Product Liability Law Blog

A jury has awarded the family of Aaliyah George an $8 million seatback collapse verdict for catastrophic injuries she sustained during a Missouri car accident in 2007. George was 2-years-old at the time. Johnson Controls, Inc., the company that designed and manufactured the car seat that malfunctioned, is the defendant of this Missouri auto products liability lawsuit.

Aaliyah was injured on October 24, 2007 when the 1997 Dodge neon that she was riding, which her grandmother Margaret Steele was driving, was rear-ended by another vehicle. During the collision, the driver’s seat fell backward, causing Steele to fall back and her head to strike Aaliyah, who was in her child safety seat, on the head.

Because of the seatback defect, the little girl suffered a traumatic head injury, brain damage, multiple fractures, and permanent partial paralysis to her right side. Also, her thought, speech, and learning capabilities suffered significant damage. Aaliyah’s auto products liability lawyers say it is unlikely that her cognitive development will advance beyond that of an adolescent.

According to Dolan Media Newswire, a month before the civil trial the plaintiff’s attorneys dropped the negligence and punitive damages claims against the defendant. This means that Johnson Controls could not offer its primary defense that the seats had been designed according to Chrysler’s specifications. The only claim left was that of strict product liability, which does not require the defendant to have engaged in misconduct to be held liable.

Seatback Failure
Seatback malfunctions can result in serious injuries and deaths. A collapsing seatback can:

• Cause a driver—if it is his/her seat that collapses—to lose control of the vehicle.
• Result in partial or complete ejection for the seat occupant from the auto.
• Throw the seat occupant into the other vehicle occupants or against the auto's interior.
• Cause serious injury to the seat occupant and to the person sitting behind the defective seat.

Platte County jury awards $8M judgment for injured girl, Missouri Lawyers Media/Dolan Company, August 2, 2010

Mo. jury awards family $8M from Johnson Controls, Business Week/Associated Press, August 4, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Preliminary Assessment of NASS CDS Data Related to Rearward Seat Collapse and Occupant Injury, NHTSA

Seat Back Defects, Buzzle.com

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Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , Catastrophic Injuries , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars , Seat Back Defects , Traumatic Brain Injuries

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A 9-year-old girl has died in an Oklahoma playground accident. Now, Alyssa Avila’s family wants the “X-Wave,” the playground equipment she was playing on when the tragic incident happened banned.

Playground equipment accident happened last Thursday at Wyandotte elementary school. The 4th grader and several children were on the X-wave when she fell off the section of the equipment that was in the air. As Alyssa rose to get back on the X-wave, the section that was now coming down struck her head, knocking her to the ground. Medical workers that came to the school say that she was in cardiac arrest when they arrived.

Per a preliminary investigation, the X-wave was functioning properly and showed no signs of defect. The three-piece playground equipment had only been in use at the school for two days when the tragic playground accident happened. It has since been secured and the school superintendent says it will never be used again. The state Medical Examiner’s Office is still conducting its investigation.

Playground Equipment Accidents
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, at least 150,000 emergency room visits each year involve accidents on playground equipment. A few causes of playground injuries:

• Defectively designed playground equipment
• Dangerous playground equipment
• Broken equipment
• Equipment that has cracked wood or rusted metal
• Equipment that have objects, such as bolts or hooks, sticking out of them
• Unsecured playground equipment
• Hazardous debris, such as broken glass, in a sandbox
• Poorly designed playground layout (for example, equipment that may be located too near each other that their proximity to one another causes an injury hazard)

According to a 2008 KidsHealth.Org article, the following playground equipment is considered unsafe:

• Swinging ropes
• Animal figure swings
• Glider swings
• Monkey bars
• Trampolines
• Exercise rings

Our playground equipment injury lawyers are familiar with the serious injuries that can result because of defective playground products or dangerously designed playgrounds. There may be a playground equipment manufacturer or property owner who should be held liable for your child's injuries or death.

Family of dead Wyandotte girl wants playground equipment involved in accident banned, NewsOK, August 21, 2010

Ottawa County Girl Who Died In Playground Incident Suffered Head Injury, NewsOn6, August 21, 2010

Playground Safety, KidsHealth

Related Web Resources:
National Playground Safety Institute

Injuries and Deaths Associated with Playground Equipment (PDF)

X-Wave, Xccent Play!

Continue reading "Playground Accident Death: Girl’s Family Wants “X-Wave” Banned " »

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Posted In: Injuries to Children & Minors , Playground Products

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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" »

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

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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, Kariño Baby Pacifiers, and Tots in Mind Playards " »

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

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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" »

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

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The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling more than 2 million cribs because of the hazards they may pose to children. Included in the recall are cribs made by Evenflo, LaJobi, Child Craft, Million Dollar Baby, Jardine Enterprises, Delta Enterprises Corp, and Simmons Juvenile Products Inc. The cribs were made between 2000 and 2009.

To date, no fatalities have been linked to the recalled cribs. However, there are about 250 reports of drop-side detachment and failure incidents, as well as at least 16 child entrapment accidents.

The Recalled Cribs:
750,000 Jenny Lind Cribs by Evenflo: Drop-side hazards can place a toddler at risk of getting hurt or dying from crib entrapment, suffocation, strangulation, or fall accidents. 31 reports cite drop-side malfunctions and detachment, which have resulted in at least 7 injuries.

Approximately 306,000 Bonavita, Babi Italia, and ISSI drop-side cribs: 40 reports of malfunction and detachment incidents have been filed. One child got hurt during a crib fall accident.

40,000 – 50,000 Child Craft "Crib ‘N' Double Bed" stationary-side Cribs and an unknown number of Child Craft drop-side cribs: If the stationary side of the "Crib ‘N' Double Bed" is assembled upside down, a dangerous gap at the top of the crib can be created, placing infants and toddlers at risk of crib entrapment. Four entrapment accidents have been reported. Two of the kids were reportedly in danger of strangulation. The CPSC has received seven reports of drop-side failure that have resulted in one entrapment accident and one fall accident. Child Craft is no longer in operation.

Approximately 156,000 Million Dollar Baby drop-side cribs: There have been 43 reports of drop-side-related incidents, including 8 entrapment accidents and 3 fall accidents.

Approximately 747,000 Delta drop-side cribs and all drop-side and fixed Delta cribs that come with wooden stabilizer bars: If the wooden is installed upside down, a mattress support hazard can be created, which increases the risk of entrapment accidents. 57 drop-side related incidents have been reported. The CPSC knows of 19 stabilizer bar incidents that have caused 10 mattress platform collapses and at least 3 resulting injuries.

All (about 13,000) Jardine Enterprise drop-side cribs: At least 47 drop-side incidents have occurred. One child who became entrapped fell unconscious and was hospitalized. Nine other entrapment accidents have resulted in injuries, including a broken collarbone.

Approximately 50,000 Simmons Easy Side drop-side cribs: CPSC has received reports of 30 drop-side incidents resulting in 2 entrapment accidents and 3 fall accidents.

The companies involved in this latest recall are offering consumers free repair kits to fix the crib defects. Do NOT try to fix these cribs without a kit.

Recent Recalls, CPSC

Feds recall another 2 million drop-side cribs, Chicago Tribune, June 25, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Feds Ending Manufacture of Drop-Side Cribs, CBS News, May 10, 2010

Dangerous Kids, Kids in Danger

Continue reading "Delta Enterprise, LaJobi, Evenflo, and Jardine Enterprises Among the More than 2 Million Cribs Recalled Over Drop-Side Issues and Other Hazards" »

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

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With summer here and drowning accidents continuing to be a leading cause of child deaths, pool owners must make sure that their pools are safe for use. This means ensuring that children at a pool are properly supervised, appropriate safety measures have been implemented, and emergency equipment is easily accessible.

According to recent statistics:
• About 830 children under age 15 die each year from unintentional drowning accidents.
• About 3,600 injuries to kids from near-drownings occur.
• Unfortunately for some of those that are lucky enough to surviving a drowning accident, they will have sustained a serious, permanent traumatic brain injury.
• It takes just 4-6 minutes for a person submerged underwater to suffer irreversible brain damage.
• Approximately three out of every four pool drowning deaths and three out of every five injuries caused by pool submersion occur in home pools.
• Nearly 20% of child drowning deaths take place in public pools where a trained lifeguard was at the scene.

Public and private pool owners can be held liable for injuries to a minor or wrongful death if their negligence contributed to or allowed a swimming accident to happen.

Here are some steps that pool owners can take to make pools safer for kids. Any measures taken will, of course, depend on what kind of pool it is and whether or not the pool is a private pool or a public one:

• Make sure there is trained lifeguard or an adult that knows how to swim on duty.
• Install a barrier around your pool that is at least five feet high to prevent kids from entering the pool (or hot tub) while they are unsupervised.
• Make sure that your pool is installed with the government-mandated and approved anti-entrapment grates.
• Make sure that doors leading to a pool area have latches that are located high enough so that younger kids can’t reach them.
• Keep life preservers and reaching poles in the pool area in the event of an emergency.

Our child injury attorneys represent the families of children who have been hurt or killed in motor vehicle crashes, drowning accidents, playground accidents, or from defective products, including toys, nursery products, furniture, clothing, appliances, and other items because another party was negligent, careless, or reckless.

Drowning threatens kids, Southbend Tribune, June 27, 2010

Drowning Facts, DDS.Ca.Gov, June 2010

Related Web Resources:
Pool/Spa Safety and Drowning Prevention

Pool Safety for Children, American Academy of Pediatrics

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Posted In: Drowning Accidents , Injuries to Children & Minors , Swimming Pools

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The US Consumer Product Safety Commission and Suntech Enterprises are recalling approximately 8,400 baby walkers over a possible fall hazard. The walkers are able to fit through a standard doorway and they don’t have enough stair-fall protection. This means that a toddler can wander into another room on his/her own and may be at risk of falling down the stairs in the walker. It was just last month that the CPSC issued a mandatory rule, effective December 21, 2010, requiring that a walker either be sized too wide to fit through a regular doorway or made with a device that can prevent it from traveling beyond the edge of a step.

Fall Accidents
Kids who are learning to walk often can’t stop moving even though they haven’t quite mastered the art of getting to where they want to go without falling—one of the most common causes of injuries to toddlers. Although walkers are supposed to protect children learning to walk from certain dangers, they can actually cause serious injuries, including traumatic brain injuries and broken bones from fall accidents down steps or in the event that the walker tips over because its wheels got caught in a rug or stumbled over an object on the ground. A toddler can also get seriously hurt during a fall if his/her walker rolls down a curb or into a swimming pool.

Fortunately, federal standards for walkers have evolved even since they were introduced 13 years ago. While the CPSC reports that some 25,700 walker-related injuries to kids under the age of 15 months that required emergency room care occurred in 1992, in 2003, only 3,200 such injuries were reported. However, in April 2007, the American Academy of Pediatrics not only recommended to parents that they stop placing their kids in traditional walkers, but they also suggested that the federal government ban them.

So far, there are no reports of injuries or deaths related to this latest recall. The recalled baby walkers have either the item number WK112 or WK110 on the packaging. Consumers are advised to stop using the walker right away and return the item to the store for a complete refund.

Our child products liability lawyers know how upsetting it can be to discover that the very device that you purchased to keep your child safe is actually the cause of their injury or death.

Recall: 8,400 baby walkers, Chicago Tribune, June 22, 2010

Baby walkers, Consumer Reports, April 2007

Related Web Resources:
CPSC Issues Final Mandatory Rule on Infant Baby Walkers, CPSC, May 27, 2010

Read the CPSC Commissioner's Statement (PDF)

Baby Walkers: A Dangerous Choice, Healthy Children

Continue reading "Fall Hazard: CPSC Recalls 8,400 Suntech Baby Walkers " »

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products

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In the wake of the 2007 death of 10-day-old baby from a handmade baby sling, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling approximately 40 Sprout Stuff infant ring slings because they pose a child suffocation hazard. Sprout Stuff is located in Texas.

The baby slings were sold to consumers between October 2006 and May 2007. The recalled slings are made with cloth that threads through a ring and “Sprout Stuff” is printed on the tail hem’s backside.

It was just last March that the CPSC put out a warning that parents and caregivers should be extra careful when using the infant slings with babies under 4-months of age. At least 14 infant deaths over the last 2 decades are linked to the infant sling carriers. Products liability lawsuits claiming wrongful death have been filed in some of these cases.

The suffocation risk can occur if the sling’s fabric blocks a baby’s breathing by pressing against his/her nose and mouth. An infant can also suffocate if his/her airways get obstructed while in the sleeper in a curled position involving the chin pressed into the chest.

Although the CPSC has placed infant slings on the list of infant products that need a mandatory standard, there still isn’t one at this time.

Child Suffocation
Suffocation is the number one cause of accidental child deaths. According to More4Kids.Info, common causes of child suffocation include:

• Positional asphyxia
• Overlay: A person sleeping with a child rolls over and smothers the child
• Choking accidents
• Entrapment: The child gets trapped in a confined area that is airtight, such as a toy chest
• The child's face or chest gets covered, which obstructs breathing
• Strangulation

As you can see, many of these causes of child suffocation are ones that our child injury lawyers have written about on our products liability blog site in relation to products that have caused serious injuries to children. Defective cribs, poorly designed window shades and drapes, toy chests with lids that don’t have a proper security lock, and toys that are so small that they are easy to swallow, are just some products that have caused suffocation deaths and injuries to kids and babies.

Newborn death prompts recall of baby slings, Associated Press, June 2, 2010

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

Child Suffocation: More than a Nightmare, More4Kids

Related Web Resources:
Recalls.gov

CPSC and Infant Sling Safety, BabyWearing International

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Posted In: Furniture and Accessories , Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Suffocation Accidents

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After the recall of more than seven million drop-sides cribs, at least 32 related child deaths, and hundreds of incidents involving problematic drop sides, the lawmakers and the government is taking more aggressive steps to ban drop-side cribs. Last Monday, US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand proposed a bill that would make it illegal to make and sell drop-side cribs. A similar bill is also expected to also be introduced in the US House.

Meantime, the Consumer Product Safety Commission says that it will be taking aggressive steps eliminate drop-side cribs from the marketplace, as well as those that are already in US homes. 100,000 of the 500,000 cribs sold in this country in 2008 were drop-side cribs. Also, the CPSC is promising a new crib standard that would require crib manufacturers to make only cribs with fixed sides.

Our child injury attorneys are familiar with the serious injuries that can arise when a baby or toddler is left in a defective drop-side crib. We encourage you to explore your legal options for filing a products liability lawsuit or a wrongful death case if your son or daughter fell, became entrapped, or suffocated while in a defective crib.

Reasons why drop-side cribs cause injuries:

• The drop side becomes detached from the rest of the crib
• The drop side malfunctions and suddenly “drops," increasing the chance of a fall accident
• An opening gets created between the mattress and the drop side that makes it easy for a child to get entrapped in and suffocate
• Difficult to understand instructions can result in improper installation, which can increase the chances of a drop-side crib malfunction
• Crib parts made from poor quality materials are more prone to breakage and malfunctions

Lawmakers look to ban drop-side cribs, AP, May 25, 2010

CPSC looking to ban drop-side crib manufacturing, Todaysthv.com, May 10, 2010

Related Web Resources:
What Are The Safety Issues With Drop-Side Cribs?, About.com

CPSC

Continue reading "Senator Proposes Legislation to Ban Drop-Side Cribs" »

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

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Target are recalling about 350,000 woven storage trunks after a toddler sustained a traumatic brain injury when the trunk lid fell on the back of her neck, pinning her throat against the trunk rim. The 18-month old’s parents have filed a products liability lawsuit against Target.

Eric and Laura Surman say that when the wicker trunk’s lid landed on their daughter’s neck, it cut off her oxygen supply. According to couple’s products liability lawyers, the little girl cannot eat without assistance, requires the use of a feeding tube, cannot see properly, cannot speak, and is unable to move her legs or arms.

The couple’s injuries to a child lawsuit claims that Target marketed the trunk as appropriate for storing toys even though the units do not meet industry standards or CPSC recommendations for toy boxes, which require a hinge or support that prevents toy box lids from accidentally shutting. Their products liability complaint contends that the trunk should have come with a failure to warn that the boxes lacked the appropriate safety mechanism, as required by a chest used for storing toys.

Consumers are urged to stop using the storage trunks and bring them back to a Target store for a replacement or a refund. 14 different models of trunks made of abaca, woven rattan, or banana life are involved in the recall. There have been two other reports of kids who were injured when their trunks lids also closed on them.

Target’s woven storage trunks are considered a strangulation hazard.

Dangers involving containers with lids used to store toys:

• According to the CPSC, at least 45 children have died because the lids of containers used to store toys fell on their necks or heads
• At least three incidents resulted in permanent TBI’s
• Child injuries and deaths have also resulted from storage boxes used to hold blankets, shoes, decorate cubes, and other items

Children risk injury when they use the chest to pull themselves up. Without the proper safety mechanism in place, this can cause the lid to fall on a child, striking the head or trapping the neck against the edge of the chest or box. If the lid falls while the child is inside the chest, he/she she may become trapped while risking suffocation.

Injured Cranberry Girl's Parents Sue Target Over Toy Box, ThePittsburghChannel, March 8, 2010

Target Recalls Storage Trunks Due to Strangulation Hazard, CPSC, May 20, 2010

Related Web Resources:
CPSC Warns Consumers of Dangers With Toy Chest Lids, CPSC.gov

Toy Safety, National Network for Child Care

Continue reading "Target Recalls 350,000 Woven Storage Trunks After Toddler Sustains Traumatic Brain Injury During Strangulation Accident " »

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Posted In: Catastrophic Injuries , Furniture and Accessories , Injuries to Children & Minors , Traumatic Brain Injuries

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The head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission is vowing to ban the sale and manufacture of drop-side cribs. The promise comes in the wake of at least 32 child deaths linked to drop-side cribs over the past 10 years. While the CPSC has recalled over 7 million drop-side cribs following reports of injuries to children and wrongful deaths, crib manufacturers and sellers have failed to get rid of the defects that make these cribs so dangerous.

Just yesterday, with the cooperation of C&T International/Sorelle, the CPSC recalled about 170,00 drop-side cribs. The cribs can pose a hazard in the event that the drop-side hardware becomes disengaged from the tracks and the drop side detaches. Full-sized C&T International, Sorelle and Golden Baby wood cribs are included in the recall.

This latest recall comes following reports of 104 drop-side/crib slat detachment incidents. Six babies sustained abrasions and bruises on different parts of their bodies when they fell or became entrapped. Five infants who were involved in fall accidents and crib entrapment incidents were rescued before any injuries could occur.

Now, CPSC Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum is saying that enough is enough. In addition to the 32 fatalities caused by suffocation or strangulation in a crib, 14 other entrapment fatalities may also have occurred because of drop-side failures. Granted, major crib manufacturers have consented to a voluntary ban on drop-side cribs. However, this isn’t the same has having to obey a federal safety standard that bans these cribs.

Drop-Side Crib Dangers
Drop-side or crib slat detachment can create an opening between the crib mattress and the drop-side that infants and toddlers can get stuck in. Crib entrapment can cause suffocation and/or strangulation if the baby isn’t rescued immediately. A child can also get hurts if the drop side comes off completely or collapses, making it easy for a toddler to fall onto the ground.

This defect can be grounds for a products liability lawsuit if a child gets hurt because of a flaw in the crib design or materials.

Federal safety regulator pledges to ban drop-side cribs, Los Angeles Times, May 8, 2010

C&T International/Sorelle Recalls Cribs Due to Strangulation and Suffocation Hazards, CPSC, May 6, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Crib safety tips, Consumer Reports

Choosing a Crib, Healthy Children

Continue reading "Preventing Crib Entrapment, Suffocation, and Fall Accidents: CPSC Chief Vows to Ban Drop-Side Cribs" »

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

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced two major crib recalls today over concerns that the infant sleepers can cause serious injuries to children. To our child injury law firm, the latest recalls are yet another reminder that there are crib manufacturers that continue to place children’s safety at risk with their poorly designed and manufactured products.

In the first recall, the CPSC is recalling all Simplicity cribs that have tubular metal mattress-support frames. Simplicity drop-side and fixed-side cribs are both affected by the recall. Because Simplicity and SFCA Inc., its successor company, are no longer in operation, the CPSC is unsure of how many cribs were sold.

Strangulation, entrapment, suffocation, and fall accidents might happen if the frame detaches, bends, or causes a portion of the mattress to collapse so that an opening is created that the infant can get stuck in or fall through. The CPSC knows of at least 13 incidents where this crib defect has led to the product failing.

One Massachusetts toddler, age 1, died from a crib entrapment accident in April 2008 when he got stuck between the frame and mattress. Another child sustained minor cuts to his head when the mattress collapsed and he fell out of the crib. Another child was also involved in a crib entrapment accident. Fortunately, he did not get hurt.

In the second crib recall, the CPSC is recalling approximately 217,000 Graco drop-side cribs that were manufactured by LaJobi Inc. The suffocation and entrapment hazard can occur if the drop-side hardware fails or breaks, causing the drop side to detach. This can create a dangerous opening between the mattress and the drop-side that a child can get entrapped in or wedged between. Also, in the event that the drop side detaches or doesn’t lock properly, the crib then becomes a fall hazard.

There have been 99 reports so far of drop-sides detaching or breaking. Luckily, two children who became entrapped were freed before they suffocated. Six children fell from the crib. One of them sustained a mild concussion.

Recall: Simplicity cribs. One infant death reported, Chicago Tribune, April 29, 2010

Simplicity and Graco crib recalls: Is your crib on the list?, Christian Science Monitor, April 29, 2010

Related Web Resources:
CPSC

Check cribs for defects before placing babies back to sleep, APP News, March 2009

Continue reading "More Graco and Simplicity Cribs Recalled Following Child Injuries and One Infant Death" »

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

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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" »

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Posted In: Choking Hazards , Clothing , Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products , Suffocation Accidents , Toys

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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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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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Choking accidents is the number one cause of death for kids in the 14 and under age group, and now, the American Academy of Pediatrics want food manufacturers to put warning labels on foods that pose this particular danger to kids. The country’s largest group of pediatricians says that at least one kid in the US dies every five day from a food-related choking accident.

More than 10,000 children end up in hospital ERs each year because of choking accidents. Kids 4 and under are the ones at highest risk of getting hurt or dying from accidentally choking on food. All their molars haven’t grown in, and their airways are just small enough for food and other foreign objects to get caught in.

The pediatrician’s group says that if the federal government can put into place standards, laws, and regulations protecting children from toys and other products that are choking hazards, then why can't the same protections be enforced over food? The group even wants food manufacturers to resize and shape foods that are choking hazards.

Examples of foods that are choking hazards:
• Hot Dogs
• Peanut butter
• Grapes
• Peanuts
• Candies
• Popcorn
• Marshmallows
• Chips
• Apples
• Carrots
• Chunks of meat
• Cheese pieces

Choking can occur when a child swallows a foreign object that gets stuck in his/her airways. Just a few minutes being deprived of oxygen can cause a traumatic brain injury or lead to death. WebMD.com reports that choking is the number one cause of child brain injuries.

Our child injury lawyers believe that product manufacturers should be held accountable for injuries to children and minors that are caused by their defectively designed or manufactured products.

US Pediatricians Call for Action to Prevent Choking Deaths, VOANews, February 23, 2010

Labels urged for foods that can choke kids

Related Web Resources:
Choking Prevention, HealthyChildren.org

American Academy of Pediatrics

Continue reading "Injuries to Children: Pediatricians Want Warning Labels on Foods that Are Choking Hazards " »

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Posted In: Food , Injuries to Children & Minors

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The deaths of three infants has prompted the CPSC to recall all “ChildESIGNS” and Generation 2 Worldwide drop-side cribs. About 500,000 cribs are affected. Unlike other drop-side crib recalls, no repair kit will be issued.

It is imperative that kids are immediately removed from these cribs. Trying to fix the furniture defect will not make the cribs safer.

The three babies that died suffocated when they became entrapped between the mattress and a broken drop side. The incidents involve the 2007 Ohio suffocation accident of an infant, 8 mos., a 2003 Indiana crib suffocation accident involving another child, also 8 mo., and a fatal 2002 Virginia crib entrapment accident that happened when the drop side detached because the track was missing two of its screws.

The potential hazard can occur if the drop side’s plastic hardware breaks, leading the drop side to come off in at least one corner. This small space is large enough for a toddler or baby to move into and get caught in, posing a strangulation or suffocation risk. Entrapment and suffocation can also happen in the event that the mattress becomes separated from its support, creating the open space that toddlers can get trapped in.

The CPSC says consumers have filed an additional 20 drop-side accidents, which include two suffocation incidents and five fall accidents from the cribs, as well as a number of incidents involving the crib’s mattress.

Generation 2 is no longer in operation. Crib owners can contact the retailer that sold them the crib and ask for a replacement crib, a refund, or a store credit.

With the number of infant furniture recalls that the CPSC has announced in the last few years as a result of so many child injuries and deaths, there is no question that there are child furniture manufacturers out there who are failing to fulfill their responsibility to make products that are safe for use. The drop-side crib appears to be one product (for the most part) that is designed in such a way that makes it dangerous for kids. It is a tragedy to put your child to bed and later find that he or she sustained a traumatic brain injury or died because of a crib entrapment accident.

Generation 2 Worldwide and “ChildESIGNS” Drop Side Crib Brands Recalled; Three Infant Deaths Reported, Consumer Product Safety Commission, February 9, 2010

Generation 2 Worldwide Cribs Recalled, CBS News, February 9, 2010

Related Web Resources:
If your child was involved in a crib accident involving a drop-side crib, file a CPSC report today.

Crib Safety, Baby-Place

Continue reading "CPSC Urges Consumers to Stop Using Generation 2 Worldwide and “ChildESIGNS Drop-Side Cribs Immediately" »

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Posted In: Cribs and Infant Sleepers , Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Ohio , Virginia

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Graco and the Consumer Products Safety Commission are recalling 1.5 million strollers because their canopy hinge mechanisms pose a fingertip laceration and amputation hazard. Already, five children’s fingertips were amputated and two kids suffered fingertip lacerations because they put their fingers in the hinge mechanism while the stroller was being opened or closed.

The Graco strollers affected by the recall are Alano™, Passage™, and Spree™ Strollers and Travel Systems. However, only the travel systems and strollers that have a plastic, jointed hinge mechanism with indented canopy positioning notches are involved. They were available for sale at Wal-Mart, Toys “R” Us, Babies “R” Us, Target, Sears, Kmart, and other retailers between October 2004 and February 2008. You can check the CPSC’s Web site to check if your model number is part of the recall. Consumers should stop using the defective stroller right away and contact Graco for a free repair kit.

It was just two months ago that the CPSC and Maclaren USA recalled about 1 million umbrella strollers after reports of 12 amputation injuries to children. Fingertip amputations and lacerations are very painful, debilitating, and traumatic. Disfigurement can result if doctors are unable to reattach a fingertip, which (depending on the location and severity of the injury), could become a permanent disability, as well as prove emotionally and psychologically damaging to the child. Maclaren CEO Bahman Kia is calling the hinge defect an “industrywide problem.”

Graco is now linked to two of the largest stroller recalls in US history. The stroller maker recalled about 1.1 million strollers in 2005 because two of its models were prone to latch failure. Graco received reports of 529 stroller collapses resulting in 264 injuries to children. One child’s cut required 46 stitches. Another child broke an arm. Other child injuries included pinched fingers, scrapes, scratches, cuts, and pulled muscles.

If your child suffered a fingertip injury because of a defective stroller, our child injury lawyers would like to offer you a free case evaluation. We have helped many families throughout the US recover products liability compensation from negligent manufacturers.

Graco Stroller Recall: 1.5 Million Strollers Called Back, ABC News, January 20, 2010

Graco stroller recall: Is your Graco stroller affected?, The Christian Science Monitor, January 20, 2010

Graco Recalls Strollers Due to Fingertip Amputation and Laceration Hazards, CPSC, January 20, 2010

CPSC, Graco Children's Products Inc. Announce Recall of Duo Tandem and Certain MetroLite™ Strollers, CPSC, July 7 & October 31, 2005

Related Web Resource:
Graco Baby

Fingertip Injuries/Amputations, Hospital for Special Surgery

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Posted In: Injuries to Children & Minors , Strollers

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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has published its newest booster seat ratings to help consumers choose the child safety seat that most safely fits their vehicle. Out of 60 booster seats, the IIHS is offering 9 BEST BETS and 6 GOOD BETS based on their ability to fit with vehicle seat belts so that a child is kept secure and protected during a car crash. The IIHS is not recommending 11 of the child safety seats it examined because it says that they don't allow vehicle seat belts to properly fit over child occupants.

Nearly all of the models sold in the United States were included in this latest round of booster seat evaluations. The IIHS intends to rate future models as they are released.

Our child products liability lawyers know how devastating it can be to have your child seriously injured in a car crash because the booster seat that you thought would keep your baby safe was defective, poorly made, or unsafe. It is important that you are given the information that will allow you to select a seat that will keep your child secure during a motor vehicle crash.

Booster Seats that Made the IIHS 2009 BEST BETS LIST:

• Clek Oobr
• Cosco Juvenile Pronto
• Britax Frontier
• Combi Dakota
backless with clip
• Evenflo Big Kid Amp
backless with clip
• Maxi-Cosi Rodi XR
• Recaro Young Sport
• Eddie Bauer Auto Booster
• Recaro Vivo

The IIHS GOOD BETS 2009 List:

• Combi Kobuk 
backless with clip
• Britax Parkway SG
• Maxi-Cosi Rodi
• Graco TurboBooster
SafeSeat Step 3, Wander
• Evenflo Symphony 65
• Graco TurboBooster
SafeSeat Step 3, Sachi

The NOT RECOMMENDED 2009 Booster Seat List:

• Alpha Omega
• Safety 1st All-in-One
• Alpha Omega Elite
• Eddie Bauer Deluxe
• Combi Kobuk
• Eddie Bauer Deluxe 3-in-1
• Harmony Secure Comfort Deluxe
• Evenflo Sightseer
• Evenflo Express
• Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite
• Alpha Omega Luxe Echelon

A booster seat is supposed to position your son or daughter in a manner that will allow the vehicle’s seat belt to fit over the body better. The shoulder belt should snugly cross over the center of the child’s shoulder and the lap belt should fit over the child’s upper thighs rather than the soft abdomen area. Failure to ensure a proper fit can result in traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, organ injuries, and death during an auto accident.

It is the responsibility of booster seat manufacturers to make child safety seats that can keep kids safe, are defect free, come with clear instructions for proper use, and caution against any unforeseen hazards.

New booster ratings: 9 BEST BETS & 6 GOOD BETS; 11 out of 60 seats evaluated aren't recommended, IIHS, December 22, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Child Passenger Safety - Studies and Reports, NHTSA

Car Seats, Consumer Reports

Continue reading "IIHS’s New Booster Seat Ratings Offers 9 Best Bets; Doesn't Recommend 11 Child Safety Seats Because of Poor Fit with Seat Belts" »

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Posted In: Child Car Safety Seats , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced today that it is recalling approximately 213,000 play yards with bassinets because of concern that the infant product posses a suffocation risk. The recall includes Eddie Bauer Complete Care Play Yards and Safety 1st Disney Care Center™ Play Yard.

There are no reports of any related injuries to date. Hover, the metal bars that support the sleeper’s floorboard can come out through the fabric sleeves. If this happens, the sleeping surface of the bassinet may become uneven. This can cause an infant to suffer from positional asphyxiation or suffocate.

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Dorel Juvenile Group will provide consumers with a free repair kit. Consumers should stop using the bassinet portion that attaches to the play yard until the fix can be made.

Just last week, the CPSC and IKEA Home Furnishings recalled approximately 600 LEOPARD Highchairs because they pose a potential fall hazard or suffocation danger. If the snap locks that secure the seat breaks, the child and the seat can fall through the highchair’s frame. There is also concern that a young child might choke on detached snap locks. To date, there is one report of a baby sustaining leg bruises after falling. Another child reportedly was able to chew off one of the locks.

In the wake of ongoing recalls involving child and infant products, federal regulators have approved a new rule mandating that manufacturers keep a list of customers so that it is easier to let parents know if a product is considered dangerous or defective.

The companies that make high chairs, cribs, strollers, gates, toddler beds, bath seats, booster chairs, play yards, hook-on chairs, infant carriers, children’s folding tables, bed rails, activity centers, walkers, bassinets, changing tables, cradles, bathtubs, slings, and bouncers will have to include a registration card with each product so that they can put together their consumer lists.

While quick notification will hopefully prevent more child injuries caused by defective infant products from happening, there are still children and babies who may be hurt before (and even after) a recall is issued.

Dorel Juvenile Group Voluntarily Recalls Bassinets on Select Play Yards, Offering Parents Free Bassinet Repair Kit, PR Newswire, December 30, 2009

CPSC approves final rule on registration card program for infant, toddler products, Kids Today, December 29, 2009

Recall: IKEA highchair, Chicago Tribune, December 22, 2009

Related Web Resources:
US Consumer Product Safety Commission

Nursery Product-Related Injuries and Deaths, CPSC, November 2009 (PDF)

Continue reading "213,000 Dorel Juvenile Play Yards and 600 IKEA LEOPARD Highchairs are Among Latest Children’s Furniture Product Recalls by CPSC" »

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Posted In: Cribs and Infant Sleepers , Furniture and Accessories , Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products , Strollers

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission is once again warning parents and guardians about the dangers associated with Simplicity drop-side cribs. The CPSC began recalling these child sleepers, made by SFCA Inc. and Simplicity Inc., in December 2005. Over 2 million Simplicity drop-side cribs have been recalled because of the hazard they pose to children. CPSC’s other Simplicity recalls were announced on June and September 2007, September 2008, and July 2009. The agency says that at this point, all Simplicity drop-side cribs are recalled.

Defects with the crib’s plastic material can lead to deformity or breakage, which can cause the drop side of the crib to become detached. This can create a gap between the mattress and the drop side that babies can fall into, and they may suffocate while entrapped.

Last week, the CPSC announced that 11 babies have now died because of this crib defect. The latest child death was in September when a 7-month-old died from a Kentucky entrapment accident. The victim of another recent Simplicity crib death was an 8-month old baby in Texas. The CPSC says it also knows of about 25 other incidents involving Simplicity drop sides detaching.

Suffocation accidents involving defectively designed cribs continue to be a problem that doesn’t seem to be going away. Tragically, it is the babies and their families that suffer.

Earlier this month, our child injury lawyers posted a blog entry about the recall of 24,000 Amboy Baby Motion Beds and Hammocks. The CPSC announced the recall after two child suffocation deaths. Last month, the dangers involving drop-side cribs made the headlines once again when the CPSC recalled 2.1 million Stork Craft Drop-Side cribs following a series of entrapment, suffocation, and fall accidents, and at least four child deaths.

Crib manufacturers have no excuse for making sleepers that can cause suffocation, entrapment, or falls. They can be held liable for products liability if a child injury or infant fatality results.

CPSC sounds the alarm after another Simplicity crib death, Consumer Reports, December 18, 2009

CPSC Launches New Effort to Find Recalled Simplicity Cribs (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Simplicity for Children

CPSC

Continue reading "7-Month-Old Baby is 11th Child Fatality Involving Simplicity Drop-Side Cribs" »

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

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At least two baby deaths have been linked to the Amby Baby Motion Beds and Hammocks, which is why Amby Baby USA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are recalling about 24,000 of these child sleepers. One of the victims was a 4-month old Georgia baby who died in an Amby baby hammock in June. Another infant, a 5-month-old Oregon boy, died from suffocation last August.

If the baby gets wedged against or rolled into the fabric or stuck in the gap next to the mattress pad as the hammock tilts or shifts side-to-side, the child might suffocate to death. Consumers are asked to stop using this product immediately until they receive their free repair kit.

This latest child sleeper recall is the second one announced in December. Last week, the CPSC and LaJobi Inc. recalled about 400 “Betsy” and “Molly” cribs because of concerns that a child’s head might get caught in the crib’s end panel cut-outs, which are a potential strangulation hazard. One 1-year-old girl died this way in 2003.

Of course, there was the CPSC's largest recall in US history last month when it singled out 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Craft following reports of infant suffocation, entrapment, and fall accidents. Our furniture product liability law firm reported on this recall in an earlier blog post.

Crib Injuries and Deaths
One of the few times that babies and toddlers are left unsupervised is when they are sleeping. This means that in the event of strangulation, suffocation, or entrapment, a parent, guardian, caregiver, or another adult may not be immediately available to rescue the child or call for help.

Crib makers and infant sleeper manufacturers are aware of this. Yet, every year there are toddlers and babies who sustain crib injuries and are hospitalized because of crib defects. Some of these children are not lucky enough to survive.

Infant Suffocation Deaths Prompt Recall of Amby Baby Motion Beds/Hammocks, CPSC, December 8, 2009

CPSC, LaJobi Reannounce 2001 Recall of Cribs Due to Entrapment and Strangulation Hazards, CPSC, December 2, 2009

Related Web Resources:
KidsHealth.org

KidsinDanger.org

Continue reading "24,000 Amboy Baby Motion Beds and Hammocks Recalled Following Two Infant Suffocation Deaths" »

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

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With the opening of the holiday shopping season, it is important that buyers be wary of toys that may be dangerous for kids. Unfortunately, toys that are choking hazards, poking hazards, lead hazards, eye hazards, or pose other kinds of injury hazards continue be found on toy store shelves throughout the US.

While toy manufacturers can be held liable for products liability in the event of injury or death—a matter that an experienced toy defect law firm that handles injuries to children cases can help you with—keeping kids away from certain toys that are already known safety hazards is a good way to prevent injuries.

