The New York Personal Injury Law Blog

QuickTrim Lawsuit? Kim Kardashian May be Sued

2012-02-21T20:02:31Z

As you probably heard, Kim Kardashian and sister Khloe have been peddling the diet product QuickTrim. Kim claims that the product helped her shed 15 pounds and last year she tweeted that she was using the product to get ready for her much ballyhooed wedding to Kris Humphries.

But all is not well with QuickTrim, and detractors say that the magic ingredient in the diet pill is caffeine, an ingredient that experts say is not safe nor effective for weight loss, reports the New York Post. Excessive caffeine use can cause jitters and increased blood pressure and pulse. Popping too many pills can cause caffeine poisoning, which can cause heart arrhythmias.

The Kardashians now face a possible class action lawsuit over the product which has generated $45 million in revenues since 2009, reports the Post. The duo are being sued for their marketing claims and a law firm representing potential plaintiffs is reaching out to consumers.

Even if the diet pill is dangerous to customers, it's not clear why Kim or Khloe would be liable. After all, the two are merely spokespeople for the product, and it's hard to imagine Michael Jordan being sued for obesity due to his sponsoring McDonald's or Natalie Portman being sued for a Dior perfume that might cause allergies.

In what appears to be a products liability lawsuit, the makers of QuickTrim may be sued in a class action for allegedly marketing caffeine pills as dieting pills. As the Kardashians are the biggest names involved in the lawsuit, the reality pair may end up being unfairly victimized for their celebrity in this QuickTrim lawsuit.

Related Resources:

Find a New York Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)
Kim and Khloe Kardashian could face QuickTrim class action lawsuit (Fox News)
Product Liability: Background (FindLaw)
Ask A Question about Personal Injury now (FindLaw Answers)

The Tale of the One-Legged Millionaire and the Naked Masseuse

2012-02-16T20:08:34Z

In what could one day become the basis of an absurdist comedy, the case of the one-legged millionaire that allegedly assaulted his naked masseuse with a gold rolex recently reached resolution in the form of 60-days in jail, reports the New York Post.

Thomas Hartmann is the name of the construction worker turned real estate mogul who apparently hit Russian-born "stripper" Sophia Kandelaki with a gold Rolex after she jokingly asked him for more money. The wound required 16 stitches (could that be the title of the film?). Hartmann, meanwhile, defended himself by saying that he tripped on his prosthetic leg and did not mean to hit her, reports the Post.

Thomas Hartmann's assault conviction also bodes badly for a potential civil suit that Kandekali might hit him with.

This is because an assault is not just a crime but also an intentional tort.

A person who is found liable for an intentional tort does more than just act carelessly. The person committing the intentional tort knows the consequences of his or her action. If you pick up a realistic model of an AK-47 and point it at another person out of the window of your car, you are going to scare that person. Under the law of intentional torts, you may be liable for an assault.

You do not have to intend to harm that person to be liable for some kinds of intentional torts, either; you even may be attempting to help that person.

One of the things about civil assault trials is that the burden of proof is lower than in a criminal case. And sometimes this tends to prompt an early settlement, though only a qualified attorney can gauge the likelihood of this.

Related Resources:

Find a New York Personal Injury attorney (FindLaw)
What is the Tort of Assault? (FindLaw)
Ask a Question about Intentional Torts (FindLaw)
One-legged millionaire jailed for cutting face of 'naked masseuse' by hitting her with gold Rolex (Daily Mail)

BMW Strikes a Cab in the East Village

2012-02-15T20:25:36Z

There goes the myth that cabbies are the aggressive ones in the city.

A driver in a BMW struck a cab in the East Village early Wednesday morning, reports the New York Post. The cab driver and his passenger were seriously injured.

Gilberto Morales, who is only 20, was speeding on Third Avenue, (which admittedly tempts drivers), with his friend Brandon Evans, age 21. Morales struck the cab around 13th Street. After stopping to inspect the damage, Morales apparently drove off, though he later returned to the scene and told cops he was the driver. He was charged with leaving the scene of an accident and reckless endangerment.

In addition to the criminal charges Gilberto Morales is facing, he could also get slapped with a personal injury lawsuit from the cab driver and the passenger, since both were injured in the wreck.

In most claims that arise from accidents or injuries — from car accidents to “slip and fall” cases — the basis for holding a person or company legally responsible for any resulting harm comes from a theory called “negligence.”

Generally speaking, when someone acts in a careless way and causes an injury to another person, under the legal principle of “negligence” the careless person will be legally liable for any resulting harm. This basis for assessing and determining fault is utilized in most disputes involving an accident or injury, during informal settlement talks and up through a trial in a personal injury lawsuit.

For more information about personal injury lawsuits in New York, please see the information below.

Related Resources:

Find a New York Personal Injury attorney (FindLaw)
Negligence Background (FindLaw)
Defenses to Negligence Claims (FindLaw)

Woman Sues NYC for $900,000,000,000,000

2012-02-10T14:03:17Z

How do you value the damage caused to your family? One woman placed that number at roughly 100 times the total value of all the companies listed on the S&P 500 in her $900 trillion lawsuit.

Fausat Ogunbayo, a 46-year-old woman from New York City, sued the city's child welfare department for $900 trillion for removing her two children from her care, reports the New York Post.

Ogunbayo claims that her civil rights were violated when the agency deemed her mentally incapable of caring for her teenage sons, and placed them in foster care in 2008, reports the Post. The $900 trillion damage amount includes the harm caused by breaking up her family and the likelihood that her children would suffer emotional and mental harm from being separated from their mother.

The amount of damages that a plaintiff normally seeks is supposed to replicate the actual harm that the plaintiff suffered as a result of the defendant's actions. In some cases, such as a broken contract, the amount of damages can be very clear. For example, if you enter into a contract for $50,000 of services, and the services are never performed, you will likely be entitled to the $50,000 plus some figure for other related damages you may have suffered.

However, damage calculations can become more complicated when dealing with emotional and mental harm and other intangible damage. In the case of emotional distress, harm to a child, and the stress of breaking up the family, the actual dollar figure of the harm is extremely subjective and difficult to quantify.

In the case of Fausat Ogunbayo, she felt that the city breaking up her family was worth $900,000,000,000,000. The woman has made headlines as a punchline. But if your family was allegedly unfairly broken up by the government, you may view the $900 trillion lawsuit as conservative.

Related Resources:

Find a New York Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)
$900-Trillion Suit: How Much Money Is That? (IBT)
What's an example of compensatory damages? (FindLaw)
Man Wants $1M from Mother-In-Law for Infertility Rumors (FindLaw's New York City Personal Injury Law Blog)

Marisa Tomei Lawsuit for Being Bad Neighbor

2012-02-08T14:04:06Z

Brooklyn-born actress Marisa Tomei is being sued by three insurance companies. The Marisa Tomei lawsuit charges the Oscar winning actress with being a bad neighbor, and seeks $130,000 in damages.

What did Tomei do to irritate her neighbors?

Apparently, Tomei left the water running, clogged some drains, or had faulty pipes in a September 2010 incident, as the insurance companies say her “negligent” acts caused extensive water damage to her Greenwich Village apartment building, reports the New York Post.

The damage includes $15,000 worth of damage to an apartment belonging to downstairs neighbor and Hairspray director John Waters, $33,000 worth of damage to an apartment owned by the Bank of New York, and $80,450 worth of damage to an apartment owned by Michael Baron, reports the Post.

To prove negligence, the insurance companies would have to show that Tomei was careless using her water, such as leaving the water running all night, attempting to install a device like a hot tub without getting the proper okay from the building, or improperly installing a device like a hot tub and letting the pipes leak downstairs. In addition, the insurance companies will have to show that their clients’ water damage was caused by Tomei’s use, and not because of some general problem with the apartment complex.

A Marisa Tomei lawsuit was brought for negligent water use. Tomei knows a thing or two about law having won an Oscar for My Cousin Vinny, but she will need a real-life lawyer to defend herself in this Manhattan apartment damage lawsuit.

Related Resources:

Find a New York Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)
Marisa Tomei Waterworks: Actress Sued Over Leaky Apartment (E! Online)
Negligence (FindLaw)
Ask A Question about Personal Injury now (FindLaw Answers)

Amare Stoudemire Brother Killed in Florida Car Accident

2012-02-06T20:01:14Z

Amare Stoudemire’s brother was killed in a Florida car accident early Monday morning, reports ESPN. So far it’s unclear who caused the accident, but Hazell Stoudemire was reportedly driving a Cadillac Escalade at a high rate of speed on US 27 in Lake Wales, Florida when he struck the rear of a tractor trailer.

