Product Liability Law Blog

Following its recall of 3.8 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles because the floor mat on the driver side could trap the accelerator pedal and cause it to jam, Toyota has announced that it will remedy the auto defect by replacing the gas pedal with a modified pedal while it develops a permanent replacement pedal for the vehicles.

Toyota says it will shorten the gas pedal by approximately 20 millimeter and in some models the flooring will be changed to prevent the floor mat from interfering with the gas pedal. The auto manufacturer will also provide newly designed driver- and front-passenger all weather floor mats.

As an additional confidence measure, Toyota says a brake override system will be installed in some of the recalled vehicles. This is to ensure that the auto can be stopped in the event that the accelerator and brake pedals are activated at the same time. In the meantime, owners of the recalled vehicles are advised to take out the floor mat on the driver's side and not replace them with another mat until the fixes have been made.

Toyota's reputation for making safe cars has taken a beating in the last couple of months. This recall, its largest to date, was announced after four family members died in a California car accident because their Lexus ES 350 accelerated to about 100 mph and the car wouldn't stop because the floor mat had jammed the gas pedal. The Saylors apparently aren't the only ones who have experienced acceleration problems with their Toyota vehicle.

Also last week, Toyota announced the recall of 110,000 Tundra trucks (2000-2003 models). The recall in the US only affects pickup trucks in Washington DC and 20 US states where de-icing substances, such as road salts, might cause the truck's frame to experience "excessive corrosion" that could dislodge the vehicle's spare tire, creating a hazard for other vehicles, or damage the rear brake lines, which could cause brake failure.

The recall affects Tundras in Wisconsin, West Virginia, Vermont, Rhode Island, Virginia, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Delaware, and Connecticut.

Our auto products liability law firm represents clients throughout the US who were injured in car accidents that were caused by defective auto parts. We've gone up against the largest car manufacturers in the world and won products liability and wrongful death recovery for injured parties and their families.

Toyota Announces Fix for Accelerator Pedal Entrapment Problem, NHTSA, November 25, 2009

Toyota recalls 100,000 Tundra trucks, CNN Money, November 24, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Toyota News Releases, Toyota

Toyota Recalls 3.8 Million Vehicles, September 29, 2009

Continue reading "Toyota Says it Will Fix Accelerator Pedal Defect on 3.8 Million Recalled Autos" »

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. have announced the recall of 2.1 million drop-side cribs following 110 reports of the drop-sides detaching from the crib. 1,213,000 crib units were distributed in the US. The remaining units that were recalled are in Canada. 147,000 of the cribs come with a Fisher-Price logo.

A detached drop-side can create a gap between the mattress and the crib that an infant or toddler can easily get entrapped in, making the child prone to suffocation or other injury. It can also result in fall accidents, making the child vulnerable to head injuries, broken bones, and bruises.

The CPSC wants caregivers and parents to stop using the cribs right away and to wait until they receive the free repair kit before attempting to fix the infant beds. The drop-side detachments have led to 15 entrapment accidents, 4 suffocation accidents, and 20 fall accidents. At least four deaths have been linked to the cribs. For example, Michele Witte, the mother of 10-year-old Tyler Witte was devastated to discover her child with his head stuck in a gap between the side rail and headboard of his crib.

Cribs included in the recall were made and distributed between January 1993 and October 2009. The drop-side's plastic hardware can deform or break or certain parts may have been missing when the beds were initially purchased.

This latest recall is the largest crib recall in US history. The CPSC recalled 2 million drop-side cribs by Simplicity over a strangulation hazard in 2007. Dozens of crib deaths in the last 10 years have involved drop-side cribs. Over the past two years, nearly 5 million cribs—most of them drop-side cribs—have been recalled. The crib industry has even said that drop-side cribs no longer meet safety standards.

With so many injuries and deaths linked to drop-side cribs, it is the responsibility of crib manufacturers to take a closer look at the design of these cribs to determine whether they are a products liability that causes injuries to minors.

Infant Entrapment and Suffocation Prompts Stork Craft to Recall More Than 2.1 Million Drop-Side Cribs, CPSC, November 23, 2009

Stork Craft to Recall 2.1 Million Cribs, CBS News, November 23, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Major manufacturers propose ban on drop side cribs, Chicago Tribune, March 18, 2009

Kids in Danger

Continue reading "CPSC Recalls 2.1 Million Stork Craft Cribs Following Infant Suffocation, Entrapment, and Fall Accidents" »

As a follow-up to my September 4, 2009 blog entitled, "Toyota Rollover Lawsuits: Automaker's Former Attorney Accuses Auto Manufacturer of Concealing Evidence in Over 300 Auto Products Liability Cases," U.S. District Judge George H. King, the judge presently assigned to the case, refused to grant Toyota's request to seal the lawsuit in the face of Toyota allegaions that Toyota will suffer "further harm" if the complaint is not sealed. Just four days after the suit was filed, District Judge Christina A. Snyder denied a similar request by Toyota. In the latest denial, Judge King said "plaintiff's complaint is now irreversibly in the public domain, as it is readily available on the Anternet. Therefore, sealing the complaint would be futile at this point."

