California Personal Injury Blog - Defective Products

Cribs are not the only dangerous product- Cords on window blinds can choke or strangle a child

Claude Wyle — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:38:54 GMT

I wrote last week about the recall of Stork Craft cribs. That recall was prompted by the four infant deaths from suffocation caused by a badly designed product—the drop side crib. While I applaud the media attention given to these infant deaths from defective products, I want to make sure that everyone is aware that there are many additional dangerous products.

For example, in November of this year, a 2-year-old Maryland boy, Thapelo Kwofie, was strangled after his head became entangled in window cords.

In fact, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, about one child dies each month from strangling in cords from blinds or shades. Manufacturers of defective blinds have recalled 5 million window treatments – which the agency lists among the top five "hidden dangers" in the home – in just the past few months.

For the first time, the safety commission now recommends using only cordless window treatments in any home where there is a danger of death of a child by such an accident, including where children live or visit, such as a grandparent's house or day care center.

As defective product attorneys, we join Parents for Window Blind Safety in urging you to inspect all the window blinds in your home. Even many blinds that were considered safe in recent years have been found to be dangerous.

How to make window treatments safer

1. Install only cordless window treatments in all homes where children live or visit, especially in children's bedrooms.

2. Move all cribs, beds and furniture away from windows.

3. If not using cordless shades, cut the ends of pull cords, so that the loop can't form a noose.

4. Don't allow cords to dangle. Wrap cords around a hook that's high off the floor out of a child's reach.

5. If using Roman shades with hidden strings on the back side, raise the shades high enough so children can't reach them.

Free safety kits to retrofit window blinds are available at windowcoverings.org.

Sources: Consumer Product Safety Commission, Window Coverings Safety Council

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Claude Wyle

Hertz Announces Product Recall

Rick Patterson — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:50:07 GMT

Just when consumers are trying to recover from the pet food recall, the Hartz Mountain Corporation has announced a recall on one of their products. This recall involves vitamins, of all things. There is concern that the product might be contaminated with Salmonella.

This is not the first recall of this kind by Hertz. Just last November, they recalled particular lots of vitamins due to similar concerns. Salmonella can be a very serious matter. It is an organism that can cause serious infection to those at risk from exposure. Expected symptoms of ingested salmonella in both animals and people can include nausea, fever, diarrhea. Should you believe your pet has been exposed, please seek veterinary assistance immediately. See full article for additional information pertaining to the contaminated product.

Additional Information Pertaining to Defective and Dangerous Products

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Patterson

FDA Names Contaminant in Heparin

Rick Patterson — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:31:13 GMT

The United States health regulators have been able to identify the heparin contaminant. The culprit, over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate, was added during the manufacturing process in China.

As previously reported on this site, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is slow to say this contaminant caused the deaths of 19 people who were using heparin, since they were already very ill. Although, over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate has the same blood-thinning results as heparin, it is not approved by the FDA. It has been reported by the FDA that this contaminant accounted for anywhere from 2 percent to as much as 50 percent of the samples tested.

The question is, was the inclusion of this contaminant in China an accident, or was it done purposefully for profit. Over-sulfated chondroitin is chemically manipulated and is cheaper than getting raw heparin the usual way, from pig intestines.

It is no surprise that people are wondering if this product contamination was no accident. Contaminated chemical additives bring back bad memories to the pet food consumers in the United States and elsewhere. The aftermath of the deaths of more than 200 dogs and cats and the ongoing illness of many, more, is still being dealt with as a result of the chemical melamine being added in China to soon-to-be exported pet food ingredients. The Chinese maker was later indicted for fraud here in the U. S. in that matter. Only time will tell if the latest heparin fiasco has a similar explanation.

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Patterson

Rise in Defective Nusery Products

Rick Patterson — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 18:09:31 GMT

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a rise in injuries due to nursery products. In fact, these various injuries sent more than 65,000 children to the ER in 2006. The increase in infant injuries is substantial. At this time, it is unknown what has caused such a sharp increase.

Deaths for which coroners listed Sudden Infant Death Syndrome as a cause were excluded. Additionally, no all injuries were due to defective products. In fact, more than 40 percent of the injuries involved falls related to nursery products, resulting in head injuries. "Don Mays, senior director of product safety and technical public policy for Consumers Union, an advocacy group, said the number of injuries connected with cribs, as well as recent large crib recalls, point to a need for new federal requirements for crib durability testing." The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, said although they are concerned about the reports regarding infant injuries or deaths they feel that the caregivers were often at fault. You can bet that went over like a lead baloon.

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Patterson

Paralyzed Woman Gets $82.6 Million From Ford

Lance Rubin — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:06:09 GMT

Benetta Buell-Wilson was in her Ford Explorer when the SUV fishtailed then rolled over four times. Now the mother of two is paralyzed. Her lawyers went to court and sued Ford. The jury awarded her $368 million, much of it in "punitive" damages -- damages that are meant to punish Ford for their bad business practices and ignoring their own testing that showed their SUVs, particularly the Explorers, tend to roll over because they have a high center of gravity. The courts later reduced that award to $82.6 million dollars.

the sport utility vehicle rolled four times before coming to rest on its roof. At trial, Buell-Wilson's lawyers argued that the Explorer's design defects were derived from Ford's rollover-prone Bronco II, but management ignored the risks.

Ford routinely ignored thier own in-house tests that showed how dangerous their SUVs were. Many people have been killed or seriously injured as a result of roll-over injuries in Ford SUVs, especially the Explorer.