The accident happened before 2:00 a.m. and investigators are still determining if alcohol played a role in the crash. The 25-year-old Hazell Stoudemire was not wearing his safety belt at the time, reports ESPN. It was not reported if the truck driver was injured.

As investigators sort out the crash and determine who was at fault, the parties may eventually sue each over their injuries. Florida, like New York, is a comparative negligence state. This means that even if one driver was careless in causing an accident, that person can still recover damages if the other driver was more at fault.

For example, if the truck driver was negligently stopped in the middle of the highway or did not have his lights on, he could be responsible for the fatal accident. On the other hand, if Stoudemire was driving recklessly and speeding, he may be deemed to have caused the accident. In a personal injury lawsuit, a judge and jury would compare the degree of fault of both parties and determine who should recover for their injuries. The more at fault the plaintiff is, the less he would recover.

Amare Stoudemire’s brother was killed in a Florida car accident. Hazell Stoudemire’s family may be able to sue for wrongful death if it is determined that the truck driver was more at fault in causing the accident than Stoudemire. The truck driver may also sue for damages if it is determined that Stoudemire was more at fault.

Related Resources:

Find a New York Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)
Knicks star Stoudemire’s brother killed in car wreck (New York Post)
Car Accident Liability: Proving Fault in a Car Crash (FindLaw)
Ask A Question about Personal Injury now (FindLaw Answers)

Jim Boeheim Defamation Case Digs Up Dirt on Laurie Fine

2012-02-03T14:06:23Z

It started out as a sexual abuse case much like the one leveled against Jerry Sandusky. A former Syracuse assistant basketball coach was accused of sexually assaulting teenage ball boys for several years during the 1990s.

But the case has taken some strange turns and has morphed into a Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim defamation suit with key evidence being Laurie Fine sex allegations, reports the New York Post.

After former Syracuse ball boy, and purported Bernie Fine victim, Mark Davis stepped forward with the sexual abuse allegations, Jim Boeheim stepped up and defended his assistant calling Davis an opportunistic liar, reports the Post. As a result, Davis sued the university and Boeheim for defamation saying that the coach engaged in a smear campaign against him.

To prove defamation, the plaintiff generally has to show that the defendant carelessly made a false statement that damaged the plaintiff’s reputation. In Jim Boeheim’s case, Davis says that the coach was negligent calling him a liar as the coach should have known there were strange sexual relationships going on between his players and Bernie Fine’s wife, thereby giving some merit to Davis’ claims of sexual abuse.

This claim seems to be a bit tenuous, but it has nevertheless generated plenty of tabloid fodder involving Laurie Fine sex allegations. For example, she was accused of having multiple sexual relationships with players and it was supposedly well known in the locker room that any player could have sex with her.

The Mark Davis sexual abuse claim has taken many twists and turns. The focus of the lawsuit now appears to be the Jim Boeheim defamation suit and salacious Laurie Fine sex allegations.

Related Resources:

Find a New York Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)
Former Syracuse ball boy says Laurie Fine had sex with players in affidavit (The Washington Post)
Defamation Law: The Basics (FindLaw)
Laurie Fine Knew About Abuse, Failed to Stop It? (FindLaw’s New York Personal Injury Law Blog)

Another Shopping Cart Throw Down, 2 Injured in Bronx

2012-02-01T14:08:29Z

In another shopping cart thrown down story, two people were seriously injured at a Bronx Home Depot store when someone threw a shopping cart off the second level of a parking garage onto the victims.

This follows a similar incident three months ago when two juveniles threw a shopping cart onto a mother at a Harlem Target store. However, unlike the earlier incident, it appears that the Bronx shopping cart incident had more nefarious motives than just two kids playing around, as was the case at the Harlem Target, reports the New York Post.

Police say that the two victims of the Bronx shopping cart crash may have been targeted. The victims, 52-year-old Camara Lounceny and 30-year-old Sagne Ibrahima, were both African immigrants and were livery car drivers. It’s believed that Dominican livery rivals deliberately attacked them as they walked to the Home Depot, reports the Post.

The suspects are in custody and they will likely face criminal charges for assault and battery. They could also be sued in a civil suit, and unlike the Harlem incident, the suspects would be on the hook for the full extent of the damages they caused as they do not appear to be minors. In the Harlem Target incident, the parents of the minor suspects faced limited liability for the actions of their children.

When a Bronx shopping cart was thrown down from a parking garage, two African immigrants were seriously injured. Rival livery car drivers are alleged to be behind the shopping cart incident. The suspects face criminal liability and could be sued as well.

Related Resources:

Find a New York Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)
Shopping cart hurled from above at Bronx mall injures 2 (Los Angeles Times)
Intentional Wrongs (FindLaw)

Defamation in Greg Kelly Rape Claim?

2012-01-31T14:02:49Z

Investigators in the Greg Kelly rape claim say it may be a story they’ve heard before. Girl meets guy. The two hit it off and have a one-night stand. But girl already has a boyfriend. Girl tells boyfriend about sex, but says she was raped. Boyfriend pressures girl to bring a criminal charge against the other guy.

An unidentified 29-year-old paralegal and aspiring model says that Good Day New York host Greg Kelly raped her after a couple of drinks at a Manhattan bar following a chance encounter on the streets, reports the New York Post.

The woman says she was starstruck and had sex with the television anchor at the law firm where she worked. Whether the sex happened does not appear to be at issue; however, there is question as to whether the sex was consensual.

As investigators look into the accident, including the pattern of text messages between Kelly and the woman, they are starting to believe that the woman agreed to the sex and then felt guilty about it, reports the Post. The two had apparently “sexted” several times leading up to the night of the alleged rape. After the alleged rape, the texting continued as the woman apparently wanted to hook up again.

If it is true that the woman fabricated the Greg Kelly rape story, you may be wondering what recourse the television anchor has. His reputation was damaged from the accusation, as evidenced by his time off air on his Fox morning show. Additionally, many people may stop following the story after the initial crush of Greg Kelly rape headlines.

Still, it’s not clear if Kelly can sue the woman for defamation as the charges were arguably made in a judicial proceeding — the statements made to police officers which could be used in a legal proceeding.

Greg Kelly was accused of rape. The facts appear not to support the accusation, and the television host may now be looking for ways to clean up his reputation.

Related Resources:

Find a New York Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)
Greg Kelly rape probe unlikely to linger, says sex-crime expert Linda Fairstein (New York Daily News)
Defamation, Libel, and Slander (FindLaw)
Ask A Question about Personal Injury now (FindLaw Answers)

Oscar De La Hoya Knocked Out for Kinky Sex?

2012-01-27T14:02:11Z

In her Oscar De La Hoya lawsuit, Manhattan model Angelica Maria Cecora says that the boxer engaged in an hours-long, drug-fueled sex session with her that included him dressing up in her lingerie and having “extreme sex” inside a Central Park hotel.

She says that she performed an “astounding sex act” on De La Hoya and when it was done, the boxing champ was still not ready to call it a day, attempting to wake her up several times during the night to do it all over again, reports the New York Post. Oscar De La Hoya does not deny any of this.

According to the champ’s lawyer, De La Hoya and Cecora engaged in all of these sex acts. He summed it up as De La Hoya calling her up for dinner, eating dinner, having sex, having more sex, Cecora’s roommate coming over, leading to even more, wilder sex. And as the two adults allegedly consented to all this wild sex, his lawyer says there is nothing for De Lay Hoya to be liable for.

In her lawsuit, Cecora wants $5 million from the boxer. In his response, De La Hoya wants the lawsuit thrown out as frivolous and Cecora’s lawyer sanctioned.

Generally, a frivolous lawsuit is one that has no legal merit. It may be a lawsuit that is brought simply to annoy, waste time, or to gain time in the spotlight. De La Hoya’s camp says that Cecora brought this sensationalized lawsuit just so the wannabe model could get her 15 minutes of fame.

The Oscar De La Hoya lawsuit charges the boxer with dressing up as a woman and performing all sorts of weird sex. While all of this may be true, it may also be perfectly okay behavior between two consenting adults.

