Recently in Products Liability and Recalls Category

Maybe this small car isn’t such a smart car. BMW announced a Mini Cooper Recall of 89,000 vehicles after several reports of the car engine catching fire when the car is turned off.

Perhaps BMW should retract their slogan, “The Ultimate Driving Machine,” as they were apparently aware of this problem since 2009. The company failed to take steps like recalling the vehicle or notifying the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) until the NHTSA began its own independent investigation, reports The New York Times.

The New York State Department of Health recalled the Dual Ridge Boutique metal tissue boxes from Bed Bath & Beyond store shelves after it was discovered that the brushed metal tissue boxes were radioactive.

State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah says that the radioactive tissue boxes were never a threat to the people in the state as they were removed from store shelves before being sold, reports the New York Daily News. Still, shoppers in other states may have been exposed.

Excedrin recall, Gas-X recall, are words that probably affect you if you live or work in New York City. Excedrin, Gas-X, and other popular over-the-counter drugs, (such as Bufferin for pain and NoDoz to keep you working through the night), are now all subject to a massive recall.

And this recall is for a pretty big mix-up, reports The Associated Press.

It’s the season for joy and opening gifts. No other time of year will people you barely know give you gifts that you really do not want. But even if you are not the buyer, you should still beware.

Many people regift and many people simply give away things they do not want. But these gifts may not only be unwanted, they may also be dangerous. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) provided a list of December recalls you may want to know when deciding what things to keep and throw away.

Christmas is a season of giving, families, and joy. But if you are not careful, it can also be a time for Christmas lights fire, burnt homes, and ruined lives.

You may have read news reports of dangerous Christmas gifts to avoid buying your kids like products with small pieces that can pose a choking hazard. But in reality, the most dangerous thing you can put into your home may not be anything you can place under your tree, but it can be the tree itself and the old lights with which you decorate your tree, reports ABC.

Is the Skinnygirl Margarita toxic? Whole Foods seems to think so, dropping Real Housewives star Bethenny Frankel’s spirit brand.

The healthy margarita drink pushed by Frankel claims to be the “margarita you can trust” with “all natural ingredients” and “no preservatives,” reports the New York Post. However, Skinnygirl Margarita may also want to include potentially “carcinogenic” as one of its taglines.

A Long Island woman, Robin Corrente, is suing bikini-maker Swimwear Anywhere for allegedly designing a bathing suit that caused her third-degree bikini burns on her breasts when she wore it out in the sun.

According to the New York Post, Corrente put on a black Coco Reef bikini made by Swimwear Anywhere to sun-bathe on a 90-degree August afternoon. Outside of her Yaphank, Long Island home, Corrente said that she sunbathed for about an hour before she began to experience pain.

Corrente said that she got out of the sun and took a shower. While showering, she said noticed a lot of burn blisters on her breasts. Corrente claims that her burns were caused when the metal underwire in her bikini became superheated in the sun.

The manufacturer of a firepot and pourable fuel gel, Napa Home & Garden Inc., has asked Bed Bath & Beyond and other retailers to stop selling its products in New York and nationwide. This comes after several accidents in New York where the firepots and gel caused severe burns and injuries to users.

According to The New York Times, two New Yorkers were recently injured when the firepots exploded like a "napalm bomb." In one case, a 14-year old was set on fire as the liquid fuel gel he was pouring exploded while trying to light a firepot. In another case, a 24-year old Manhattan man suffered second- and third- degree burns as the fuel exploded while he was trying to refill a firepot.

According to Reuters, doctors fear that the ingredients in energy drinks might potentially put consumers’ health at risk as thousands of people across the country, including New York, drink more of these beverages every day.

Energy drinks contain a mixture of sugar, caffeine, and dietary supplements like vitamins and herbal extracts. While the effects of these ingredients are not fully known, pediatricians in Florida have shared several cases of people who have suffered seizures, heart problems, delusions, and kidney or liver damage after drinking one or more non-alcoholic energy drinks, including Redline, Red Bull, and Spike Shooter.

“The incidence is low, but in certain groups that pediatricians care for there may be higher risks,” said Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz from the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.

Food poisoning, or a "foodborne illness," is a generally common health infection caused by consuming food that has been contaminated with disease-causing microbes like bacteria. Nearly 76 million cases of food poisoning happen every year in the United States, and over 250 different kinds of food poisoning have been identified.

Raw foods like meat, eggs, or unpasteurized milk are typical products that cause food poisoning. Injuries sustained from consuming contaminated food or beverages can lead to potential tort lawsuits and may involve product liability. Food manufacturers, restaurants, or grocery stores may be held liable for the harm caused by the defective product.