Category: Products Liability

From 2003 to 2015, 3M Company manufactured and sold Combat Arms Earplugs to all four branches of the U.S. military. The earplugs were meant to block or cancel loud noises that could lead to hearing loss and tinnitus, a serious medical condition that causes a person to hear a constant roar/buzz noise. Unfortunately, the earplugs 3M sold were too short for proper insertion into many users’ ears and the earplugs gradually and subtly loosened until they were no longer effective. . . . Continue Reading

In the last two weeks, Volkswagen has admitted that it sold 11 million cars with so-called “Clean Diesel” engines worldwide that were equipped with software allowing them to cheat emissions tests.  Below are five things you need to know: What did Volkswagen do? Independent automobile researchers report that Volkswagen sold 11 million diesel cars that produced as much as 40 times the E.P.A. allowed limit of nitrogen oxide, a pollutant that contributes to respiratory problems including asthma, bronchitis, and emphysema. . . . Continue Reading

Bekman, Marder, Hopper, Malarkey & Perlin, L.L.C. is proud to announce that it has been named to the U.S. News and World Report “Best Law Firms” list.  Nationally, SCBMA was named to the Third Tier of the Best Law Firms in the are of Admiralty and Maritime Law.  In Maryland, SCBMA was named to the First Tier in the areas of Admiralty & Maritime Law , Arbitration, Mediation, Plaintiffs’ Medical Malpractice , Plaintiffs’ Personal Injury , and Plaintiffs’ Product Liability Litigation . For the 2015 “Best Law Firms” list, U.S. News and World Report uses a . . . Continue Reading

Last week, a federal jury in West Virginia awarded an Illinois couple $3.27 million in a transvaginal mesh case.  The plaintiff suffered from stress urinary incontinence, and, in 2011, underwent surgery to implant Johnson & Johnson’s transvaginal mesh sling.  Within a year, the sling had to be removed because it was causing her pelvic pain and pain during sexual intercourse.  The couple filed suit alleging that the mesh was defectively designed and that Johnson & Johnson had failed to warn . . . Continue Reading

Many keystrokes have been typed about General Motors’ faulty ignition switches and the tragic deaths of at least thirteen people who died when their airbags failed to deploy because of the defect.  Yesterday, GM released the report of its own internal investigation, performed by Anton R. Valukas.  Mr. Valukas and his team made many interesting findings and I expect we will write more postings about the report and its importance to our practice.  The most interesting finding to us, though, related to the role . . . Continue Reading