Related Resources:

Find a New York Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)
Model files sex lawsuit against Oscar De La Hoya (USA TODAY)
Sex Crimes (FindLaw)
Oscar de la Hoya Lawsuit: More Cross-Dressing Alleged (FindLaw’s New York Personal Injury Law Blog)

Toddlers and Tiaras Lawsuit: Susanna Barrett Sues the Media

2012-01-26T20:06:37Z

A mother who enters her five-year-old daughter in beauty pageants and participates in the reality television show Toddlers and Tiaras has sued three media outlets for defamation for apparently criticizing her mothering skills.

Susanna Barrett filed the Toddlers and Tiaras lawsuit against TMZ, Huffington Post, and Daily Mail after the three news outlets criticized her for having young Isabella Barrett parade around a stage singing the lyrics to "I'm Sexy and I Know It" while reportedly "gyrating," reports the New York Post.

Barrett does not deny that her daughter was on the stage. Nor does she deny that the five-year-old was singing a song about being sexy. Instead, the mother denies the reports that she acted as a disc jockey (another person was the DJ), that the event happened at a club (it was a restaurant), and that her daughter was gyrating (she was sitting), reports the Post.

As a result, Barrett says that she and her daughter suffered harm because they were subject to ridicule and her daughter was sexualized in the media. To win her defamation claim, Barrett would have to show that a published statement was made that was false and caused her injury.

Assuming the statements to be false, Barrett may still have a hard time showing that the incorrect statements actually caused her injury. A lot of the outrage over the "I'm sexy and I know it" performance may have been due to the fact that the five-year-old was singing this song at all, and not so much the venue or whether the little girl was sitting or standing.

In addition, Susanna Barrett willingly thrust her girl into the public eye by participating in Toddlers and Tiaras, which focuses on the apparent ridiculousness of entering toddlers in beauty contests. If the mother was so afraid of publicizing or sexualizing her daughter, she might have reconsidered participating in the show in the first place.

Susanna Barrett brought a Toddlers and Tiaras lawsuit against three media outlets that essentially criticized her mothering skills. Even if the media outlets were factually incorrect in small ways, the Barretts may have a hard time proving injury as their appearance on the show may work against them.

Related Resources:

Find a New York City Personal Injury Lawyer (FindLaw)
'Toddlers and Tiaras' mum sues news outlets for $30m (Herald Sun)
Defamation, Libel, and Slander (FindLaw)
New York Gossip Girl Leighton Meester Lawsuit Against Mom (FindLaw's New York Personal Injury Law Blog)

Plaxico Burress Legal Woes: Pays Woman for Car Accident

2012-01-25T14:09:35Z

The biggest boon to the pocket books of the local law community may have been the addition of Plaxico Burress to the city. Since the New York Giants acquired Burress in 2005, he has kept New York City criminal lawyers and New York City car lawyers busy with billable work.

In the most recent incident, Burress was accused of rear-ending a Florida woman, Alise Smith, with his Mercedes-Benz in 2008. In the Plaxico Burress car accident lawsuit, the woman says that she suffered neck and back injuries, reports the New York Post.

Burress apparently did not want to settle the case and let the case go to trial. The facts of the case were not reported, but trial may have been the wrong choice as the court found him culpable and ordered him to pay Smith $125,000, plus interest.

Typically, in a car accident claim, the court will look at who was at fault or negligent in causing the accident. If Burress was speeding, texting and driving, drunk, or otherwise distracted while driving his Benz, he could have been found responsible for rear-ending Smith.

The year 2008 was not kind to the wide receiver. Besides the Plaxico Burress car accident lawsuit, he also famously shot himself in the leg at a Manhattan nightclub. Since that time, he has gone to jail, been released from both jail and by the Giants, and was signed by the New York Jets.

He has remained relatively trouble-free since his release from prison, to the detriment of New York attorneys.

Related Resources:

Find a New York City Personal Injury Lawyer (FindLaw)
Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress ordered to pay $125,000 in 2008 car-crash lawsuit (New York Daily News)
Car Accident Liability (FindLaw)

Fantasy Avenger Pays $100,000 for Long Island Car Accident

2012-01-23T20:03:36Z

This is where fantasy meets reality. Ashley Romano was a computer gamer who went by the alias Da Darkside Angel. When her real-life lover crossed her, Romano utilized the skills she learned playing Assassin's Creed and literally drove her boyfriend off the road.

Jonathon Bari suffered severe injuries in the Long Island car accident, and this week a jury awarded him $100,000, reports the New York Post.

