CPR Safety Watch: FDA Warns Ozempic Maker, NJ Chemical Fire, and Deadly Recalls

Every week, our firm monitors federal safety databases — the FDA, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and state environmental agencies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania — for signals that matter to the people we represent. We track defective drugs, dangerous products, vehicle failures, and chemical contamination events so that injured families don’t have to navigate those databases themselves. This week brought several developments that patients and families in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and across the country should know about. If anything below touches your life or the life of someone you love, we encourage you to reach out. Our consultations are free, and you never owe us a fee unless we recover for you.

In This Week’s Report:

1. FDA Catches Novo Nordisk Hiding Ozempic Side Effects
2. PFAS in New Jersey: The “Forever Chemical” Fight Gets Sharper
3. Paterson, NJ: Fire at a Toxic Waste Superfund Site
4. A Pattern of Preventable Deaths: Adult Portable Bed Rail Recalls
5. Ford’s Seat Belt Problem — Again
6. Million Eye Drop Bottles Recalled Over Sterility Concerns
7. Frequently Asked Questions

1. FDA Catches Novo Nordisk Hiding Ozempic Side Effects

On March 5, 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a formal Warning Letter to Novo Nordisk — the Danish pharmaceutical giant that makes Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus — for systemic failures in its adverse event reporting program. Federal law requires drug companies to continuously monitor reports of serious side effects, evaluate them, and submit them to the FDA within strict timeframes. This obligation — known as postmarketing surveillance — exists for one reason: to enable the FDA to update warnings when new dangers emerge, and to ensure that doctors and patients have the information they need to make informed decisions. According to the Warning Letter, Novo Nordisk failed to develop the written procedures required to do this job properly for semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus), liraglutide (Victoza), and several other products. In at least one account of the agency’s findings, reports indicate that the company failed to report deaths associated with semaglutide use within the required timeframe.

Why This Matters to You

As of April 2026, more than 3,500 lawsuits have been filed against Novo Nordisk by patients who developed serious injuries, including:

• Gastroparesis — severe, sometimes permanent stomach paralysis
• Bowel obstruction — a dangerous blockage that can require emergency surgery
• NAION (Non-Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy) — a form of vision loss linked to GLP-1 drugs

The central legal theory in those cases is that Novo Nordisk knew — or should have known — about these risks and failed to adequately warn patients and physicians. The FDA’s March 2026 Warning Letter is direct, official government evidence supporting that theory. If the company was not properly collecting and reporting adverse events, it could not have been properly warning anyone. “A drug company’s duty to warn doesn’t end when the FDA approves the drug. It continues every day the drug is on the market. When a company stops listening to what patients are reporting, people get hurt — and the law holds them responsible.” — Christopher M. Placitella, CPR If you or a family member took Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, or Victoza and experienced gastroparesis, bowel problems, vision changes, or other serious complications, please contact us for a free evaluation.

2. PFAS in New Jersey: The “Forever Chemical” Fight Gets Sharper

New Jersey’s ban on PFAS-containing firefighting foam officially took effect January 8, 2026 — and enforcement is now active, with civil penalties up to $25,000 per day for violations. PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are a family of thousands of synthetic chemicals used for decades in Class B firefighting foam (known as AFFF), non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, and many other products. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the body or the environment. They accumulate. The science linking PFAS to serious illness is now well-established. A 2024 study from the National Cancer Institute found elevated levels of PFOS — one of the most common PFAS compounds — in the blood of military firefighters who developed testicular cancer, compared to cancer-free airmen. Research published in Environmental Health Perspectives has connected PFAS in drinking water to kidney cancer, thyroid cancer, bladder cancer, and ulcerative colitis. In New Jersey, the problem is severe. The New Jersey DEP has confirmed PFAS contamination in more than 500 water systems and sources. The state reached a landmark $2 billion settlement with DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva in August 2025 — the largest environmental settlement in New Jersey history. But that settlement addressed corporate-level claims. Individual families who developed cancer from PFAS-contaminated water have their own legal rights.

What the 2026 Enforcement Push Means

The new PFAS foam ban in New Jersey creates a clear enforcement line: fire departments, industrial facilities, and airports that continue using PFAS-containing foam after January 8, 2026, face daily penalties. The NJ DEP is simultaneously collecting discharge data from wastewater treatment plants to establish new water quality limits for PFOA, PFOS, and PFNA. If you or a member of your family has been diagnosed with kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid cancer, bladder cancer, or ulcerative colitis — and you live or have lived near a military base, airport, or industrial site in New Jersey or Pennsylvania — your illness may be connected to PFAS contamination. There is currently active litigation with more than 15,000 pending claims nationwide.

3. Paterson, NJ: Fire at a Toxic Waste Superfund Site

On the night of April 3, 2026, a 5-alarm fire consumed the former Galaxie Chemical Corporation plant on East Main Street in Paterson, New Jersey — a building that the EPA has designated as a Superfund site. When federal and state agencies last surveyed the property in 2018, they found more than 400 drums of hazardous chemicals inside, including hydrochloric acid, acetic acid, flammable materials, and oxidizers. Those chemicals do not simply disappear. In a fire that burned through the night, reaching five alarms before crews — hampered by a single functioning fire hydrant and critically low water pressure — could get it under control, those chemicals became smoke. Paterson is a densely populated city in Passaic County. The neighborhood around East Main Street is home to a significant low-income and minority population — the kind of community that environmental justice advocates call “overburdened.” When hazardous chemicals burn in an uncontrolled fire in a neighborhood like this, the people who breathe the smoke have a right to know what was in it, and a right to legal accountability if their health suffers as a result.

What We’re Watching

We are monitoring this situation closely. Residents near the fire site should:

• Watch for air quality bulletins from the NJ DEP and the Paterson mayor’s office.
• Document any respiratory symptoms — coughing, shortness of breath, eye irritation — that developed during or after April 3–4.
• Consult a physician and make sure any symptoms are recorded in your medical records.
• Contact us if you believe you were exposed and have suffered health consequences.

This week also brought a related development: the NJ Attorney General and DEP filed suit against Hexcel Corporation, a Connecticut-based chemical company, for contaminating groundwater at its former manufacturing plant in Lodi, Bergen County — an overburdened community under New Jersey’s Environmental Justice Law. This is the 46th environmental justice enforcement case filed by NJ since 2018.

4. A Pattern of Preventable Deaths: Adult Portable Bed Rail Recalls

Eighteen deaths. Nine recalls. More than 3 million units involved. This is the CPSC’s own count for adult portable bed rails since 2021 — and the recalls keep coming. This past week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued another wave of recalls for adult portable bed rails sold on Amazon, including a recall of approximately 122,000 Vive Health Compact Adult Bed Rail units after two confirmed deaths — a 97-year-old man at a Texas assisted living facility and a 93-year-old man at his Florida home, both in September 2024. Both died after becoming trapped between the rail and the mattress, unable to free themselves. The Sangohe brand simultaneously expanded an existing recall, meaning their first recall failed to reach enough consumers. Other brands recalled in early 2026 include MPINOI, Agrish, Neaude, JOKOSIS, Fortemotus, and KingPavonini. All cite the same hazard: entrapment and asphyxiation. This is not a one-brand problem. This is a systemic product design failure — and it is concentrated in products sold through Amazon to elderly users and their family caregivers, often people who are already vulnerable and who trust that something called a “safety rail” will keep their loved one safe.

If This Affected Your Family

If a parent, grandparent, or resident of a care facility was injured or killed by a portable bed rail, the circumstances may support a product liability claim. A company that continues to sell a product after being warned of its defects — or that fails to adequately notify consumers of a recall — can be held legally responsible for the harm that results. We are investigating these cases and welcome you to contact us.

5. Ford’s Seat Belt Problem — Again

Ford issued two significant recalls this week: one for a recurring high-pressure fuel pump defect in certain F-Series Super Duty trucks, and another for improperly secured seat belt anchor bolts in the 2020–2026 Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator. The seat belt recall (NHTSA Recall 26V159) is the third time Ford has recalled this vehicle line for a seat belt anchor failure. A prior recall in 2025 covered 240,510 Explorers and Aviators for the same family of defects. In a crash, a loose anchor bolt can cause the seat belt to fail entirely, offering no protection to the occupant. The F-Series fuel pump recall (26V158) is also a repeat: these trucks were previously recalled under recall number 24V957, but the remedy was ineffective. Biodiesel deposits can cause the pump to fail, resulting in sudden loss of engine power — a serious crash hazard, particularly for commercial drivers. Check your vehicle now at NHTSA.gov/recalls by entering your VIN. Recall repairs are always free at authorized dealerships. If you were in a crash related to a seat belt failure or sudden loss of power in one of these vehicles, contact us.

6. 3 Million Eye Drop Bottles Recalled Over Sterility Concerns

K.C. Pharmaceuticals of Pomona, California, voluntarily recalled more than 3.1 million bottles of over-the-counter eye drops sold at Walgreens, CVS, Kroger, Rite Aid, H-E-B, Publix, Dollar General, and military exchanges due to a “lack of assurance of sterility.” The FDA classified this as a Class II recall — meaning the products may cause temporary or medically reversible health problems. Eye drops that are not sterile can introduce bacteria or other pathogens directly to the eye, bypassing many of the body’s natural defenses. Potential consequences include bacterial keratitis, conjunctivitis, and in serious cases, permanent vision damage or blindness. No confirmed injuries have been reported as of this writing. But this is the latest in a pattern of recurring eye drop sterility failures stretching back through 2024 and 2025. If you purchased eye drops matching the recalled brands or lot numbers, stop using them immediately. If you suffered an eye infection or vision damage after using recalled eye drops, that may be a product liability claim.