Product Liability Law Blog

At the Gilbert Law Group, PC, we believe that kids' safety is nonnegotiable especially when it comes to consumer products that are designed specifically for them. Over the years, our child products liability law firm has helped many families recover compensation from negligent manufacturers, distributors, and sellers that endangered the lives of children, teenagers, and babies by making, releasing, and selling consumer goods that were dangerous or defective.

Unfortunately, unsafe products continue to cause injury and deaths to children. Just this month, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a number of recalls of kids' products because of the hazards that they pose.

Last week the CPSC recalled about 31,000 Tumblekins Toys that could cause laceration and choking injuries. All Tumblekins play sets and toy vehicles are included in the recall. The federal safety agency is concerned that the toys can break into small, sharp pieces that can easily cut a child or may be easy for him/her to swallow.

The distributor of these toys is International Playthings LLC. The manufacturer is Lishui Treetoys Trading Co. Ltd. There has so far been one report of a toy breaking up into small pieces. There are no reports of injuries so far.

Whenever a manufacturer or distributor acts right away to notify the government about a product defect so that an immediate recall can be made, lives may have been saved and injuries prevented. Unfortunately, not all companies may know of a safety defect until many people have already gotten hurt. Some manufacturers may even delay reporting the hazard in order to keep making money.

Earlier this month, the CPSC recalled about 28,000 Bumbleride Indie & Indie Twin Strollers over worries that the front wheel of the stroller may crack, causing the stroller to tip and the child seated to sustain fall injuries, including head injuries. So far, 36 incidents involving the front wheel cracking have been reported. Two reports noted that the stroller tripped over, causing the riders to sustain minor injuries. The CPSC, in cooperation with importer Bumbleride Inc., is asking consumers to stop using these twin strollers right away.

Also this month, the CPSC, in cooperation with manufacturer and importer Weeplay Kids LLC, recalled about 128,000 Carter's Watch the Wear Bodysuits and Sleep 'n Play Garments because the detachable snaps on the clothing's fabric could pose a potential choking hazard to young children and babies. Fortunately, no one appears to have gotten hurt by clothing defect so far, but there have been about 30 reports of the snaps coming off the garments.

Considering that young children and babies are known to be more at risk of choking--infants and toddlers, especially are prone to put things in their mouth while unaware that they may be endangering themselves should they swallow. Our products liability lawyers are here to help children and their families recover the child injury compensation that they are owed.

Tumblekins Toys Recalled by International Playthings Due to Choking and Laceration Hazards, CPSC, February 16, 2012

Recall of Bumbleride Indie & Indie Twin Strollers, ABC Local, February 3, 2012

128,000 Carter's infant bodysuits and garments recalled for choking dangers, Consumer Reports, February 3, 2012

More Blog Posts:
Consumer Groups Coalition Ask CPSC to Recall Bumbo Baby Seat, Product Liability Law Blog, February 7, 2012

Clothing Defects: Apparel Industry Must Follow Standards for Children's Loungewear and Sleepwear, Says CPSC, Product Liability Law Blog, January 18, 2012

Can Loud Toys Impair Children's Hearing?, Product Liability Law Blog, January 12, 2012

The death of freestyle skier Sarah Burke after sustaining a traumatic brain injury during a training accident is once again raising questions about the dangers that can arise when someone is moving swiftly through snow or ice and is involved in an accident. Granted, while freestyle skiing tends is a lot more high-risk than other sports, there are dangers involved in regular skiing, ice hockey, speed skating, sledding, snowboarding, and tobogganing. The question is, how much does protective gear and clothing actually protect people from catastrophic injuries?

Discovery.com reports that some studies show that while boots, helmets, bindings, and other safety gear do decrease the risk of serious injuries, these products have their limits. There are even products, such as the wrist guards used by snowboarders, that don't offer any actual benefits. A person that is wearing them may even be worse off in certain accidents.

Also, despite the fact that manufacturers are continuing to develop new protective gear, the rate of snow sport deaths hasn't declined in 40 years. Granted, skiiers that don't use helmets are more likely to die from a head injury, but there are also helmet users that are dying from trauma sustained by the body as a result of high-speed impact during a fall or from colliding into a tree. Also, a helmet doesn't provide protection from spinal cord injuries.

In a study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics last week, simulated tobogganing crash tests done on helmets to test for side and front impacts at varying meters/second found that bicycle helmets offered the most protection at the highest velocity. Ice hockey helmets were best able to offer protection at lower velocities. Alpine helmets provided the worst protection of all three helmet types during both high and low impacts. However, at over impacts of 4 meters/second, all helmets exhibited damage to the inner liner and cracks.

It is important that all safety equipment warn of any risks involved when using a product. Manufacturers must also make sure not to market safety gear to make it appear as if it provides more protection than what is actually does. Safety equipment and clothing should also be free of defects that could cause it to malfunction and/or not provide the protection it is supposed to give the wearer.

Our products liability lawyers represent both children and clients that have sustained traumatic brain injuries in incidents involving defective products and other catastrophic accidents. Contact The Gilbert Law Group today to schedule your free case evaluation.

Helmets vary in offering protection for winter sports and play, Los Angeles Times, January 20, 2012

Sarah Burke, Freestyle Skier, Dies From Injuries in Training, New York Times, January 19, 2012

Sarah Burke's Death: Can Gear Keep Up with Skiers?, DiscoveryNews, January 13, 2012

Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics

More Blog Posts:
Head Injury Risk Prompts Triple Eight Distribution to Recall 30,400 Bicycle Helmets for Kids, Product Liability Law Blog, January 6, 2012

Do Toning Shoes Cause Foot Injuries?, Product Liability Law Blog, June 8, 2011

Defective Clothing Can Cause Serious Injuries, Product Liability Law Blog, June 19, 2008

Continue reading "Will Your Helmet Prevent a Traumatic Brain Injury During a Winter Accident?" »

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has sent a letter to distributors, manufacturers, retailers, and importers emphasizing the importance of them abiding by Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA) and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. Children's sleepwear is defined by the CPSC as apparel ranging from size 0 to 14 that is supposed to be worn mostly for sleeping or during sleep-related activities. (Infant garments, which are for kids younger than 10 months, underwear, diapers and certain clothing that are tight-fitting do not fall under the children's sleepwear category.)The kind of fabric that the clothing is made of, the way the sleepwear is distributed and promoted, and the likelihood of it being bought for and used by kids are also key factors in determining whether a piece of clothing would be considered kids' sleepwear. For the Commission, children's loungewear is clothing used mainly for sleep-related activities.

The sleepwear standards regarding flammability were established so that kids' clothing doesn't ignite when exposed to candles, lighters, matches, stoves, ranges, fireplaces, and space heaters. Such unfortunate accidents have been known to happen to children wearing flammable loungewear/sleepwear (usually) right before bedtime or in the morning after breakfast. Unfortunately, despite the existing regulations, there are clothes that pose a fire hazard risk yet still end up in the marketplace.

When clothing is made of material that is more likely than other fabrics to catch fire, the person wearing the clothes can end up sustaining serious burn injuries, especially as the flames are more likely to spread quickly through flammable material. Also, the material that the clothing is made from can melt into the person's skin, exacerbating the burns even further.

Disfigurement, permanent scarring, infection, and death may result from wearing flammable clothing that catches fire. A person lucky enough to survive such an accident may have to undergo serious, painful surgeries, skin grafts, and other procedures. They also may sustain emotional and psychological scars that can impair a person's ability to live a normal life.

Factors that can impact how fast clothing can ignite include:

• The type of material and fibers that the clothing is made from
• The design of the clothing. For example, longer and looser the clothing is the greater the risk of it brushing against any nearby flames.

Our clothing defects lawyers are familiar with the severe burns that can result from flammable clothing. We represent children and adults who were seriously injured because of defective and dangerous products.