To help identify toys that may be potentially dangerous for kids, World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) has released its 2009 Worst Toys List:

• Lots to Love Babies “Mini Nursery”: Small, Detachable parts can be choking hazard
• Disney Pixar Wall-E Foam Rocket Launcher: Fast-launching rocket poses possible eye hazard
• Just Kidz Junior Musical Instruments: Drumstick is a choking hazard if toddler puts in his or her mouth
• Moon Board Pogo Board: Can cause impact and head injuries
• CAT “Rugged Mini”: 3” inch long metal spoke can cause puncture wounds
• Curious Baby Curious George Counting – My First Book of Numbers: Metal beads are easy to swallow, causing choking and ingestion injuries
• Pucci Pups Maltese: Dog hair poses aspiration hazard
• The Dark Knight Batman Figure: Sharp, pointy parts can cause injury if toddler falls on them
• Spy Gear Viper Blast: “Darts” can pose eye injury
• X-Men Origins Slashin’ Action Wolverine: Sharp claws are an eye or impact injury hazard.

Last week, the Public Interest Research Group issued its report from its 24th annual “Trouble in Toyland” survey. They named 16 toys they consider either potentially dangerous or that violate current manufacturing standards. Toys were analyzed to determine if they posed a hearing hazard, a choking hazard, or contained toxic levels of phthalates or lead. As of October, the toys could still be found in toy stores:

Phthalates or lead hazards:
• Elmo Lunch Bag by Sassy
• Pretty Princess Puppy Purse by Claire's
• Collector's Series Painted Duck
• Alligator cell phone charm by Claire's
• Big Rex Touch and Feel Cloth Book by Priddy Book

Hearing hazards:
• Bright Lights Phone by Vtech
• Laugh & Learn Learning Phone by Fisher Price
• Kota and Pals Stompers Triceratops by Playskool
• Secret Saturdays Cryptid Claw by Mattel

Choking hazards:
• Worky Work Bench by Nemmer
• Fur Real Baby Bird by Hasbro
• Toy Story Pizza Planet Gift Pack by Mattel
• My First BABY Learn by BABY Born
• an unnamed play food tray by World Market
• Real Wood Shape Sorter Barn by P&C Enterprise
• Creative Wood Stacking Rings by Zaidy Product

New report finds dangerous toys on shelves, Sun-Sentinel, November 24, 2009

2009 "10 Worst Toys" List, WATCH

Related Web Resources:
Trouble in Toyland Survey, Public Interest Research Group

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Continue reading "WATCH and PIRG Unveil "Dangerous" Toys Lists" »

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Posted In: Injuries to Children & Minors , Toys

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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" »

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Posted In: Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products

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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 " »

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Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , Catastrophic Injuries , Defective Seatbelt and Restraint System Cases , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars , Minnesota , Motor Vehicle Safety , Seat Belts , Spinal Cord Injuries , States

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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, & Komyatte, 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

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors

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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 " »

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Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , Injuries to Children & Minors

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With Halloween just a few days away, the Food and Drug Administration is warning parents to be on the lookout for face paint that may contain lead, mercury, and other dangerous toxins. It turns out that using face paint, once thought a safer alternative to wearing a mask (which sometimes makes it hard for a child to see out of and can increase the chances of injury during a fall accident or a pedestrian accident), isn’t necessarily a good idea.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics says it tested 10 of the more popular face paints out there and found that all of them contained lead. Six of them had skin allergens, including cobalt, nickel, and chromium, at levels higher than what the industry recommends. Also, the group discovered some labeling discrepancies. Some of the products say they are hypoallergenic when in fact they are not. One product’s label noted that the face paint was hypoallergenic and nontoxic when it actually contains high levels of lead, nickel, and cobalt.

The levels of lead that the study detected in the face paints varied from .05 to .065 parts per million. Although this is lower than the federal government’s limit for toys at 300 ppm, the medical community believes that any exposure to lead can be dangerous for kids.

For children, lead poisoning can lead to aggressive behavior, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, impaired neurological development, learning disabilities, hearing problems, muscle and joint pain, slowed growth, and brain damage.

It can't be good for a child to wear lead paint on the face. He or she might even end up licking and swallowing the paint. Our child injury lawyers represent the families of children who suffer from serious health issues or have serious injuries caused by a defective or a dangerous product.

If you decide to paint your child’s face this Halloween, the FDA is recommending a number of safety precautions, including:

• Make sure that the paint you select is intended for use on human skin.
• If the paint smells bad, throw it out.
• Conduct a patch test first. Test it on a small area of the body to make sure an allergic reaction doesn’t develop.
• Check ingredients on the product.
• Don’t use face paint that is fluorescent or luminescent near the eye area.
• Wash off completely after use.

Happy Halloween!

Trick-or-treaters beware: Lead and other toxins in face paint could be scariest part of Halloween, NY Daily News, October 28, 2009

Warning: Halloween Face Paint Can Be Scary, The Daily Green, October 19, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

Food and Drug Administration

Childhood Lead Poisoning, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

Continue reading "Dangerous Kids' Products: Lead in Paint Can Put a Scary Face on Halloween " »

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Posted In: Injuries to Children & Minors , Lead Poisoning

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Our child seat defect lawyers have handled many cases involving injuries to children and babies who were seated in defective car seats that malfunctioned during motor vehicle crashes. Now, a new study is reporting that infant car seats are involved in thousands of injuries that occur when the safety device is used outside a motor vehicle.

It is indisputable that child car safety seats are necessary and have saved thousands of lives during motor vehicle crashes—that is, as long as the safety device isn’t defective or didn’t malfunction. However, many car seats are also used as handheld baby carriers or can be strapped into a stroller. While this way of traveling and carrying a child may seem convenient and efficient, it isn’t always safe.

According to Shital Parikh, the study’s author and a pediatric orthopedist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, over 43,000 infants in this country who ended up in emergency rooms between 2003 and 2007 got hurt when they fell from child car safety seats that were placed on counters, tables, and other elevated locations. Fall accidents also occurred when the car seats rolled over after they were placed on sofas, beds, and other soft surfaces (increasing the risk of suffocation) or when babies, left unrestrained in the seats, made movements that caused the safety device to fall or tilt over.

Head injuries, fractures, and dislocations were the most common injuries resulting from falls from child safety seats. Three babies died from their injuries.

Per the study, which was based on information from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, 62% of infants injured were younger than 4 months. 8% were hospitalized. Approximately 50% of accidents took place at home.

Parikh is recommending that a child only be placed in an infant car seat when he or she is seated in the vehicle. Otherwise, the baby should be removed from the safety device. Some physical therapists have also raised concerns that babies may be suffering from “container syndrome” caused by too much time on their backs.

Parikh is calling on car seat makers to include warnings about the dangers that can arise when the products are used incorrectly. He also wants them to let parents and guardians know exactly how the child car safety seats should be used. He thinks that car seat manufacturers should design more child car seats.

While there are steps that you can take to make sure that you’ve purchased the right seat for your child and the vehicle and that the safety device is properly assembled and your son or daughter is properly secured, unfortunately there are many child car safety seats that are designed defectively and can cause more harm than good during a catastrophic car crash.

Contact our auto products liability lawyers today about your injuries to children case.

Car seats can be dangerous outside the car, USA Today, October 19, 2009

Babies Injured in Car Seats Used Outside of Cars, AJC, October 20, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Child Passenger Safety, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

American Academy of Pediatrics

Crash Survivor Network

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Posted In: Child Car Safety Seats , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars

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With school back in session and kids running around the playground during recess and lunch period, accidents can happen. Children who are roughhousing with one another or taking part in a pickup game of basketball or another sport might end up with scratches and bruises. There are also the kinds of injuries that can result during playground accidents. A fall from the top of the jungle gym or a sweater drawstring getting stuck on a merry-go-round can lead to catastrophic consequences.

Although these incidents sound harmless enough, they can lead to serious injuries, including traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, strangulation injuries, broken bones, and other serious injuries that can change a child’s life forever. Granted, accidents do happen. However, some playground accidents might have been prevented if only the playground designer, the manufacturer of a playground ride, or the school where the playground is located took the necessary precautions to prevent such injuries to children from happening. This is where our playground accident lawyers step in.

Our playground injury attorneys represent the families of children who were seriously injured in playground accidents because of a playground-related defect. While playgrounds are designed for kids to have fun in, it is no laughing matter that, according to Safe Kids USA, about 150,000 kids younger than age 15 end up in the emergency room each year because of playground injuries involving playground equipment.

About 10 playground deaths happen a year. 75% of playground accidents take place in public facilities, such as schools and parks, as opposed to playground equipment in private backyards.

Our experienced injuries to children and minors lawyers can determine whether your child’s fall accident, burn accident, trip accident, or entrapment accident occurred because a playground product was defective or the playground was improperly designed, the playground was made with improper protective surfaces, such as wood or concrete, the playground is inadequately maintained, or the school playground equipment used is age inappropriate for the children who are playing there.

Young children may be old enough to go to school but many of them are still too young to play unsupervised. Inadequate supervision can create a hazard that may result in serious injuries if, for example, a young child who is too young to do so alone climbs the extremely high ladder of a slide and falls backward.

No. 1 Cause of Injury in Elementary School: Playground Accidents, Safe Kids

Related Web Resources:
Preventing Injuries to Children on Playgrounds, Safe Kids (PDF)

EPA rethinks play padding, Chicago Tribune, June 5, 2009

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Posted In: Burn , Injuries to Children & Minors , Playground Products

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A jury has awarded a 12-year-old boy a $12 million tire tread separation verdict for injuries he sustained in a 2006 New Years Eve auto accident in Mexico. Jesus Guzman, who was 10 at the time, is now paralyzed. The tire was a Goodrich tire made by Michelin & Cie.

The deadly motor vehicle accident happened outside Matamoros when one of the tires of a 2002 Ford F-250 pickup truck failed, causing the motor vehicle to swerve head on into a Chevrolet suburban. Everyone riding the SUV died—four of the casualties were under age 14. Loved ones who were riding in the pickup truck along with Guzman were injured.

According to the defective tire lawsuit involving injuries to a child, leaking roofs and broken air conditioners at a Michelin plant caused the tire maker’s machines to make defective tires that could likely fail. By issuing its $11.96 million verdict against Michelin for Guzman's spinal cord injury, the Texas jury rejected the tire manufacturer’s claim that the Ford truck’s bumper had scraped off the top of the tire.

Tire Tread Separation
The treads of a tire (especially steel-belted radial tires) can become separated. Because the steel does not properly adhere to the tire, driving at high speeds or hot weather can cause the separation to happen. Tire tread separation is linked to design and manufacturing defects.

Tire tread separation can lead to tire blowouts that can cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle and drive off the road, into oncoming traffic, or roll over. SUV’s are especially prone to rollover crashes during a tire blowout.

The fallout from being involved in an auto accident caused by tire tread separation can be catastrophic.

Just last week, the six members of the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir were hurt during a van rollover crash that was caused by what investigators believe was tire failure. Head trauma and broken bones were some of the injuries that the victims sustained.

Auto crashes that are a result of tire defects, including tire failure, tire tread separation, tire blowouts, and tire/rim explosions are preventable. This is one reason that a tire maker should be held liable for auto products liability. Car crashes can be deadly, which is why it is a tire manufacturer’s responsibility to make sure that their tires are free from defects that could cause a deadly motor vehicle accident.

Michelin Tire Tread Separation Lawsuit Results in $12M Verdict, AboutLawsuits, September 21, 2009

Michelin Loses $12 Million Verdict in Suit Over Crash, Bloomberg.com, September 10, 2009

Chicago's Scotland Yard Gospel Choir injured in van accident, Chicago Sun-Times, September 25, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Tires, NHTSA

Consumer Reports

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Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars , Spinal Cord Injuries , States , Texas , Tires

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Two years after the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Connie Bergey is suing now defunct crib maker Simplicity for wrongful death. Her Florida furniture products liability lawsuit contends that a defect in the Simplicity 'Crib n Changer Combo, a drop side crib her daughter Serenity was using, is what caused her death.

Serenity’s head got caught in the crib’s frame. Two days after she died, a recall of over 1 million Simplicity cribs was issued that included the very same model that Serenity was using.

In her products liability lawsuit, Bergey is accusing Simplicty of knowingly selling cribs that were dangerously designed and endangering infants’ lives. She contends that the Simplicity crib recall should have been announced before her daughter died. Her Florida wrongful death complaint says that when the crib’s drop side came off, a gap was created, which caused the fatal entrapment accident. Bergey says she was devastated when she went to her daughter’s crib and, rather than finding her sleeping peacefully, discovered her daughter stuck in the side of the crib.

Simplicity is no longer in operation. The crib maker was forced out of business following dozens of child injuries and at least four kid deaths from entrapment accidents involving its defective cribs.

Even after Simplicity shut its doors, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission continued to issue more recalls. In August 2008, 900,000 bassinets were recalled. Another 600,000 drop side cribs were recalled in September 2008. Just this January, the CPSC recalled 200,000 portable play yards.

There is no loss for a parent greater than the loss of a child. It can be even more devastating to discover that your son or daughter suffocated or died in a crib that you thought would keep your child safe.

While issuing product recalls has been known to save lives, a crib recall cannot bring back the life of the children who died prior to the recall announcement.

Some other crib design defect that have been known to cause injury:

• The crib slats are spaced too far apart that an infant’s head or body can get stuck in between two slats.

• The crib’s corner posts are designed in a manner that entanglement accidents can occur.

• The mattress is made from hazardous material or its size does not fit the crib securely enough to prevent entrapment accidents from happening.

Ffamily files lawsuit after child dies in crib, WPTV, September 9, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Simplicity for Children

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Choosing a crib, American Academy of Pediatrics

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Posted In: Florida , Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products , Wrongful Death

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According to EMS Magazine, some 475,000 US kids in the 14 and under age group suffer from traumatic brain injuries. While 90% of TBI kid patients are seen in emergency rooms and then released, there are still over 47,000 patients a year who end up hospitalized because of a TBI.

Fall accidents, car accidents, and incidents involving the victim getting hit by or struck against a hard object continue to be the most common causes of traumatic brain injuries in the US. 2,685 children die each year because of TBIs while more than 30,000 kids with TBIs will sustain permanent disabilities.

Our injuries to children and minors lawyers represent the families of babies, toddlers, young children, adolescents, and teenagers who were seriously injured in personal injury accidents. Many of our injuries to minors cases involve children who were injured or killed because of a defective product. Gilbert, Ollanik, & Komyatte, PC is one of the most recognized products liability law firms in the US.

Traumatic brain injuries—whether sustained in a car crash, from a drowning accident, in a fall accident at the playground, because the child car safety seat or seatbelt restraint system was defective, during a suffocation accident that occurred because a crib was defectively designed, or from a choking accident that happened because a child swallowed a defective toy part—can drastically alter the life of the child victim and his or her family forever.

A TBI can result in impaired vision, hearing problems, speech difficulties, muscle spasticity, seizures, paralysis, memory deficiencies, communication problems, impaired writing and reading abilities, impaired judgment, mood swings, anxiety, agitation, depression, and problems relating to others.

A TBI's degree of severity will determine the problems that can result from this type of head injury. In many instances, a child with a TBI will need special services to cope with living with a traumatic brain injury, and the ongoing therapy and medical help can become very costly. There are also other damages that a TBI victim can suffer, including loss of the ability to live a normal life, loss of independence, or the inability to enjoy the normal activities that most kids without a traumatic brain injury get to experience.

If your child’s TBI occurred because a product manufacturer, a premise owner, a car driver, a trucker, a motorcyclist, or another party was negligent or careless, your son or daughter may be entitled to personal injury recovery.

Severe Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, EMS Responder

Traumatic Brain Injury, Kidsource.com

Related Web Resources:
Traumatic Brain Injury Information Page, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

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Posted In: Catastrophic Injuries , Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars , Motor Vehicle Safety , Nursery Products , Playground Products , Swimming Pools , Toys , Traumatic Brain Injuries

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Denver’s Craig Hospital, a nationally known and respected hospital, now caring for spinal cord and brain- injured patients, was founded by Frank Craig in Lakewood, CO in 1907 for the treatment of indigent men with tuberculosis. Its initial name was “Tent Colony of Brotherly Love.” In 1909, the name was changed to Craig Colony in memory of its founder.

In 1955, with the decline of tuberculosis, the facility started treating multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, polio and spinal cord injuries. Within two years, with a new medical director, Dr. John Young, Craig began shifting its focus exclusively to spinal cord and brain injuries. Craig officially became known as “Craig Rehabilitation Center.” In 1966, the name became “Craig Rehabilitation Hospital” Dr. Young is considered the founder of modern Craig.

In 1969, Craig moved from Lakewood to Denver and built an 80-bed rehabilitation hospital on the ground of Swedish Hospital. The two were connected by a tunnel. By 1970, Craig began an in-house neurosurgical program.

1974 saw the opening of a shared Neurotrauma Unit at Swedish Hospital, designed by Dr. Harry R. Hahn. It was one of the first models of its kind. Finally, in 1975, Craig became “Craig Hospital.”

The Traumatic Injury Team was created distinct from the Spinal Cord Injury Teams under the direction of Dr. Hahn ad was soon thereafter intensely developed by Dr. Mark Cilo. In 1978, “Pete” Peterson, M.D. published a leading text, “The Management of High Quadriplegia” in 1989.

In 1980, Craig Hospital staff was instrumental in the creation and early development of the Colorado Head Injury Foundation, now known as the Brain Injury Association of Colorado. In 1983, Craig expanded by 63,000 square feet, which included a large gymnasium, an outpatient clinic, a media studio, therapy areas and department offices.

In 1989, U.S. News and World Report began ranking hospitals. Craig was ranked in the top 10 rehabilitation hospitals in the U.S. Craig physicians and staff are widely sought after for presentations and publications, averaging 75 professional presentations a year and publishing 20-25 articles and book chapter per year.

Craig has received numerous prestigious awards over the years for its outstanding medical and support staff and excellent facilities.

Continue reading "Craig Hospital in Colorado One of the Very Best" »

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Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , Brain Injuries , Catastrophic Injuries , Colorado , Injuries to Children & Minors , Spinal Cord Injuries , Spinal Cord Injuries , Traumatic Brain Injuries

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is sponsoring Child Passenger Safety Week. From September 12 – 18, parents can go to a free safety seat inspection station where safety technicians can show them how to properly install a child safety seat. Please click on the link provided below to find an inspection station near you.

The NHTSA says child safety seat use is at its highest ever:

Kids 0-12 months: 99% child safety seat use
1-3 years: 92% child safety seat use
4-7 years: 89% child safety seat use

Also, drivers who used seat belts were more likely to place children in child safety seats than motorists who were unbelted.

