Product Liability Law Blog

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related Web Resources:

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

Products Liability, Justia

Continue reading "Defective Clothing Can Cause Serious Injuries" »

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Posted In: Clothing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related Web Resource:

CPSC Recommended Drawstring Guidelines (PDF)

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

Posted by Gilbert, Ollanik, & Komyatte, P.C. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Clothing

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