Consumer Law

10 More Ideas for Getting CPSC Chair Nancy Nord Outta There!

Posted on April 10, 2009
There have been so many calls for Obama to replace Nancy Nord, the corporate crony Bush holdover who is still acting Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, we?ve about lost count. The latest comes from U.S. Senator Bill Nelson...

FDA?s Approval Process For Dangerous Medical Devices Not So ?Rigorous?

Posted on April 09, 2009
Eureka! After 30 years of chronic thumb twiddling, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reportedly asking manufacturers of some of the oldest and most dangerous medical devices on the market (like pacemakers) to offer assurances that their products are...

Life Without Lawyers? No, Thanks, Philip K. Howard

Posted on April 08, 2009
Greetings, civil justice fans! Take a look at The Daily Kos today for our review of corporate lawyer, Phil Howard?s ridiculous new book, Life Without Lawyers: Liberating Americans From Too Much Law. For those of you who don?t know him,...

In the News

Posted on April 08, 2009
Class action suit says taking care of luggage is not British Airways? ?bag.? On average, Americans spend more time (16 hours a year) watching ?often misleading? drug ads on TV than talking with their primary care doctors. Unlike efforts in...

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Recent Medtronic Heart Device Removals Just the ?Tip Of the Iceberg?

Posted on April 07, 2009
As loyal readers of ThePopTort know, the Center for Justice and Democracy just released a new study on defective heart devices that shows they?ve caused thousands of needless injuries and deaths. The study includes mention of the recent dismissal of....

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry Stands Strong For Civil Justice

Posted on April 07, 2009
About a year ago, we praised Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry for standing up for the sick and injured, despite enormous pressure from the insurance industry and medical establishment to enact laws that would significantly limit their ability to seek compensation...

In the News

Posted on April 06, 2009
To have a recalled medical device extracted through risky heart surgery, or not to have a recalled medical device extracted through risky heart surgery?for too many, that is the question. For Texas temporary workers, the ?tale of horror? we told...

The Insurance Industry and a Bogus Arson Conviction in Texas

Posted on April 06, 2009
There is perhaps nothing more tragic in our judicial system today is when an innocent person is convicted of a crime they did not commit. To date, the Innocence Project has exonerated 235 people using DNA evidence to overturn their...

In the News

Posted on April 03, 2009
Wyeth is the ?wind? beneath the Medical Device Act?s ?wings!? On the other hand, the Peanut/Salmonella fiasco hasn?t delivered the faintest breeze under the FDA. Disturbing news about the EEOC?add it to the post-Bush clean-up list? We?ve said it before,...

Myth Tally from the CPSIA Rally

Posted on April 03, 2009
We alluded recently to an April Fool?s Day rally that was to take place in Washington, DC for those interested in expressing their views about the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). While the event didn?t ultimately get that much...

Nancy Nord Wants Out of the CPSC

Posted on April 02, 2009
First it was key members of Congress calling for Nancy Nord to step down as head of the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) after she thumbed her nose at a proposal to double the agency?s budget. Then, still more members...

Seven Myth-Busting Facts About the CPSIA

Posted on April 01, 2009
Rumor has it that some of our friends in the small enterprise world may be heading down to Washington, DC today to express their views about the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). As a parting gift, ThePopTort is providing...

Setting Time Bombs in Our Chests: Our Unreliable FDA

Posted on March 31, 2009
Written by Ian Millhiser creator of Overruled, a blog on progressive legal issues, and an attorney with the National Senior Citizens Law Center, where his work focuses on restoring access to courts. This post was cross-posted from the Huffington Post...

In the News

Posted on March 31, 2009
Just in time for the release of CJ&D?s new study on defective heart devices, medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific Corp. is warning doctors of a defect that can cause their implanted defibrillators to deliver improper shocks to the heart, and/or...

More Proof of Workers' Compensation Harm

Posted on March 31, 2009
In 2006, the Center for Justice & Democracy released a study about the failure of workers' compensation systems in America, finding that ?workers? compensation programs throughout the country have been devastating for injured workers, leaving them to contend with an...

Patients Travel to Washington Today to Urge Congress to Restore Their Legal Rights

Posted on March 31, 2009
Medical Device Patients from around the country are in Washington, DC today to ask Congress to pass the Medical Device Safety Act organized by the Campaign to Stop Corporate Immunity (CSCI) a coalition of consumer, health and trade associations fighting...