Thousands of safety seat inspection sites have been set up throughout the US. While the NHTSA has found that most young children are using child safety seats many of them are not properly secured in the restraint devices. This means that these kids are still susceptible to the dangers that parents are trying to avoid by properly restraining them.

Out of every four child restraint systems in use, three of them aren't used correctly. In some instances, the seats that were selected for certain children was not appropriate for their weight or age, children were not properly secured in their seats, or the restraint systems were not correctly attached to vehicles.

Our child seat defect law firm cannot emphasize enough how important it is that you choose the right child safety seat for your son or daughter. Not only should the restraint system be the appropriate one for your child’s age and weight, but you must make sure that your child and the restraint system are secured correctly. It is also the responsibility of the child safety seat manufacturer to make sure that the seat is free from design or malfunction defects, comes with the proper and complete instructions, is marketed correctly and appropriately, and warns of any risks and dangers that can result from use. Defects to child safety seats can prove fatal during a car crash and may result in traumatic brain injuries, crush injuries, and even death.

Our child seat defect lawyers are nationally recognized for our work representing clients with injuries to minors cases whose children were hurt in auto accidents because a child safety seat manufacturer was negligent or because of some auto defect that proved catastrophic.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Launches Child Passenger Safety Week, NHTSA, September 10, 2009

Child Restraint Use in 2008 (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Car Safety Seats: A Guide for Families 2009, American Academy of Pediatrics

Seat Inspection Station Locator

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Posted In: Child Car Safety Seats , Defective Seatbelt and Restraint System Cases , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars

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A number of strangulation injuries and deaths involving young children has compelled the Consumer Product Safety Commission and six companies to recall about 5.5 million roll-up window blinds and shades. The companies involved in the recall are Vertical Land Inc., Lutron Shading Solutions, Lewis Hyman Inc., IKEA, Victoria Classics, and Pottery Barn Kids/Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

The largest recall comes from Lewis Hyman. The company is recalling 4.2 million oval roll-up blinds and 600,000 Woolrich Roman shades following two child strangulation deaths. Last year, a 13-month-old boy died after his head got caught between the cloth on the back of one of the shades and the exposed inner cord. The year before, a 1-year-old boy died when he was strangled by one of the blinds’ lifting loops, which had dropped into his crib.

After one mother found a 2-year-old hanging from a Melina Roman blinds’ looped bead chain, IKEA is recalling 120,000 of the blinds that were sold between 2006 and 2008. Fortunately, the mother was able to free the child before he was strangled to death.

Potter Barn Kids/Williams-Sonoma is recalling 85,000 Roman shades following 6 reports of kids getting wrapped in the shades' exposed inner cords. The strangulation-related accidents occurred between 2006 and 2008. The cords had wrapped around the children’s necks. Fortunately, there were no permanent injuries.

Vertical Land is recalling approximately 15,400 Horizontal Blinds, 800 Cellular Shades, and 16,400 Vertical Blinds. The Horizontal Blinds are missing the inner cord stop device that keep children from being able to pull the cords down. In 2006, a 4-year-old girl was strangled. The vertical blind cord’s loop was not attached to the floor or wall.

Victoria Classics is recalling 163,000 matchstick bamboo shades and thermal sailcloth Roman shades because kids might get hurt or strangled because of the way the shades are designed. Lutron Shading Solutions is recalling 245,000 roller shades because the looped beaded chain poses a strangulation risk. There are, so far, no reports of injuries.

One would think that window blinds and shades are harmless products designed to prevent strangers from looking into a room or to keep a room cool when the heat outside gets too hot. Unfortunately, certain window shades and blinds can pose a child safety hazard if they are not designed with specific safety measures in mind to prevent such deadly accidents from happening.

According to the CPSC, about 300 kids have been involved strangulation accidents involving window cords since 1981—that’s about 1 fatality a month. The Oregon Health Sciences University says that only 1 in 2 deaths are reported. In 50% of the reported cases, children (8 months – age 4) were discovered hanging in the cords’ loops. Other strangulation incidents involved the pull cords wrapping around the kids’ necks.

Poorly designed products that come with hidden hazards can be fatal to consumers—especially young children. While recalling the products is a good step toward fixing the problem, it won’t remedy the loss for the families whose children have died because of a defective window shade or another faulty consumer product.

Please contact our products liability law firm today about your injuries to children case.

Children continue dying as window coverings causing strangulation stay up, KATU, August 28, 2009

Six companies recall window blinds and shades after deaths and near-strangulations, Los Angeles Times, August 26, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Recalls, CPSC

Parents for Window Blind Safety

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While child car safety seats are a must for newborns riding in cars, the seats can also cause a baby to experience breathing problems. Infants have to be placed in an upright position when in a child safety seat. However, according to a new study published in Pediatrics, this can cause the baby’s chest wall to become compressed, decreasing airway size and lowering oxygen levels in the blood.

T. Bernard Kinane, Massachusetts General Hospital’s chief of pulmonary pediatrics, says that 20% of newborns that are placed in car beds and car seats may experience mild respiratory compromise. This can increase the chances that an infant will experience breathing problems.

The study examined 200 healthy newborns. Each baby was placed in a car bed for 60 minutes, a hospital crib for 30 minutes, and a car seat for 60 minutes. The infants' oxygen levels were lower when they were in the car beds and car seats than when they were in the hospital cribs. In a car seat, the babies’ average oxygen saturation level was 95.7%, 96.3% in a car bed, and 97.9% in a hospital crib.

This is important to note, as many parents will take the car seat out the vehicle and let their babies sleep in them. Researchers are now telling parents to only use car beds and car seats for travel and definitely not as a replacement for a child’s bed.

While some physicians have said that the side effects are relatively mild and long-term consequences are unlikely, Kinane is recommending that child safety seat makers redesign infant car seats so that chest compression doesn’t happen. He says that one way to do this is to install a new seat back and new buckles so that the baby’s head can fall back.

Selena Silva, of the Child Passenger Safety Program at Children’s Hospital, says that an infant car seat’s reclining angle should be at around 45 degrees to keep the baby’s airway open and prevent slumping. This angle has been crash-tested.

Child Safety Seats
The makers of child safety seats must make sure that their products are safe for use. This means that the seats will ensure the greatest amount of protection for babies and other young children during a car crash. A child car safety seat should also not be designed in a way that could cause a baby's health to suffer. Manufacturers also need to warn of any possible injuries or health issues that may result from use.

If you think your child was injured or became sick because of the way a child car safety seat was designed, a car seat defect, or because the child car safety seat malfunctioned, you may have grounds for filing a products liability lawsuit.

Infant car seats can trim babies' oxygen levels, CNN, August 24, 2009

nfant car seat no substitute for crib: study, CBC, August 24, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Pediatrics

Car Safety Seats: A Guide for Families 2009, American Academy of Pediatrics

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In an effort to prevent child injuries, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently recalled a number of products. Just today, the CPSC, along with Burley Design, LLC, recalled approximately 2,700 2009 d’lite ST and Solo ST Child Trailers.

Fortunately, no injuries have been reported, but the trailer’s internal sleeve on the axle assembly could loosen. If this happens, one of the wheels might separate from the trailer. This could cause the trailer or the bicycle pulling the trailer to tip over. The bicyclist or any children riding in the trailer could get hurt, even sustaining a head injury, cuts, bruises, a back injury, a neck injury, or another type of injury if they are involved in a fall accident. The child or adult could also get hurt in a car accident if the trailer’s wheel were to come off in the street and a motor vehicle were to strike the trailer and/or bike.

Last Thursday, the CPSC announced the recall of some 1.6 million Little Tikes™ Workshops Sets and Trucks. The CPSC and manufacturer Little Tikes are worried that the oversized, plastic nails that come with both products might pose a choking hazard. Already, one child was sent to the hospital for injuries but fortunately made a full recovery.

Another product that is causing the CPSC and its manufacturer, Graco Children’s Products Inc., choking hazard worries is the Jump ‘n Jive™ Doorway Jumper. Some 2,400 jumpers were recalled on August 6. The jumpers come with detachable toys that are attached to the straps of the jumper with hook and loop fabric strips. Because the toys can come off the jumper, there is concern that a baby seated in the jumper might put the toy in his or her mouth, try to swallow it, and choke.

Already, there has been a report of one child taking the fabric strip and putting it in the mouth. Fortunately, the child did not get hurt.

The risk of fall accidents and strangulation injuries played a key role in the CPSC recall of some 200 La Siesta Yayita Baby Hammocks, distributed by Kaplan Early Learning Company, and about 265 Yayita Baby Hammocks, distributed by Nova Natural Toys & Crafts LLC. If the baby hammock flips over while the infant is in it, the infant might fall or get caught in the restraint straps while upside down, risking strangulation. There are no reports of injuries.

If your son or daughter was injured because of a defective toy, defective furniture, defective clothing, a defective nursery product, or another type of faulty product, an experienced products liability law firm can help you file your injuries to children and minor lawsuit. Children are vulnerable and prone to serious injuries to begin with that they don’t need to increase that risk with a defective product.

Our products liability law firm believes it is important to hold the makers of toys and other kids products liable for your child’s injuries or death.

Recall: Burley Design bicycle child trailers, The Oregonian, August 19, 2009

Little Tikes recalls 1.6 million toys, CNNMoney, August 13, 2009

Jump ‘n Jive Doorway Jumpers Recalled by Graco Due to Choking Hazard, CPSC, August 6, 2009

Kaplan baby hammocks recalled, UPI, August 4, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Commission

Child safety, Consumer Reports

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products , Toys

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently recalled a number of kids’ products over choking hazard concerns. Last Thursday, the CPSC recalled approximately 3,700 LeapFrog My Pal Scout Electronic Plush Toy Dogs because the paws’ decals could come off, making the pieces easy for a child to swallow.

So far, LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. has received two reports of children taking the decals off the toys. One child ingested a portion of the decal. The CPSC and LeapFrog are recommending that parents and guardians take My Pal Scout away from kids and get in touch with LeapFrog so that the toymaker can send them a replacement that has embroidered paws.

Also last week, the CPSC, Buster Brown and Co., and Pagoda International Footwear Ltd. recalled approximately 1.4 million Clog and Children’s Shoes. The reason for the recall is that the decorative wheels on the shoes can come off, posing a choking hazard. The shoes involved in the recall are designed to look like cars. 73,000 CARS Fleece Clog Children’s Shoes, also by Buster Brown and Co., were recalled in the US in April also over choking hazard worries.

Earlier in the month, the CPSC and Evenflo Company Inc. recalled about 25,000 Evenflo Switch-A-Roo Telephone Toys because a mirror decal on the toy might peel away and become a possible choking hazard. No injures have been reported, but the CPSC and the manufacturer are recommending that consumers stop using the product right away and remove the mirror decal as soon as possible.

Kids and Choking Hazards
Products that contain any pieces that are potential choking hazards can cause serious injuries to young kids. Choking is a leading cause of accidental deaths for kids younger than age 5.

Toddlers are especially inclined to want to touch, smell, and taste small objects, placing them in their mouths. The problem is that young kids have small airway passages and gastrointestinal tracts, which increases the likelihood that they could choke if they swallow or ingest small, foreign objects.

LeapFrog Recalls Electronic Plush Toys Due to Choking Hazard, CPSC, July 23, 2009

Buster Brown Clogs Recall, Wavy, July 22, 2009

Evenflo Recalls Telephone Toys Due to Choking Hazard, NewsInferno, July 17, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Choking Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics

CPSC

Continue reading "Choking Hazard Issues Prompts CPSC Recall of Kids’ Products, including LeapFrog Toys and Buster Brown Clogs" »

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products , Toys

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According to an investigation conducted by a Seattle television station, there have been a number of Apple IPod players that have burst into flames, exploded, or overheated, causing property damage and injuries. The TV station, KIRO TV, managed to use the Freedom of Information Act to get the Consumer Product Safety Commission to turn over 800-pages discussing the hazards associated with Apple’s IPods. The report was obtained with some resistance from Apple. The company’s attorneys reportedly kept filing exemptions to keep the information from going public.

Some of the injury incidents involving IPods:

• One woman says her young daughter sustained burn marks when she picked up her IPod. Apple told her that the burn accident was an isolated one.

• Another burn injury victim, Jamie Balderas, says she sustained a burn mark on her chest because her new iPod Shuffle overheated while she was running. The Washington resident says a customer service representative also told her that the incident was an isolated one.

• One young IPod user, 14-year-old Portland, Oregon resident Haylie Mooney, says her hand became swollen after she picked up her iPod, which she received for Christmas in 2007. She says that the iPod felt so hot to the touch that she dropped it immediately. Haylie’s mother, Tami Mooney, says that when she reported the injury incident to Apple, they didn’t seem concerned that her daughter had gotten hurt. Tami says Apple told her that they hadn’t heard of this kind of burn accident happening to any other IPod users.

• Last March, the mother of a teenage boy that sustained burn injuries to his leg because he says his 16GB iPod Touch exploded in his pants filed a products liability lawsuit alleging injuries to a minoragainst Apple. The boy, 15, sustained second-degree burns.

According to the CPSC’s report, the IPods’ lithium batteries may be the cause of the burn and fire accidents. Yet with more than 175 million iPods sold, the federal agency has determined that the number of injury accidents that have occurred is pretty low compared to the number of iPods that are made and sold and at this point doesn't believe a recall is warranted.

Yet even such minor incidents can result in serious burn injuries, such as when an iPod overheats, causing its user’s clothes to catch fire.

Apple sued over 'exploding' iPod Touch, News.cnet.com, March 13, 2009

Apple Downplays Fiery iPod Incidents, KIROTV.com

Apple Tries to Downplay iPod Fire Incidents, OS News, July 22, 2009

Consumer Complaints about their iPods (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
CPSC

Contacting Apple

Continue reading "CPSC Report Documents Burn Injuries Caused by Apple’s iPods " »

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Posted In: Burn , Burn Injuries , Injuries to Children & Minors

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This month, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled a number of infant products. On Wednesday, Kolcroft Enterprises Inc. recalled 1 million Play Yards because of concern that the furniture’s side rail might fail to latch correctly or unlatch suddenly, posing a potential fall hazard.

So far, there have been at least 374 reports of the play yard side rails collapsing. 21 kids sustained injuries, including scrapes, one concussion, bruises, and bumps.

Considering that play yards, play pens, cribs, mattresses, bathinettes, baby baths, and bath seats were the products most associated with nursery products-related deaths for children under age 5 between 2003 and 2005, it is important that this recall was issued. For a complete list of the play yards included in this recall, click on the link below.

Earlier this month, Simplicity recalled 400,000 Simplicity Drop Side Cribs. If the plastic hardware deforms or breaks, the drop side could detach, creating a space between the side and the mattress that a child can fall into. This can lead to an entrapment accident that could cause the child to suffocate.

There has been one child fatality reported in connection with this product defect—an 8-month-old baby from Texas. There also have been at least 25 reports of the drop sides detaching. 2 children fell into the gaps in their cribs and became entrapped. Fortunately, there have been no other reports of injuries.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that in 2007, US emergency rooms treated 62,500 child injury cases involving children younger than age 5 that were hurt because of nursery products.

Falls were the number one cause of nursery products-related injuries that year, with the head area sustaining the most injuries. About 79 kids under age 5 die each year due to accidents involving nursery products.

Earlier this month, Gromex recalled 700 Jaloma Pacifiers. The reason for the recall is that the pacifier does not meant federal safety standards and may pose a choking hazard or aspiration risk to young kids.

Choking is one of the leading causes of accidental deaths involving kids younger than age 5. Pacifier manufacturers or the makers of other small items that young kids might end up using or putting in their mouths must make sure that their products are not too small that a toddler or infant could end up choking on an item.

Another common cause of accidental deaths involving kids under age 5 is drowning accidents. On July 2, the CPSC recalled 4 million Inflatable Baby Floats by Aqua-Leisure Industries because if the seat's leg straps tear, the child might fall into the water and drown. 31 incidents were reported involving the straps tearing. There have been no reports of injuries.

CPSC issues recall of Kolcraft play yards and Gromex Paloma pacifiers, Examiner.com, July 8, 2009

Kolcraft Recalls 1 Million Play Yards Due to Fall Hazard, CPSC.gov, July 8, 2009

Simplicity Drop Side Cribs Recalled by Retailers Due to Risk of Death from Suffocation, CPSC, July 2, 2009

Simplicity Drop-Side Cribs recalled by retailers due to risk of suffocation, Stamford Plus, July 9, 2009

Aqua-Leisure Industries recalls inflatable baby floats due to drowning hazard, Hawaii247.org

Related Web Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Commission

Nursery Product-Related Injuries and Deaths Among Children Under Age 5, CPSC, 2009 (PDF)

Continue reading "CPSC Recalls Play Yards, Pacifiers, Baby Floats, and Drop Side Cribs to Prevent Injuries to Young Children" »

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products

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Despite the massive product recalls in the past few years due to high levels of lead in certain consumer products, as well as the fact that the toxic ingredient has been banned from household paint for over 30 years, lead poisoning continues to be a health hazard—especially for young children. Lead is more dangerous for young kids, who absorb lead more easily into their bodies. Because their brains are more sensitive to lead than the adult brain, young children are more at risk of sustaining some of the serious injuries that can result from lead poisoning.

Just last week, a Mississippi family was awarded $7 million on behalf of a teenager that continues to experience developmental difficulties following exposure to toxic lead-based paint. Trellvion Gaines’s family claims that he inhaled lead paint dust and chips while staying at his grandmother’s home.

The residence was painted in the early 1970’s using Sherwin-Williams paint. After the lead paint was banned, Gaines’s family claims that they followed the directions provided by the paint maker to remove the old paint and replace it with safer paint. They contend, however, that the toxic paint chips and dust was created when they sanded and scraped the old paint (per the paint manufacturer’s directions).

Gaines, who is in his late teens, now has learning disabilities and his reading abilities are equivialent to that of a second grader. Ingesting paint has been known to increase lead blood levels and cause lead poisoning, which has been linked to cognitive and developmental problems in kids, as well as other catastrophic complications, such as traumatic brain injuries, injuries to the nervous system, mental retardation, growth retardation, coma, and death.

Also this month, another family agreed to settle their New York lead poisoning lawsuit for $1.6 million. The Utica family claimed that four siblings were injured after they were exposed to lead paint chips in two different homes.

Rankeem Gilmore, 17, Tashawn Gilmore, 18, Delqwon Gilmore, 20, and Shaquanda Gilmore, 21, will divide the settlement that two landlords will pay them. Although lead paint can no longer be used to paint homes and other buildings, the toxic paint is still be found in many older homes in the US.

Products Liability Lawsuits
Product manufacturers are supposed to make sure that their toys, paint, and other products do not contain levels of lead that are dangerous enough to cause serious injury to people. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Examples of products that may contain toxic levels of lead:

• Paint
• Drinking water
• Painted furniture
• Painted toys

Utica family awarded more than $1 million for lead exposure, UticaOD.com, June 13, 2009

Mississippi jury rules against Sherwin-Williams in lead paint contamination lawsuit, Newsday, June 30, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Lead Poisoning, Mayo Clinic

Toys and Lead, CDC

Consumer Products Safety Commission

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Posted In: Catastrophic Injuries , Injuries to Children & Minors , Lead Poisoning , Mississippi , New York , States , Traumatic Brain Injuries

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According to SafeKids USA, the number one cause of injuries to kids ages 5 to 14 is playground accidents. About 150,000 children in this age group end up in US emergency rooms each year because of accidental injuries involving playground equipment. While some of these injury accidents involve playground equipment in private backyards, 3 out of 4 playground accidents occur on school grounds and in public areas.

A few months ago, the family of a boy who sustained a traumatic brain injury when he fell off playground equipment at a Burger King in 2005 received a $20 million injuries to children settlement. Defendants of the case included Burger King, the franchisee of the restaurant, and Delta Marketing Inc. The family’s playground accident lawsuit contended that the playground was made on a hard tile floor and no padding had been added to serve as a cushion during any potential fall accidents. The boy, who is now 12, continues to receive medical and nursing care for his severe TBI.

Even younger kids are prone to playground accidents. In 2006, a 15-month-old girl sustained second-degree burns on her feet when she stood on a metal plate covering a valve box in a California park’s water play area. Her family is suing the city of Yorba Linda, the metal plate maker, and other parties for the girl’s playground accident.

While the majority of playground accidents are not fatal—about 10 playground accident fatalities do occur a year. Also, fall accidents from playground equipment have been known to cause spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and death.

Common causes of playground accidents:

• Poorly designed playground equipment
• Poorly constructed playgrounds
• Inadequate supervision
• Poor maintenance of playground or equipment

For more details about playground defects and other hazards that can exist on a playground, visit our Playground Injuries page for more information.

It is also important to monitor the Consumer Product Safety Commission Web site for news of playground equipment recalls. In April, SportsPlay Equipment announced the recall of a number of its playgrounds because their posts and handrails contained excessive levels of lead.

$20 million brain injury settlement names Riverside County Burger King, Justice.com, March 29, 2009

SportsPlay Equipment Recalls Playgrounds Due to Violation of Lead Paint Ban, CPSC, April 22, 2009

Family sues YC for toddler's burned feet, Appealdemocrat.com, May 14, 2009

No. 1 Cause of Injury in Elementary School: Playground Accidents, Safe Kids USA

Related Web Resources:
Playground Safety, Kidshealth.org

Playground Safety, National Safety Council

Continue reading "Playground Accidents Are Leading Cause of Injury to Elementary School Kids" »

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Posted In: Injuries to Children & Minors , Playground Products

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A tragic treadmill accident this week claimed the life of former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson’s 4-year-old daughter Exodus On Monday, her 7-year-old brother found her with the cord that hangs from a treadmill console wrapped around her neck. Following the strangulation accident, Exodus's mother tried to revive her with CPR while waiting for the paramedics to arrive at their home. The girl was then taken to a local hospital where she was placed on life support. Exodus died on Tuesday morning.

Treadmill Accidents
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that every year, at least 2,600 kids are hurt in treadmill accidents end up in US emergency rooms. In Philadelphia alone, 12 children were injured in treadmill accidents in 2001—six of those injuries involved kids getting their hands stuck in the exercise machine’s belt. Their injuries were serious enough to require plastic surgery so they could open up their hands.

There also have been reports that hard edges, moving parts, and the programmed speeds of a treadmill can cause unexpected injuries to people. Researchers say that modifying treadmill designs, such as making the exercise machine harder to start and easier to stop, could prevent some of these accidents from happening.

The CPSC says that the treadmill is not the only kind of exercise equipment that has been known to cause injury to kids. Also:

• About 25,000 children under the age of 14 are injured on exercise equipment every year.
• Some 8,700 of these accidents involve kids younger than 5.
• Stationary bikes and stair climbers are two other kinds of exercise equipment that have been known to cause injuries to children.
• Amputations and fractures make up 20% of injuries to minors caused by exercise equipment.

While there are safety precautions that parents can take to protect their kids from getting hurt on a treadmill or another kind of exercise equipment, it is still up to the equipment manufacturer to make sure that their products do not have any design defects or manufacturing flaws that could cause cause injury or death if the equipment malfunctions. Warning of any potential hazards that may arise must be included with the product when it is delivered to the consumer.

Tyson's Tragedy Shows Treadmill Danger, ABC News, May 27, 2009

Kids and treadmills: a bad combination, TampaBay.com, May 28, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Exercise (And Children On Exercise Machines), UAB Health Systems

CPSC

Continue reading "Treadmill Accident: Mike Tyson’s Daughter Dies After Her Neck Gets Caught in Exercise Machine Cord " »

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

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With summer fast approaching, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has revealed its latest figures on child drowning injuries and deaths in pools and spas. According to the CPSC, almost 300 children under age 5 drown in spas and pools annually, while 3,000 young kids sustain injuries that require emergency medical attention. Also:

• 2/3rds of the victims killed or injured in pools and spas are toddlers, ages 1-2.
• 80% of drowning deaths take place in residential settings.
• Between 1999 to 2008, 69 injuries and 11 deaths occurred due to spa and pool entrapment accidents.

Last December, the Federal Pool and Spa Safety Act went into effect. The new law makes it a requirement for all public spas and pools to install drains that prevent drain entrapment accidents from happening. The drains are arched and designed to prevent a person’s hair or another body part from getting suctioned into the drain.

In 2007, 6-year-old Abigail Taylor sustained a catastrophic injury when the drain of the wading pool she was in suctioned out a portion of her intestinal tract. She had to undergo transplants of the small bowel, pancreas, and liver and could only be fed through an intravenous tube. She died from her pool drain injuries last March.

The new pool spa and safety act is also known as the Virginia Graham Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. The law is named after former Secretary of State James Baker’s granddaughter. Virginia was just 7 when she drowned after getting caught in a spa’s suction. Unfortunately, there are pools and spas in the US that have yet to install these new drains because they have not been easily available.

There are also the dangers that pools and spas can pose because the owner failed to surround the pool or hottub with a protective barrier designed to prevent children from getting into the water unsupervised or to provide proper supervision or adequate safety measures for when people are in the pool or spa.

When you think about the fact that a child can easily drown in as little as two inches of water, our personal injury law firm, known for our work with injuries to children and minors cases, cannot do enough to emphasize the importance of making sure that the proper safety precautions are in place to prevent tragic drowning deaths. Even a near-drowning accident can prove catastrophic, with many children that survive forced to live with permanent brain damage.

CPSC Announces New Report on Child Drownings and Near-Drownings in Pools and Spas, CPSC, May 21, 2009

Pool drains pose risk to swimmers, NewsChannelKTIV, May 13, 2009

Girl Whose Intestines Were Partially Sucked Out by Swimming Pool Drain Dies, Fox News, March 21, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Virginia Graeme Baker Pool Spa and Safety Act (PDF)

Keep an Eye on your Kids, Drowning is Preventable!, WestCov.org

Continue reading "CPSC: Almost 300 US Children Under Age 5 Drown in Pools and Spas Each Year" »

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Posted In: Injuries to Children & Minors , Swimming Pools

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The US Department of Transportation says that it is designing a consumer program to help parents and others select the child car seats that are the best fit for their motor vehicles. The new program will involve auto manufacturers recommending which child car safety seats should go with each vehicle. This initiative will go into effect at the start of the 2011 model year.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has also mandated that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration put together a new side impact safety standard for child safety seats. While the current standard mandating that a child car seat be able to withstand forces more severe than 99.5% of real-time crashes is effective, LaHood wants the NHTSA to improve the standards even more.

Car safety seat and child traffic accident facts:
• 1/3rd of all highway fatalities involving kids younger than 13 occur during side impact crashes.
• 50% of kids under age 8 killed in auto accidents were not using child safety seats.

The NHTSA task force charged with assessing current child safety regulations is recommending that research be conducted on ways to improve the current child safety seat standard for frontal impact crashes.

Some steps that you can take to make sure you are buying a good car seat:
• Check to make sure that the seat is compatible with the LATCH system, which allows you to securely and easily fasten your seat to many cars and trucks.

• Make sure the seat comes with side impact protection.

• Buy a car seat with a 5-point safety harness.

However, just because one child safety seat performs well in one car doesn’t mean it will fit properly in another vehicle—even if the seat is considered one of the “best” and “safest” in the marketplace. The DOT's new consumer program will help clear up a lot of confusion for parents who may not know whether a child seat is the right fit for their specific vehicles.

Child Safety and Auto Safety
Car makers and the manufacturers of child car seats are obligated to make sure that they manufacture products that are free from defects that could lead to personal injury or wrongful death. Product defects resulting in serious injury accidents can be grounds for a products liability lawsuit.

Child safety seats: Transportation chief pushes reform measures for vehicle manufacturers, Chicago Tribune, April 25, 2009

U.S. DOT Announces New Consumer Program for Child Safety Seats, NHTSA, April 24, 2009

Related Web Resources:
How to Choose the Best Child Safety Car Seat, InfoBarrel.com

Top 10 Cars for Kids in Car Seats, Edmunds.com

Continue reading "New US Department of Transportation Consumer Program for Child Safety Seats Will Help Parents Choose the Products that Best Fits Their Cars" »

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars

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Already this month, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of three nursery products. The recalls are an effort to prevent potentially catastrophic accidents from causing injury to or killing young kids.

On April 2, the CPSC, with the cooperation of SunTech Enterprises, let the public know that about 1,900 convertible cribs were being recalled and any returns would lead to full refunds. The danger they are trying to remove is one that could lead to suffocation or entrapment.

The expanding mesh material that make up the crib sides may create a gap between the mattress and the side of the crib. This could make it easy for a young child to fall into the gap and suffocate or become entrapped. Also, the crib’s drop side, if not fully latched, can drop down unexpectedly, creating a fall hazard. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. A five-month-old baby, however, did die last August from entrapment and suffocation in a nearly identical crib manufactured by the same company.

Just last week, the CPSC, along with Healthtex, announced that it was recalling about 40,000 Zoo Pacifiers because they failed to meet federal safety standards and are a choking hazard because the nipples can come off the base too easily. No injuries have been reported.

Also last week, Simplicity, along with the CPSC, announced the recall of about 25,000 Travel Tender Play Yards. An injury accident could result if even one of the rails collapses without warning, creating an entrapment hazard or a fall danger. To date, there have been at least five incidents involving a collapsed rail. No injuries have been reported.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission:
• In 2005, nearly 60,000 kids younger than age five were seen in US emergency rooms for injuries involving nursery products.
• Falls are the leading cause of nursery-related injuries.
• From 2001 to 2003, there were 182 nursery-related deaths.
• In 2006, nursery products caused injury to about 66,400 kids.

Simplicity Play Yards Recalled by Various Retailers Due to Fall and Entrapment Hazards, CPSC, April 7, 2009

Pacifiers Recalled by Healthtex Due to Choking Hazard, CPSC, April 7, 2009

SunKids Convertible Cribs Recalled by Suntech Enterprises Due to Entrapment and Suffocation Hazards, CPSC, April 2, 2009

Nursery Product-Related Injuries and Deaths to Children Under Age 5, United States Consumer Product Safety Commission

Related Web Resources:
Nursery-related product injuries on the rise, CNN, February 28, 2008

Products Liability News, Justia

Continue reading "Recent Nursery Products Recalls of Play Yards, Pacifiers, and Cribs are Issued to Prevent Entrapment, Suffocation, Choking, and Fall Accidents" »

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products

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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

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Posted In: Clothing , Injuries to Children & Minors

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission is announcing that Evenflo is recalling over 700,000 high chairs. The product manufacturer is concerned that faulty screws on the chairs could pose a choking or fall hazard for children.

Approximately 643,000 Evenflo Envision High Chairs and 90,000 Majestic High Chairs are being recalled. The Majestic recall is an expansion of an earlier recall of some 90,000 Evenflo chairs involving metal screws and plastic caps on both sides of the chairs coming loose and fall out, posing a choking hazard or a fall hazard to children if the seatbacks fell backward, reclined, or came off. The expanded recall includes additional models that reportedly have exhibited the same problems.

At the time of the Majestic recall last December, there were more than 1,000 reported incidents of the screws or caps coming out of the chairs, as well as over 140 reports of the seatbacks falling back, reclining, or coming off. There were more than 90 reports of injuries, including bruises to the head, broken bones, cuts, and abrasions. There were also incidents reported involving kids who would take the fallen screws or plastic caps and placed them in their mouths.

As for the Evenflo Envision chairs, there have been over 300 reports of the seatbacks reclining suddenly or detaching, which could result in fall accidents. There have also been reports of the screws coming out of the chairs, posing a choking hazard. 35 reports mentioned bruises, abrasions and other injuries, as well as one incident where a child was holding onto a screw but fortunately did not choke.

Just last month, Fisher-Price announced its own high chair recall. The danger that the seat could fall back or the booster seat detach while the child was in the chair prompted the manufacturer to recall approximately 24,000 3-in-1 High Chair to Booster. One child reportedly sustained a skull fracture after falling when the seat back detached.

High Chair Injuries
According to a 2001 Pediatric News article, most high chair injuries happen to kids younger than age one who fall from the chairs. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission says that from 1994 to 1998 there were about 40,650 high chair-related injuries that resulted in hospital emergency visits. Head injuries and facial injuries were among the most common kinds of injuries, with 94% of injuries involving fall accidents.

If your child was injured because of a defective high chair or another poorly designed infant product, you may be entitled to products liability compensation.

Injuries Prompt Evenflo High Chair Recall, WebMD, April 2, 2009

Evenflo Recalls Envision™ High Chairs Due to Fall and Choking Hazards, CPSC.gov, April 2, 2009

Evenflo Expands Recall of Majestic™ High Chairs Due to Fall and Choking Hazards, CPSC.gov, April 2, 2009

Evenflo Recalls Majestic™ High Chairs Due to Fall and Choking Hazards, CPSC.gov, December 18, 2008

Fisher-Price Recalls 3-in-1 High Chairs Due to Fall Hazard, CPSC.gov, March 24, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Infant Furniture Safety Guide, American Academy of Pediatrics

Safety and Your Baby's High Chair, About.com

Continue reading "Evenflo and CPSC Recall Over 700,000 High Chairs Because Faulty Screws Could Pose a Choking or a Fall Hazard " »

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An ASTM International committee comprised of major crib makers is pushing forward a proposal to ban drop-side cribs. Among the reasons for this is that there have been over three million cribs recalled since the fall of 2007 and a number of child injuries and deaths have occured because of cribs that were poorly designed, incorrectly assembled, or came with defective or missing crib parts.

Entrapment and strangulation have been known to occur when a drop-side crib has malfunctioned, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission says that over the past 18 months there have been at least three child deaths involving drop-side cribs. The CPSC also reports that there have been over two dozen incidents involving the drop-sides detaching from the cribs, which can lead to serious fall accidents injuries.

Drop-side cribs have one side that can be lifted and lowered. They are especially popular among parents and other adults who are shorter or have back issues. The cribs are known for their ease of use.

The ASTM consumer product committee has to approve any proposal regarding a drop-side crib ban and it might take a year for the order to become effective. The ban also would only be applicable to new cribs.

One committee manager said the group has also talked about dealing with the problem of “slat integrity,” referring to wooden slats and spindles on a crib that might break, causing an infant to become strangled or entrapped. ASTM International’s standards are established with feedback from crib makers, users, industry stakeholders, consumer advocacy groups, testing labs, and government regulators.

Last year, Delta Enterprises recalled 1.6 million drop-side cribs because of potential spring peg and safety peg failure. This was the fifth recall since the fall off 2007 involving cribs. Other brands of drop-side cribs that have been recalled include Simplicity, Jardine, Bassetbaby, and Graco.

Since the Delta recall, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been warning consumers to check their older cribs for potentially dangerous hazards. The CPSC also has been trying to determine how cribs can be better made and if mandatory crib safety standards need to be improved.

No More Drop-Side Cribs?, MSNBC, March 19, 2009

Crib Makers Propose Ban On Drop-Side Cribs, NPR, March 18, 2009

Major manufacturers propose ban on drop-side cribs, Chicago Tribune, March 22, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Commission

ASTM International

Continue reading "Crib Makers Propose Banning Drop-Side Cribs" »

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it is planning a complete review of existing child safety restraint standards. The announcement, reports the Chicago Tribune, comes in the wake of the newspaper’s findings that existing safety standards may be flawed.

The Tribune says that it found, buried in thousands of NHTSA reports, results from tests used to rate the car safety of 2008 model vehicles. What was disturbing, the newspaper reported, is that out of 66 infant seats used in these frontal collision tests, nearly 50% of the safety restraints either separated from the vehicle or exceeded injury limits.

These findings were never issued to the public. Joan Claybrook, the president emeritus of Public Citizen and a former NHTSA administrator, says the NHTSA behaved negligently when it failed to notify consumers about these results.

Usually the strength and safety of child safety restraints are evaluated with tests using sled benches traveling at about 30 mph. However, simulated tests involving real motor vehicles driving into walls at about 35mph may be more in line with what actually could happen on the road, reports the Tribune.

Some of the test findings were disturbing enough that they spurred child safety seat makers into action. For instance, when used in tests involving 3,015 pound barriers being crashed into the sides of real cars, the Evenflo Discovery seats kept falling off their bases. The company eventually recalled 1,000,000 child safety seats following these poor test findings. One safety seat, the Combi Centre infant seat, kept falling off its base in frontal crash tests. Last year, Combi recalled these seats.

These findings raise the question of how accurate current testing standards are for child safety seats and if they aren’t accurate, then how much information do parents really have when trying to determine which seat works best in what car.

Meantime, federal regulators are trying to figure out how to improve their sled bench tests for child safety seats. US Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood says that the government will work harder to make crash-test results more accessible to the public. Some child car safety seat makers, however, are questioning the accuracy of the tests and their findings.

Child Car Safety Seat Recalls
In 2007, 7,000 babies were injured in motor vehicle crashes, while 63 others were killed. All of the accident victims were using child safety restraints at the time of the deadly motor vehicle accidents. Recent child safety seats that have been recalled include 5,500 Recaro Signo car seats, approximately 32,000 Peg Perego Primo Viaggio infant car restraints, and over 30,000 Britax Frontier combination car seats.

There are instances when the life of an infant or a young child might have been saved if he or she had been seated in a child safety restraint that wasn't defectively designed or did not malfunction. A defective child safety seat can be the cause of catastrophic injuries to a child's brain, head, or spine.

NHTSA Statement on Review of Federal Standards for Child Safety Seats,NHTSA, March 2, 2009

Car seat tests reveal 'flaws', Chicago Tribune, March 1, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Child Passenger Safety, NHTSA

Recalls, CPSC.gov

Continue reading "NHTSA Announces Top to Bottom Review of Current Child Safety Seat Standards" »

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Posted In: Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars

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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" »

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Posted In: Clothing , Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars , Nursery Products , Playground Products , Swimming Pools , Toys

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I have had law clients whose children get sick from bacterial infections such as E. coli. They call a lawyer because they wonder if someone’s negligence has made their kids sick.