Right now, Kiesel Boucher Larson LLP is reprsenting a mother whose 22 year old son was killed when the Ford SUV he was riding in rolled over after a tire failed. Another woman in the car was paralyzed. Cases against Ford, claiming that their product was defective, are very difficult to prosecute. If you or a loved one was injured in this type of accident, make sure your lawyer has experience with these types of cases.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Lance Rubin

Mitsubishi to Pay Parents $11 Million in Settlement

Greg Owen — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:06:49 GMT

A Florida jury orded Mitsubishi to pay a couple $11 million in compensatory damages this week. Mr. & Mrs. Laliberte's 25-year-old son, Scott, died in 2007 as a result of being ejected from a Montero SUV.

Attorneys for Donna and Peter Laliberte of Maine argued that Mitsubishi put its Montero SUV on the market despite known problems with the seat belt. The couple's 25-year-old son, Scott, died hours after a rollover crash in 2004.
The Japanese auto company know about the SUV's defect, but choose to hide that information from the people who had bought their product. What a horrible thing to do. In fact, in 2000 Mitsubishi made obvious their total disregard for human life when it acknowledged it had hidden automobile defects for decades, secretly repairing them without proper recalls despite reports of dozens of accidents. Jurors were in tears and awarded the Lilibertes $10 million for pain and suffering and $1 million other losses.

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Owen

Portable Air Compressors Recalled Due to Fire and Electrical Hazards

Jenny Albano — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:09:56 GMT

Advance Stores Co., in conjunction with the CPSC, is recalling about 64,000 Strike Force Portable Air Compressors due to fire and electrical hazards.

The compressor's motor can overheat and ignite the protective cover, posing a fire hazard to consumers. Also, the cover might not prevent internal components from being touched, which poses an electrical shock hazard. The firm has received four reports of fires. No injuries have been reported.

The recalled air compressor is a 4.6 gallon, 3.5 HP Strike Force and includes the following model and serial numbers:
BMM2524 (25254) JWAPC4005xxxxxxxxx
AC251FT (2516) YFJAC4005xxxxxxxxxx
APC4005 (4005) CSCC4005xxxxxxxxxxx
The portable air compressor has black twin air tanks and all the model and serial numbers can be found on the compressor's housing.

The recalled product was available only at Advanced Auto Parts stores across the United States and at www.partsamerica.com from October 2006 to December 2007.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Dietary Supplements Recalled

Rick Patterson — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 18:20:17 GMT

Palo Alto Labs, are voluntarily conducting a nationwide recall of two of their products known as Aspire36 and Aspire Lite.

After the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found the products contained Aildenafil and Dimethyl sildenafil thione (sulfoaildenafil) a purported analog of Sildenafil, an FDA-approved drug used as treatment for male Erectile Dysfunction (ED). This may pose a threat as it may interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs. It could also lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. If you have purchased those products you should discontinue use immediately. For additional information see the full article.

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Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Rick Patterson

$11 Million Awarded in Defective Seatbelt Case

Miriam Schimmel — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:32:48 GMT

Mitsubishi was found liabile this week for a defective seatbelt which caused the death of a 25 year old passenger in a Montero SUV.

Car manufacturer Mitsubishi was ordered by a West Palm Beach, Florida court to pay $11 million to a couple whose 25 year old son died in a crash when the Montero SUV he was riding in rolled over. Of that amount, $10 million was awarded for pain and suffering over the loss of the couple's son. The victim, a passenger in the vehicle, was partially ejected backward through the rear of the vehicle during the impact, despite the fact that he was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident.

The plaintiffs argued that the seatbelt the victim was wearing was defective, and that Mitsubishi knew that there were problems with the seat belt, but still allowed the vehicle to remain on the market with the defective seatbelt uncorrected. Plaintiffs also showed the jury that Mitsubishi released a new version of the Montero mid-year in 2000, which corrected the subject flaws in the Montero models going forward thereafter, but that Mitsubishi never corrected the flaws in the earlier models.

The Defendant denied that the seatbelt was defective and argued that the mid-year model was released after the front structure had been redesigned. However, Mitsubishi was embroiled in scandal in 2000 when, after dozens of accidents were reported, the company hid other defects in its automobiles and secretly repaired them without issuing any formal recalls.

Automobile defects are often found to be the cause of death or injury in traffic accidents. If you or your family member has suffered catastrophic loss from a suspected defect in a vehicle, Kiesel, Boucher & Larson LLP can assist you in exploring your legal options.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Miriam Schimmel

Portable Electric Heaters Recalled Due to Fire Hazard

Jenny Albano — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:46:22 GMT

Aloha Housewares Inc., in conjunction with the CPSC, is recalling about 152,000 Portable Electric Heaters due to a fire hazard.

These heaters can overheat and plastic parts can melt posing a fire hazard to consumers. The company so far has received 29 reports of the portable electric heaters melting, smoking, and/or catching fire and 18 reports of general damage. There has also been one report of a consumer receiving burns on his hands and feet.
The portable electric heater can overheat and melt plastic parts, posing a fire hazard to consumers.

This recall involves electric oscillating tower heaters with the name "Aloha Breeze" printed on the top. The white heaters have model number 02044 and dates codes 06/06, 06/07, 06/08 or 06/09. Model numbers and date codes are printed on the silver label located on the back of the heater, near the bottom.

The recalled heaters were sold at Wal-Marts and small retail stores across the United States from August 2006 to November 2007 and were manufactured to China.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano