Product Defect Liability Lawyer Blog

The products liability attorneys at Bisnar | Chase closely monitor product safety recalls, especially those with the potential for serious injury or death. This week, Aqua-Leisure Industries Inc. is recalling about 4 million inflatable baby floats because the leg straps in the seat of the float can tear causing children to unexpectedly fall into or under the water, posing a risk of drowning. So far, there have been 34 reports of float seats tearing, causing children to fall under the water. However, no serious injuries or deaths have been reported in connection with these products.

The recalled inflatable baby floats were sold in a variety of styles and colors. The names and model numbers are located on the packaging. A date between 08/02 and 07/08 is molded on the valves of the defective products. The baby floats not included in this product recall can be identified with the lettering "NP" molded on the valve.

These are no doubt dangerous and defective products that could lead to serious personal injury or death and I'm glad that Aqua-Leisure is trying to get them off the market. Most of us, as parents and grandparents, know that babies and toddlers must be watched carefully around pools, bathtubs and spas. Drowning risks for small children right in and around your home are many and it only takes an inch or two of water to pose a serious risk for infants and toddlers.

Continue reading "Defective Product Recall Issued for Baby Floats" »

The death of an 8-month-old baby has led to yet another defective product recall involving 400,000 Simplicity cribs. According to an Associated Press news report, Simplicity Inc. is recalling the defective cribs, which put babies at risk of death by suffocation. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which issued an alert to consumers, said those who own these cribs should stop using them immediately and look for an alternative sleeping arrangement for their infants. The 8-month-old baby in Houston, Texas, died when it got stuck between the mattress and the defective drop-down side of the crib.

According to CPSC officials, the plastic hardware on these defective cribs can break or deform causing the drop side to detach and create a gap where infants can get trapped. CPSC has so far received 25 reports of the drop side detaching. The cribs were reportedly sold at department stores, children's stores and other retailers nationwide from January 2005 to June 2009 and cost between $150 and $300. CPSC is asking that consumers return the cribs to the store where they were bought.

My heart goes out to the family of the 8-month-old baby that died as a result of this defective product. I offer my deepest condolences to the parents of this child.

Continue reading "Baby's Death Spurs Product Defect Recall Involving Simplicity Cribs" »

Paul Kim, 52, was killed in an Orange County rollover car accident near the 241 toll road in Anaheim, The Orange County Register reports. Orange County Fire Authority officials doing inspection work the morning of June 28, 2009 noticed Kim dead from serious personal injuries in an overturned vehicle by the 241 toll road. Kim was in a 2003 Toyota Sienna at the bottom of an embankment north of the Windy Ridge Wildlife Underpass, California Highway Patrol officials said. The Toyota Sienna had been traveling northbound on the 241 toll road when it apparently veered off the road for an unknown reason, crashed through the guardrail and went down an embankment. California Highway Patrol officials estimate the fatal car accident occurred around 8:45 a.m. on June 28.

I offer my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Paul Kim. My heart goes out to everyone who knew and loved Kim. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to California Highway Patrol's 2007 Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System, there were 30 fatal car accidents and 2,006 injuries involving car crashes in Anaheim. In Orange County as a whole, 178 deaths and 14,185 injuries were reported in 2007 as a result of car crashes.

Continue reading "Man Killed in Orange County Rollover Car Accident" »

Anthony Amaya, a 3-year-old boy died in a San Bernardino County rollover car accident after the car he was riding in overturned on the 215 freeway and ejected the boy onto the roadway, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports. The fatal car crash occurred on the southbound 215 Freeway near the 10 Freeway interchange in Colton the night of June 28, 2009. Anthony was pronounced dead at an area hospital. The boy was apparently riding in the back of a 2005 Chevy Malibu when the driver lost control and crashed.

I offer my deepest sympathies to the family of little Anthony Amaya. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to California Highway Patrol's 2007 Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System, there were four fatalities and 352 injuries involving car accidents in Colton. In San Bernardino County as a whole, 308 fatalities and 9,920 injuries were reported in 2007 as a result of car accidents. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are about 40,000 car accident deaths in the United States each year, out of which about 10,000 or 25 percent involve rollover accidents.

Continue reading "San Bernardino County Rollover Accident Kills Toddler" »

Andrew Wade Jackson, 24, of the U.S. Navy, died in a San Diego County car accident after his car went down an embankment and struck a tree in Chula Vista. According to a news article on 10news' Web site, Jackson was driving alone on eastbound Otay Lakes Road near Wueste Road when he lost control on a curve and crashed his 2001 Nissan Maxima the night of June 23, 2009. Jackson was pronounced dead at the scene.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of this young officer. Apparently, he was married and assigned to the USS Nimitz. I offer my deepest condolences to his wife, his family, friends and shipmates. Please keep them in your prayers.

According to California Highway Patrol's 2007 Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System, there were seven fatalities and 824 injuries involving car accidents in Chula Vista. In San Diego County as a whole, 268 deaths and 14,641 injuries were reported in 2007 as a result of car accidents.

Continue reading "San Diego County Car Accident Kills Navy Man" »

Kowalke Family Sprouts has voluntarily issued a product recall of its brand of alfalfa sprouts and related products made in California because of possible salmonella contamination and risk of food poisoning. According to an Associated Press news report, the California Health Department says Kowalke Organics' sprouts were mostly distributed at Gelson's and Whole Foods markets in Southern California.

These recalled products had sell-by dates from June 18 to June 30. Kowalke Family Sprouts also voluntarily recalled related products such as packaged dinner salad and onion mix. Apparently, only one package of sprouts tested positive for salmonella, but the company decided to go ahead with the recall anyway.

Continue reading "Product Recall of Alfalfa Sprouts for Possible Salmonella Contamination" »

Matrixx Initiatives has officially announced that it will recall its Zicam intranasal cold remedies after hundreds of patients reported losing their sense of smell using the medications, the Associated Press reports. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this month issued a consumer alert about Zicam. Matrixx officials are saying that the product recall is voluntary while stating that they disagree with the FDA's safety warning, which maintains that the zinc-containing Zicam intranasal cold remedies are unsafe to use. The FDA is also alleging that the products were unlawfully marketed, an allegation which is also being challenged by Matrixx.

Continue reading "Zicam Defective Pharmaceutical Products Recalled" »

The family of a tree trimmer who suffered fatal on-the-job injuries on-the-job injuries in Inglewood has filed a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer of the wood chipper that apparently caused the worker's death, the Los Angeles Times reports. Rafael Jimenez's family alleges in their lawsuit that Michigan-based Morbark knew for years that the safety features on its wood chippers were inadequate, but did nothing to prevent personal injuries and deaths that occurred as a result. Jimenez, a veteran tree trimmer in his 24th year on the job, was stuffing tree branches into a wood chipper April 2008 when his right hand became entangled in the branches. Jimenez was dragged into the blades of the machine that consumed almost his entire body.

Continue reading "Family of Fatally Injured Tree Trimmer Files Product Liability Lawsuit" »

Eight state attorneys general are opposing a provision in General Motors Corporation's bankruptcy plan that would free the manufacturer from auto product liability lawsuits filed by consumers who have suffered serious personal injuries as a result of defective GM auto products. According to a news report in the Wall Street Journal, attorneys general from Connecticut, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and Vermont filed an objection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court contending that GM's plan to throw these product liability claims out the window would deny injured victims "key legal rights."

Continue reading "States Challenge GM's Liability Plan" »

Michael Hill, 24, of Rancho Santa Margarita, was killed in an Irvine SUV rollover car accidentthe afternoon of June 20, 2009. Hill was identified later by the Orange County Coroner's Department. According to a news report in The Orange County Register, Hill died after his Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle went airborne for 200 feet landing on the dirt and rock embankment off the 241 toll road at the 133 in Irvine.

Continue reading "Orange County Fatal Ford Explorer Rollover Accident" »

Three people -- Joshua Hayden, 21, Andy Rodriguez, 23 and Alisa Harvaph, 28 -- were injured in a San Diego County truck accident the morning of June 17, 2009. According to a City News Service report, Hayden was heading south on the 5 Freeway near Agua Hedionda Lagoon in Carlsbad when he crashed into a big rig truck parked on the shoulder. California Highway Patrol officials said Hayden fell asleep at the wheel of the Chevy bobtail truck he was driving, drifted off the freeway and plowed into the back of the tractor-trailer whose driver, Rodriguez, had pulled over to make a cell phone call moments before the big rig crash. Harvaph suffered serious leg injuries and the two truck drivers escaped without major personal injuries. All three were taken to an area hospital.

I'm glad that this truck accident did not result in any major personal injuries or fatalities. Based on the news report, the female passenger of the Chevy truck, Harvaph, was the one who suffered the most serious injuries of the three injured victims. I wish her the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.

Truck crashes such as these and additional near misses happen many times each day totaling up to thousands of incidents each year. Many of them are unreported or officially unexplained due to a lack of police training and objective roadside and postmortem tests for fatigue. Steps need to be taken to combat drowsy driving, and improvements will come only with legal action, awareness campaigns, and better data collection and reporting of fatigue-related crashes.

Continue reading "San Diego County Big Rig Truck Accident Injures Three" »

Luis Guzman, 27, and his sister Cecilia Guzman, 22, were killed in a Ventura County rollover car accident as they were returning from the Los Angeles Lakers victory parade in downtown Los Angeles the afternoon of June 17, 2009. According to a news report in the Ventura County Star, five people were traveling in a grey Hummer when the driver, Anthony Borrello, 24, lost control and the Hummer rolled over several times before coming to rest in the center median of Pacific Coast Highway near Hueneme Road. California Highway Patrol officials said the Hummer appeared to have drifted off the right shoulder of the road before coming back on the highway and the median where it overturned several times.

CHP officials say they do not know why the Hummer went off the road in the first place. Authorities say the Guzman siblings, may not have been wearing seatbelts when they were ejected from the vehicle as it overturned. Luis died at the scene while Cecilia was taken to an area hospital with critical injuries. She died a few hours after the crash. Borrello, and two of the other occupants, Peter Aguilar, 26, of Carpinteria, and Oxnard resident, Pedro Ramirez, 24 apparently had had their seat belts on and suffered only minor injuries. Alcohol or drugs were not factors in this fatal car accident, officials said.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the Guzman brother and sister for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. Here was a group of good friends out cheering the Los Angeles Lakers' NBA title and having a good time. This is a horrible end to what probably started out as a great day of celebration! I wish the injured victims the very best for a quick and complete recovery. Please keep them in your prayers.

Continue reading "Ventura County Rollover Car Accident Kills Brother and Sister" »