A Maryland family has filed a $5 million wrongful-death lawsuit against the man convicted of drowning their 22-year-old son. The man convicted of the 2008 murder is set to be sentenced to four years in prison as part of a plea agreement. The lawyer for the family said they were “dissatisfied with the anticipated sentence and want[ed] to take further action.”

A New York man has filed a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit against a Brooklyn hardware store clerk who is accused of murdering and dismembering the man’s 8-year-old son. The suit not only claims wrongful death, but is also blaming the man for the “extreme physical pain and mental anguish” the boy suffered. The lawsuit also names the man’s father as a defendant, claiming he should have been aware of his son’s actions.

A Chicago mother has filed a lawsuit against an elementary school security guard for allegedly handcuffing a first-grader and detaining him for more than an hour. The suit accuses the guard of “acting in conscious disregard” of the boy’s safety, and says the actions were “reckless.” The boy suffered “permanent” and “personal” injuries, the suit says.

Vita Food Products has issued a recall of 8,088 packages of smoked salmon due to potential contamination with listeria bacteria. The products, sold in 4-oz. packages by Vita Food Products, were recalled from grocery stores across the country. Consuming the products could cause nausea and diarrhea.

The Food and Drug Administration has announced that the ShoulderFlex Massager poses serious health risks to consumers, and has caused one death due to strangulation. The agency said necklaces, hair or parts of clothing can become caught in part of the machine that rotates, posing a severe strangulation hazard. The device, distributed by King International, is a personal massage device designed for home use.

Safeway has issued a recall of some chicken salad products due to an undeclared allergen. The recalled product, Signature Cafe Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad, contains eggs that are not listed on the ingredients label. The recalled product was sold at all Safeway and Safeway-owned stores, including Carrs,  Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Pak ‘N Save, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb and Vons.

A Utah woman has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs over the death of her husband from an overdose of medications prescribed by VA doctors. The man, who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and a brain injury he sustained in Iraq, was taking a myriad of drugs. The lawsuit claims his doctors should have monitored his prescriptions more closely and that they failed in their duty to “provide reasonable, necessary, appropriate and timely medical care and treatment.”

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of candleholder with French vanilla candles sold at Dollar Tree,Dollar Bill$, Deal$ and Dollar Tree Deal$ stores.  The agency said the candleholders can unexpectedly shatter while in use, posing laceration and fire hazards. The products were sold from December 2010 through April 2011.

An Austin, Texas lawyer has filed a lawsuit over injuries he suffered at a local concert in March when a mechanical arm and video camera crashed into the crowd. The plaintiff was knocked unconscious in the incident, and claims he suffered head injuries that make it impossible for him to continue practicing law. The suit names the camera operator, the South by Southwest festival and the sponsor of the concert as defendants.

A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by the family of a former University of Kansas athletic director who died in a bicycle accident in 2009. The accident occurred when the bike hit a hole in the concrete on Lawrence Street in Lawrence, Kan. The undisclosed settlement was reached with a local concrete company, who allegedly was “negligent during repair work on pavement” where the accident occurred.