In addition to defective medical devices and dangerous drugs, the following are some of the most commonly recalled groups of products:

• Vehicle recalls: Automotive defects can easily lead to deadly situations, so recalls involving vehicle parts must be taken very seriously. GM has estimated that its widespread auto recalls will cost the company some $2.5 billion in 2014. The company has recalled just about every model this year, due to faulty ignition switch issues and unintended key rotation problems that have been tied to at least three deaths and a handful of serious injuries. Nearly 26 million GM cars have been recalled in the U.S. alone this year, making this the worst year on record for auto recalls. In 2011, Toyota recalled more than 1.7 million vehicles and Honda expanded an earlier recall to include a total of 1.65 million cars. In 2012, BMW recalled 1.3 million vehicles with a possibly faulty battery cable cover.
• Baby products: Babies need to be protected at all times, so when products designed for the smallest consumers fail, it can spell serious danger. In 2012, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled on average two baby products per week, among them: Bumbo Baby Seats, Peg Perego Venezia and Pliko-P3 strollers, Toys R Us Imaginarium 5-Sided Activity Centers, and Tots in Mind Cozy Crib Indoor-Outdoor Portable Playard. More recently, the following were pulled off shelves: Graco strollers, Fisher Price Baby Playzone Crawl and Cruise Playgrounds.
• Household items: Faulty wiring, shock and fire hazards were cited in the following product recalls for home items: Maytag washing machines, Dolan floor lamps, Kenmore oscillating fans and IKEA roller shades.
• Contaminated food: Unfortunately, dangerous bacteria and other contaminants work their way into food products when manufacturing codes aren’t compliant with U.S. regulations. 2012 witnessed recalls for many such products, including a major recall for nut products manufactured by Archer Farms, Dogsbutter, Earth Balance, Fresh & Easy, Heinen’s, Joseph’s, Late July, Natural Value, Naturally More, Open Nature, Peanut Power Butter, Serious Food, Snaclite Power, Sprouts Farmers Market, Sprout’s, and Sunland. Other food items that have been recalled in the past few years include Fresh Express pre-made salad products, cookies made by Whole Foods and Bravo Farms cheese.

In the wake of the 2013-2014 GM auto recall, authorities worry whether affected owners maybe experiencing “recall fatigue,” since several new models have been added to the list over the past few months. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that – on average – only 70 percent of vehicle owners take action to have their SUVs or cars fixed after a vehicle recall. This would translate to nearly 8 million motorists in the U.S. driving defective GM vehicles.

The beleaguered manufacturer has created a compensation fund to the tune of more than $1 million for crash victims who suffered the consequences of faulty ignition switches, but some are seeking additional recourse through the court system.