There have been a number of recent E. coli outbreaks:

• Nearly 20 children came down with E. coli after attending the livestock exhibition at the National Western Stock Show in Denver (2009). When some of those children returned to daycare centers, other children may also have been infected.
• More than 200 people at an Oklahoman restaurant may have been infected when they ate chicken from a farm where chicken litter seeped into the water supply (2007).
• Dozens of people in the eastern U.S. became infected when they ate frozen ground beef patties contaminated by E. coli bacteria (2007).
• A California spinach processor is suspected to have infected at least 100 people because of spinach contaminated by E. coli (2006).
• An Illinois spinach processor also was responsible for infecting consumers who purchased its spinach from supermarkets (2006).
• Several young children came down with E. coli after swimming in a public pool (2007).

Is there a common thread in these E. coli outbreaks?

E. coli is a bacteria found in water or food tainted by human or animal feces. While it is usually harmless (recovery time within one week), a serious infection can lead to kidney or blood disorders, and even death. Symptoms include stomach cramps/pain, vomiting and diarrhea (often with blood).

Foods that can carry E. coli include:
• Uncooked or even undercooked ground beef.
• Vegetables grown in cow manure or washed in water contaminated by animal fertilizer.
• Unpasteurized juice or milk (pasteurization is a process that uses heat to kill germs).

What can I do to protect my children and myself against E. coli?

You and your children can protect against E. coli bacteria by:

• Tell your children to wash their hands frequently with soap and hot water, especially after going to the bathroom.
• Wash your own hands frequently with soap and hot water particularly after going to the bathroom or changing your child’s diapers.
• When you go to a restaurant, make sure your meat, especially hamburger, is well-cooked. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends heating the hamburger to at least 160º F.
• When cooking, wash your hands with soap and hot water. Clean your cooking utensils after they touch raw meat. If you put raw meat on the counter, clean it with soap and hot water.
• Clean eating surfaces after contact with raw meat.
• Only use pasteurized milk and juices.
• When your children swim in a public pool, make sure the pool does not allow toddlers in diapers. Tell your children not to swallow water when swimming.
• Make sure your children wash their hands thoroughly after any contact with animals or animal environments.
• When traveling to a country without a safe water supply, only drink bottled water. Don’t drink the tap water. Also avoid raw fruits until you have thoroughly cleaned them and peeled the skin.

What do I do if I or a family member becomes infected with E. coli?

An infection could be due to someone else’s lack of care. This could be, for example, a food manufacturer, a zoo, a restaurant, or the operator of a local swimming pool or water park. To protect your rights, and to make sure others aren’t infected, you need to have the situation investigated both by public health officials and by someone looking out for your legal rights. They can work together to make sure the situation is corrected.

If you or a member of your family have been infected with a serious bacterial infection such as E. coli, contact our firm. We can help you find out whether this infection was caused by someone else’s carelessness or negligence. For a free consultation contact Gilbert, Ollanik & Komyatte, P.C..

~James L. Gilbert~

www.denverpost.com “E. coli strikes 19 Colorado kids, may be linked to Stock Show” 02/06/2009
www.cdc.org “Multistate Outbreak of E. coli O157 Infections Linked to Topp's Brand
Ground Beef Patties” 10/26/2007
www.efluxmedia.com “Oklahoma E. coli Outbreak Toll Reaches 231, Lawsuits Expected” 09/11/08
www.emsvillage.com "Illness From The Swimming Pool?" 00/00/2007
www.csbnews.com “E. Coli Outbreak Source Located” 09/16/2006
www.cnn.com “E. coli Spinach Scare Increases to 21 States” 00/00/2006
www.thechildrenshospital.org
www.webmd.com

Related Web Resources:
www.IsItDoneYet.gov
www.BeFoodSafe.gov
www.kidshealth.org
www.thechildrenshospital.org/

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Posted In: Injuries to Children & Minors

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A new study appearing in the February 2009 issue of the American Journal of Public Health reports that securing small children and infants in the proper child car safety seats could save their lives. According to the study’s authors, use of child safety restraints dramatically lowers the chances that a child, three years of age or younger, will die in a serious traffic accident.

The study found that the odds of a baby dying in an auto crash dropped by 75% with use of a child safety seat, while the mortality rate for older children dropped by 60%. These findings are important considering that motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of accidental deaths among kids older than 1.

The new study also reported that child safety seats helped prevent deaths in rollover accidents, as well as in collisions involving light trucks. The report, however, was quick to emphasize that while securing 2- and 3-year-olds in seat belts proved just as effective at preventing deaths as placing these young children in child car safety seats, the latter is still better at protecting small children from serious injuries.

Choosing the Right Child Car Seat
While it is important to use an age appropriate child car safety seat for your son or daughter, not all child safety seats are the made same in terms of quality and the kinds of safety features that they offer. The American Academy of Pediatrics Web site offers a number of suggestions for helping you ensure that you are picking the best product for your child, including:

• The best seat for your son or daughter is the one that is age and size appropriate, properly installed, and used correctly.
• Make sure that your child does not use the seat beyond the manufacturer’s recommended date for length of use.
• Make sure there are no visible flaws on the child safety seat and that none of its parts are missing.
• Check the car safety seat’s model number and manufacture date to make sure the product hasn’t been recalled.
• If the car safety seat is one that has been used in the past, make sure it was never involved in a moderate or serious auto accident.

It is also important to pay attention to product recalls that can occur in the event that the particular child car safety seat you have chosen proves defective and the flaw needs to be fixed or the seat replaced. If your son or daughter sustained an injury in a car accident because of a defective child car seat, you may have grounds for filing a products liability lawsuit to sue for damages.

Car Seats Save Young Lives, Washington Post, January 21, 2009

Car Safety Seats: A Guide for Families 2009, AAP.org

Related Web Resources:
American Journal of Public Health

Car Seats, ConsumerReports.org

Continue reading "Child Car Seats Save Lives of Babies and Young Children, Confirms New Study" »

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating the death of Kaylee Ishii, a 4-year-old California girl who sustained fatal injuries after she climbed into a washing machine and got tumbled around in the device for at least two minutes before her mother found her. An autopsy report indicates that Kaylee died from blunt-force trauma. Police say they believe that her death was accidental and that her younger brother, who is 15-months-old, may have unintentionally pressed the start button to activate the Kenmore 417.

This washing machine is a front-loading machine that comes with an “easy start” button that is located just 20 inches off the ground. The CPSC is trying to find out if it needs to issue a recall of this particular Kenmore model to prevent further injuries and deaths from happening.

This is the first death of a young child involving a front-loading washing machine. There have been three child fatalities involving washing machines since 2004, only they involved top-loading machines. Now, the federal agency will determine whether safety standards that halt agitators when a top-loading machine is open should be implemented with front-loading machines.

In 2005, the mother of Rebecca Hope Wagoner, a 5-year-old who became asphyxiated after becoming trapped in a triple-load, coin-operated washing machine, filed a products liability lawsuit against the manufacturer for $18.9 million. Her Virginia wrongful death lawsuit against Pellerin Milnor Corp. and a local Laundromat claims that the washer turned on even though no coins had been inserted. 11 quarters are needed to operate the machine, which won’t accept money until the washer door is shut. As long as the machine is in operation, the door cannot be opened.

Rebecca’s mother had to smash the door with a rock to rescue her daughter. Her complaint says she sustained serious cuts from doing so and experienced the trauma of watching her daughter die violently. She accused the washer manufacturer of knowing that particular washer model had started up in the past even when coins hadn't been inserted yet the company failed to remedy the defect.

Products Liability
You are entitled to file a products liability claim if you suffered injuries because a manufacturer made a product that was defective or malfunctioned. If your son or daughter is a minor, you can also file a products liability case involving injuries to minors on his or her behalf.

Safety Agency Probes Girl's Washing Machine Death, KTLA, February 9, 2009

Mom of girl who died in washing machine sues, MSNBC, August 5, 2005

Related Web Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Commission

Kenmore

Continue reading "CPSC Probes Washing Machine Death of 4-Year-Old Girl" »

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Posted In: California , Injuries to Children & Minors

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The death of a 1-year-old girl has prompted a voluntary recall by IKEA Home Furnishings of some 670,000 IRIS and ALVINE Roman blinds in the United States. The recall also includes 4.8 million blinds that were sold outside the country.

According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, the toddler died after her neck became entangled in the blind’s inner cord. Her playpen had been placed underneath an IKEA Roman Blind that had been fully lowered. She was discovered partially suspended by the cord.

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The IKEA blinds affected by the recall involve all IRIS and ALVINE Roman Blinds in the color white. Consumers are being warned to stop using the blinds immediately and return them to an IKEA store for a complete refund.

Furniture Hazards
Infants and toddlers can easily get their heads caught in furniture and other items around the house—especially if the household item is a dangerous or defective product. Common furniture items that can pose a strangulation hazard to kids include:

• Cribs
• Playpens
• Recliner chairs
• Bunk beds
• Drapery cords
• Window blind cords

Children younger than age 5 are especially at risk of getting hurt in a strangulation accident involving the cords for the drapes or window blinds.

According to Parents for Window Blind Safety, hundreds of children have died because of corded window treatments since 1973. Many injuries that occur every year go unreported. Reported injuries have included paralysis, brain damage, strangulation injuries, kidney failure, blindness, and death.

The CPSC says that there were 160 strangulations involving window blind cords between 1991 to 2000. On the same day the CPSC announced IKEA's voluntary recall, Green Mountain Vista Inc. announced a separate recall of 7,300 Insulated Roman Shades and Blackout Roller Shades. In May, a 2-year-old girl was nearly strangled when she put the blind's loose bead cord loop around her neck and fell from the radiator she was standing on. Green Mountain Vista will provide a tension repair kit if the tension device is missing from the blinds.

Death prompts IKEA blind recall, Chicago Tribune, November 21, 2008

Strangulation Death of a Child Prompts Recall of Roman Blinds; Sold Exclusively at IKEA, CPSC.gov, November 20, 2008

Children Can Strangle in Window Covering Cords, CPSC.gov

Near Strangulation of Child Prompts Recall to Repair Window Blinds by Green Mountain Vista, CPSC.gov, November 20, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Parents for Window Blind Safety

IKEA

Green Mountain Vista

Continue reading "1-Year-Old’s Strangulation Death Leads to Recall of 670,000 IKEA Blinds" »

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

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As the holiday season approaches, more shoppers will start to arrive at toy and department stores to buy the latest toys for their sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews. To help parents and other purchase toys that are not only fun to play with but are safe for use, the nonprofit organization World Against Toys Causing Harm Inc. has issued its list of 10 toys that it considers dangerous enough that parents should exercise caution when allowing their kids to play with them.

WATCH'S List of 10 Worst Toys
1) Inflatable Giga Ball: WATCH notes that this inflatable ball (made by Kenscott Ltd.) that kids can crawl into, tumble around, and bounce in could cause potential impact and serious injuries.

2) Sportsman Shotgun: This toy is made by Parris Manufacturing Co. and comes with rubber bullets that could cause eyes injuries.

3) Animal Alley Purse Pet: WATCH is concerned that the hair on these dolls, made by Geoffrey Inc./Toys 'R' Us, can easily be removed and swallowed by kids, potentially causing aspiration and ingestion injuries.

4) Go Go Minis Pullback Vehicle: Made by Kid Galaxy Inc., WATCH is concerned that the toy truck’s back tires might come off and pose a choking hazard.

5) Spider-Man Adjustable Toy Skates: While Street Flyers LLC recommends that kids use knee pads, elbow pads, helmets, and wrist guards to prevent impact injuries, only the pads come with the skates.

6 Walk'n Sounds Digger the Dog: At 14-inches long, the toy’s dog leash is 2 inches longer than the toy industry voluntary 12-inch limit and may cause strangulation or entanglement injuries. This product is made Hasbro/Playskool.

7) Pucci Puppies - My Own Puppy House Golden Retriever: This Battat Inc. toy comes with small parts that could pose a choking hazard to kids.

8) Meadow Mystery Play-a-Sound Book With a Cuddly Pooh: The Disney Pooh’s mask could pose a choking hazard to kids if removed.

9) Extreme Spiral Copters: This slingshot-like toy that could potentially cause eye injuries. Made by Toysmith Group.

10) TMNT Ninja Battle Gear - Michelangelo
Hazard: While Playmates Toys Inc. warns that the toy’s small parts could pose a potential choking hazard, the toy manufacturer fails to warn parents of the potential for blunt impact injuries.

Dangerous and Defective Toys
Despite efforts to remove defective or dangerous toys from the marketplace, many hazardous toys continue to be available for purchase. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there are still many toys available on store shelves that place children at risk for sustaining:

• Choking injuries
• Aspiration injuries
• Burn injuries
• Impact injuries
• Strangulation
• Impalement
• Lacerations
• Puncture wounds
• Lead exposure-related injuries
• Magnet-related internal injuries
• Death

W.A.T.C.H.'s annual list of 10 worst toys, Boston.com

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Related Web Resources:

US PIRG

WATCH

Continue reading "WATCH Issues 2008 List of 10 Worst Toys" »

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Posted In: Injuries to Children & Minors , Toys

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The deaths of two infants that were caused by defective cribs have led to two nationwide crib recalls this month. Last week, Playkids USA recalled 2,000 portable convertible cribs following the death of a 5-month-old baby who suffocated after becoming entrapped between the crib’s mattress and drop side rail.

According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, the mesh that the sides of the convertible crib are made of can expand and create a space that a baby could slip into and become entrapped in and/or suffocate.

The second recall, which the CPSC announced on Monday, involves 1,585,000 Delta Enterprise drop side cribs. The voluntary recall comes after reports that an 8-month-old baby suffocated to death and another baby survived an entrapment accident.

The Delta drop side crib recall involves 985,000 drop side cribs that are missing safety pegs. The remaining 600,000 cribs are being recalled because of a spring peg failure. Both defects can cause a crib’s drop side to disengage and detach, which could leave a dangerous gap for kids to fall into.

The two recalls come on the heels of last month’s massive recall of 600,000 Simplicity Brand Drop Side Cribs following reports of nine incidents involving the drop sides detaching. No one was injured.

The recalls have spurred the CPSC to warn parents that they must closely inspect a crib’s hardware and stability. The CPSC says that drop side cribs are the infant beds that are most likely to experience hardware issues.

Safety Tips that the CPSC Offers Include:

• Do not use a crib that has broken, loose, or missing pieces.
• Regularly inspect crib hardware and make sure that the crib continues to stay sturdy.
• If you have a drop side crib, check to see that the drop side is working properly.
• Make sure that there are no gaps in or around the crib that a child can fall into.
• Do not try to fix a defective crib without following manufacturer-directed repair instructions.
• If the side of a crib is broken, leaning the crib against the wall will not fix the problem.

The last couple of years have seen an increase in the number of defective infant product recalls. Product manufacturers should be held accountable for any personal injuries or wrongful deaths caused by their products.

Latest crib recall broadens CPSC's focus, ChicagoTribune.com, October 22, 2008

Infant Death Prompts Recall to Repair 985,000 Delta Enterprise Drop Side Cribs; Missing Safety Pegs Can Cause Entrapment and Suffocation Hazards, CPSC.gov, October 21, 2008

Infant Death Prompts Recall To Repair 600,000 Drop Side Cribs By Delta Enterprise; Spring Peg Failure Can Cause Entrapment and Suffocation Hazards, CPSC.gov, October 21, 2008

Infant Death Prompts Recall of Convertible Cribs by Playkids USA; Crib Poses Entrapment and Suffocation Hazards, CPSC.gov, October 16, 2008

Simplicity Brand Drop Side Cribs Recalled By Various Retailers Due To Serious Entrapment And Suffocation Hazard To Infants and Toddlers, CPSC.gov, September 17, 2008

Related Web Resources:

US Consumer Product Safety Commission

Delta Children's Products

Continue reading "Deaths of Two Infants Lead to Recall of Nearly 1.6 Million Delta Cribs and 2 Thousand Playkids Convertible Cribs " »

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products

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Researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center say that microwave manufacturers could be doing more to protect children from burn injuries. In their study, published in this month’s Journal of Pediatrics, doctors reported that added safety protections, including accelerated warning campaigns and locking options, could reduce the number of injuries that occur when kids take food out of the microwave.

While many of the latest microwave oven models come with an option to lock the oven before operation, a child can easily open the oven once it has stopped heating an item. Researchers say that this is when the majority of burn injuries happen.

The study concentrates on 104 patients under age 5 that were admitted to the burn unit at University of Chicago Medical Center for accidental injuries. According to researchers, 90% of the children sustained burn injuries caused by hot liquids or foods.

Burn injuries seemed to occur most often when children ages 18 months to 4 years opened the microwave doors to take out hot food or liquid or when older children, ages 7 to 14, accidentally spilled the hot items on younger children. Children, between 10 and 21 months, were the ones most likely to sustain burn injuries.

45 of the children involved in the study had burns on over 10% of their bodies. In some cases, children experienced infections and underwent intubation and tracheostomy. 7 of the 104 patients underwent inpatient rehabilitation. The researchers also found that not enough is being done to warn parents about the dangers that hot foods and liquids heated in microwaves can pose to children.

Scald Burns
A scald burn can occur when moist or dry heat or hot vapor burns the skin. A scald burn is considered a second-degree burn. The healing process can be very slow and scars are like to develop. At home, scald burns can occur when the skin comes into contact with hot water, soup, coffee, tea, or other hot liquids.

Burn injuries can be serious and traumatic injuries that can be very painful and costly. A burn victim may have to undergo skin grafts, plastic surgery, and other painful procedures to recover. If your child suffered injuries from a household appliance and the product manufacturer could have done more to prevent the injuries from happening, your family may be entitled to personal injury recovery.

Microwave Ovens Need Added Safety Controls, Researchers Advise, ScienceDaily, October 7, 2008

Burns and Scalds Safety, SafeKids.org (PDF)

Related Web Resources:

The Journal of Pediatrics

Facts About Burn Injury, Stlouischildrens.org

University of Chicago Medical Center

Continue reading "Burn Injuries to Children Can Be Prevented By Adding Safety Controls to Microwaves, Says New Study" »

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

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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute recently conducted an evaluation of car booster safety seats. Out of the 41 boosters studied, 13 of them did such a bad job of improving the way shoulder and lap safety belts fit on children that the IIHS is refusing to recommend these products at all. While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration currently provides information on how easy (or not) a booster seat is to use, the NHTSA does not have any data informing parents on how well a booster seat will fit or properly secure their child.

