The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a child product recall of two different brands of cribs – about 1,300 units of Mother Hubbard’s Cupboards full-size wooden cribs and 500 Davenport cribs, whose importer, Baby Appleseed, is based in City of Industry California. No injuries have been reported concerning either of these defective products.

According to a CPSC alert, all these cribs fail to meet federal safety standards because the distance between the mattress support bracket in the lowest position and the top of the side rail in the highest position is less than the required 26 inches, posing a fall hazard to children who climb over the railing. These cribs were sold at most children’s stores from March 2006 to March 2008 priced between $500 and $800.

Consumers are asked to stop using these cribs and are asked to contact the manufacturer for instructions on how to re-install the support brackets to eliminate this hazard. For more information about the Mother Hubbard recall, please call the manufacturer toll-free at 1-888-661-8201 or visit their Web site at www.mhcfurniture.com.
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Tire tread separation may have caused a Las Vegas casino worker shuttle bus crash on Interstate 15, which injured 29 people including three who remained hospitalized. According to an Associated Press news report, Nevada Highway Patrol officials say preliminary results of an investigation show that the bus had a defective tire.

Of the 33 people in the AWG Charter Services bus, 29 were reportedly taken to area hospitals with injuries from cuts to broken bones. The injured victims were casino and mall employees returning to Las Vegas from Herbst Gaming Inc. in nearby Primm. A fire spokesman told the Associated Press the driver’s side front tire looked like “it went through a meat grinder.”

I’m relieved that this bus accident did not result in catastrophic injuries or fatalities. It could have been a lot worse. Although many of the accident victims seem to have suffered minor injuries, I would urge them to get thoroughly checked out to ensure they have not suffered any internal injuries or other spinal or neck injuries that are typical in these types of bus accidents.
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Zimmer Holdings, which is the country’s largest producer of orthopedic devices, has said it will suspend sales of a potentially defective medical product, the Durom cup, which is an artificial hip component that some doctors have said is failing in patients at a high rate. According to an article in the New York Times, the Durom cup has been implanted in more than 12,000 patients since it was first sold in the United States in 2006. Zimmer’s own data and interviews with doctors shows that hundreds of patients might need early replacement of this component in the coming years because it is failing and not working the way it was supposed to.

Zimmer is not admitting that their product is defective. Of course not. But they concluded in their own investigation that even some experienced surgeons are finding it difficult to implant because it calls for a higher degree of precision. Blame the problems on the doctors. Company officials say they plan to resume sales of the Durom cup once specialized training for doctors has begun. We’ll see.

The issue with the Durom cup came up in April when Los Angeles surgeon Dr. Lawrence Dorr, issued a public warning to other orthopedists about the cup failing in his patients and the problems they were experiencing. Dr. Dorr has said that the cup is simply a badly designed defective product and that he wouldn’t consider reusing it on his patients.
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Nissan Motor Co. is recalling 169,202 of its 2007 and 2008 model year Sentras because of defective auto products (brakes) that could fail and cause an automobile accident. According to a news report on consumer watchdog website, Consumeraffairs.com, the brake master cylinder might leak fluid causing one of the brake circuits in the vehicle to fail, increasing the risk of a crash.

Owners of these vehicles can expect to start seeing their recall notices in the mail. Nissan dealers have already started inspecting the braking systems on the defective Sentras. If the brake fluid is found to be leaking, the manufacturer will replace the master cylinder free of charge.

Chrysler is also recalling about 5,500 of its 2008 Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum and Charger sedans, according to another Consumberaffairs.com report. These vehicles reportedly have a manufacturing defect that could cause the half-shaft in the rear wheel drive vehicles to disengage from the wheel hub causing the vehicle to lose power and crash without warning. Chrysler dealers will replace the rear axle hub nuts free of charge. For more information, please contact Chrysler at 1-800-853-1403.
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Federal officials have recalled Baby Trend brand child car seats with defective safety seat bases, which could fail to protect children during an auto accident. According to an article in the consumer watchdog Web site, Consumeraffairs.com, the seats involved in the recall are Magnum (model number 6439), Galaxy (model number 6481), and Silverado (model number 6448). The recalled 6400S seat bases were sold separately and manufactured between May 14, 2007 and April 1, 2008.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has issued a safety alert about these defective child car seats as well. Those who own these defective children products are asked to stop using them immediately and contact Baby Trend at 1-800-328-7363 to obtain a free replacement base.

According to a NHSTA report, the latch connector locking pawl can crack allowing the child safety seat base to detach from the vehicle’s latch anchors during an auto accident. NHTSA warns consumers that these defective safety seat bases can fail to protect children, especially in a high-speed or severe collision.
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A federal court judge has ruled that Ford Motor Co. must defend a lawsuit claiming that the auto maker fraudulently induced a family to settle a claim over a death in an Explorer rollover accident by keeping key evidence about product defects under wraps. According to a Bloomberg News report, the family of James L. Haffey sued Ford after he was killed in 1997 when the driver of the Explorer lost control of the vehicle after a Firestone Inc. tire broke apart.

The Haffeys settled with Ford for $500,000 and with Firestone for an undisclosed amount. But they filed a new claim in 2001 after reports linked Explorer rollovers to Firestone tire failures. This new lawsuit alleges that the auto maker withheld evidence to settle for a lot less than what the case was worth. Haffey’s wife, Barbara, who was the driver of the Explorer at the time of the rollover accident and their three children will also seek unspecified damages. The suit also alleged Ford was aware of design flaws and problems with the Firestone tires on the Explorer, but did not disclose this information as required before trial.

This is very typical, not only for Ford, but most auto makers who routinely hide data and key information about auto product defects from consumers. I’m glad that the federal court judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs who suffered a huge loss as a result of a defective tire on the Explorer, which triggered the fatal rollover crash.
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A couple in Springdale, Arkansas, is fighting for the recall of a defective bassinet, which they say caused their infant daughter to choke to death last year. According to this news report, the tragic choking death of the infant in Springdale, Arkansas, has prompted the parents of the baby to fight for the recall of the bassinet.

Elizabeth Simon had put her baby Katelynn down for a nap Sept. 29. Three hours later, she saw the baby had turned blue. Katelynn, who had been sleeping in a Simplicity 4-in-1 bassinet, had become wedged in a 4-inch gap between the mattress and the rail. An investigation proved Katelynn died from asphyxiation and police said the defective design of the bassinet was to blame for the baby’s death. Now, Simon and her boyfriend, Chris Priddy, are fighting to force the manufacturer to recall these defective products, which are still being sold.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) officials say they are still investigating the claim. But it has been 10 months since Katelynn died and the defective product has still not been recalled. The bassinet that Simplicity currently sells in the market is identical to the one that caused Katelynn’s death.
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