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SALT LAKE CITY -- When it comes to our children, we want nothing but the best for them. But what if a product we thought was safe was possibly making them very sick? Would you know how to find out if it was happening to anyone else?
Hundreds of parents are connecting with each other over one such situation, and one Utah mother is now involved in a very big lawsuit after relating with hundreds of other parents who were just a mouse click away.
Danielle Molina has been a faithful Pampers customer since 13-month-old Keagan was born. So, when the company came out with a new "Dry Max" version of their "Cruisers" diapers, she gave them a try.
"They said that they were more absorbent; they were supposed to be softer," Molina said.
But almost immediately after wearing his first diaper from the new package, Molina says Keagan started getting a terrible rash. She took him to the doctor, who told her to immediately take him to Primary Children's Medical Center, where Keagan received a frightening diagnosis.
"[It was] a severe diaper rash otherwise known as a chemical burn, yeast infection, and either a staph infection or strep infection because of these diapers," she said.
Molina says doctors at Primary Children's told her they had seen several similar cases, all with the Pampers Cruisers diapers in common. She called Pampers' customer service and received little response.
People who have similar problems, who are unaware of each other, can find each other on the Internet and join forces in a way that makes them a much more formidable opponent in litigation.
–David Jordan, Stoel Rives lawfirm
Soon, Molina learned she had plenty of company. She found hundreds of posts by parents on Facebook -- all with children who had severe rashes after using that type of diaper.
Through Facebook, she also learned about a class action lawsuit parents were filing against Proctor and Gamble, Pampers' parent company.
David Jordan, a partner at the firm Stoel Rives, says sites like Facebook are changing the way attorneys and clients deal with the law.
"Social media is a tool for group empowerment," Jordan says. "People who have similar problems, who are unaware of each other, can find each other on the Internet and join forces in a way that makes them a much more formidable opponent in litigation."
Jordan says social media is also used as an investigative tool for attorneys to look closely at witnesses and the jury pool.
The makers of Pampers say that this new diaper is completely safe. In a statement, the company calls these complaints "completely false rumors fueled by social media." [CLICK HERE to read the entire statement from Pampers].
As for the Molina family, they're now part of the massive lawsuit they never would have known about otherwise.
If you want more information on the lawsuit, you can can contact Keller Rohrback L.L.P. (the law firm filing the lawsuit) by phone at 1-800-776-6044 or e-mail at consumer@kellerrohrback.com. [CLICK HERE for more information on the lawsuit]
E-mail: jstagg@ksl.com
