Product Liability

Published on: September 17, 2024

Apple Juices Recalled in Nationwide Stores for Elevated Levels of this Chemical, FDA says. What to Know.

Apple juice sold under numerous brands at stores all over the country, including Walmart, Aldi, BJ’s and others, is under FDA recalls over concerns of potentially harmful levels of arsenic, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The recall comes after an FDA report that included almost 10,000 cases of Great Value 100% Apple Juice that “contains inorganic arsenic above action level set in guidance to industry.”

A total of 133,500 cases of juice were recalled on Monday that had been sold under various brand names. In June 2023, the FDA made changes to its Final Guidance to Industry on Action Level for Inorganic Arsenic in Apple Juice. The current action level is 10 parts per billion (ppb).

Published on: September 10, 2024

One dead, two others injured after golf cart clams into propane truck over the weekend, cops say

By Leesfield & Partners

A man died after he lost control of his golf cart in Fort Myers and crashed into a propane truck Saturday, injuring his passenger and the driver of the truck, according to reporting from The Miami Herald.

The crash happened around 11 a.m. Saturday on Winkler Road. Officials with Florida Highway Patrol told reporters that the man was driving the golf cart south when he “left the road, overcorrected” and swerved into oncoming traffic, hitting a propane truck traveling in the opposite direction.

The golf cart driver, 44, was pronounced dead at the scene while his passenger, a 30-year-old man, was injured along with the driver of the propane truck. Both had minor injuries, according to local reporting.

Published on: August 6, 2024

FDA warns consumers about dangers of this supplement brand after lawsuit blames it for Georgia man’s death in December 2021

By Leesfield & Partners

The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to steer clear of Optimized Plant Mediated Solutions (OPMS) Black Liquid Kratom after officials allege the product can be linked to health conditions and death.

The FDA’s announcement comes after an investigation into the product following a slew of reports detailing users’ adverse health events and the death of a 23-year-old Georgia man who died in December 2021. Mitragyna speciosa, or kratom, is a plant that derives from Southeast Asia. Though the product is marketed as “all-natural” and is a plant supplement, it has yet to be approved by the FDA.

Some of the reported health concerns linked to the use of kratom include withdrawals, addiction, increased anxiety, digestive issues and restless leg syndrome. This condition causes patients to feel discomfort in their legs and have a compulsion to frequently move or shift them, especially at night or when resting.

Published on: August 1, 2024

An outbreak of Listeria prompted the recall of this popular deli meat all over the United States. Here’s What You Should Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

A Listeria monocytogenes outbreak caused the recall of over 200,000 pounds of Boar’s Head deli meat products, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Services announced Friday.

The recalled products include ready-to-eat liverwurst produced between June 11 and July 17. The company is also recalling other deli meats that were a part of the same assembly line that could have been exposed to the outbreak.

The recall was prompted by a Listeria monocytogenes infection investigation by the Maryland Department of Health and the Baltimore City Health Department. The Centers for Disease Control has identified 34 cases of Listeria from deli meat across 13 states. At least two people died from exposure as of last week and there have been approximately 33 hospitalizations.

Published on: July 9, 2024

A 45-year-old Washington man was killed lighting holiday fireworks. How to celebrate safely.

By Leesfield & Partners

A Washington man was found unresponsive after the fireworks he was lighting accidentally hit him in the head, knocking him unconscious, according to reporting from local news outlets.

The incident happened around 2:30 a.m. on July 5 as the man lit mortar-style fireworks, a kind of firework legal in Washington that explodes into stars once the fuse has been lit. Emergency responders pronounced the man dead at the scene. In Florida, it is illegal to use fireworks that contain shells, mortars, multiple tube devices, Roman candles, firecrackers, and rockets.

Firework Injuries & Deaths in the United States

Published on: April 20, 2023

Leesfield & Partners seeing an increase in drop-fire cases due to defective pistols

By Leesfield & Partners

Leesfield & Partners has represented many clients injured in drop-fire cases against gun manufacturers. One of the many allegations included that the subject pistols had a design defect which caused them to fire without the trigger being pulled. The flawed designs were responsible for the accidental discharges, which caused death or catastrophic injuries to our clients.

One of the common design defects pertains to a crucial component that ignites the gunpowder in the cartridge, which in turn propels the bullet out of the barrel. That component is the firing pin. The firing pin is a small metal rod that is spring-loaded and sits inside the slide of the pistol. When the trigger is pulled, it releases the hammer, which then strikes the firing pin, causing it to impact the primer on the cartridge. The primer contains a small amount of explosive that ignites the gunpowder and propels the bullet out of the barrel.

In past cases, attorneys with the firm were able to prove that the design defect was related to the firing pin releasing without the trigger being pulled -that it could happen whether the safety was engaged or disengaged, which is a separate design defect- causing the firing pin to impact the primer and discharge the firearm unintentionally.