Booster Seats the IIHS is NOT Recommending Include:

• Cosco/Dorel (Eddie Bauer) Summit
• Cosco Highback Booster
• Cosco/Dorel Alpha Omega
• Cosco/Dorel Traveler
• Dorel/Safety 1st (Eddie Bauer) Prospect
• Safety First/Dorel Intera
• Safety Angel Ride Ryte backless
• Graco CarGo Zephyr
• Compass B510 and B505
• Evenflo Big Kid Confidence
• Evenflo Chase Comfort Touch
• Evenflo Generations

The IIHS says that while these booster seats might increase restraint and comfort level for children, they do not necessarily provide optimal protection when used with safety belts. A major problem cited is that use of these boosters often result in the lap belt resting at least partially on the child’s abdomen rather than on bonier areas of the body.

The IIHS says that good boosters should allow lap belts to wrap across a child’s pelvic area, while shoulder belts should be positioned at mid-shoulder and away from the neck. According to University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute Associate Professor Matt Read, any booster that does not allow good shoulder and lap belt fit should be redesigned.

Booster Seats Rated by the IIHS as "Best Bets" Include:

• Britax Monarch
• Britax Parkway
• Graco Turbobooster backless with clip
• Recargo Young Style
• Fisher-Price Safe Voyage backless with clip
• Fisher-Price Safe Voyage
• Volvo booster cushion
• Combi Kobuk backless with clip
• Safeguard Go backless with clip
• LaRoche Bros. Teddy Bear

IIHS "Good Bets" Include:

• Graco TurboBooster
• Combi Kobuk
• Safety Angel Ride Ryte
• Safety 1st/Dorel Apex 65
• Recaro Young Sport

If your son or daughter was injured because of a defective child auto safety seat, you and your family may be entitled to products liability compensation.

Many booster seats aren't up to the job of improving safety belt fit for children, IIHS.org

Booster Seat Evaluations, IIHS

Related Web Resources
Booster Seats, Keeping Children Safe in Crashes, IIHS

University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute

Child Passenger Safety: Ease of Use Ratings, NHTSA

Continue reading "IIHS Names 13 Booster Seats that Do Not Improve Safety Belt Fit for Kids" »

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission is telling parents to stop letting their babies sleep in the “close-sleeper/bedside sleeper” bassinets that are made by Simplicity, Inc. The warning comes following two deaths linked to the sleepers and the refusal of SFCA Inc., the company that purchased Simplicity Inc.’s assets, to issue a recall. SFCA says it is not responsible for the products that Simplicity made in the past.

The CPSC says that the 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets have metal bars that are spaced too far apart and do not meet federal standards. The bars have a fabric flap covering that is attached using velcro. If the flap is not properly secured, a baby could become trapped between the bars and get seriously hurt or die. SFCA Inc., however, says it is not responsible for products that Simplicity made prior to the acquisition.

Last week, a 5-month-old baby was strangled to death after she got caught between the metal bars of a Simplicity bassinet. Another baby died in a similar accident in a Simplicity bassinet last September.

The CPSC has compiled data related to infant bassinet-related deaths between 1990 and 2004, including:

• There were 53 infant deaths in bassinets.
• 85% of the deaths happened because the infant was not getting enough oxygen.
• Asphyxiation and suffocation are two common bassinet-related injuries that can lead to death.
• Many personal injuries and wrongful deaths that occur in bassinets and cribs are preventable.

Popular bassinet linked to at least 2 babies' deaths, ChicagoTribune.com, August 28, 2008

Infants Strangled to Death in Simplicity Bassinets: CPSC Urges Consumers To Stop Using Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 Convertible “Close-Sleeper” Models, CPSC, August 27, 2008

Ensuring Babies' Safety in Bassinets, KidsHealth.org

CPSC Issues Warning Against Dangerous Simplicity Bassinets, ConsumerAffairs.com, August 28, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Simplicity Inc

SFCA, Inc. Acquires Assets of Simplicity, Inc., Reuters.com, May 20, 2008

Continue reading "CPSC Warns Parents Not to Use Simplicity Bassinets Following Two Infant Deaths" »

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

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On Thursday, US President Bush signed a consumer safety bill that prohibits lead—except for the smallest levels—in products made for kids 12 years of age and under. The measure, formally called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, also bans chemical phthalates from children’s products.

The bill, which received overwhelming support in both the US House and Senate, addresses the concern that toys and other kids' products can be dangerous. This worry reached new heights last year when over 45 million children's products, many of them made in China, were recalled. High levels of lead in the paint used on many of the products was one of the reasons for many of the recalls.

The new law will allow for widespread reforms that will force product manufacturers and retailers to exercise greater safety precautions when making and selling products—especially those that are for children. The legislation mandates that infant products and toys undergo testing before they are sold, authorizes the creation of the first public consumer complaint database, increases civil penalties for those that violate Consumer Product Safety Commission laws, and offers protection to whistleblowers.

The CPSC, which came under fire last year over its failure to monitor toys imported into the country from abroad, will have an opportunity to do a more thorough job. The new legislation double’s the CPSC’s budget to $136 million by 2014 and gives it new authorities for supervising testing procedures and punishing violators.

According to the CPSC, over 33 million people sustained injuries last year because of contact with an unsafe product. Some 28,000 million people die each year in the United States alone because of products that are defective or unsafe for use.

Throughout the United States, our children’s products liability law firm represents families whose sons and daughters have been injured or killed because a toy or another product was defective or hazardous. Our defective products lawyers are committed to protecting our clients’ legal rights and making sure that they receive compensation for all damages that they are owed. Our product safety law firm has gone up against some of the largest manufacturers in the world and won.

Bush Signs Consumer Safety Bill, ConsumerAffairs.com, August 14, 2008

Not toying around: Congress OKs bill to ban chemicals in some products, USA Today, August 1, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, CPSC.gov (PDF)

Recalls

Continue reading "Consumer Safety Bill Bans Lead from Toys " »

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products , Toys

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Each year, hundreds of young children are injured in motor vehicle crashes. Many of these injuries could have been avoided if the child had been restrained in a well-designed and properly functioning child safety seat or booster chair.

With all of the child safety seats currently available in the marketplace, it can be difficult to determine which seat to purchase for your son, daughter, or grandchild. The recent recalls involving defective child safety seats have not helped boost consumer confidence.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

• Infants younger than age 1 and weighing under 20 lbs should be secured in infant-only child safety seats, and the seat should face the rear of the motor vehicle.

• While toddlers and preschoolers weighing 20 pounds can ride with their car seats facing the front of the car, it is still recommended that their child safety seats face the back of the vehicle.

Types of forward-facing seats:

Convertible seats - They can convert between forward-facing and rear facing
Forward-facing seats
Forward-facing/Booster seat combinations
Built-in seats – They are pre-installed in certain motor vehicles
Travel vests – For children weighing 20 to 168 pounds. They can be used with a lap seat belt.

• Children 8 – 12 years of age that are 4’9” in height or greater and can no longer use a forward-facing seat should use a booster seat, which raises the child’s body so that he or she can properly use a shoulder and lap seat belt.
• Children that can no longer fit in a booster seat should use a shoulder and lap seat belt and sit in the back until they turn age 13.

Suggestions for making sure a child safety seat is safe:

• Use a safety seat that is preferably under five years old.
• Make sure the car seat has never been involved in an auto crash.
• Ensure that the seat has all its required parts.
• Check for possible defects, such as cracks in the plastic, damaged straps, and stiff buckles.
• Read about the seat brand and model and check for a history of past defects and recalls.

Our auto products safety law firm is experienced in dealing with injury cases involving defective car seats.

Car Safety Seats: A Guide for Families 2008, American Academy of Pediatrics

Safe Ride Helpline for Child Passenger Safety, Carseat.org

Related Web Resources:

Child Passenger Safety: Ease of Use Ratings, NHTSA

Recalls

Continue reading "Choosing Your Child’s Car Safety Seat" »

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Posted In: Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars

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Another crib line made the news headlines this month, as Jardine Enterprises and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the voluntary recall of 320,000 Jardine cribs because they pose a potential hazard for strangulation or entrapment.

The recall was announced following 42 incidents involving the cribs and broken spindles and crib slats. Four children got trapped in the spaces left by the broken pieces and two of them sustained bruises and abrasions. The cribs were manufactured in China and sold at Geoffrey Stores, Toys “R” Us, Babies “R” Us, Geoffrey Stores, and Kids World.

In an unrelated recall, Stanley Furniture has also recalled about 1,200 2nd Nature Built to Grow Cribs cribs over worries that the space between the crib and the mattress, when the latter’s support is in the middle setting, might be wide enough that an infant could get trapped in the gap.

Our product safety law firm represents families whose children have suffered serious crib injuries or other injuries a result of a defective product. Unfortunately, parents cannot always trust that a manufacturer will design nursery products that are safe for use.

Regardless, there are steps you can take to secure your child’s crib, including:

• Using a mattress that is firm and fits tightly in the crib.
• Making sure the crib is assembled properly.
• Ensuring that there are no loose, broken, or missing crib pieces.
• Checking that the crib’s slats are narrow enough that your child cannot fall through.
• Making sure that there is nothing in the crib that your baby’s clothing can get caught on.

Despite one’s best efforts, accidents can happen, and our experienced products liability lawyers have helped many families obtain financial recovery from negligent product manufacturers, designers, distributors, and retailers.

Our products liability law firm can help you assess whether you have grounds to file an injury lawsuit.

Cribs recalled after four children trapped, Boston.com, June 30, 2008

Recalls, CPSC.gov

Crib Safety Tips, CPSC.gov

Related Web Resources:

Kids in Danger

How to Avoid Dangerous Cribs, Good Housekeeping

Continue reading "320,000 Jardine Cribs Recalled After Four Entrapment Accidents" »

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products

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This month, a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee met to examine the way the government handles phthalates and Bisphenol A (BPA), two chemicals that have been used for over half a century on numerous consumer products. Phthalates is often used to soften plastics, and Bisphenol A is often applied when manufacturing shatterproof containers. One issue of concern is whether these chemicals should be banned from children’s products.

BPA can be found in baby toys, baby bottles, pacifiers, food cans, the linings of milk containers, and other products. While the US Food and Drug Administration says that baby bottles made with BPA are safe for use, government scientists are worried about how these two chemical may be affecting babies.

Recent findings in animal experiments link BPA to changes in the brain and hormones, as well as precancerous growths in the breast and prostate. In the US Senate, Democrats recently introduced a bill to ban Bisphenol A in toys and food products.

Phthalates is often found in teething rings, soft baby books, baby bottles, and other kids’ products, such as dolls and rubber ducks. While the US Consumer Product Safety Commission says that use of this softening chemical does not show any health risks, scientists claim phthalates can cause health problems, including reproductive defects and triggering early puberty in girls, which places them at higher risk for liver cancer and breast cancer.

In response to the growing concerns, Wal-Mart, Lego, Toys"R"Us, Gerber, and Evenflo say they will phase out or stop using phthalates in their products. California and Washington have instituted their own phthalate bans, while other states are considering similar bans. Although the US Senate passed a bill to ban phthalates in products made for children and infants, the House of Representatives has yet to discuss this chemical. The European Union and at least 14 other countries have also banned the phthalates.

Our defective toy litigation lawyers represent families whose children were seriously injured because of a defective or dangerous toy. We are a product safety law firm committed to getting injured clients the financial recovery they are owed.

Congress wary of plastics used in toys, bottles, Forbes.com, June 10, 2008

FDA official says baby bottles with bisphenol A safe, AP, June 10, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Toxic Baby Bottles, Environment California

Bisphenol A

Phthalates

Continue reading "US Congress Examines Use of Phthalates and Bisphenol A In Children’s Toys, Bottles, and Thousands of Other Products" »

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Toys

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the voluntary recalls of about 15,000 Children’s Playsafe Spinning Quad Merry-Go-Rounds and approximately 11,000 Backyard Leisure Adventure Play Sets and Create N Adventure Wooden Play Sets because they pose a fall hazard to children.

Backyard Leisure says that there have been 114 reports of the play sets' hangers, which hold the gliders, breaking. Three incidents have resulted in minor injuries. In one accident, a child was struck on the head by a chain that came off a hanger. The toy manufacturer is recommending that consumers remove the gliders and stop using the play sets.

With the other recall, Pacific Cycle Inc. says there has been one report of a fall injury involving its Playsafe Spinning Quad Merry-Go-Rounds. The product manufacturer says the inner bearing on the merry-go-round can fail, which can lead to the seat assembly dropping all of a sudden. Children should stop using the merry-go-round. A retrofit kit can be requested or the merry-go-round can be returned for a full refund.

Playground Injuries
Over 200,000 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms every year because of injuries caused by defective playground equipment. Fall accidents are the most common kind of playground accident and can lead to bruises, scrapes, cuts, broken bones, head injuries, back injuries, neck injuries, and other serious injuries.

Unfortunately, there are many playground toys and equipment that are not safe for children. Some other recent recalls of playground and backyard toys over the last several years have involved defective slip and slide toys, water products, and trampolines. Poor assembly instructions, improper installation, and poor maintenance of playground equipment can also result in serious injuries.

Our product safety law firm has helped the families of children that were injured because of a defective playground or backyard product obtain products liability compensation from the toy manufacturer and/or seller. We can also determine whether other parties are liable for the injury accident.

Children's merry-go-rounds recalled, WSYR.com, June 12, 2008

11,000 wooden play sets recalled by the CPSC, ConsumerReports.org, June 11, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Playground Safety

Recalls

Continue reading "CPSC Says Recalled Children’s Merry-Go-Round and Play Sets Pose Fall Hazards" »

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Posted In: Injuries to Children & Minors , Playground Products

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Two separate recalls yesterday highlighted the dangers of child entrapment. Along with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Importer Bassettbaby voluntarily recalled about 550 Wendy Bellissimo Hidden Hills Collection Cribs, model number 5446-0521, and manufacturer Simmons Kids recalled about 20,000 crib mattresses.

The Bassetbaby cribs were recalled because some of the cribs have spaces between the spindles that do not meet federal standards. This poses an entrapment danger to babies. There are no reported injuries so far, but Bassetbaby wants consumers to stop using the cribs immediately. These cribs are sold only at Babies "R" Us.

Simmons Kids recalled the crib mattresses because some of the cribs are smaller than the 27 1/4 inch standard minimum. The smaller size can create a gap between the crib side rails and the mattress, which infants could fall into or get stuck in. So far, there has been just one incident reported involving a 6-month-old infant who fell between the frame and the mattress. The baby was pulled out without injury.

The names of the models of the mattresses being recalled are:

• Simmons Kids Slumber Time Evening Star Luxury Firm

• Pottery Barn Kids by Simmons Kids Lullaby

• Simmons Kids Baby Mattress 234 Coil Count

• Simmons Kids Baby Mattress Series 400

Defective or dangerous cribs are the leading cause of nursery-related injuries and fatalities, and every year, about 10,000 babies are rushed to emergency rooms because of crib related-injuries. About 20 of these infants will die from these injuries. Causes of crib-related injuries may include entrapment, fall accidents, laceration due to side gates suddenly dropping, or cuts and bruises from small crib parts coming off.

Our defective products liability lawyers represent families in the United States whose children were injured or killed because of a defective or unsafe crib or crib accessory. You and your family are entitled to personal injury compensation for your injuries, pain and suffering, and other losses.

Bassettbaby Cribs Recalled Due to Entrapment Hazard; Sold Exclusively at Babies "R" Us, CPSC.gov, June 5, 2008

Simmons Kids Recalls Crib Mattresses Due to Entrapment Hazard, CPSC.gov, June 5, 2008

Cribs, Kids in Danger

Related Web Resources:

Crib Safety, Healthwise

Crib Safety Tips, CPSC.gov

Continue reading "Entrapment is Key Issue Behind Simmons Kids Crib Mattress and Bassetbaby Crib Recalls " »

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Toyota is recalling over 90,000 2008 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid SUVS because the seat belts in the third row may not secure a child restraint system properly.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that the seat belt webbing is not being properly secured by the automatic locking retractor. This is causing the webbing to “spool out during normal driving.” This failure could affect the ability of a child restraint system to function properly and cause serious injury to a child during a motor vehicle accident.
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Child Restraint Systems
Child restraint systems are used to secure infants and kids safely in cars so that their injuries are minimized in the event of a motor vehicle crash. There are child restraint laws in all 50 US states and the District of Columbia that requires that children in motor vehicles be secured by some type of restraint system.

It is important that the child restraint system you use for your child is functioning properly, free from manufacturing defects, and is secured properly. It is also important that the seat belt that you use to secure the child restraint system is working properly so that the system can work correctly.

Defective Seat belts and child restraint systems can lead to many kinds of serious injuries when there is a serious auto accident, including:

• Roof crush injuries during a rollover crash
• Broken bones
• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Internal organ damage
• Blunt force injuries
• Cuts and bruises from being thrown into doors or through glass windows
• Death

Our automotive products liability law firm is known for helping victims of auto accidents recover personal injury compensation for their injuries, pain, and suffering. We have recovered over $150 million in settlements and verdicts for our injured clients.

Child safety seat belt problems force Toyota to recall 90,000 Highlanders, Automotive Business Review
Toyota Recalls Highlander, Highlander Hybrids for Seat Belt Problem, ConsumerAffairs.com, May 3, 2008

Related Web Resources:

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Toyota

Continue reading "Toyota Recalls 90,000 2008 Highlander and Highlander Hybrid SUVs Because of Child Safety Seat Belt Problems" »

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Posted In: Defective Seatbelt and Restraint System Cases , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars , Toyota Safety Issues

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Last week, Walt Disney Store announced the recall of 8,000 Tinker Bell wands and 4,100 Pirates of the Caribbean sleeping bags due to excessive levels of lead. Both products were made in China.

The sleeping bags’ zippers contain lead paint. The wands have lead paint on their pearl beads. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that there have been no reports of injuries related to the products.

The products were sold in Disney Stores from April to October 2007. Consumers are instructed to stop using the products immediately and return them for a full refund.

Disney began independent tests on all of its toys last September after Mattel began recalling millions of toys. Mattel’s recall included 436,000 “Sarge” cars from the Disney-Pixar movie “Cars.” Disney mandates that its toy makers test every toy for lead before shipping them.

Exposure to excessive levels of lead can lead to serious injuries, including seizures, learning disabilities, behavioral challenges, and death. Why, then, were toys even made using such high levels of lead paint?

In China, where many of the toys recalled because of too much lead are made, paint with greater levels of lead are less costly than paint with low lead levels. Using paint with high levels of lead reportedly also results in richer paint colors.

Even though China has a tougher paint standard, at no greater than 90 parts of lead per million, than the US’s standard, which allows up to 600 parts per million, enforcement of lead regulation in China is more relaxed. Many paints in China when tested reportedly exceed the US standard for lead.

Sometimes, there are no signs to indicate exposure to excessive levels of lead. Potential indicators of lead poisoning in children include appetite loss, stomach problems, sleeping difficulties, and problems paying attention.

Our product safety law firm represents children and their families across the United States that have been injured because of defective or dangerous toys. One of our dangerous toy lawyers can explore your legal options with you during your free consultation.