CPSC Reinforces Children's Sleepwear and Loungewear Enforcement Policy to Apparel Industry Agency standards designed to prevent burn injuries to children, CPSC, December 23, 2011

Read more about the CPSC's sleepwear standards (PDF)

Read the CPSC's letter (PDF)

More Blog Posts:
Ex-Pro Football Players Sue Helmet Maker Riddell and NFL for Traumatic Brain Injuries and Products Liability, Product Liability Law Blog, August 31, 2011

CPSC Says Certain Kids' Outerwear with Drawstrings Pose Strangulation, Entrapment and Death Hazard to Kids, Product Liability Law Blog, July 18, 2011

Defective Clothing Can Cause Serious Injuries, Product Liability Law Blog, July 19, 2008

Continue reading "Clothing Defects: Apparel Industry Must Follow Standards for Children's Loungewear and Sleepwear, Says CPSC" »

More former NFL football players are suing the league and helmet maker Riddell for personal injury and products liability. The first complaint, filed in California, was submitted by 75 ex-pro players who claimed the National Football League concealed the head injury risks involved in playing the sport.

The plaintiffs of both lawsuits are accusing the NFL of failing until last year to let the athletes and the public know that players risked serious injury from concussions even though the league has known this information since the 1920's. Last year, the NFL acknowledged that concussions sustained during the game can result in brain injury symptoms, including memory loss and dementia.

As the official maker of helmets for professional football players, Riddell Sports Group is being sued for products liability. The plaintiffs don't believe that the helmets were made to protect from concussions, even though it is well-known that severe blows to the head can happen during football games. The plaintiffs also believe that the companies have been well aware of the damage that brain injuries cause in the long run.

Even in 2000, a study that surveyed over 1,090 ex-NFL players and noted that more than 60% had sustained at least one concussion while playing (26% had suffered at least three concussions) found that players who suffered this type of head injury later experienced more problems with concentration, memory, speech, and neurological challenges, as well as suffered from more headaches. A concussion is a type of brain injury.

In 2007, the study from the University of North Carolina's Center for the Study of Retired Athletes found that of the nearly 600 ex-NFL players who sustained at least three concussions while playing the game, 20% of them suffered from depression--a rate that is 3 times greater than for players who never had a concussion.

In 2009, the NFL commissioned a study finding that ex-pro football players seemed more prone to developing memory-related diseases, including Alzheimer's, than the general population. The University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research conducted the study.

As for the making of football helmets, the standard has not changed in more than three decades. If Riddell and other helmet manufacturers (football isn't just played by professionals) are not doing enough to create helmets that protect players from concussions even though they know this type of injury is a possible risk, then they could be held liable for products liability.

Last year, Rutgers player Eric LeGrand became paralyzed from the neck down when his helmet struck an opposing player's shoulder. Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson and Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson suffered head injuries when their helmets collided. If these helmets could/should have been tougher, the players may have grounds for filing personal injury lawsuits.

In January, New Mexico Senator Tom Udall wrote a letter to the Federal Trade Commission accusing Riddell, which also makes football helmets for high school athletes and younger kids, and Shutt Sports of engaging in "misleading marketing" that made their helmets appear more safe. Udall wants the Consumer Product Safety Commission to make a decision on whether the current helmet safety standards are enough to protect younger football players.

Ex-players hit NFL, Riddell with lawsuit, The News Tribune, July 21, 2011

Udall Seeks Investigation of Misleading Football Helmet Safety Claims, Tom Udall, January 4, 2011

Rutgers Player Is Paralyzed Below the Neck, NY Times, October 17, 2010

The Problem with Football: How to Make It Safer, Time, January 28, 2010

Related Web Resources:
NFL

Riddell

More Blog Posts:
CPSC Says Certain Kids' Outerwear with Drawstrings Pose Strangulation, Entrapment and Death Hazard to Kids, Product Liability Law Blog, July 18, 2011

Target Recalls 350,000 Woven Storage Trunks After Toddler Sustains Traumatic Brain Injury During Strangulation Accident, Product Liability Law Blog, March 20, 2010