It appears, therefore, that the very specific and damning accusations of Toyota's record withholding and possible obstruction of justice in rollover cases will remain available for the world, and especially for consumers and victims, to see. Read the entire racketeering complaint against Toyota here.

Nearly five years after Atwilda Brown died from severe injuries that she sustained when her chenille bathrobe caught fire, the elderly woman's family is suing Blair LLC for her wrongful death. They are seeking $30 million.

The 80-year-old was making tea on February 12, 2005 when the tragic accident caused by the defective clothing happened. She is one of nine people who have died because a Blair chenille robe caught fire. Most of the victims were elderly people. Three of the people who died were cooking when the tragic burn accidents happened.

Brown's daughter, Sharon Davis, says she wants more people to realize how deadly the chenille robes have proven to be for wearers. Already, Blair LLC has announced two recalls because the robes and other chenille items do not meet federal flammability standards. This means that the person wearing the robe and those nearby are at risk of burn injuries if the wearer makes contact with an open flame.

A few weeks ago, the daughters of Evelyn and Murray Rogoff also sued Blair LLC for their parents' wrongful deaths. Last February, the sleeve of Evelyn's chenille robe caught fire while she was making tea. Murray was also injured when he tried to help his wife.

Susan Brent says she heard her mother screaming and found her parents on the floor. She used bottles of water to stop the fire but her mom had already sustained serious arm, neck, and back injuries. Evelyn died six weeks after the burn accident. Murray died from a heart attack in July.

Brent and her sister Michele Putini are seeking nearly $2 million for products liability, which they are linking to their parents' wrongful deaths.

Clothes are supposed to meet the US standards for flammability. While all clothes are susceptible for catching fire, certain fabrics are more susceptible to igniting faster than others, which can prove fatal to the wearer. A clothes manufacturer can be held liable if a piece of clothing proves to be a flammable hazard that causes serious burn injury or death to its wearer.

Daughters: Company's Defective Robe Caused Parents' Deaths, 10News.com, October 29, 2009

Woman Blames Robe For Mother's Death, Eyewitness News 3, October 27, 2009

Blair Expands Recall To All Women's Chenille Apparel Due to Burn Hazard; Additional Reported Deaths Prompt Re-Announcement of Robe Recall, CPSC, October 22, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Flammable Fabrics Act

More needs to be done to prove child safety when it comes to seat belts—especially as not all US states require that kids ages 4-8 use booster seats. Unfortunately most seat belts are unable to properly fit over the bodies of many children to ensure maximum protection, which can result in catastrophic seat belt-related injuries, known as seat belt syndrome, during a car accident.

Just last year, one 7-year-old's life changed forever when she sustained seat belt-related injuries during a catastrophic Minnesota car accident. Brynn Duncan was wearing a seat belt, but she had pulled the shoulder belt over her back so it wouldn't sit on her face. The lap belt she was using fell over her stomach. When the vehicle Brynn was riding in crashed, she sustained a crushing spinal cord injury, bowel and kidney damage, and a bruised heart.

Doctors had to remove her kidney, appendix, and gallbladder. Brynn suffered from infection and depression and sustained permanent injuries. She now requires the use of her wheelchair.

Seat belt syndrome is not uncommon and while US states that don't require kids, ages 4-8, to use booster seats should consider whether to revise their laws (which many parents turn to for guidance), there is a lot more that auto manufacturers and seat belt designers can do to make sure that kids and adults are properly protected when wearing seat belts and that these safety devices do not cause serious injury.

Injuries linked to seat belt syndrome include liver injuries, abdominal organ injuries, bowel injuries, chest trauma, blood vessel injuries, sternum injuries, spinal cord injuries, and death. Seat belt injuries that occur because the safety device was designed poorly or because the seat belt malfunctioned can be grounds for the injured party and his or her family to file a defective seat belt lawsuit.

Recently, automaker Ford announced its latest development in seat belt technology: inflatable seat belts. Designed to improve rear-seat passenger protection, especially for kids, the belts contain airbags that are supposed to inflate during certain kinds of auto collisions. Hopefully the new belts can provide the added protection kids and adults need during an auto collision.

