Charles Meyer, of St. Louis County, Mo, has filed a lawsuit in circuit court against Schnucks alleging he became sick from E. coli tainted lettuce linked to Schnucks stores. According to the lawsuit, Meyer ate several times from the salad bar at the Cool Valley Schnucks, where he ingested romaine lettuce and other times on the bar. He later developed an E. coli bacteria infection and was admitted to the Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur cardiac care unit, where he stayed for several days.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that contamination probably occurred at a farm before being shipped to the stores. Federal health investigators have determined that romaine lettuce from the salad bars at nine Schnucks markets have been the common denominator in the outbreak which has sickened at least 60 people across 10 states, STLToday.com reports. More Second Lawsuit Filed Against Schnucks over E. coli

Brian P. DiGeorgio, of Watervliet, NY, has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against Hannaford Supermarket’s Latham Farms alleging he suffered salmonella poisoning on November 7, from beef that was later recalled. For two days after ingesting the tainted meat, DiGeorgio suffered abdominal cramps, fever, and diarrhea. He was taken to a local hospital where he lapsed into a coma, and spent time in the Intensive Care Unit. He was kept in the hospital until November 23.

Hannaford announced a recall of all ground beef with a “sell-by” date of December 17 or earlier, the Times Union reported. More Lawsuit Filed Against Hannaford Supermarket over Tainted Beef

The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has ordered all federally filed Actos bladder cancer lawsuits be consolidated under one judge. Plaintiffs had filed a motion in August requesting that 11 pending cases in three separate federal courts and all future Actos bladder cancer lawsuits be consolidated to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

The JPML agreed to the consolidation; however they decided the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana would be more appropriate. “We are persuaded that the Western District of Louisiana is an appropriate transferee district for this litigation,” the JPML wrote. “The allegations in this nationwide litigation do not have a strong connection to any particular district, and related actions are pending in numerous districts across the country.

Some plaintiffs support centralization in the Western District of Louisiana, mostly in the alternative, and the defendants also support centralization in this district in the alternative, although they emphasized at oral argument that this district was a distant second choice to their primary suggestion. Notably, centralization in the Western District of Louisiana permits the Panel to assign the litigation to an experienced judge who sits in a district in which no other multidistrict litigation is pending,” HarrisMartin Publishing wrote in their Drugs & Supplements column. More Actos Lawsuits Consolidated in MDL

Diane Hayden of Ohio has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey against Merck, alleging that side effects of the 80mg dose of Zocor caused her to suffer rhabdomyolysis and other kidney issues.

The lawsuit says Hayden took the popular simvastatin drug to lower her cholesterol and then suffered rhabdomyolysis, which according to the National Institutes of Health causes the breakdown of muscle fibers, which are released into the bloodstream. The contents of muscle fibers are harmful to the kidneys, and can cause kidney damage and acute kidney failure. More Lawsuit Filed Against Zocor over 80mg Dose and Rhabdomyolysis

The Wall Street Journal reports that U.S. Prosecutors are preparing possible criminal charges against BP PLC employees for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Several Houston-based engineers and one British oil supervisor are under scrutiny in an ongoing investigation, for possibly providing false information to regulators about the risks with the Deepwater Horizon well while it was in the process of drilling, sources close to the matter told the WSJ.

If felony charges are brought, those convicted could face up to five years in prison and a possible fine. More BP Preparing for Criminal Charges over Gulf Oil Spill

A class action lawsuit has been filed in Circuit Court of the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit, Wheaton, Du Page County, Illinois, against Hollister Co., over allegations that the clothing retailer failed to honor the terms on gift card promotions. The class action seeks to represent “All holders of Hollister Gift Cards issued during Hollister’s Christmas 2009 promotion, whose Gift Cards has a no expiration date term and whose Gift Cards were not used in full on or before January 30, 2010.”

According to the nationwide class action lawsuit, in December 2009, Hollister held a promotion that offered consumers a $25 gift card for purchases over $100. The gift cards had no expiration date and could be used at Hollister stores and at its website. More Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Hollister over Gift Card Expirations

87-year-old Susanna West was an active resident at the former Hearthstone Assisted Living Facility in Grand Rapids, Michigan, before being left on a bus for 14 hours in early September, 2008. While family, police, and staff searched for her after she didn’t return from a morning shopping trip to Meijer, West became so thirsty and hungry she ate the Tylenol and drank the hydrogen peroxide in the first aid kit on the bus. She died in November.

West’s niece and estate overseer, LaShanda Snell filed a lawsuit in 2010 against the Texas-based Hearthstone facility, however, the company never responded to legal requests for information and records. By December, legal counsel for the company had been withdrawn, and company assets had been purchased by a separate entity. As the remnants of the company disappeared, Hearthstone’s self funded insurance seemed to have dissolved as well. More Assisted Living Facility Resident Dies after Being Left on Bus, Lawsuit Filed but Owners and Insurance Absent

John Love, of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, has filed a lawsuit in New Orleans federal court against Zimmer Inc., alleging his total knee replacement system is defective. According to the lawsuit, Love has experienced weakness, swelling, and pain because of the metal-on-metal replacement system, which he claims is unreasonably dangerous and unfit for use, as it fails prematurely and causes cobalt chromium contamination in the body.

The Louisiana Record reports that parts implanted in Love include the NexGen Complete Knee Solution, the Legacy Knee Posterior Femoral Component, and the Trabecular Metal Monoblack Tibial Component. More Louisiana Lawsuit Filed Over Zimmer Knee Replacement

Dozens of lawsuits have been filed over CSST, a plastic-coated, flexible, gas line made of corrugated stainless steel tubing and lightning-related gas leaks and fires. CSST was developed to prevent breaks during earthquakes in Japan, however the tubing is being used often in the United States in new home developments.

Fire officials are concerned that electrical charges from nearby lightning strikes can travel along the tubing and cause punctures that are igniting fires and causing gas leaks. More Lawsuits Filed Over Stainless Steel Flexible Gas Line Fires

Amid the French breast implant scandal involving the use of industrial silicone instead of medical grade silicone, documents filed with US government show the FDA raised concerns about the Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) at La Seyne Sur Mer in 2000.

Reuters reported an investigator found at least 11 deviations from good manufacturing practices at the plant, which promoted a warning letter to be sent by the FDA stating that its saline  implants were “adulterated.” More US FDA Raised Concerns Regarding French Breast Implant Maker in 2000