Defective Clothing Can Cause Serious Injuries, Product Liability Law Blog, June 19, 2008

Continue reading "Ex-Pro Football Players Sue Helmet Maker Riddell and NFL for Traumatic Brain Injuries and Products Liability" »

In a unanimous vote, members of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission have approved a new federal safety rule for children's outerwear. Per the final rule, kids' upper outerwear, sizes 2T through 16 with certain bottom or waist drawstrings and those with hood or neck drawstrings in sizes 2T through 12 possess substantial product hazards that could lead to serious injuries to children. If your child got hurt or died because he or she got entangled in or was strangled while wearing clothing with drawstring, please contact our child products liability law firm today.

The CPSC says it has received 26 reports over kids dying because a clothing drawstring got caught on a school bus door, playground slide, or another object, resulting in dragging incidents, entrapment, and/or strangulation. Serious injury or death can also result if a drawstring was to wrap too tightly around a child's neck. A drawstring that has an object attached to it can also pose a choking hazard if the piece was to come off and the child was to swallow it.

It was in 1996 that the CPSC set up industry guidelines for kids' clothing in regards to drawstrings. The guidelines proved effective in that they've decreased the number of child deaths from hood and neck drawstrings by 75%, while deaths from bottom or waist drawstrings have gone down 100%. In 2006, the CPSC's Office of Compliance said that any kids' upper outerwear with neck or hood drawstrings would be considered a defective product that posed a substantial child injury risk and therefore subject to recall. In 2008, our child injury law firm reported in one of our blog posts that between April 2007 and May 2008 over 18 recalls involving over 19,000 units of clothing with drawstrings was announced.

Recently, Macy's agreed to pay a $750,000 penalty for not reporting drawstrings in kids' outerwear. Federal law requires distributors, manufacturers, and retailers notify the CPSC of a product that is a serious injury or death hazard within 24 hours of discovering the possible defect. The penalty against Macy's resolves allegations that the department store chain did not obey the law and immediately tell the CPSC that it sold children's sweaters, sweatshirts, and jackets with neck drawstrings between 2007 and 2010 and that these posed a child strangulation and death hazard. The defective clothing was sold not just at Macy's stores, but also at Robinsons-May and Bloomingdale's. Some of the clothes were allegedly sold even after they were recalled.

Macy's Agrees to Pay $750,000 Civil Penalty for Failing to Report Drawstrings in Children's Outerwear, CPSC, July 11, 2011

CPSC Issues New Drawstring Safety Rule for Children's Outerwear
Drawstrings at Neck and Waist Present Strangulation Hazard and Other Dangers, CPSC, July 1, 2011

Safety group sets kids' drawstring safety rules, MSNBC/Reuters, July 1, 2011

Related Web Resources:
Read the CPSC's Drawstring Guidelines from 1996 (PDF)

Recalls.Gov

More Blog Posts:
Strangulation, Choking, and Fall Hazards Prompt Recall of Baby Walkers, Clothing, and Books, Product Liability Law Blog, April 17, 2010

Defective Clothing Can Cause Serious Injuries, Product Liability Law Blog, June 18, 2008

Retailers Pay $320,000 Fine For Selling Defective Children's Clothing With Drawstrings, Product Liability Law Blog, May 13, 2008

Continue reading "CPSC Says Certain Kids' Outerwear with Drawstrings Pose Strangulation, Entrapment and Death Hazard to Kids" »

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning parents and guardians to exercise caution when using a corded baby audio and video camera monitor. There have been reports of six baby strangulation deaths involving a baby monitor cord since 2004. It was just this March that a 10-month-old girl died in a Washington DC child injury accident after she became entangled in her camera monitor's cord. The monitor had been next to her crib. The CPSC says it has also obtained three other reports of babies that became entangled in a monitor cord and were fortunately rescued before suffering serious injuries.

Although the CPSC is not at this time recalling baby monitors with cords, to decrease the chances of strangulation, the agency is recommending that caregivers and parents:

• Use a baby monitor that is wireless.
• If you are going to use a corded baby monitor, then keep the cord out of your child's reach.

