A newsletter featuring updates on a wrongful death suit filed against Fiat Chrysler, the Takata airbag recall and water contamination in New York state.

1. NEWS You Can Use
From the Walker Advertising Research Desk 3/9/16
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Courtesy news clipping service provided to clients of Walker Advertising. All material is copyrighted by respective
publications. For copies of complete articles, contact your sales rep or Walker Advertising at 1-800-4WALKER.
1. Faulty Jeep Fuel Systems Led To Death: Complaint
Adapted from L.A. Daily Journal, 2/29/16
The family members of two men who burned to death in a vehicle fire have filed a wrongful death
suit against Fiat Chrysler. The suit alleges the company knew 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokees lacked
sufficient protection for the fuel system but did nothing to fix the problem. In January 2015, the two
men were rear-ended after their 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee broke down on the Pomona freeway,
causing a gas-fueled fire. The complaint was filed on Feb. 24 in San Bernardino County Superior Court
by Christine D. Spagnoli and Aaron L. Osten of Greene, Broillet & Wheeler. The men’s decedents are
further pressing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to reopen an investigation
into the automaker’s safety standards. In 2013, the safety agency requested Fiat Chrysler recall all Jeep
Grand Cherokee models from 1993-2004 due to safety concerns. The company recalled all Grand
Cherokees from 1993 to 1998, but declined to recall other models after its own safety analysis
concluded the fuel systems on the other vehicles did not pose an unreasonable risk to consumers.
2. Toyota Adds 331,000 Vehicles To Takata Airbag Recall
Adapted from N.Y. Times,3/3/16
On March 2, Toyota recalled 331,000 additional vehicles worldwide over potentially faulty Takata
airbags that can explode with too much force and spray shrapnel into the passenger compartment. The
expansion brings the total number of vehicles Toyota has recalled over the issue to about 15 million
worldwide.
3. Olympus Paid Doctors With Cash, Meals, Trips
Adapted from L.A. Times, 3/2/16
Prosecutors report medical device maker Olympus has agreed to pay $623.2 million to resolve
criminal and civil charges involving alleged illegal kickbacks. This is the largest-ever amount paid by a
medical device company to settle alleged violations of anti-kickback laws. In addition, the company will
pay $22.8 million to settle allegations it bribed doctors and health officials in South and Central
America. The device maker has entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement that will
allow it avoid conviction as long it complies with prosecutors’ terms. Prosecutors are continuing a
related series of investigations into superbug outbreaks related to the company’s duodenoscopes,
which it continued to sell despite being told by an independent expert in June 2012 that the devices
were almost impossible to clean. The company failed to warn U.S. hospitals about the issue until a
superbug outbreak at UCLA medical center from late 2014 to early 2015.
4. Warning Likely For Contraceptive Device
Adapted from Wall Street Journal, 3/1/16
On February 29, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended boxed warnings be placed
on the labels of Essure implantable contraceptive devices. The move comes after an independent panel
of advisers found the product was linked to symptoms including debilitating pain. The FDA is further

2. NEWS You Can Use
From the Walker Advertising Research Desk 3/9/16
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Courtesy news clipping service provided to clients of Walker Advertising. All material is copyrighted by respective
publications. For copies of complete articles, contact your sales rep or Walker Advertising at 1-800-4WALKER.
requiring Bayer AG, which makes the product, to conduct a study assessing the safety of the devices.
Bayer said the device had a “positive benefit-risk profile” and indicated would continue working with
the FDA to ensure product safety.
5. Document Claims Drug Makers Deceived A Top Medical Journal
Adapted from N.Y. Times, 3/2/16
Lawyers representing patients suing Johnson & Johnson and Bayer over the safety of anticoagulant
Xarelto accused the companies of misleading editors at a prestigious medical journal in an effort to
protect their product. They claim a letter written primarily by researchers at Duke University about
Xarelto left out critical laboratory data, and that the pharmaceutical companies were complicit by
remaining silent about the omission. Plaintiff attorneys have further filed a legal brief in New Orleans
asking a judge to unseal documents in the case, which involves more than 5,000 lawsuits filed by
patients or the families of patients who were allegedly harmed by Xarelto.
6. Insurers Probed On Hepatitis Coverage
Adapted from Wall Street Journal, 3/3/16
New York’s attorney general launched an investigation into state health-insurance companies for
allegedly restricting coverage of some Hepatitis C drugs. The inquiry is focused on determining whether
the companies are engaging in misleading and deceptive practices. State law requires insurers to
accurately disclose what they cover and consider medically necessary for patients. The attorney general
says thousands of patients with Hepatitis C may have been illegally denied coverage.
7. Village Worries A Link To Teflon Tainted Water
Adapted from N.Y. Times, 2/29/16
Fresh on the heels of the Flint water crisis, the town of Hoosick Falls, New York, is dealing with a
water crisis of its own. The public water supply is tainted with high levels of the toxic chemical
perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, which some studies have linked to an increased risk for cancer, thyroid
disease and complications during pregnancy. According to the state, the contamination came from a
plant near the Hoosic River. Attorneys have filed a class-action suit against Saint-Gobain Performance
Plastics and Honeywell International, the current and former owners of the plant, over the
contamination. State officials were allegedly aware of the contamination as far back as August 2014,
but did not warn residents to avoid drinking the water until December 2015. Village officials were first
notified about the issue by a private citizen who tested the water after his father’s 2013 death from
kidney cancer. The Environmental Protection Agency says that while the chemical is known to cause
adverse effects in lab animals, it has not determined how much risk the chemical poses to the public.
Saint-Gobain is paying for a new carbon-filtration system for the village, as well as bottled water for
residents. Nationwide, concern has grown about the safety of the water supply.

3. NEWS You Can Use
From the Walker Advertising Research Desk 3/9/16
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
Courtesy news clipping service provided to clients of Walker Advertising. All material is copyrighted by respective
publications. For copies of complete articles, contact your sales rep or Walker Advertising at 1-800-4WALKER.
8. Shootings by LA Police Officers spiked by more than 50% In 2015
Adapted fromTthe Guardian, 3/2/16
According to a report by the LAPD, the number of people shot by police jumped 60% year-over-year
to 48 in 2015, with the number of shooting fatalities up about 15% to 21. Latinos accounted for about
48% of people who were shot by police, followed by African Americans at 25% and whites at about 4%.
Latinos account for just under 50% of the total population, while 30% are non-Hispanic white and
African Americans account for less than 10% of residents.
9. Verdict For Homeless Couple Upheld
Adapted from L.A. Times, 3/3/16
On March 2, a federal appeals court on March 2 upheld a $4.1-million award for a homeless couple
who were shot by L.A. County sheriff’s deputies in 2010. The shooting occurred during a search for a
wanted parolee who had been spotted nearby. At the time, the couple was living in a plywood shed in a
friend’s backyard. Two deputies allegedly entered the shed without announcing themselves, and fired
15 shot after one of them saw a gun. The weapon turned out to be a BB gun. Injuries from the shooting
necessitated a below-knee amputation, and a pregnant woman was shot in the back. The court found
deputies needed a warrant to enter the shed.