Product Liability Law Blog

Earlier this month, our child injury law firm reported on the warning issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission that baby slings can be dangerous and lead to suffocation accidents. Their warning was announced following 13 infant deaths—3 of them in the past year.

Now, Infantino, the manufacturer of the infant slings involved in the 2009 child fatalities, is recalling over 1 million baby slings. If your baby has a “Wendy Bellisimo” or a “SlingRider” infant sling, the CPSC is urging you to stop using this product right away.

The babies that died were a 7-week-old Philadelphia infant, a 3-month-old Cincinnati baby, and a 6-day-old Oregon infant. Newborn Derrik’s mom has filed her Oregon products liability lawsuit suing Infantino for millions of dollars over her son’s wrongful death by asphyxia/suffocation. Click on our recent products liability law blog post to read more about how to protect your child from suffocation injuries when using a baby sling.

Also, in other major child recall news, last week Evenflo and the CPSC announced the recall of 183,000 Evenflo Top-of-Stair™ Plus Wood Gates (approximately 150,000 in the US and 33,000 in Canada). The gates become a fall hazard when the slats detach or break.

Evenflo already has received 142 reports of problems with the slats. Three children managed to access the stairs. One child fell down a step and another child fell down five steps. Seven kids sustained scrapes, scratches, and bruises. Four children suffered head bumps and bruises. Evenflo models 101512 and 10502 are included in the recall.

If a child manages to get through a baby gate designed to prevent him or her from getting to the stairs and falls down the steps, serious injuries can result. In addition to bruises, scratches, and bumps, broken bones, head injuries, spinal cord injuries, neck injuries, and other injuries can occur.

Evenflo Recalls Top-of-Stair Plus Wood Gates Due to Fall Hazard, CPSC, March 25, 2010
Grieving mothers blame baby slings for infant deaths, CNN, March 25, 2010

Infantino Recalls to Replace SlingRider Baby Slings; Three Infant Deaths Reported, CPSC, March 24, 2010

Related Web Resources:
World report on child injury prevention, World Health Organization

Products Liability Overview, Justia

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Posted In: Cribs and Infant Sleepers , Injuries to Children & Minors , Oregon , Suffocation Accidents

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I would not want to give up the advances the electronic revolution has allowed in automobiles. Electronics including computers help our cars run efficiently, decide when to fire front and side airbags, and even prevent loss of control through use of highly effective Electronic Stability Control systems.

But we all know that computers have glitches. love my PC. But now and then it crashes. If something goes wrong in my car’s electronics, I don’t want the same thing to happen.

When I was a kid my dad showed me how stepping on the gas pedal physically pulled a cable that opened the throttle valve and made the engine rev. In the last decade many cars have done away with that physical cable and replaced it with an electrical system that senses movement of the gas pedal and sends an electronic signal to a computer that in turn sends a signal to the throttle valve to open and close. Like a computer, this works great when it works. But what about when it doesn’t?

Electronic throttle systems in many cars have a fail safe mechanism to protect us from just that. If your throttle mistakenly thinks your foot is on the accelerator, all you need to do is touch the brake – the natural instinctive reaction to runaway acceleration – and the throttle is cut off. This doesn’t require anything fancy. For decades cruise control systems have known to cut off as soon as the brake is applied.

As Toyota is recalling and stopping sales of millions of vehicles due to reports of runaway unintended acceleration, we need to think about the computerization of our cars. Toyota attributes the problem to human error, or floor mats, or accelerator pedal wear. But could the problem be in the software? Why should we think our car’s computer systems would be that much more stable than the computers on our desks? Isn’t it logical that this software and hardware can cause glitches without anyone really understanding how or why, just like it does in our PCs?

And shouldn’t we design cars to make sure that when the electronics screw up, as we know they will from time to time, the result is an inconvenience, not a tragedy?

- Stuart Ollanik

Continue reading " What Happens When Cars Become Computers? " »

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Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , Gas Pedals , Toyota Safety Issues

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ABC News' Brian Ross is a true journalist. He doesn't just read the news. He goes out and finds it. He was one of the first reporters on the runaway Toyota's story, and has dug in to find the facts rather than just relying on what others say in "he said, she said" journalism. For instance, he found out that Southern Illinois University Professor David Gilbert had examined the acceleration issue and shown that Toyota was wrong in claiming runaway acceleration could not occur without generating error codes, and that brakes would stop a runaway vehicle. Ross and Dr. Gilbert demonstrated this on the ABC Nightly News.

Toyota's U.S. and Japanese presidents appeared before Congress humbly, promising that they want nothing more than for the facts to come out. But recently Brian Ross reported that Toyota has been pulling its ads from ABC stations, apparently to punish ABC for its reporting. This can only fuel suspicion that Toyota is talking about candor, but engaging in cover-up.

- Stuart Ollanik

ABC News, The Blotter from Brian Ross, "Runaway Toyotas"

Continue reading " Humble in Public, Vindictive in Private " »

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More than six months after the runaway Toyota car crash that claimed the life of off-duty California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor, his wife, daughter, and brother-in law, their relatives are suing Toyota Motor Corp for California auto products liability. The tragic Lexus acceleration accident, caused by a an ill-fitting floor mat and the gas pedal that got entangled in it, prevented Saylor from being able to stop the car and prompted the first Toyota recall over floor mats and gas pedals.

Now, more than 8.5 million Toyota vehicles have been recalled over floor mats, sticking gas pedals, and other accelerator problems. Although the automaker has apologized for these defects that resulted in many cars becoming a possible accident hazard to millions of motorists, for many runaway Toyota and Lexus accident victims, the repairs and apology come too late.

In addition to naming Toyota as a defendant, the California auto products liability lawsuit, filed by the parents of Saylor and his wife, is suing the auto manufacturer’s US division, other corporate entities, and the Lexus dealership that loaned the vehicle to Saylor while his car was undergoing service. According to the accident report, another driver who had borrowed the same vehicle from the dealer a few days before the tragic auto accident complained to the receptionist that the Lexus had accelerated out of control when the gas pedal got stuck in the floor mat. Fortunately, he was able to free the accelerator when he put the gear shift in neutral.

Meantime, other victims and surviving family members are filing their Toyota auto products liability lawsuits. Just last week, Daniel and Nancy Murtha filed a New York wrongful death complaint against Toyota Motor Corp. The Murtha’s lost their 5-year-old son Jacob, after he sustained traumatic injuries during a Lexus acceleration accident on July 29, 2008. Nancy, who was driving the vehicle, says that when she stepped on the brakes, the car wouldn’t stop. Instead, the Lexus accelerated out of control and crashed into a rock wall. She fell into a coma, sustained neck, knee, hip, and lower back injuries, and lost part of her intestines and her spleen during the single-vehicle crash.

The Murtha’s complaint contends that even though Toyota knew for years that a number of vehicles were at risk of sudden, unintended acceleration, the automaker failed to install a brake-to-idle override system that would let motorists regain control of their vehicles.

Westchester County, New York Parents File Suit Against Toyota for Death of Their Five-Year-Old Son in Lexus Sudden Acceleration Incident, MarketWatch, March 18, 2010

Toyota sued over deaths in key California crash, Reuters, March 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Toyota Motor Corp.

Toyota was asked in 2007 to consider installing software to prevent sudden acceleration, Los Angeles Times, March 14, 2010

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Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , Brake Defects , California , Floor Mats , New York , States , Toyota Safety Issues , Wrongful Death

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What was Toyota doing about unintended acceleration five years ago? Congress subpoenaed tens of thousands of pages of documents for its hearing on runaway Toyotas and has begun to sift through them. New York Congressman Towns has come across some memos he finds alarming. Towns has sent a letter to the president of Toyota asking him to explain the memos which seem to suggest that in 2005, about five years ago, Toyota settled some lawsuits to avoid having to provide information about unintended acceleration in discovery (the process where parties in lawsuits get to see each other's papers).

There's also some suggestion in the memos that at least some people in the U.S. Toyota operations were hoping that the class action lawsuits would encourage Toyota to fix the problem. Towns quotes one Toyota memo as saying: “the possibility of a class action lawsuit was used as one way to try to get TMC [Toyota Motor Company] to work on a series of proposed countermeasures.” That was five years ago, before the so many deaths and injuries attributed to unintended acceleration took place.

Toyota has apparently requested that these memos and others like them be kept confidential.

Toyota has been talking a great deal about openness on this issue. Time will tell if they are now truly interested in answers, rather than cover-up.

-Stuart Ollanik

Continue reading " What was Toyota Doing About Unintended Acceleration Five Years Ago? " »

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Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , Gas Pedals , Motor Vehicle Safety , Toyota Safety Issues

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Graco Children’s Products Inc. and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission are recalling 1.2 million Graco Harmony™ High Chairs because they pose a fall hazard to kids. The children’s products manufacturer has received 464 reports of screws and/or brackets loosening and/or coming out of the chairs' rear legs. This product defect has resulted in at least 24 injuries, including head bruises, bruises, scratches, bumps, and cuts, as well as a hairline fracture to the arm. The loose bracket or screw can cause the high chair to become unstable and tip over.

All Harmony™ High Chairs are included in the recall. The chairs were made between November 2003 and December 2009. They are no longer being manufactured.

Consumers should stop using the Harmony™ High Chair right away. You can get a free repair kit from Graco. The recalled product, which includes over 65 models, was sold at retailers throughout the US, including Toys “R” Us, Babies “R” us, Target, Walmart, Sears, Burlington Coat Factory, and USA Baby.

This is not the first time Graco has had to recall defective high chairs. In 2007, the manufacturer recalled 100,000 high chairs because they were at risk if collapsing if they weren't correctly opened and locked into place.

Graco is not the only major manufacturer that has recalled high chairs over defects. Last year, Fisher-Price recalled its “3-in-1” High Chair because the seat back was at risk of detaching, posing a possible fall hazard. Also last year, the CPSC recalled 90,000 Majestic ™ High Chairs (after already recalling 90,000 high chairs in 2008) and 643,000 Evenflo Envision™ High Chairs because they posed fall and choking hazards to kids.

It can be devastating to find out that your child was hurt or died because a trusted manufacturer designed a furniture, toy, or other kids’ product that was defective. You take such good care of your child that you can’t help but expect the makers of kids' products to do the same.

Graco recalls 1.2 million high chairs after babies injured, Triangle Business Journal, March 18, 2010

Graco Recalls Harmony™ High Chairs Due to Fall Hazard, CPSC.gov, March 18, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Graco Baby
US Consumer Product Safety Commission

Continue reading " Injuries to Children: 1.2 Million Graco Harmony High Chairs Recalled Because of Fall Hazard " »

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Posted In: Furniture and Accessories , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning dads and moms that chic baby slings can be deadly. The commission says that it has investigated at least 13 child fatalities involving the sling-style carriers in 20 years. Three of the fatalities occurred last year. 12 of the babies that died were under the age of four months.

Baby slings wrap around the chest, keeping the baby close to the parent. They allow parents to “wear” their kids. Experts have promoted infant slings as a way to calm babies down or help moms breastfeed their children.

Now, the CPSC is warning caregivers and parents to be very careful when using the baby slings for infants in that vulnerable age group because the child carrier can pose a suffocation hazard in two ways:

• The sling can cause the baby to be cradled too close to the mom’s belly or under her chest in a curved position. This may push the baby’s head forward, limiting his/her ability to breathe and cry for help.

• The fabric of the sling can push itself against an infant’s nose and mouth. It takes just a minute for a suffocation accident to happen.

Many of the fatalities involved kids who were born prematurely, low birth weight twins, or suffering from a cold.

The CPSC is not the first to warn about hazards related to this popular carrier. In 2008, Consumer Reports noted that approximately two dozen serious injuries had been linked to the slings. Skull fractures were among the injuries sustained during fall accidents from the carrier.

Safety advocates again warned about the dangers the sling can pose last year after a 1-week-old baby died in an Oregon suffocation accident. His cause of death was positional asphyxia.

Currently, there are no rules or standards that govern baby slings. However, if your child fell out of a baby sling or was seriously injured/died in a suffocation accident, your son or daughter may be the victim of child products liability.

The CPSC is offering the following safety precautions to prevent sling suffocation accidents:

• Make sure that the baby’s head is faced up and away from the sling or the mom’s body
• Check the baby’s position on a regular basis
• Make sure that the sling’s fabric doesn’t cover the baby’s face

Baby slings to get warning after deaths, MSNBC/AP, March 9, 2010

Infant Deaths Prompt CPSC Warning About Sling Carriers for Babies, CPSC, March 12, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Strangulation and Suffocation, Parents.com

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Continue reading " At Least 13 Infant Deaths Linked to Baby Slings, Reports CPSC " »

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Posted In: Cribs and Infant Sleepers , Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Suffocation Accidents

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With cold weather continuing to affect many parts of the US, people have been using their gas fireplaces to keep everyone indoors warm. Yet are the doors of some of these gas fireplaces poorly designed so that they pose a burn danger to kids?

According to the Children’s Hospital Burn Center, in the last five years, the number of hand burns caused by fireplace glass doors has gone up by 50% with an average of 2-3 burn victims coming in each week for treatment. One reason for this is that there are a lot of gas fireplace doors that lack protective screens.

It takes just six minutes for a fireplace door’s temperature to hit 200 degrees. The glass door may keep kids away from the fire, but they may still subject to second- and third- degree burns from coming into physical contact with the heat emanating from an extremely hot door.

Over the holiday season, one young boy sustained white blisters on his hands when he placed them on the glass doors of a fireplace. Following the Colorado burn accident, the boy was rushed to the hospital for treatment. Luckily, his injuries did not require skin grafting.

Burn Injuries
Burn injuries can be very painful and traumatic. Second-degree burns can affect both the dermis and the epidermis. Symptoms of a second-degree burn include swelling, redness, peeling skin, blisters, pain, charred skin, peeling skin, and shock. Immediate treatment is imperative, or a second-degree burn can become a third-degree burn. Third-degree burns affect both the external and internal skin layers. They can lead to scar injuries.

Manufacturers must make sure that any products they design are not dangerous for use and if there is an inherent hazard, then they must providing a warning label cautioning against how to prevent injury or death. Otherwise, the victim and his/her family can file a products liability lawsuit suing for personal injury damages. Young children are especially prone to injuries caused by hazardous or dangerous products.

If your child sustained a burn injury from coming into contact with a fireplace glass door, we invite you to contact our products liability law firm and ask to speak with one of our child injury lawyers immediately.

If you are using a gas fireplace with a glass door, the Children’s Hospital recommends that you:

• Place a screen or gate around the fireplace to block kids from touching the door.
• Watch your kids when they are near the fireplace.
• Remember that it takes a gas fireplace about 45 minutes to cool down completely after it has been shut off.

Cozy gas fireplace? Don't let it be a burn hazard, Denver Post, February 13, 2010

Gas Fireplace Glass Door Burn Prevention, Children'sHospital.org

Related Web Resources:
Burns, Medline Plus

Burns, KidsHealth.org

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Posted In: Burn , Burn Injuries , Colorado , Furniture and Accessories , Household Appliances , Injuries to Children & Minors , States

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It’s only Wednesday, and already three major auto manufacturers have announced recalls of their vehicles due to possible vehicle defects. Our auto products liability lawyers will continue to monitor these problems, and we ask that you contact us immediately for a free consultation if you believe that you or someone you love sustained injuries related to these issues.

On Monday, General Motors announced that it is recalling 1.3 million Pontiac and Chevrolet compact cars in the United States, Mexico, and Canada because the vehicles’ power steering motors might fail. Vehicles involved in the GM recall include:

• Chevrolet Cobalts, 2005 – 2010 models
• Pontiac Pursuit, 2005 and 2006 models
• Pontiac G5s, 2007 – 2010 models
• Pontiac G4’s, 2005 and 2006 models

General Motors says that although the problem is not making the vehicles less safe to drive, they can be harder to steer when the car is moving at speeds lower than 15 mph. Because the condition doesn’t usually develop until after the vehicle has been driven for 20,000 to 30,000 miles, older models will be repaired first.

On Tuesday, Nissan announced the global recall of 540,000 sport utility vehicles, minivans, and pickup trucks so that inaccurate fuel gauges and faulty brake pedal pins can be repaired. The recall over the brake pedal pins comes following three reports that braking ability was impended when these devices became partially disengaged. The 179,000 vehicles affected in the US include (2008 – 2010 models):

• Quest
• Titan
• Infiniti
• Armada

The automaker is recalling another 419,000 Nissan vehicles over an unrelated fuel-gauge problem that can result in inaccurate fuel readings. For example, the gas tank may be empty even though the gauge shows that the tank still contains gas. Autos affected include the (2005 – 2008 models):

• Titan
• Infiniti QX53
• Armada

Also recalled by Nissan (these vehicles were made between Jan- March 2006 and October 2007 – January 2008):

• Frontiers
• Xterras
• Pathfinders

Last, but not least, today Mazda announced that it is recalling 12,300 CX-9 crossover SUV’s because of the possibility that their electronically heated seats might overheat. This defect may damage the seat surface, drain the car battery, or cause a fire.

This Mazda recall really burns my ..., CNN, March 3, 2010

Nissan recall: Steps to take if your car is on the list, The Christian Science Monitor, March 3, 2010

GM Recalls 1.3 Million Cars: What's Behind All These Vehicle Recalls?, Daily Finance, March 2, 2010

GM to recall 1.3 million compacts for steering problem, Washington Post, March 1, 2010

Related Web Resources:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Recalls.gov

Continue reading " As General Motors Recalls 1.3 Million Vehicles, Nissan Recalls 540,000 Pickup Trucks and Minivans and Mazda Recalls 12,300 SUVs " »

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Posted In: Air Bags , Auto Recalls , Automotive Product Liability

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