Published on: April 8, 2021

Leesfield & Partners sues corporations responsible for creating safety standards that resulted in furniture tip-over fatality

By Leesfield & Partners

After settling a claim on behalf of their client whose son was fatally injured in a furniture tip-over incident at home, Leesfield & Partners attorneys filed a lawsuit against the entities behind the safety standards that the furniture industry lives by. American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) represents approximately 230 furniture manufacturers and distributors, and over 120 suppliers to the furniture industry worldwide. American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has 30,000 members worldwide overseeing more than 12,500 product safety and technical standards. The Furniture Safety Subcommittee within ASTM oversees the furniture stability standard, F2057-19.

In 2017, Meghan DeLong retained Leesfield & Partners to file a wrongful death lawsuit following the death of her 2-year old son, Conner, in a furniture tip-over incident. In their testing, our experts discovered that the dresser in question would tip-over 100% of the time they replicated a young child climbing atop the very piece of furniture. Inversely, the defendant manufacturer argued that the dresser’s design satisfied ASTM’s voluntary standards, including tip-over prevention standards, and that their experts’ testing results showed 0% occurrence of the dresser tipping over. How could these two findings be true?

The answer is found in the ASTM standards themselves. The voluntary standard ASTM F2057-14, Standard Safety Specification Clothing Storage Units, establishes requirements for free-standing clothing storage units, (CSU) such as dressers, chests, and armoires, in the United States, and is intended to minimize the hazards associated with tipover. In practice however, the testing methods implemented by the furniture industry and approved by ASTM F2057-14, do not take into account dozens of crucial human factors that, if taken into account, render most pieces of furniture dangerous, thus defective.

Published on: April 4, 2021

Furniture tip-over incident in Pompano Beach is most painful reminder of furniture industry’s inadequate standards and unacceptable negligence

By Leesfield & Partners

In the recent months, Leesfield & Partners represented a family whose 2-year-old child lost his life in a furniture tip-over incident that occurred in the toddler’s bedroom. Despite the family’s endless love, care, and attention, the tragedy could not have been avoided. Millions of people put their trust in industries to abide by safety guidelines to prevent needless incidents, and yet every single day nearly two children will have to be hospitalized from furniture incidents – and hundreds will lose be fatally injured. It was no different in our case. The manufacturer was trusted by our clients to be a safe and adequately designed piece of furniture. That dresser was even compliant with all the industry standards in effect, but when an industry self-regulates, tragedies seem to repeat themselves.

tip-over-for-fb-300x216 Due to the relentless pursuit of justice by attorneys with the firm, a $17.5 million settlement was secured for clients. Since then, Leesfield & Partners started its own campaign with ‘Anchor it!’, but most importantly the family has pursued legislative change and began funding an awareness campaign nationally to prevent similar tragedies from impacting others. An arduous mission which one day, hopefully soon, will deliver on its promise. Unfortunately, parents do not have the luxury to wait for legislative change, and Leesfield & Partners has had to litigate countless defective product cases on behalf of grieving families who have lost their most precious life.

This week, the firm resolved a long and difficult product liability case on behalf of clients who lost three members of their family, including two small children. Several claims against several manufacturers were litigated, experts in many different fields were retained, legal strategies were developed, weighed against the facts, and ultimately proved to be correct, resulting in an overall 8-figure confidential settlement.

Published on: April 8, 2019

CPSC Warning Issued for Fisher-Price Rock ’n Play sleeper after tenth infant death is not enough

By Leesfield & Partners

On April 5th, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning to consumers about the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play after another infant death, the tenth tragedy in less than 4 years.

The statement warns that infants aged 3 months or older, who are able to roll over while seated unrestrained in the Fisher-Price sleep, will be able to turn to their stomach or on their side and suffocate. CPSC recommends consumers to stop using the product when the infant is three months of age, or as soon as an infant exhibits rollover capabilities.

Needless to say, additional steps must be taken to reach as many consumers as possible. Many parents will continue to use the product unless Fisher-Price reaches out to or attempts to reach out to all of them.

Published on: August 29, 2017

Leesfield & Partners ramps up “Drop Fire” / Accidental Gun Discharge practice

By Leesfield & Partners

Since 2014, Leesfield & Partners has represented multiple victims of accidental gun discharge, including by “drop fire” where a loaded firearm discharges upon impact with the floor without the trigger ever being pulled.

The increase in accidental gun discharge cases has gone hand-in-hand with the increase in gun sales in the United States – and the numbers are telling. Between 2006 and 2016, the number of firearms processed by the National Firearms Act Branch (NFA) which maintains the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record has skyrocketed. In 2006, the NFA processed 296,127 firearms. In 2016, that number jumped by 850% with 2,538,397 processed firearms.

Why has this unprecedented increase in gun sales resulted in the explosion of accidental gun discharge cases in last decade?