Is the City of Chicago liable for every accident that occurs when a pedestrian trips and falls on a public sidewalk? Of course not. But under certain circumstances, the City can be held liable. The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, considered just such a scenario in Waters v. City of Chicago, (No. 1–10–0759). In […]

A federal court recently ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $1.8 million $700,000 in actual damages and $1.1 million in punitive damages to an 82-year-old man from Minnesota who claimed that he was injured by the antibiotic Levaquin. The drug is an antibiotic used to treat infections such as pneumonia and chronic bronchitis, as well […]

The drug propoxyphone marketed and sold as Darvocet and Darvon was recently withdrawn from the U.S. market by its manufacturer, Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The drug, which is an opioid pain reliever used to treat mild to moderate pain, was originally approved by the FDA more […]

Graco recently recalled approximately 2 million Graco strollers because the strollers have been known to cause entrapment and strangulation, including four deaths between 2003 and 2005. There have also been several reports of infants becoming entrapped in the stroller, resulting in cuts, bruises and difficulty breathing. The recall includes the older versions of the Graco […]

The city of San Francisco has effectively banned McDonald’s Happy Meal. The city’s Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance on November 2, 2010 requiring that meals that include toys with their purchase, like the popular Happy Meal does, meet specific nutritional guidelines. Since the Happy Meal currently does not meet such nutritional requirements, it is […]

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), a children’s product is defined as a consumer product designed or intended for use primarily by children 12 years of age or younger, but, until recently, there was little clarification about the interpretation of the definition. Because children’s products are subject to strict product safety guidelines […]

When a manufacturer wishes to introduce a new medical device or reintroduce a device that will be significantly changed or modified to the extent that its safety or effectiveness could be affected, the manufacturer must provide the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with a Premarket Notification (PMA) in the form of a 510(k) submission […]

In Turner v. Illinois Gas Company, No. 2-08-0878, the plaintiffs brought suit after they were seriously injured when their rental home was destroyed by a natural gas explosion. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendant was liable for their injuries due to its negligent failure to inspect the gas piping in their home and warn them […]

The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois addressed the issue of a store owner’s liability for a shopper’s slip and fall allegedly caused by a loose floor mat in Gentry v. Shop’n Save Warehouse Foods, Inc., — F.Supp.2d —-, 2010 WL 1433410 (April 7, 2010). In Gentry, the injured plaintiff was […]

In March, the Fourth District of Illinois handed down Pickel v. Springfield Stallions, No. 4-09-0490 (March 23, 2010) Sangamon Co. (APPLETON). This case addressed this issue of whether the various defendants, all of whom operated a sporting stadium as partners, were liable for injuries sustained by the plaintiff while watching an indoor football game. In […]