The CPSC is also continuing to recommend that you keep your son or daughter away from any type of cord and that you remove drawstrings and long ribbons from a child's clothing.

The agency, along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is also warning consumers to stop using infant sleep positioners. Although long touted as a tool for helping babies stay on their backs while sleeping, over the last 13 years there have been reports of 12 baby suffocation deaths after the infants became entrapped between the positioner and the side of a bassinet or crib.

There have also been dozens of reports of babies who ended up in potentially dangerous positions while using the positioner even after they had been placed on their side or back. Although an infant sleep positioner is supposed to lower the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, the FDA and CPSC do not know of any scientific studies that can verify that this infant product prevents SIDS or suffocation.

Strangulation and Suffocation Accidents Involving Children
Over the years, too many kids and babies have died or sustained serious injuries, such as brain damage, due to suffocation or strangulation. While government and safety officials have taken steps to prevent products that pose such hazards to children from entering the marketplace, unfortunately there are still consumer items, including those that are made specifically for infants and young kids, that continue to make their way onto store shelves and into homes.

Infants can strangle in baby monitor cords, CPSC (PDF)

FDA & CPSC: Infant Sleep Positioners Pose Suffocation Risk, Parenting, September 29, 2010

Related Web Resources:
FDA

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Strangulation and Suffocation, Parents

Continue reading "CPSC Warns About Infant Sleep Positioners and Baby Monitor Cords Following Several Deaths" »

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled a number of products this month because of the injuries to children that they may pose. Although recalls are a proactive step toward preventing personal injuries and wrongful deaths, it is not acceptable to expose children and babies to hazards because a manufacturer made a product that was poorly designed or developed flaws during production.

On Thursday, the CPSC recalled about 200 Le Hing Inc. baby walkers. Made for babies in the 6 months and older age range, the walkers are able to fit through standard doorways and do not automatically stop upon reaching the edge of a step. The lack of safeguards to prevent either of these can cause serious injury or death.

No injuries or deaths have been reported to date, but the CPSC says that babies should stop using these walkers immediately.

The week before, the CPSC and 5 Star Apparel LLC recalled about 11,500 Mecca Children's Hooded Jackets with Drawstrings because the drawstrings on the hood pose a strangulation hazard. So far, there have been no reports of deaths or injuries from the hazardous clothing. However, the CPSC wants boys and girls to stop wearing the jackets immediately. Buyers can either get rid of the drawstrings or return the jackets to the store for a full refund.

On April 6, the CPSC and Health Canada recalled about 15,965 Gund Baby Paperboard Books because the Styrofoam in the book binding can come off, posing an aspiration/choking hazard to infants and young kids. Gund has three reports on file of incidents involving kids putting the Styrofoam in their mouths. To date, no injuries have been reported.

Injuries to Children Involving Products Liability
Infants and young children are often vulnerable to serious injuries and deaths when exposed to dangerous products. Unfortunately, defective products-related accidents involving choking, strangulation, asphyxiation, falls, entrapment, and lead poisoning claim too many lives each year. Many of these tragic accidents could have been prevented if only the manufacturer hadn't been negligent.

Le Hing Inc. Announces Recall of Baby Walkers Due to Fall Hazard, CPSC, April 15, 2010

Recalls: children's hooded jackets, chests, tables, Associated Press, April 8, 2010

Baby Book Recall, WITN, April 7, 2010

Continue reading "Strangulation, Choking, and Fall Hazards Prompt Recall of Baby Walkers, Clothing, and Books" »

The parents of a 4-year-old boy are suing Crocs Inc. for products liability involving injuries to a minor. The boy almost lost his toe during an escalator accident at the Miami International Airport last month. The $6 million Florida personal injury lawsuit accuses the rubber clog maker of failing to warn that a person wearing Crocs risks injury in the event that the clog were to ever get caught in a moving staircase conveyor.