Ford Says Inflatable Seat Belt Could Reduce Crash Injuries, Wall Street Journal, November 9, 2009

AAA Minnesota/Iowa & Safe Kids Minnesota Support Enhanced Child Restraint Legislation "The Brynn Duncan Law", Reuters, January 6, 2009

Brynn Duncan's condition worsens, surgery needed, Daily Journal, September 10, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Seat belt syndrome, Wrong Diagnosis

Child restraint laws, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

Continue reading "Seat Belt Syndrome: Child Safety Continues to Take a Back Seat" »

The Consumer Product and Safety Commission and Maclaren USA are warning consumers to immediately stop using their Maclaren Strollers. Some 1 million strollers were recalled yesterday following reports that 12 children sustained fingertip amputation injuries. The injuries occurred when the kids put their fingers in the hinge mechanism of the stroller while it was being secured into place or opened up. The strollers can also cause laceration injuries.

Maclaren models affected included:

• Quest Sport
• Triumph
• Quest Mod
• Volo
• Techno XT,
• Twin Triumph
• TechnoXLR
• Easy Traveller
• Twin Techno

Single and double umbrella strollers are included in the recall. Consumers can ask the stroller manufacturer for a free repair kit. The strollers were made in China.

Fingertip amputation injuries can cause severe trauma and impair a child's ability to perform certain tasks. Not only is it extremely painful for a child to amputate his or her fingertip, but it can take months to recover. Loss of feeling, infection, poor healing, and loss of motion can occur. There is also the possibility the fingertip cannot be reattached. Skin flaps, and skin grafts might be necessary to repair the damage. According to Encyclopedia.com, 2/3rds of child hand injuries in the US are fingertip injuries.

A product manufacturer must ensure that their products do not contain any defect or flaw that could cause serious injury or death. At Gilbert & Ollanik, PC, our products liability lawyers have helped many families recover financial compensation for injuries caused by defective nursery products, child safety seats, playground products, clothing, furniture, toys, and other products made for kids and infants. Please contact our injuries to children law firm and ask for your free consultation about your personal injury or wrongful death case.

Maclaren USA Recalls to Repair Strollers Following Fingertip Amputations, CPSC, November 9, 2009

Maclaren's Stroller Recall: A Stumbling Response Online, Time, November 9, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Maclaren

Fingertip Injuries/Amputations, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

Kids and Cars is calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to require that all motor vehicle manufacturers make sure that the power windows on their vehicles come with an auto-reverse feature that automatically would stop a window from rolling up if there was an object or person in the way. The consumer group's new surveys report some 13.6 million power window injuries over an undefined time period. Over 22 million adults say they've either gotten hurt or know someone who was injured because of a power window.

Kids are especially prone to power window injuries. Power windows can create 30-80 pounds of force. It takes just 22 pounds of force to cause serious injury to a child. Kids and Cars says that at least 25 kids have died over the past decade in power window-related accidents.

A common kind of injury accident involving power windows and minors involves the child whose head gets caught in a window that shuts, causing catastrophic choking injuries or traumatic brain injuries. Finger amputation is another kind of power window-related injury.

The NHTSA believes that its new safety mandates regarding power windows are taking care of injury hazards. Just last year, the federal agency started requiring all passenger vehicles to come with recessed power switches, which would decrease the chances that a child might accidentally roll up the window while leaning on a switch. By October of next year, the only way to close a power window will be to pull up on a switch.

The NHTSA says there are about 1,995 power window injuries and 7 deaths a year. Most of the injury victims are minors.

If a particular auto part is becoming a common cause of personal injury, it is up to the auto manufacturer to fix the auto defect so that no more people get hurt or die. Failure to do so can be grounds for an auto products liability lawsuit.

Kids and Cars Suggestions for Preventing Power Window Accidents:

• Make sure the windows' "lock-out" mechanism is activated so kids can't play with the windows.


• Make sure passengers have all arms, hands, and fingers inside the vehicle.


• Don't leave kids alone in the vehicle.


• Buy an auto that comes with the auto-reverse mechanism and/or with switches that have to be pulled up to raise the window so that a person who accidentally hits or leans on the switch won't cause the power window to automatically roll up.

New Data Refutes NHTSA Findings, Exposes Real Danger of Vehicle Power Windows, Kids and Cars, November 2, 2009

Power Windows Pose Great Risk to Children, Says Consumer Group, New York Times, November 2, 2009

Power Window Safety Recommendations, Kids and Cars

Related Web Resources:
Kids and Cars

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Continue reading "Dangerous Auto Part?: Power Window Can Cause Injuries, Says Consumer Group" »