Product Liability Law Blog

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Baby Matters LLC are recalling 30,000 Nap Nanny® portable baby recliners because they pose fall, entrapment, and suffocation hazards. One baby, 4-months-old, reportedly died while in the recliner. She was in her harness but hanging over its side and stuck between the crib bumper and the recliner, which was in the crib. Another infant, who was also in the harness, suffered a forehead cut after falling over the side of the recliner. The baby ended up caught in between the crib side and the recliner. It is not recommended to use a Nap Nanny® inside a play yard, crib, another confined space, a countertop, a table, or any other space that is elevated.

To date, there have been 22 reports of infants, most of them under the age of 5 months, either falling out or hanging over the recliner's crib while harnessed. Failure to properly attach the velcro straps inside the recliner's cover or the "D"-rings inside the foam can make the recliner an even more serious hazard that can cause injuries to children. The first generation Nap Nanny® model did not come with "D" rings.

According to Forbes.com, Nap Nanny is designed to imitate the curves of a child safety seat. The recliner is supposed to keep the baby at a slightly raised level to decrease gas, reflux, stuffiness, and other issues.

Owners of first generation Nap Nanny® models should stop using the recliner right away and call Baby Matters LLC for a coupon. Second generation Nap Nanny® model should discontinue use of the recliner until they can get new warnings and product instructions from the company Web site.

Our child injury attorneys understand the devastation of losing a child because a product manufacturer was careless in designing a defective furniture product or did not provide proper instructions or warnings for safe use.

Baby Matters Recalls Nap Nanny® Recliners Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards; One Infant Death Reported, CPSC, July 26, 2010

Nap Nanny recliners recalled, Forbes.com, July 26, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Nap Nanny

Consumer Reports

Continue reading "CPSC Recalls 30,000 Baby Recliners After Death of 4-Month-Old Girl" »

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced several recalls in the past week geared toward preventing serious injuries to children. The most recent one comes today with the recall of approximately 1,160,000 Roman shades and 115,000 roller shades made by Smith + Noble. The shades pose a strangulation hazard that can occur in the event that the child's neck either gets ensnared in the shade cord or stuck between the Roman shade and the exposed inner cord. So far, there has been just one report of a child, a 5-year-old Washington boy, getting entangled in a roller shade's unsecured continuous loop bead cord. Fortunately, he did not require medical attention. Shade owners should request a free repair kit.

Just two days before, the CPSC recalled about 44,900 Kariño Baby Pacifiers distributed by Antonio Flores. The pacifier do not meet federal safety standard and poses an aspiration risk and choking hazard to young kids. The pacifier's mouth guard isn't large enough and lacks ventilation holes. Also, its handle is too long and the nipple is easy to separate from the base. It is important to take the pacifier away from your child right away and contact Antonio Flores to request your refund.

Last Thursday, the CPSC and Health Canada recalled approximately 20,000 Cozy Indoor Outdoor Portable Playard Tents Plus Cabana Kits. The playard can pose an entrapment and strangulation hazard if the clips attaching the tent to the playard break or come off. At that point, a child in the playard is at risk of becoming entrapped between the tent's metal base rod and the playard frame. One boy, age 2, died from injuries he sustained in the playard during a Maine entrapment accident. Consumers are being urged to stop using the playard tents and contact Tots in Mind Inc. to request a free replacement kit.

Our child injury lawyers are pleased to hear about the Consumer Product Safety Commission's increased efforts to clear the marketplace of products that can cause serious injuries to children. That said, there are still a lot of products with defects that continue to place kids' lives at risk, including poorly designed and manufactured clothing, shades, nursery products, furniture, child safety seats, toys, jewelry, playground rides, chests, and household décor.

Smith+Noble window shades recalled, UPI.com, July 22, 2010

Karino pacifiers recalled due to choking hazard, Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, July 20, 2010

Safety regulators have new urgency over baby products, USA Today, July 21, 2010

Play yard tents recalled after child's death, AP, July 15, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Commission

Child Safety, Consumer Reports

Continue reading "CPSC Attempts to Prevent Injuries to Children with Recalls of Smith + Noble Roman and Roller Shades, Kari√±o Baby Pacifiers, and Tots in Mind Playards" »

With its defect troubles and bad publicity far from over, Toyota Motor Corp. has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury over possible defects involving its vehicle steering rods. They jury is asking the automaker to provide documents related to the auto defect.