The boy, age 4, now has to use a wheelchair while he recovers from his injuries. According to Marisela and Sanjay Prakash's personal injury attorney, the 4-year-old's toe was crushed to the bone. The couple's products liability lawsuit contends that the clog maker has known about hundreds of incidents involving kids who have been hurt after their Crocs got stuck in escalators yet the company still has not added warning labels to the shoes.

While Crocs has published a news release announcing that warning labels will be include with the popular shoe products beginning Spring 2009, no start date is listed.

Other personal injury lawsuits against Crocs involving injuries to young children have included:

• A father filed a $2 million against Crocs for personal injury last year after his 4-year-old son's foot was maimed while riding an escalator at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia.
• A dad in New York sued Crocs for $7 million after his 3-year-old daughter sustained permanent and severe injuries when her clog got stuck in a La Guardia Airport escalator.

While Crocs are marketed as all-purpose footwear, Kathleen Huddy of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute says the shoes are best worn by the pool or at the beach. She said Crocs shouldn't be used at the mall, in amusement parks, or on an escalator. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says it has received numerous reports from consumers complaining of the footwear getting caught in escalators.

Product manufacturers must warn of any hazards associated with the use or wear of their items. When failure to warn of a hazard or to fix it causes personal injury or wrongful death, the product maker can be held liable for products liability.

Crocs sued after boy's foot stuck in Miami International Airport escalator, Sun-Sentinel.com, April 4, 2009

New Lawsuit Could Take Bite Out Of Crocs, CBS News, September 11, 2008

N.Y. man files $7M lawsuit against Crocs, Business Journal, February 8, 2008

Crocs and similar soft shoes linked to escalator entrapments, ConsumerReports.org, May 20, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Crocs

Consumer Product Safety Commission

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading causes of accidental child injuries and deaths are motor vehicle collisions and fall accidents. From 2001 to 2006, about 8 million child deaths occurred each year due to motor vehicle crashes, bicycle collisions, or pedestrian accidents, while some 2.8 million nonfatal injuries happened as a result of fall accidents. Overall, approximately 55 million teenagers and young children were treated for accidental injuries in US emergency rooms between 2001 and 2006—that's about 9.2 million kids a year.

More CDC findings:

• About 12,175 young people (under age 20) were killed each year in the US because they sustained accidental injuries.


• Motor vehicle crashes continued to be the leading cause of fatalities for kids, ages 5 to 19.


• For young children ages 1 to 4, drowning was a leading cause of death.


• For infants, the leading cause of death was suffocation.


• The leading causes of nonfatal injuries for kids ages 1 to 4 were fall accidents and accidental poisoning.


• About 20 kids are killed every day because of accidental injuries.


• Burn injuries were also a common cause of child injuries.

While there are steps that parents can take to prevent such injuries from happening, it is also important that product manufacturers make goods that are free from defects and are safe for use.

In recent years, there have been too many recalls of too many products because of the potential injuries they could cause to young children. Toys with excessive levels of lead paint, poorly constructed cribs and bassinets that pose a fall hazard or are a suffocation threat, household products that are fire hazards, defectively designed clothing that are a strangulation danger, poorly constructed child safety seats, and dangerous nursery furniture and playground rides, are just some of the millions of toys that the Consumer Product Safety Commission and manufacturers have recalled because a child was (or could get) injured or died.

Product manufacturers must be held liable when their negligence and carelessness leads to serious products liability-related injuries and deaths.

Childhood Injury Report, CDC

Recalls, US Consumer Product Safety Commission

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

Keeping Children Safe from Dangerous Products (PDF)

Continue reading "Motor Vehicle Accidents, Suffocation Injuries, and Fall Accidents Among Leading Causes of Injuries to Children, Says CDC" »

A products liability lawsuit that has recently made national headlines involves a female traffic cop who is suing Victoria's Secret for an eye injury she says she sustained in May 2007 because of a defective thong.

Macrida Patterson says that one of the metal links that holds the decorative rhinestone heart in place on the thong's blue fabric popped off and hit her in the eye. Patterson says the accident caused her a great deal of pain and she had to go to the hospital to receive medical attention. She sustained three cuts to her cornea.

Patterson's lawsuit alleges that the thong's design is defective to begin with and that the placement of sharp points and metal pieces on the underwear created an inherent hazard. The lawsuit also alleges that the thong became defective during the manufacturing process.

While injuries caused by defective underwear is not common, there have been cases where people—especially children—have been injured because their clothes had defects that resulted in choking hazards, strangulation hazards, fire (burn) hazards, and other dangers.

Just this month, manufacturer Sara Lynn Togs recalled 1,800 Children's Infant and Toddler Shortalls because the shoulder straps could come off and become a choking hazard. Also in June, The Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. recalled approximately 28,000 Camouflage Pajama Sets over concerns that excessive levels of lead in the pajama top's screen print could result in lead poisoning.

A product can become defective during the design or manufacturing process or due to a marketing defect, such as when a product is marketed to the wrong age group or fails to come with the complete instructions or the proper safety warnings. Products liability cases can be brought based on negligence, strict liability, or breach of warranty.

If you or someone you love suffered a serious personal injury because of defective clothing or another defective product, one of our products liability lawyers can discuss your case with you. We represent clients throughout the US.

Lawyer Makes Thong Injury Suit Sound Boring, ABA Journal, June 19, 2008

Eye-catching thong gives rise to lawsuit, MSNBC.com, June 19, 2008

Children's Overalls Recalled by Sara Lynn Togs Due to Choking Hazard, CPSC.gov, June 12, 2008

The Children's Place Recalls Camouflage Pajama Sets Due to Excessive Lead, CPSC.gov, June 10, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Read the Complaint Against Victoria's Secret, The Smoking Gun

Products Liability, Justia

Continue reading "Defective Clothing Can Cause Serious Injuries" »

Kohl's, Neiman Marcus, True Religion Apparel, Life is Good, Gilden Activewear, Dollar Days International, Cayre Group, and Seena International have agreed to pay $320,000 in penalties to settle allegations made by the Consumer Product Safety Commission that they failed to give immediate notice that they were selling clothing with drawstrings—a combination that is known for causing serious injuries to children.

In 1996, The CPSC had provided retailers and manufacturers with guidelines that suggested that no drawstrings should be placed in the neck or hood area of children's clothing. It also recommended that drawstrings in pants or at the waist level only be a certain length. In 2006, the CPSC told clothing makers and sellers that any clothing that violated its guidelines would be recalled for defects.

All eight companies have recalled the clothing. They claim they were not aware they had violated the law.

Since April 2007, there have been over 18 recalls involving more than 190,000 units of children's clothing that came with drawstrings around the waist or neck. There have been no reports of serious injuries associated with the recalls over the past year, but there have been serious injuries and fatalities in the past.

From 1985 to 1999, 48 incidents involving drawstrings on children's clothing getting tangled on nursery furniture, playground equipment, or other items have been reported. 22 deaths were also reported, including a 14-year-old whose clothing drawstring got caught on a bus handrail. The girl died after she was dragged under the bus.

Drawstring on clothing can also pose a strangulation hazard for children if the strings were to wrap around the child's neck too tightly or become tangled or stuck on an external object. Drawstrings with small objects attached to them that can easily fall off may pose a choking hazard for children that might swallow the pieces.

Our defective products liability law firm represents the families of children and infants that have been seriously injured or killed because of defective clothing, defective nursery products, dangerous toys, hazardous furniture, and other dangerous or defective consumer goods.

Clothing Retailers Settle With Safety Panel, Washington Post, April 23, 2008

Eight Companies Including Kohl's Must Pay Fine, Associated Content, April 24, 2008

Children's Rain Ponchos with Drawstrings Recalled by Daiso Due to Strangulation Hazard, CPSC.gov, May 12, 2008

Related Web Resource:

CPSC Recommended Drawstring Guidelines (PDF)

Continue reading "Retailers Pay $320,000 Fine For Selling Defective Children's Clothing With Drawstrings" »