soft tissue surgery and had actually denied multiple requests by I-Flow to use it in joint surgery.
“First, I-Flow tried to get it approved for intra-articular surgery, and the FDA said no. Then they said proximal to the intra-articular space, and the FDA said no. Then they asked for approval in orthopedic surgery, and the FDA said no. Then they changed it to the synovial cavity, and the FDA said no. That’s four times total they were told no by the FDA,” Coletti said.

Unfortunately, I-Flow and other manufacturers pressed forward telling surgeons it was safe to use in joints following surgery. Now, thousands of victims are popping up needing shoulder replacement surgery following the improper and unauthorized use of this device.

Gregory & Swapp is handling these cases. If you or someone you know has been injured following joint surgery, please contact us right away to preserve your rights to a claim. For more information, please visit our joint injury website.

Over the past decade, manufacturers of pain pumps that deliver medication right to the shoulder joint, have instructed surgeons that it was acceptable and beneficial to insert the pump directly into the joint in the shoulder. Unfortunately, a high percentage of these situations has resulted in a condition called chondrolysis which deteriorates the cartilage in the shoulder until it is gone and victims have painful bone-on-bone injuries that require a shoulder replacement surgery.

The FDA has now issued warnings and stated that they never approved the devices for this use.

Many people have had labrum surgery of the shoulder and other instances where pain pumps can cause this issue, and they are living in pain not realizing what has transpired. If you know someone in this situation, please have him/her contact us immediately to preserve their rights and get the help needed to be made whole.

Shoulder Pain Pump Lawsuit

The diabetes drug Avandia has been linked to an increase in heart attacks according to a Senate Finance Committee Report. The report shows that in July 2007, Avandia had been associated with 83,000 heart attacks since the drug came to market. Manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline disputes the report saying the data wasn’t current enough.

Committee investigators say they found evidence that GSK had outside study results showing the cardiac problem, but they attacked the findings as incorrect.

Two FDA safety officials wrote in October 2008 “There is strong evidence that rosiglitazone [Avandia] confers an increased risk of [heart attacks] and heart failure compared to pioglitazone [rival drug on market].” They concluded that trials comparing the two would be “unethical and exploitive.” Yet, the trial is still under way, the senators say. (CNN)

This is an unfortunate example of what can go wrong when profit driven companies rely too heavily on the dollar and not the damage their drug may cause.  Like Fen-phen, it appears that company officers had knowledge that studies showed the drug as harmful, yet they attacked those studies and pressed on marketing their drug and getting it approved by the FDA.

If you or someone you know has taken Avandia and suffered a heart attack, please contact us right away to preserve your rights. Our product liability attorneys are experienced with these cases and many others and can help you to determine if you have a case. Contact us today at the phone number above, or using our web form.