Disney recalls sleeping bags, magic wands over lead paint, MercuryNews.com, May 22, 2008

Why Lead in Toy Paint? It’s Cheaper, NYTimes.com, September 11, 2008

Related Web Resource:

China bans lead paint in toys exported to U.S., MSNBC.com, September 11, 2007

Recalls

Continue reading "Walt Disney Recalls Pirates of the Caribbean Sleeping Bags and Tinker Bell Wands Because of Lead Paint Violations" »

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Excessive levels of lead and choking/swallowing hazards associated with small toy parts and magnetic pieces were the reasons cited for the toy recalls in April. The Consumer Product Safety Commission and several toy manufacturers announced the recall of more than 500,000 toys this month, beginning April 3 with StyleMark Inc.'s recall of 144,000 Children’s ‘Main Street Drag’ Sunglasses because of too much lead in the glasses' orange lettering.

Violations of federal lead paint standards was also the reason cited for OKK Trading's recall of 2,000 Interchange Robot Toys,the FUNTASTIC recall of 26,000 Hillbilly Teeth, and Santa’s Toy Corp.’s recall of approximately 9,000 Western Rider Push Toys. Yesterday, Nintendo recalled 71,000 character-themed lapel pins because they contained high levels of lead.

The toys with small parts that are potential choking hazards included 16,400 Imaginarium Multi-Sided Activity Centers and Jungle Activity Centers (sold only in the US at Toys “R” Us stores), 17,000 Dalmatian Press’s Little Builder Children’s Board Book Sets with Toys, and about 300,000 Cuddly Cousins Plush Insect Toys from Dollar Tree Stores Inc.

Henry Gordy International Inc recalled approximately 87,000 Fun ‘N Games Magnetic Dart Boards over worries that kids might swallow the detachable small magnets at the ends of the darts.

All of these toys were made in China.

Last year's massive wave of toy recalls continue to make defective toys a huge issue of concern for parents, as well as federal and state regulators. In March, the U.S. Senate passed legislation for tougher inspections of toys and other kids’ products that are manufactured abroad. The House of Representatives also passed its own version of the legislation in December. While the Bush Administration has expressed some concerns, President Bush has not threatened a veto.

Our toy products liability law firm represents the families of children that have been seriously injured or killed because of a defective or dangerous toy. Our defective products lawyers represent injury clients throughout the United States.

Senate passes foreign-made toy safety bill, MSNBC.com, March 6, 2008

Related Web Resources:

2008 Product Recall Guide, Parents.com

Recalls, Recalls.gov

Continue reading "Over Half A Million Toys Are Recalled In April Due To Lead Paint, Magnet, and Choking Hazard Concerns" »

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This week, Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law the Children’s Safe Products Act, which imposes the toughest restrictions yet for lead standards for toys among the U.S. states. The law decreases the legally allowed limit for lead in toys from 90 parts per million to 40 parts per million, which is the limit that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends. The law goes into effect beginning July 1, 2009.

The current federal limit is 600 parts per million, and many state lawmakers have expressed dismay that the federal government isn’t acting faster to change its lead safety standards.

The lead-related recalls continue. In March, toy recalls involving high levels of lead paint included:

• 130 ring toss games by Educational Insights
• 13,000 Hobby Lobby Stores Camouflage Eggs and Spinning Egg Top Toys
• 5,000 S.U. Wholesale X Force Commander Toy Airplanes and Super Famous Toy Cars and Motorcycles

On March 17, representatives for giant toy manufacturers Mattel and Hasbro met with Governor Gregoire and asked her to reconsider signing the bill into law. Mattel says that half of its Fisher-Price toy line will have to be barred from the state of Washington because the level of lead in its toys exceeds the state’s new limit. A few smaller manufacturers, such as Toysmith and Kaethe Kruse Puppen GmbH, say they will stop shipping toys to Washington altogether.

Michigan and Illinois have also approved new lead safety standard laws, while Maryland, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Maine, and Vermont are among several other states that are reevaluating their safety regulations so they can regulate mercury, lead, phthalates, and other toxins, such as Arsenic, Selenium, and Barium, in toys. California will begin its ban on phthalates next year.

The Minnesota Safety Council says that there were 202,300 toy-related injuries in 2005. One child getting hurt or killed by a toy is one child too many.

Our products liability law firm represents clients throughout the United States whose children were seriously injured or killed because of a defective toy or another dangerous product.

One of our consumer products safety lawyers would be happy to discuss your case with you.

Washington: Restrictions on Chemicals in Toys, New York Times, April 2, 2008

States Alter Rules of Game On Safety for Toy Makers, The Wall Street Journal, March 25, 2008

Recalled Toys and Children's Products, US PIRG

Toy Injury, Minnesota Safety Council

Related Web Resource:

The Children's Safe Product Act of 2008, Washington Toxic Coalition

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Abigail Taylor, the six-year-old girl who was seriously injured last year when here intestines were partially sucked out by a swimming pool drain in Minnesota, has died.

The catastrophic accident took place on June 29 while Abigail was sitting in a wading pool at the Minneapolis Golf Club. Abigail had to undergo liver, small bowel, and pancreas transplants following the incident.

Abigail's parents have fought for tougher laws that would prevent similar accidents from happening. In December, Congress approved The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, which prohibits the manufacture, distribution, or sale of drain covers that fail to meet anti-entrapment safety laws.

The bill is named after former Secretary of State James Baker’s granddaughter, who drowned in 2002 when she became trapped in a drain and couldn’t be pulled out because the suction was too strong.

Last November, Abigail’s parents filed a personal injury lawsuit against the Minneapolis Golf Club and Sta-Rite, the company that made the pool’s pump and drain. The couple is accusing the manufacturer of knowing that its products could cause evisceration but did not do anything to remove this danger.

In 2005, a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission report stated that since 1990, at least 130 people have gotten stuck in the suctions of pool and spa drains, resulting in numerous fatalities and many more injury cases. Other reports indicate that from 1985 to 2004 at least 33 children 14 years of age and under have died because of spa/pool entrapment, with almost 100 other kids sustaining serious injuries.

A person can become entrapped in a pool or spa drain when his or her hair, swimsuit, or another body part gets caught. Sometimes, the suction can be so strong that it becomes impossible to pull the trapped person out of the water.

Had she lived through adulthood, Abigail 's family says that her medical and special living costs would have cost about $30 million.

Our consumer products safety law firm represents clients in serious injury cases that were caused by a defective or dangerous product. Our products liability lawyers work with clients nationwide, and we handle defective products cases involving serious personal injury and wrongful deaths.

Girl Whose Intestines Were Partially Sucked Out by Swimming Pool Drain Dies, AP, March 21, 2008

Family of Girl Maimed by Pool Drain Sues, ABC News, November 16, 2007

Baker family motivated by the death of 7-year-old Virginia Graeme Baker, USA SafeKids.org, May 2, 2006

Related Web Resources:

Guidelines for Entrapment Hazards: Making Pools and Spas Safer, US Consumer Product Safety Commission, March 2005 (PDF)

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (PDF)

Sta-RIte

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In the latest major toy recall, Mega Brands and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled about 2.4 million toys with small magnets because of concerns that the magnet could fall off and seriously injure children if they swallowed or inhaled the small pieces.

Included in the voluntary MEGA Brands recall are 1.3 million MagnaMan Magnetic Toy Figures because the toys have small magnets that can come off. The magnets attach the body parts of each figure together.

While no injuries have been reported so far, the toymaker and the CPSC have reported 25 incidents of the magnet pieces falling off. Toy model numbers affected by the recall are available on the CPSC Web site.

MEGA Brands is also recalling 1.1 million Magtastik and Magnetix Jr. Pre-school Magnetic Toys. There have so far been 19 reported incidents of small magnet pieces falling off the toys.

One 18-month child reportedly put a magnet in his mouth but did not swallow it. A 3-year-old boy needed medical care to remove the magnet that got stuck in his nose.

This is not the first recall for MEGA Brands. In March 2006, MEGA Brands recalled 3.8 million magnetic building sets after four children were seriously injured and another child died because all of them had swallowed small magnet pieces.

In its second magnet toy-related recall since January, Battat Inc. recalled approximately 7,000 more toys with magnets. There have been 16 reports of magnets falling off the building pieces of Battat Magnabild Magnetic Building Toys or Sets.

Magnets can be very dangerous if swallowed or ingested—especially if more than one magnet enters the human body. Intestinal perforations or blocks can occur when two or more magnets come together and can result in serious injuries or deaths.

Our products liability lawyers handle many toy injury cases for children and their families. We are committed to helping you obtain compensation for the harm and trauma that your son or daughter has suffered at the hands of a dangerous or defective toy.

2.4M toys recalled because tiny magnets can fall out, USA Today, March 15, 2008

Battat Recalls Additional Magnetic Construction Sets; Ingested Magnets Pose Aspiration and Intestinal Hazards, CPSC.gov, March 13, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Swallowed Magnets Attract Trouble in Boy's Intestines, ABC News, February 5, 2008

Toy Magnets Attract Sales, and Suits, New York Times, July 15, 2008

Continue reading "MEGA Brands and Battat Recall 2.4 Million China-Made Toys with Magnets " »

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is reporting an increase in nursery-related injuries and deaths affecting kids younger than 5. According to the CPSC’s annual report, there were 66,400 injuries involving nursery products that required emergency room attention in 2006. In 2005, there were 59,800 injuries.

High on the list of products involving serious injury accidents were play yard and cribs. 12,400 injuries and 43 deaths involving these products occur annually.

In 2007, 1.7 million play yards and cribs were recalled following reports of three deaths and a number of entrapment incidents. Graco and Simplicity products made up approximately 1 million of the products recalled.

Just last week, the CPSC and Munire Furniture Inc. recalled 24,000 cribs, including Majestic Curved Top and Flat Top Cribs, Essex Cribs, Brighton/Sussex Cribs and Captiva Cribs, because they did not meet federal safety standards. The failure of the four support brackets on the mattress to prevent the spring from going down to its minimum height can allow children to fall over the railing. The cribs were manufactured in Indonesia.

Suffocation, and entrapment caused by defective parts and too much bedding are among the leading causes of crib injures and deaths. Gas poisoning because of substances found in the mattresses can also lead to crib deaths. Fall injuries are also a common concern.

In its report, the CPSC’ nursery products-related injury list also included the following products:

• Infant Carriers
• Car Seats
• Mattresses
• Changing Tables
• High Chairs
• Strollers
• Carriages
• Baby Walkers
• Exercisers
• Jumpers
• Baby Gates and Barriers
• Baby Bouncer Seats
• Portable Swings
• Baby Baths
• Bathinettes
• Bath Seats
• Cradles
• Bassinets

Our products liability attorneys represent families throughout the United States whose children have been injured or killed by a defective toy or nursery products. We would be happy to discuss your case during a free consultation.

CPSC report on nursery-related deaths highlights crib and play yard dangers, ConsumerReports.org, February 28, 2008

Nursery Product-Related Injuries and Deaths Among Children Under Age Five, CPSC.gov (PDF)

Related Web Resources:

Recalls

Munire Furniture

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products

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The Toy Industry Association recently announced a new "testing and safety verification system" intended to restore the confidence of U.S. consumers in the safety of the toys that they buy. The new system follows in the wake of last year's mass recalls of some 25 million toys due to hazard and health concerns.

The three key features of this "testing and safety verification system" asks that toy manufacturers:

- Pay more attention to safety when designing toys.
- Make sure that safety concerns are addressed when manufacturing toys.
- Conduct more tests before and after a toy enters the marketplace.

It is important to note, however, that these standards are voluntary, not mandatory. And even new legislation being considered by U.S. lawmakers have their limits.

A bill passed in the House of Representatives last December still fails to make certain tests mandatory, including tests to check for lead content, magnet pieces, or small choking hazard pieces in toys.

The two largest recalls last year involved 4.2 million Aqua Dots beading sets with a coma-inducing chemical that can be swallowed and 7.3 million Polly Pocket dolls with small magnet parts.

It is important to note that the U.S. government and the Consumer Product Safety Commission cannot regulate manufacturers outside the U.S.—over 80% of toys purchased here are made in China. Most of the 25 million toys recalled last year were made in China.

And the recalls keep coming. On Friday, Family Dollar recalled 250,000 Magnetic Dart Boards, because the small magnets at the ends of the darts can come off and are easily swallowed by children.

On February 19, Dumar International USA recalled 64,000 Cinderella 12-Volt Electric Ride-On Vehicles because a short circuit in the battery compartment proved to be a possible fire hazard. Both toys were made in China.

Our consumer product safety law firm would like to talk to you if your child was injured or killed because of a dangerous or hazardous toy. Our products liability attorneys have helped many injured parties and their families recover compensation from liable manufacturers.

Toy safety regulations need steep penalties, Los Angeles Times, February 24, 2008

Recalls,

Related Web Resources:

Toy Industry Association

Toy Safety, U.S.PIRG

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Baby product manufacturer Evenflo Company Inc. is voluntarily recalling 1 million Discovery Infant Car seats. The recall comes after Evenflo and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tested the child safety seats. They discovered that during high impact side collisions, the car seat can come off or break apart,which could cause serious injuries or death if either were to occur in real life.

So far, there are no reported injuries related to this recall. Evenflo says it will provide a dual-hook fastener to registered owners so the child car seat will stay intact in the event of a similar collision. The Discovery Infant Car seats that are part of the recall were manufactured between April 2005 and January 2008. They include models 552, 534, 391, and 390.

Evenflo has voluntarily recalled other infant car seats before. Last year, the baby product manufacturer recalled over 450,000 Embrace Infant car seats following 679 reported incidents that involved seat handles on car seats releasing suddenly without warning. 160 injuries were reported, including two concussions and a skull fracture.

Last week, the NHTSA announced it will set up a new child seat rating system for parents shopping for child car seats. The new system will include an assessment for “ease of use,” in terms of how easy the seat is to install and use, the clarity of instruction manuals, and product labeling.

When used properly, the NHTSA says that child car safety seat systems reduce fatal injuries for toddlers and infants by more than 50% in cars and by nearly 60% in SUVs.

When child car safety seats are defective, however, those safety numbers can go down. In the last 7 years, millions of child car seats have been recalled because of defects, including:

• Defective seat handles
• Defective shoulder straps
• Weakly constructed car seats
• Flammable product pieces
• Defective harnesses
• Defective seatbelt slots

Our products liability law firm represents the families of children who have been injured or killed while using a defective product. Our product safety lawyers have successfully handled many injury cases involving auto accidents, defective motor vehicle-related products, and injuries to minors.

One million Evenflo car seats recalled, CNN.com, February 1, 2008

Read the NHTSA Recall, Office of Defects Investigation, January 31, 2008

New child seat ratings system announced, Sun-Sentinel.com, January 30, 2008

Fall Hazard Prompts NHTSA, CPSC and Evenflo to Announce Recall of Embrace™ Infant Car Seat/Carriers, CPSC.gov, May 10, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Evenflo

List of Recalls and Replacement Parts for Child Restraints, Carseats.org, February 1, 2008 (PDF)

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Posted In: Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Kids in Cars

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Battat Inc. is recalling 125,000 of its Battat Magnabild Magnetic Building Systems following 16 reported incidents of small magnets falling out of some of the building pieces. Consumers are being asked to take the building kits away from children immediately.

No injuries have been reported in connection to this recall so far, but the danger that small magnets can pose to children who accidentally swallow more than one magnet can be fatal. In the last two years, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued several recalls of over eight million products--many of them toys--due to magnet-related concerns. The problem with making small magnetic pieces available to children is that swallowing more than one magnet can cause serious intestinal and stomach injuries.

Asphyxiation can result. Two magnets drawn to each other in a person’s intestinal walls can lead to blood poisoning and blocks or holes in the intestine. In the event that a child ends up swallowing several magnets, surgery may have to be performed to extricate the magnets. Parts of the intestine may also have to be removed. The injuries caused by swallowing magnetic objects can sometimes be fatal.

Young children and toddlers are especially at risk of magnet-related injuries because they have a tendency to put small objects in their mouths. One boy, a 20-month-old toddler, died from his injuries. There are 33 other reported cases of injuries involving children swallowing magnet. The youngest injury victim was 10-months-old, while the oldest victim was 11.

If your son or daughter was seriously injured because of a toy that is defective or lacked the proper safety measures to ensure that it is safe for kids, you should speak with one of our products liability lawyers right away. Our consumer protection law firm is dedicated to helping injured children and adults obtain personal injury compensation for the harm that was caused to them by a defective or dangerous product.

Physical symptoms to indicate that your child may have swallowed a magnet can include nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, and diarrhea.

What To Do If Your Child Swallows a Magnet:

• Get medical help right away.
• Ask the doctor to check any x-rays to see if more than one magnet was swallowed.
• Contact our product safety law firm to explore your legal options.

Magnets in building kit pose hazard if swallowed, The Morning Call, January 29, 2008

Small Magnets Are Injuring Children; CPSC Releases Stronger Warning to Parents, CPSC, April 19, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Battat Inc.

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Last week, Shims Bargain Inc. and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of 45,000 “BabyTown” Pacifiers due to choking hazard concerns.

The concerns stem from a number of issues. The pacifier is small enough in size that it can easily enter an infant’s mouth. The ventilation holes are too small and not positioned in a way that the pacifier can be easily removed from a child’s mouth. The packaging that the pacifier comes in fails to warn parents that tying the pacifier around a baby’s neck might lead to strangulation. The pacifiers do not meet federal safety standards.

The “BabyTown” Pacifiers that are being recalled come in a 4-pack with the model number 39864.

Photo Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Choking hazards that can cause injury to children and infants are a popular reason for many recent recalls. Just last month, five recalls were announced because of choking hazards worries:

• Tot Tower Blocks by eeBoo Corp
• Empire Silver Due Teething Rings
• MTC Super Magnet Toys
• Stuffer Bears sold exclusively on Victoria’s Secret’s Web site
• Infantino Infant Teethers

A child or infant can choke if a small object gets stuck in the throat. If the child cannot breathe for an extended period of time because their airways are blocked, brain damage or death can ensue.

Children—especially babies and toddlers—are already at high risk of choking because they have a tendency to put things in their mouths. Toys and teething rings for children in these age groups should be designed so that kids won’t accidentally choke on them. Choking hazard warnings should be included on toys that can be accidentally swallowed so parents will know not to buy them until the kids are old enough to use them properly.

Over 10,000 children are seen by doctors in emergency rooms every year because of choking hazard-related injuries.

Please contact our products liability law firm to speak to one of our consumer protection lawyers to discuss your child’s choking hazard injury case that you believe was caused by a defective product.

Shims Bargain Recalls Pacifiers Due to Choking Hazard, CPSC.gov

Children And Choking Hazards, CBS News, August 18, 2004

Related Web Resources:

Prevent Your Child From Choking, FDA

2007 Choking Hazard Product Recalls, New York State Department of Health

Continue reading "“BabyTown” Pacifiers Is Latest Choking Hazard Recall" »

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