A lot can go wrong when shopping for the right household products. The best brands want to ensure that their customers are well-informed about what they buy, so they include warnings on their labels to inform them of any potential health issues.
Unfortunately, these warnings aren’t always read or even taken seriously by customers who want to get some laundry detergent into their cart as fast as possible without thinking twice about how it might affect them later on down the road.
You’ve probably heard of big brands like Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, and Reckitt Benckiser in the news over the past few years regarding lawsuits regarding various products. Here’s a brief rundown of some of those cases.
Roundup Weedkiller
Roundup is a popular weedkiller used by gardeners and farmers. The active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, has been linked to cancer and other health problems. Monsanto was the original manufacturer of Roundup until Bayer bought it in 2018, and now Bayer is facing lawsuits over their product’s safety. The company has been paying up to $250,000 in Roundup lawsuit settlement amounts per person.
The first wave of lawsuits against Bayer came from people who claimed their non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) was caused by exposure to Roundup, which contains polyethoxylated tallow amine (POEA). These products have been found to contain high amounts of POEA, which can cause skin reactions at low concentrations when exposed directly.
Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder
Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder is a standard household product many generations use. However, it was recently ordered to pay $2.12 billion in damages to 22 women who sued the company after it was established that they developed ovarian cancer. The plaintiffs alleged that using the product caused them ovarian cancer and other reproductive diseases due to exposure to asbestos from their mothers’ use of Johnson & Johnson products during pregnancy.
The verdict comes after several similar cases against other companies have been dismissed or settled out-of-court with undisclosed terms. However, this lawsuit is among several filed across multiple states and jurisdictions.
Theranos Blood Tests
Theranos was a blood testing company founded by Elizabeth Holmes in 2003. The company claimed to have developed a new approach to blood testing that did not require blood draws but instead used only a finger prick and a small vial of blood. This method would allow them to perform hundreds of tests with just one drop of your sample and at a fraction of the cost offered by other labs.
However, these claims were called into question when it was discovered that the technology Theranos had been promoting was unavailable. Rather than having created their machinery for analyzing samples more efficiently than standard machines could manage, they were outsourcing those tasks elsewhere.
Volkswagen Emissions Scandal
Volkswagen’s emissions scandal is one of the most widely known cases of corporate misconduct. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered that Volkswagen was cheating on emissions tests by installing a “defeat device” in its diesel vehicles.
It made them appear to be compliant with regulations while releasing up to 40 times more pollutants than allowed by law. As part of this scheme, Volkswagen sold over 10 million cars worldwide between 2009 and 2015, emitting illegal nitrogen oxide fumes into our atmosphere.
This deception led to a $4.3 billion fine for VW in 2016 and criminal charges against several executives involved in setting up this fraudulent system. However, it also had lasting implications for consumers who purchased these cars, thinking they were getting a good deal on an environmentally friendly vehicle but instead purchasing something dirty and harmful.
3M Sports Earplugs
In 2018, 3M was sued for causing hearing loss in their workers. The company was accused of covering up the dangers of their earplugs used by the military and other workers.
The lawsuit accuses 3M of knowing about the risk of permanent hearing loss associated with their products but failing to warn customers about this information until 2016. It means many people may have been exposed to hazardous noise levels over extended periods before being informed about them.
Takata Airbags
In 2014, Takata airbags were recalled because they were prone to exploding when deployed. It has led to more than 100 million airbags being recalled and over ten deaths from individuals injured by faulty products.
The faulty airbags can explode when they deploy, sending metal shrapnel into the passenger compartment of vehicles. The recall affects millions of vehicles made by Honda, Toyota, and other automakers that used Takata’s inflators for years before the issue was discovered in 2008 or earlier.
Conclusion
The list of products facing lawsuits is growing every day. It’s important to remember that these are just some of the most famous examples, and many more are out there. If you’re concerned about your household products or suspect they might have caused an injury in your family, contact a lawyer today.
