Recently in Products Liability and Recalls Category

About 91,872 pounds of Perdue chicken nuggets sold at Wal-Mart were recalled, according to the Chicago Tribune's Problem Solver consumer news blog. The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's food Safety and Inspection Service announced the recall last Monday.

But since there were no reports of injury as of yet, it appears likely that it won't result in more work for Chicago injury lawyers.

More than one consumer complained that they found small pieces of blue plastic in the frozen chicken nuggets. The affected products were made on June 9 and shipped only to Wal-Mart, according to the Associated Press (via the Tribune).

While Chicago injury lawyers have been busy handling the numerous food poisoning suits against area Subway restaurants, as covered by this blog, advocates are pressing US Senators to pass a food safety bill that was approved by the House last year, the Washington Post reported.

Critics of the status quo claim the food industry is one of the country's least-regulated industries with the potential to harm or kill people, often through bacterial contamination. The illnesses linked to several suburban Chicago Subway restaurants are largely blamed on salmonella contamination.

Defibrillators have become more and more commonplace, as reductions in size and cost (as well as greater ease of use) have allowed more of the potentially life-saving devices to be deployed in public places. Defibrillators are used to shock patients who are in the throes of a heart attack.

But like all products, sometimes manufacturing or design errors cause problems. According to the Food and Drug Administration, Medtronic has recalled about 43,000 of its defibrillators due to a potential battery problem, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The Chicago Tribune reported on yet another food poisoning lawsuit against fast food chain Subway. Alicea Bush-Bailey, a 46-year-old Bolingbrook resident, claims she got sick after eating a sandwich from her local Subway restaurant. This Subway lawsuit is one of many recent ones filed against the chain.

Alicea Bush-Bailey's complaint, prepared by her Illinois injury attorney and filed in Will County court, claims the restaurant chain failed to prevent a salmonella outbreak. The suit reportedly doesn't indicate a dollar amount for damages but she claims the sandwich put her in the emergency room.

At least 97 people reported getting sick after eating at Subway restaurants in 28 counties, according to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health.

General Motors is taking the heat off Toyota after it announced a recall of roughly 1.5 million cars and trucks (2006 to 2009 model years), The New York Times reported. The besieged automaker cited a fire hazard related to its heated washer-fluid system.

If this sounds like déjà-vu, it's because GM recalled about two-thirds of the newly affected vehicles in 2008 for the same problem. But recent reports of short-circuiting and overheating in vehicles that received new wiring prompted the new recall.

GM said it received reports of five fires, but no injuries or crashes. Still, anyone who believes they were injured by an affected vehicle may want to contact an Illinois injury attorney.

National Public Radio's web site published an Associated Press article about  the recall of roughly 1.7 million Maytag dishwashers by parent company Whirlpool Corp. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's announcement of the recall last Thursday cited 12 reports of fires and dishwasher damage resulting from electrical failures.

No injuries have been reported, according to the CPSC, but there was one report of "extensive kitchen damage."

Seven brands of dishwashers with plastic tubs sold nationwide between February 2006 and April 2010 are affected by the recall: Maytag, Amana, Jenn-Air, Admiral, Magic Chef, Performa by Maytag and Crosley. They cost between $250 and $900 and come in a variety of colors and finishes, including black, white and stainless steel.

Public News Service reported on the recall of 1.8 million toy dart guns due to a choking hazard, which already has claimed the lives of a 9-year-old Chicago boy and a 10-year-old from Milwaukee. The gun sets are sold throughout the US at Family Dollar stores.

The federal Consumer Protection Safety Commission announced the mandatory recall after Plainfield, N.J. importer Henry Gordy International refused to do recall the toys itself. Illinois injury attorney Pete Flowers, president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, said he believes the recall comes way too late:

"The controls on those toys are clearly lacking. So, what they did was right, but it would have been better if they had done it sooner."

This is not the first time so-called "drop-side" baby cribs have been recalled, but the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recently announced a voluntary recall of Graco-branded cribs manufactured by LaJobi. The cribs have been cited as entrapment and suffocation hazards.

Roughly 217,000 of the units have been sold in the U.S. between Feb. 2007 and March 2010, priced from $140 to $200. The agency urges parents with the recalled cribs to stop using them and contact LaJobi for a free retrofit kit, either through the company's web site or by calling (888) 842-2215.

CPSC describes the safety hazard as follows:

The drop side hardware can break or fail, allowing the drop side to detach from the crib. When the drop side detaches, a hazardous gap is created between the drop side and the crib mattress in which infants and toddlers can become wedged or entrapped, posing a risk of suffocation and strangulation.

The Chicago Daily Herald reported on a truly surreal lawsuit filed by a Libertyville woman who claims the attachment hose on her Kirby vacuum cleaner sucked the hair right off her scalp last August. At least she knows the machine isn't lacking for power, but according to her complaint it sounds like the ordeal must have really sucked.

Plaintiff Terry Washburn Gattone was cleaning the carpet under her bed when the appliance broke, Illinois injury lawyer Thomas A. Reed told reporters. He said the attachment tube broke apart before causing injury to his client:

"As soon as it did, there was a tremendous sucking that took her hair right into the machine. Her hair was ripped right out by the roots."

Are you sure that expensive French chèvre actually comes from goat milk? How about the integrity of that high-priced, "extra virgin" olive oil? While most foodies would like to believe they can easily discern whether or not a high-end food item is what the label says it is, fraudulent food packaging is hardly new. 

And it's not limited to gourmet ingredients, either. 

An article in the Washington Post reported on so-called "food fraud," a phenomenon that seems to be amplified in this age of increased imports and fierce competition for your shrinking (i.e. recessionary) food dollar.