CJ&D Releases New Study on Defective Heart Devices

Posted on March 30, 2009
Check out the Center for Justice & Democracy's new study, HEART SICK ? Hazardous Heart Devices and the Importance of Litigation. It finds that medical devices for the heart have caused thousands of needless injuries and deaths, yet patients currently...

Michigan Moving Forward to End Drug Industry Immunity

Posted on March 27, 2009
Yesterday, for the second year in a row, the Michigan House of Representatives passed a package of bills that would effectively end the drug industry immunity in Michigan. Since 1996, Michigan has been the only state in the nation that...

True Lies: Debunking A Major CPSIA Myth

Posted on March 27, 2009
One of our favorite things to do here at ThePopTort is debunk abject hooey, so today we?ve chosen to address one of the most insidious CPSIA myths out there?the notion that the Consumer Products Safety Commission?s (CPSC) ?hands are tied?...

An Update on Colonel Klink?s FDA

Posted on March 26, 2009
Last week, we told you how FDA Deputy Commissioner Frank Torti had written a memo to his staff warning against any sort of whistle-blowing behavior and threatening ?disciplinary sanctions and/or individual criminal liability? to those who failed to take heed...

The CPSIA and How ?Tort Reform? Groups Sold Small Businesses Down the River

Posted on March 25, 2009
If you listen to big corporate lobbyists and their neo-con friends at certain ?think tanks?, they will tell you that lawsuits by consumers - even cases brought by state Attorneys Generals to protect the public - are this country?s greatest...

Still Fighting: Carmelo Rodriguez and the Medical Malpractice Bill Aimed at Holding the Military Accountable

Posted on March 25, 2009
About a year ago, we brought your attention to a CBS News report about a U.S. Marine named Carmelo Rodriguez who served in Iraq and survived, only to die as a result of gross medical malpractice by military health care...

Bottom Feeders II: Despite Controversy, FDA Approves Lexapro For Kids

Posted on March 24, 2009
Several weeks ago, we told you that the U.S. attorney?s office in Boston has filed a civil suit against drug maker Forest Laboratories, alleging the company illegally marketed Celexa and Lexapro, two versions of the anti-depressant, ?citalopram,? for unapproved uses...

Once Again, A Judge Asks Congress to Clean Up Supreme Court?s Mess?This Time With Stoneridge

Posted on March 23, 2009
Not to get all ?high school Civics class? on you, but one of the cool things about America?s unique division of government is that when things go wrong, one of the three branches can clean up another one?s mess?and lately...

We're Finally Speechless Over AIG

Posted on March 20, 2009
Here?s our photo of the demonstration in New York yesterday (at Goldman Sachs) protesting Wall Street abuses. Yes, ThePopTort happens to live just steps away from some of Wall Street?s biggest miscreants. Go figure! Oh, and one more thing. Now...

The FDA: Run by Colonel Klink?

Posted on March 19, 2009
Just in time for the Washington Post to expose yet another example of the FDA?s Sargent Schultz-like willingness to ?know nothing? when it comes to unfavorable drug trials that big pharma is trying to bury, The Wall Street Journal?s ?Health?...

CPSC: Working to Foment Fear At the Expense of Kids

Posted on March 18, 2009
We?ve written about toy safety and specifically, the importance of the landmark Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSIA) in making sure kids stay protected. Incredibly, toys with illegal lead levels continue to be sold in discount stores, showing all the more...

Obama?s Health Care Overhaul Spurs Docs? Broken Record Attacks on Patients? Rights

Posted on March 17, 2009
As Carol Ann remarked in Poltergeist II, ?They?re back!? That?s right civil justice fans, with all the appeal of five-day-old Chinese food, organized medicine and their lobbyists have reportedly been screaming about limiting injured patients? access to the civil justice...

Medical Device Heartbreak

Posted on March 16, 2009
Imagine a company manufactures a defective medical device and it's implanted in your heart. Now imagine that you have no recourse against the company because the U.S. Supreme Court decided they were immune from suit! No, this isn't a dream....

AIG: Ain?t Too Proud to Beg For $165 Million In Undeserved Bonuses

Posted on March 16, 2009
As regular readers of ThePopTort know, we were disgusted with AIG before being disgusted with AIG was cool. And it wasn?t just its attacks on the civil justice system or attorneys for the injured, the rampant hypocrisy and fraud, or...

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