Defective & Dangerous Products

• Smokers Have Until Jan. 11, 2008 to File Suit

  Courtney Mills | November 30, 2007 3:02 PM | 0 CommentsWest Palm Beach, FL

  The deadline to file suit is getting closer for plaintiffs who suffered from illnesses related to smoking. Last year the Florida Supreme Court overturned a class action civil damage award of $145 billion spread among 700,000 decided in 2000, requiring instead that each smoker show that cigarettes caused the damages. Although the Supreme Court dealt a major blow to plaintiffs by overturning the...

• Big Tobacco May Find the Florida Climate Much Too Hot

  John Hopkins | September 20, 2007 10:23 AM | 0 CommentsWest Palm Beach, FL

  Last year, the Florida Supreme Court appeared to have done Big Tobacco a favor iwhen it ruled that the $145 billion punitive damage verdict would have to be vacated and the "Engle Class" would have to be disbanded. Ruling that plaintiffs would have to proceed in individual trials against Big Tobacco. In fact, many on Wall Street saw it as a a huge victory for Big Tobacco. So, did Big Tobacco...

• Big Bird Weighed Down by Lead

  John Hopkins | August 02, 2007 8:43 AM | 0 CommentsWest Palm Beach, FL

  Fisher-Price is recalling 83 types of toys -- including the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters -- because their paint contains excessive amounts of lead. CNN reports that more than 967,000 toys have been recalled.This is a unique recall since Mattel, the parent company to Fisher Price, maintains very high quality control standards and have had only one previous recall of a...

• Its Not Just China--Castleberry Recalls 75 Brands

  John Hopkins | July 24, 2007 12:58 PM | 0 CommentsWest Palm Beach, FL

  China was criticised for bad pet food, poisoned toothpast and tires that they forgot to glue together. But, not to be outdone, enter Castleberry Food Company. They have issued recall of 75 different products; all apparently suspected of being contaminated with botulism. Botulism contamination of canned, processed foods, in the US is extremely rare. That said, botulism can cause a severe,...

• China's Version of the FDA--Tough Place to Work

  John Hopkins | July 17, 2007 9:56 AM | 0 CommentsWest Palm Beach, FL

  China has certainly suffered its share of setbacks in the export of products to the rest of the world. They have allowed tainted toothpaste to leave their country and deadly dog & cat food to be exported. Most recently, it was discovered that Chinese tires were manufactured without including the material that binds the belts together. China's response to this event has been essentially two-fold....

• What is the Solution?

  Armand Rossetti | July 06, 2007 9:42 AM | 0 CommentsWest Palm Beach, FL

  Most strains of Acanthamoeba will survive exposure to AMO's Complete MoisturePlus, Alcon's OptiFree Express and B&L's ReNu MultiPlus. Under testing conditions that reflect the "real world," none of those solutions are stellar performers, and only one is effective under certain conditions. Recently, Complete Moisture Plus has been shown to be seven times more likely to have caused the most recent...

• AMO Urges Consumers to Dispose of Evidence

  John Hopkins | June 27, 2007 9:54 AM | 0 CommentsWest Palm Beach, FL

  The OCRegister reported that AMO and the FDA are "...urging people to dispose of Complete Moisture Plus Multi-Purpose solution...", which the CDC and FDA have linked to a rare and unusual eye infection. Acanthamoeba is an organism commonly found in water. Although most acanthamoeba infections occur in contact lens wearers, it is extremely rare; affecting only one or two wearers in every million...

• Two Questions that Concern AMO and Acanthamoeba Infections

  Armand Rossetti | June 12, 2007 2:24 PM | 0 CommentsWest Palm Beach, FL

  The cornea is the only tissue in the body that Acanthamoebae (or Acanthamoeba) can invade in individuals with healthy immune systems. Otherwise, those individuals can usually avoid Acanthamoeba infections that affect the skin, brain and lungs. This blog briefly addresses two questions: 1) Why is the cornea more susceptible to Acanthamoeba than other tissues in the body; and 2) How could a...

• Its in the Water? Researchers Blame the EPA for Contact Lens Infections

  John Hopkins | June 11, 2007 8:58 AM | 0 CommentsWest Palm Beach, FL

  So, AMO and Bausch want to blame the EPA and the water for their problems with ReNu® and Complete® contact lens solutions. Conveniently, researchers in Illinois stood ready with a study that gave the opportunity to blame the Environmental Protection Agency for the whole problem. The researchers, Drs. Tu and Joslin reported infections from acanthamoeba that were drastically higher than normal....

• Contact Lens Solution Linked to Acanthamoeba Keratitis

  John Hopkins | May 30, 2007 9:12 AM | 0 CommentsWest Palm Beach, FL

  On May 25, AMO (Advanced Medical Optics) announced a recall of their "No Rub" solution, Complete® MoisturePlus ™ Multipurpose Solution. Although the company stands by its product and casts the blame on contact lens wearers who "improperly store, disinfect or handle" their contact lenses, the CDC forced them to recall the solutionThis recall is not so distant from Bausch & Lomb's recall of...