When Romano was only 18 she was introduced to Bari by a mutual friend. They hit it off, or at least Romano thought they did, and she was furious when she discovered that Bari wanted to see other women and only wanted to be friends, reports the Post.

While most heart-broken teens would have cried or listened to sad music on an endless loop, Da Darkside Angel sharpened her assassin's instincts she honed from playing fantasy games four hours a day for ten years and plotted her revenge.

In October 2004, Romano tailed Bari's car on Nicholls Road. She was apparently only inches away from his car forcing him to veer away and lose control. Bari's truck rolled over twice, and he was in a coma for 14 days. He also suffered facial fractures and knocked-out teeth, reports the Post.

In his civil suit against Romano, the jury awarded Bari $100,000 after finding that Romano drove recklessly. In its ruling, the jury said that Romano was 67 percent negligent, suggesting that Bari's bad driving may have contributed to the accident as well.

In New York, the negligence of the driver in causing a car accident is not an automatic bar to collecting damages. Instead, a New York City car lawyer will tell you that the state uses a comparative negligence standard where the victim's own negligence may reduce damages, but does not eliminate them.

Ashley Romano took her fantasy avenger role too seriously by causing a Long Island car accident that severely injured her love interest, Jonathon Bari. Both drivers were found to have driven negligently, but because Romano was determined to be more at fault, Bari collected $100,000.

Related Resources:

Find a New York City Personal Injury Lawyer (FindLaw)
Car Accident Liability: Proving Fault in a Car Crash (FindLaw)
Mini Cooper Recall: 89,000 Cars Called Back for Fire Hazard (FindLaw's New York Personal Injury Law Blog)
Ask A Question about Personal Injury now (FindLaw Answers)

Mini Cooper Recall: 89,000 Cars Called Back for Fire Hazard

2012-01-20T14:07:49Z

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.

In a report, BMW, the parent company of Mini, said that the auxiliary water pump designed to dissipate heat from the turbocharger in the engine was the cause of the fires, reports the Times. Apparently, the pump's circuit board may malfunction, allowing the board to overheat and the water pump to fail.

The first report of a water-pump failure occurred in 2009. While BMW said they monitored the situation, they did not notify the NHTSA.

In October 2011, the NHTSA began its own investigation after receiving numerous complaints about Mini engine fires from owners, reports the Times. After the NHTSA took action, BMW finally decided this month to recall the vehicles. The models affected by the recall are:

2007-11 Cooper S
2008-11 Cooper S Clubman
2009-11 Cooper S convertible
2011 Cooper S Countryman
2009-11 John Cooper Works, John Cooper Works Clubman and John Cooper Works convertible

If you have been injured by a car involved in the Mini Cooper recall or other defective product, you should contact a Manhattan product liability attorney. An experienced attorney can help you learn your rights and recover the damages you are entitled to.

Related Resources:

Find a New York City Personal Injury Lawyer (FindLaw)
BMW recalling 89,000 Mini brand cars over faulty water pumps (Los Angeles Times)
What is Product Liability? (FindLaw)
Is Nothing Safe? Radioactive Tissue Boxes Recalled (FindLaw's Personal Injury Law Blog)

Is Nothing Safe? Radioactive Tissue Boxes Recalled

2012-01-18T20:07:39Z

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.

Bed Bath & Beyond has kept New York City products liability lawyers busy recently with exploding firepots, and now the company may be facing new issues with radioactive tissue boxes. Who could have thought that home products could be so dangerous?

According to officials, the Dual Ridge tissue boxes contained small amounts of cobalt-60. It’s not clear why the metal boxes contained the radioactive element, but consumers exposed to the elements in the product for prolonged periods may experience an increased risk for cancer, reports the Daily News.

Perhaps learning from its past recalls, Bed Bath & Beyond has reportedly pulled the product from their sales floor and has issued a full recall as well as offers of a full refund, says the Daily News.

However, if you have been injured by the radioactive tissue boxes, or any other consumer good, you may want to speak with a New York City personal injury lawyer to learn your rights. Companies are generally responsible for dangerous and defective products that hit store shelves, and you will want to know how you can collect damages.

Related Resources:

Radioactive tissue boxes recalled (The Orange County Register)
What is Product Liability? (FindLaw)
Ask A Question about Personal Injury now (FindLaw Answers)