Toyota had recalled 977,839 Toyota Trucks, 4Runners, and Toyota T100s in the US in 2005 because the steering-relay rods were at risk of cracking during certain driving situations. However, the recall did not come until nine months after the automaker not only issued a similar recall in Japan but also, after it told the US government that a US recall was unnecessary.

In May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched a probe to determine whether Toyota intentionally delayed the recall, which would have been a violation of US law. There also have been reports that the auto manufacturer may have known as early as 2000—based on customer complaints—that the steering rods were causing total or partial vehicle control loss. At least two families are suing Toyota for auto products liability causing the wrongful death of a loved one related to the steering rod defect.

This particular safety issue is just one of several involving Toyota, which has recalled millions of vehicles in the last nine months because of numerous auto defects. If you are someone who is a victim of a car crash that you believe was caused by a Toyota parts defect, our auto products liability law firm would like to offer you a free case evaluation.

In other recent Toyota safety news, the Wall Street Journal recently ran a story reporting that a government probe has found that some drivers may have been at fault in certain Toyota sudden acceleration accidents that are being pinned on the automaker. However, the US Department of Transportation has since issued a statement saying that the NHTSA never provided WSJ with any information about its continuing investigation and no conclusions or data have been released.

Toyota subpoenaed again, this time over faulty steering components, Los Angeles Times, July 20, 2010

Are drivers to blame in Toyota unintended acceleration cases? It may be too early to tell, Consumer Reports, July 20, 2010

Early Tests Pin Toyota Accidents on Drivers, Wall Street Journal, July 13, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Our Values, Toyota

NHTSA

US Department of Transportation

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has taken action to ban all drop-side cribs. On Wednesday, the federal agency voted unanimously to stop the manufacture, sale, and resale of cribs with drop-sides. Drop-side cribs are at least 32 infant deaths (and possibly another 14 child fatalities) in the past decade alone.

In the last five years alone, more than 9 million drop-side cribs have had to be recalled over crib entrapment, suffocation, and fall hazards caused by defective crib design, mattress support failure, drop-side detachment, poor quality materials, and other safety issues. The new mandatory standards requires that cribs be made with better quality wood, stronger mattress support, and sturdier hardware.

The new mandatory standards will have to go through a final vote but are expected to go into effect in 2011. All cribs sold would have to meet the new standards. Daycare centers and hotels also wouldn't be able to use drop-side cribs. Drop-side cribs will no longer be accepted by or sold at thrift stores.

Just last month, some 2 million drop-side cribs were recalled, including cribs made by Delta and Evenflo. Yesterday, Pottery Barn Kids recalled 82,000 drop-side cribs because they pose an entrapment danger or a suffocation hazard to young kids. Pottery Barn Kids is a division of Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

A Pottery Barn Kids drop-side crib can be become a suffocation hazard if the drop-side detaches and a space is created that a young child can become entrapped in. Possible drop-side detachment, which can occur from hardware breakage, incorrect assembly, or a malfunctioning crib part, also poses a fall hazard to kids.

All Pottery Barn Kids drop-side cribs are included in the recall. Already, Pottery Barn Kids and CPSC have received 36 reports of drop-sides malfunctioning. Seven minor injuries linked to children getting their legs caught between the drop side and mattress or falling out of the cribs have been reported. One child's head got caught between the drop side and mattress during a crib entrapment accident.

Government nears new standards for cribs, ban on drop-side cribs, CNN, July 15, 2010

Feds push new ban as Pottery Barn recalls cribs, AP/Google, July 14, 2010

Pottery Barn Kids Recalls to Repair Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards, CPSC, July 14, 2010

Related Web Resources:
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (PDF)

Dangerous Cribs, Chicago Tribune

Continue reading "CPSC Votes to Ban Drop-Side Cribs" »

The Nevada Supreme Court is upholding the $32.2 million defective tire verdict against Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in the tire blowout accident that killed three victims and injured seven others. Goodyear had argued that the jury award was excessive. However, the court says that the loss of life and serious injuries justify the amount.

The tragic car accident happened on August 16, 2004 when a tire blew out on a car going from Nevada to Kansas. The vehicle overturned on Interstate 70 close to Moab, Utah. Frank Enriquez, Evangelina Tapia, and Andres Torres died from their injuries and their guardians and relatives sued Goodyear, Ford Motor Company, and Valley View Hitch & Truck Rental for wrongful death. The latter two companies have already settled their cases with the plaintiffs.

Tire Defects
Tire blowouts and tire failure can result in car accidents with catastrophic consequences for those involved. Tire manufacturers know that they must design and make their tires properly because certain flaws can result in tread separation, tire blowouts, single-vehicle crashes, rollover accidents, or multi-vehicle collisions. Installation errors and improper maintenance can also lead to these types of car crashes.

With summer here, our tire defect attorneys want to remind motorists that hotter roads can increase the chances of a tire blowout happening. This can cause injury to the people riding in the vehicle with you, pedestrians, and/or the occupants of other vehicles.

There are steps that you can take to decrease the chances of a tire blowout, including:

• Ensure that your tires are properly inflated
• Slow down when on a highway
• Be gentler than usual with your vehicle when turning corners or on curves
• Replace old or worn out tires
• Watch out for any road debris or defects that can damage your tires

$32 million judgment against Goodyear in fatal crash upheld, Las Vegas Sun, July 2, 2010

Extreme Heat Can Cause Tire Blowouts, Star Tribune, June 27, 2009

Related Web Resources:

Tire Safety Information, NHTSA

Why Tires Fail, AAICar.com

More bad news for Toyota. The automaker is now recalling 270,000 more vehicles that were made between July 2005 and August 2008 over defective engine valve springs that could cause an auto that is in motion to stall. 138,000 of the vehicles affected by the recall are in the US.

Recalled autos include Lexus models LS600hL, LS600h, LS460, IS350, GS460, GS450h, and GS350 and Crown models. Officials say that a foreign substance that was introduced during the valve spring manufacturing process caused the defect.

Some 200 complaints naming this defect have been submitted to Toyota. No related car accidents have been reported. Toyota says it will replace the faulty valve springs.

Toyota also just recently recalled 17,000 Lexus luxury hybrids after tests demonstrated that fuel can spill out during a rear-end car crash. A National Traffic Highway Safety Administration contractor conducted the test. Toyota's own testing did not reveal any spillage, but the automaker says it is recalling the vehicle while it tries to replicate the government's test findings.

In just 9 months, the automaker has had to recall over 8.5 million autos because of different safety concerns. Plaintiffs have filed over 200 auto products liability lawsuits seeking damages for personal injuries and wrongful deaths.

Physical injuries and deaths are not the only catastrophic damages that may have been sustained by the victims of Toyota's auto defects. For example, Koua Fong Lee was convicted in 2007 of criminal vehicular homicide in the rear-end Minnesota car crash that killed three people. He was sentenced to an 8-year prison sentence.

The 32-year-old driver always said he tried to prevent the tragic accident by stepping on the brakes of his 1996 Toyota Camry, which accelerated to speeds as high as 91 mph. However, Lee says his vehicle would not stop.

Although the car he was driving is not one of the vehicles that Toyota has recalled to date, Lee is just one of a number of drivers of passengers with 1996 Camrys and other vehicles that haven't been recalled yet that have said they've also experienced Toyota sudden acceleration problems—an auto defect that has led to numerous injuries and death.

Toyota to recall 138,000 Lexus vehicles in US to fix faulty engines that can stall in motion, Los Angeles Times, July 2, 2010

Toyota recalls Lexus hybrid for fuel spills, MSNBC, June 25, 2010

Man who crashed Toyota moves one step closer to new trial, Twin Cities, July 7, 2010

Related Web Resources:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Toyota Motor Corporation