San Jose Personal Injury Lawyer - Defective & Dangerous Products

Strangulation Death Prompts Recall Of Hooded Sweatshirts & Drawstrings

Chrissie Cole — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:17:00 GMT

Hill Sportswear Inc., of Paramount, Calif., in cooperation with the CPSC, announced a voluntary recall of 300,000 children’s hooded sweatshirts after the death of a 3-year-old boy who was strangled when the drawstring of the sweatshirt became stuck on a playground.

The garments, Kid Pullover Hood Sweatshirts and Kid Zipper Sweatshirts w/Hood, have drawstrings through the hood. The agency advises consumers to immediately remove the drawstrings because they can become caught on objects and strangle a child.

The CPSC issued guidelines (pdf) to help prevent children from getting entangled or strangled on the neck and waist of drawstrings in upper garments, including sweatshirts and jackets.

Consumer Information: The garment can be returned to a place of purchase or Hill Sportswear for a full refund. For more information, consumers should contact Hill Sportswear toll-free at (877) 322-8760 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. (PT) Monday through Friday.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Faulty Tires are Still on the Road

Brian Foley — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:56:06 GMT

Car manufacturers continue to place short-term profits ahead of consumer safety. Even with the infamous faulty tire scandal in 2000, automakers continue to try and cut corners in its design features, which poses a danger to unsuspecting drivers and passengers. Despite years of highly-publicized questions over faulty and neglectful car and tire manufacturing and their direct links to the injuries and deaths of scores of Americans, consumer safety remains a lower priority than sales.

The most recent example is highlighted in the August 2007 edition of The Safety Record, detailing the abhorred conduct of Foreign Tire Sales, an importer of tires from China. The company failed to monitor the denigration of its product's standards from its supplier, Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Company, even though it knew of the potential hazards.

Foreign Tire Sales, based in New Jersey, voiced its concern to its Chinese business partners as far back as August 2004 because of rising damage claims. FTS officials worried that short-term gains in profit were going to translate into long-term losses in liability, the article stated.

As a result, FTS faces liability in an Aug. 12, 2006 rollover accident in Pennsylvania, which killed two passengers and caused permanent brain damage in a third person. The accident, involving a 2000 Chevrolet Express, was a direct result of the supplier's decision to discontinue placing a gum strip in the tires, a basic and necessary safety feature. FTS knew about it for years. But the company is blaming Hangzhou for the loss of these lives. Meanwhile, FTS's web site is peppered with recall information.

It's unconscionable that even after the Firestone/Ford debacle, faulty tires continue to kill Americans. But the sad reality is that automakers cut corners at the consumer's expense in several ways beyond tires.

For example, it is common knowledge among manufacturers that laminated glass is safer than tempered glass. Tempered glass shatters and causes lacerations while laminated glass holds firm upon a car collision. While laminated glass is used for windshields, tempered glass continues to be primarily used for side, rear and roof windows.

Other examples include SUV rollovers, a common problem caused by top-heavy design and substandard safety testing. Ford has also faced questions over door-latch defects, which causes passengers to be ejected from their vehicles upon impact. A passenger is 30 times more likely to be ejected from a car if a door flies open upon impact, according to an internal Ford memo, as noted in the November 2004 edition of Trial, a product liability publication. Such victims have a slim chance of surviving.

Car safety has come a long way since Ralph Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed was published in 1965. But unfortunately, car manufacturers continue to act as irresponsibly as General Motors did 40 years ago, when the company deemed it cheaper to defend lawsuits than invest in its product with consumer safety in mind.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brian Foley

NHSTA Demands Recall of 450,000 Defective Tires

Chrissie Cole — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 22:28:19 GMT

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is requiring a New Jersey tire distributor to recall approximately 450,000 defective tires they purchased from a Zhongce Rubber Co., Ltd of China.

A letter dated June 11, to NHTSA federal regulators by Foreign Tire Sales Inc., said they don't have enough money to conduct a voluntary recall. NHTSA rejected the claim and described the company's position regarding the tire recall as "unacceptable."

A spokeswoman for NHTSA said, the agency contacted Foreign Tire Sales earlier in the week to let them know a full tire recall was to be expected.

Associate Administrator for Enforcement Daniel C. Smith wrote FTS President Richard Kuskin stating that, "The Safety Act does not provide for any exceptions to the notification and remedy requirements based on the financial impact on the manufacturer. A company that chooses to import motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment into this country accepts the same responsibility for compliance with the Safety Act as any other manufacturer."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole