Blog Topic

Woman Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit against Nail Gun Company
April 14, 2008

The manufacturers don't want them to be called "guns", for obvious reasons, and insist that accidents that happen with their air powered nail guns are mostly due to the fault of the persons using them. That claim seems to be getting more hollow by the day as air powered nail guns that fire on contact, come under fire themselves from safety experts.

In 2006, Manuel Mirillo, a construction worker, was at work at a log cabin near Portola, when his contact nail gun fired when he bumped it accidentally. The nail that was fired lodged into his chest inside a coronary artery. The nail was at least 2 ? inches deep in his chest. His crewmate rushed him to hospital as fast as he could, but it was too late. Doctors couldn't revive him; the nail was wedged just too deep.

Now, Manuel's widow is filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Hitachi Koki USA, the company that manufactures the nail gun, accusing it of selling a nail gun that was flawed in design.

Manuel's case is a tragic one, but it's far from the first one in recent times. In California alone, between 2003 and 2006, there were 1,890 nail gun injuries that were reported, with "reported" being the keyword here. Many injuries are unreported, and it is suspected that the actual numbers of construction workers being rushed to emergency rooms across California with nail injuries is far higher.

Industry experts, who say that nail injuries cost the state in emergency room expenses every year, also say that nail gun companies are putting safety fon the backburner to boost sales of these super fast nail guns. Demand for the guns is extremely high, because it loads into magazines to be fired quickly, similar to a gun, and provides super fast delivery.

The targets, however, are not always restricted to the woodwork - incidents of nail guns firing nails and injuring bystanders and persons who were unlucky enough to be around the vicinity are quite common. The Sac Bee reports of one man who was injured in his left eye after a nail fired from a nail gun in a construction site across the street hit his eye as he was sitting in his car. The man lived to tell the tale, although his eyesight has been severely impaired. Others are not as lucky. One man was left partially paralyzed after a nail from a nail gun that fired accidentally lodged into his skull.

Safety experts have begun calling for a ban on the contact mode feature altogether. Some manufacturers have introduced guns that can only be fired by pulling the trigger, but the guns also come with an option that can be used to convert them into contact firing mode - the gun fires when it's pressed against surface - any surface, even a chest or an eye.

The demand for these nail guns is huge, and there is a belief that the lawsuits that are piling up against manufactures will be paid out of special payout funds from the substantial profits that the companies make each year from these guns. Paying off injured people seems to be less costly than banning the gun altogether. So what if people lose their eyes, or get nails lodged into their hearts in the mean time?

If you have been injured in a products liability case, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

Permalink

Tainted Toothpaste Importers and Distributors Face Charges
March 10, 2008

Criminal charges have been filed against two Vernon-based companies for importing Chinese-manufactured tainted toothpaste laced with a banned substance.

According to the complaint, Selective Import Corp., a Vernon-based company, imported the toothpaste that sold by the name Cooldent, while another Vernon-based company, Vernon Sales Inc., distributed the toothpaste to mini-marts and bargain shops. At least 480 of the tubes, it is reported, made it to store shelves in Los Angeles.

The banned substance contained in the toothpaste is diethylene glycol, an anti-freezing agent that is banned in the United States in certain products. In Panama, in the last two years alone, cough syrups laced with Glycol have been responsible for the deaths of at least 100 persons. The cough syrups were also manufactured in China. Glycol is widely used in China as a sweetener in cough syrups, and other medicines.

The President of Selective Imports Kamyab Toofer and Vice President Pejman Mossey were each charged with 15 counts of receiving and selling adulterated drugs. The President of Vernon Sales Frahad Nazarian and Vice President Yones Ghermezi were each charged with two counts of receiving and selling an adulterated drug.

Selective Imports claims that it had stopped importing the products as soon as the news of the contamination was announced, and had sent out voluntary recall notices to all their clients, including Vernon Sales. Large quantities of stock were destroyed in the presence of FDA investigators, they claim. That is a bit like locking the barn door after the horse has escaped. Selective Imports also claims that it was not their duty to conduct tests. If you're going to be offering products in a building that has your company's name on the outside, then yes, you are responsible for the quality of what you are selling.

More judiciousness was required in the import of products from a country where product safety standards are not on the same levels as in the United States. It is a known fact that Chinese manufacturers tend to make use of substances and dyes that may not be considered suitable for consumption in the United States. Manufacturers from that country have found themselves under increased scrutiny because of the lax safety and quality assurance procedures. In this backdrop, more attention should have been paid to the quality of the goods being imported from China. In this case, we're talking about a substance that has caused 100 odd deaths in Panama alone. Ghermezi said that he had no reports of anybody falling ill after using the toothpaste.

And while we are debating the responsibility in this matter, the FDA is not wholly without its share of blame. For too long now, products from Chinese manufacturers have been allowed to come into the country for no other reason than that they have lower manufacturing costs and are therefore, cheaper. The FDA needs to answer for why something that contained a banned substance was allowed to be placed on store shelves in the country. These delayed reactions after an incident hasoccurred, are becoming more commonplace with the FDA, and don't bode well for public health.

If you have been injury by a dangerous product, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury attorney. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

Permalink

Sears to Fix 4 Million Stoves as Part of Settlement
February 22, 2008

Sears has agreed to fix more than 4 million stoves it sold over the past few years that have been found to be particularly vulnerable to tipping. The entire exercise is expected to cost Sears $500 million. The stoves have already injured or killed more than 100 people by tipping over and exposing people to scalding. There have also been instances of a tipped over stove crushing people to death.

Consumer groups have applauded the settlement but have voiced strong criticism of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which they say has long been aware of the problem, but took no action against the company. Further, these consumer groups allege the Consumer Products Safety Commission has neglected to warn millions of households across the country of the danger that could arise from these stoves tipping over.

Raven Holbert's family knows exactly how great the danger from the stove is. Their three-year-old child, Raven, felt the full impact of the stove in December 2001 when she opened the stove door in her family's kitchen to reach for a jar of cookies placed on the countertop. The stove collapsed under her weight trapping her beneath. She was rushed to a hospital, but had suffered massive injuries to her chest. She died three days later.

The stoves that were commonly used back in the seventies and eighties were sturdy contraptions that were hardly likely to tip over. Newer stoves however are made of lighter material to cut costs, and have proven deadly in some situations. Cooks have been injured while cooking on these by hot liquids and foods tipping over with the stove.

Throughout all this, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been a mute spectator. Let alone taking action against Sears, the agency hasn't even bothered to mount a nation-wide awareness campaign about the dangers posed by these stoves. Consumer rights groups claim that millions of people are using these stoves without any knowledge of their potential dangers. To make matters worse, Sears and other retailers often neglect to secure brackets on the stoves that could prevent them from tipping over. Consumers say that contractors tell them it's not really necessary to secure the brackets.

This is gross negligence on Sears' part. It should have had better installation procedures in place for the stoves it sold, and it should have strictly enforced installation procedures for contractors. It seems like there was more cost cutting going on, and not just in the material used in the stoves.

The CPSC says it has on record instances of 33 deaths and 84 injuries relating to a stove tipping over. Consumer groups say that the figures are higher because many injuries go unreported. According to the settlement, Sears will install anti-tip devices in over 4 million stoves that have been sold from July 2000 to September 18, last year. Households that have already purchased anti-tip devices will be compensated $100.

We hope this settlement will force other retailers to look into their installation procedures and ensure that proper securing and safety precautions are followed.

If you have been injured by an unsafe product or a family member has been killed, you need the help of a top California personal injury law firm. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

Permalink

Father Sues Crocs after Escalator Accident
February 13, 2008

The father of a three-year-old child, whose toes were seriously injured when they were caught in an escalator at LaGuardia airport, is suing the company that made the child's clogs, Crocs, for a sum of $7 million. Jeffrey Hochberg filed the lawsuit on behalf of his daughter Emma whose injuries, he contends, were caused by her wearing the trendy and hugely popular clogs.

This isn't the first incident of Crocs being responsible for the mangling of kids' feet. In fact if you do a Google search on "crocs injuries" you'll get a grand total of 170,000 results. Since their introduction a couple of years ago, the bulky looking clogs with multiple holes have been popular with adults and kids alike. The bright colors and comfort factor have made them a popular choice with children, which account for a large part of Croc's business.

Crocs unique selling points are its loose design that allows feet to breathe freely in them, and its tight grip that prevents slipping and accidents. It's these two features that also cause Crocs to be such dangerous footwear for little kids. The rubber material that Crocs are made of helps with traction but it also grabs hold of other materials, like the steps of an escalator for instance, and refuses to let go. Add to this the fact that these shoes are made to be too big for the feet and you have the potential for a tragedy. The sides of the escalator can easily grab hold of the clog and drag the child's foot with it.

This is what seems to have happened in the case of Emma Hochberg. In other cases, kids have had their toes ripped out while riding on an escalator.

Clearly, there seems to be a pattern here, and the all-important question is, why is no action being taken? Many malls have put up signs saying Crocs are dangerous on their escalators, but it's far from a universal thing. The Washington Metro has a sign asking its subway riders to avoid stepping on moving machinery like escalators while wearing these clogs. Crocs aren't mentioned by name, but the signs have a picture of the shoes, and an image of a crocodile.

There are those who claim that escalators are dangerous for kids and that parents should watch their children when they are onany sort of moving machinery. These people either have no kids or have never been on an escalator. If you're carrying bags in your arm, you are obviously not going to be in a position to carry your 3-5 year old child. Malls are always exciting places for kids and getting your kids to stand at the center instead of the sides of the escalator can be a challenge. When these shoes prove such a major safety hazard on escalators, why make them in the first place?

When you manufacture a product for kids, you need to make sure it's safe to use in all kinds of situations. Blaming parents just doesn't cut it.

One hopes that this lawsuit will be the final straw that forces the company to come up with better alternatives or safety features.

If you have a child that has been injured by a dangerous product, you need the help of a top California personal injury law firm. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

Permalink

Lead Found in Baby Products
February 12, 2008

2007 will go down as the year when the presence of lead in toys became a national and global concern. Since the first recalls of lead-coated toys were announced in the middle of the year, millions of toys manufactured by the likes of Mattel and RC2 have been yanked off store shelves. The toy industry reeled under the impact of high quantities of lead found in the surface paint of its toys.

Lead is back in the New Year, and this time, it's suspected that baby products are at risk for contamination. The findings were announced by a California-based environmental group, which also blew the whistle on the lead paint story. This time, the findings have sparked off a dispute among critics of these products and those who say they do no harm.

The Center for Environmental Health, which conducted the tests, found increased quantities of lead in baby products made of vinyl plastic. Prominent among these are the Medela cooler for storing breast milk, another cooler manufactured by RC2, a baby bottled cooler by Playtex and a vinyl pacifier carrying case manufactured by Skip Hop.

The tests were conducted by a hand metal detector and were then sent to a laboratory to confirm findings. The results show that the products had between 1,100 parts per million and 5,500 parts per million of lead.

The lead quantity in the products are on the higher side, but surprisingly the issue has not raised a hue and cry, unlike the lead paint toys which child health experts and doctors were united against. In fact, the plastics and baby product industry is expected to criticize these findings widely. The reason for this is that there is no law yet that bans the presence of lead in baby products. Lead in toys is covered under a ban, but so far there has been no movement calling for a ban on lead in all kinds of baby products.

Do we really need to wait until babies begin to fall sick from lead in their coolers or pacifier cases before we begin taking stringent actions? Lead paint in toys was linked to a number of kids becoming sick all over the country, and it took nationwide outrage to force the authorities to introduce safety checks. Do we have to wait until something similar happens to babies who are exposed to lead in their products? How can we assume that something that is universally acknowledged as dangerous to kids when it forms a layer on their toys is safe for little babies?

The Center for Environmental Health maintains that no amount of lead in any kind of product used by children should be tolerated. Thankfully, legislators are now considering the possibility of banning the lead in any kind of baby product, no matter what the material.

The story gets murkier. The Vinyl Institute is surprised at the finding of the Center for Environmental Health. According to them, the use of lead in plastic products has been discontinued for a number of years and substitutes like calcium or zinc were being used in its place.

If you have a child that has suffered negative side effects from a dangerous toy, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury plaintiff's lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

Permalink

Phthalates Found in Baby Care Products
February 05, 2008

It's high time we stopped introducing chemical additives to products before they have been adequately tested, instead of using the public as human guinea pigs.

A recent study suggests that harmful chemicals called phthalates are present in baby lotions, shampoos and powders. According to the tests, babies who had recently been shampooed, bathed or powdered with baby products had a higher concentration of phthalates in their urine. There is enough data to suggest that we should be taking evidence of such a study seriously. It's quite fashionable these days to dismiss any sort of studies that come up regarding the harmful effects of chemicals or other substances, and while there may be chemical contaminations that have very low likelihood of danger, these baby products don't fall in that category.

When you have young babies in the equation, you are looking at possible health risks or complications that will only increase as the babies get older. Something like phthalates contamination could have serious health repercussions.

There is still no solid evidence of what dangers these phthalates could cause to a baby's health but animal studies have shown a link between exposure to phthalates and reproductive issues in both boys and girls. These problems could include early puberty in girls.

The environmental group that's behind the study says there isn't any real need for all kinds of fancy soaps, lotions and small quantities of water and soap are more than enough to get a baby clean. They warn against the indiscriminate use of baby products that have potentially risk-causing health effects.

The Food and Drug Administration has said they don't find the data compelling enough to take any action.

If you or a loved-one has been injured by a dangerous product, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury law firm. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

Permalink

Ophthalmologist Group Warns of Toy Related Eye Injuries
December 28, 2007

While parents have been worried about lead-coated toys, they might have been unaware of other dangers lurking in their children's innocent-looking playthings. The American Academy of Ophthalmologists have warned of toys that can cause serious eye injuries.

In 2005, about 6000 of the approximately 210,000 toy-related injuries that had parents rushing their kids to emergency rooms, were connected to eye injuries in kids under the age of 15.

One ophthalmologist has specifically pointed out paintball guns, darts and pellet guns as having the most potential for causing an eye injury.

If you're a parent who's worried about the safety factor in your child's activities, don't wait for a company to announce a recall to keeps your kids safe. Even when a company announces a recall it takes days or even weeks for all offending products to be snatched off store shelves. Many defective toys can be found selling briskly on online stores even after recalls have been announced.

For best protection, use basic common sense when you purchase toys. While it's not possible for you to detect toys that are coated with lead, you can buy toys that are age appropriate for kids by avoiding ones with small and removable parts or magnets, if your child is too young. Recently passed laws make it mandatory for toy manufacturers to mention whether a toy has removable magnets and the possible effects of these on the packaging. The law will take effect in 2008. If you have a toddler or infant at home, don't buy the magnet toys even for your older children. Kids tend to share toys and your infant could end up ingesting a magnet from a toy that belongs to his sibling. Also keep any kind of projectile toys away from young children.

Even with the large number of China-related toy recalls, there haven't been many signs that toys manufactured in that country are going to be arriving in the US in fewer numbers. In a case like this, recalls are more than just a remote possibility. Waiting for a recall to warn you about a toy's dangers can be hazardous. Take utmost care while purchasing your children's toys, and avoid anything that poses even the smallest amount of danger.

If your child has been injured by an unsafe toy, contact the California personal injury lawyers at The Reeves Law Group, immediately, for a free consultation.

Permalink

Medtronic Inc. Sued Over Defibrillator Design
November 15, 2007

When Medtronic Inc. recalled the wires that were part of its ICD, a device that "shocks" the heart to control a racing heart beat, the company must have known it would face a barrage of law suits. After all, the day after the recall, a consumer rights group, Public Citizen had claimed that the number of injuries resulting from the faulty wires known as leads, had jumped dramatically in 2007, and yet Medtronic hadn't done anything to warn patients who had the device implanted or acted immediately to pull the faulty wires off the market. Medtronic itself admitted that its faulty wires were responsible for the deaths of at least five patients who had been fitted with the device. These deaths and injuries were reportedly caused by a malfunction that caused the wires to fracture resulting in either increased shock to the heart or no shock at all.

Permalink

Increase in Medtronic Heart Device Injuries
November 01, 2007

A day after the recall of the tiny wires used in Medtronic's heart device, the consumer group Public Citizen claimed that patient injuries as a result of the use of the wires had increased dramatically in 2007. According to FDA data, the number of injuries related to the heart device wires was 1194 in the first 10 months of 2007, compared with 296 in 2006.

Permalink

Lipsticks Found to Contain Traces of Lead
October 18, 2007

Ask a woman what's the one cosmetic product she wouldn't be caught dead without and chances are she'd reply her lipstick. Well, as it turns out there might be enough in her little tube to cause serious damage to her health, if not actually kill her. In a recent study, a US consumer rights group has found that several of the most popular brands of lipsticks have a lead count that exceeds the normal.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a coalition consisting of women's and health groups said that the tests conducted in Santa Fe Springs, California involved lipsticks from several popular brands, and revealed that at least 61 per cent of them had lead levels of 0.03 to 0.65 ppm. In a reversal of the "you get what you pay for" adage, the lower priced brands like Revlon were found to have no detectable traces of lead while the luxury brands like Christian Dior's Addict showed higher lead traces than other less pricey brands.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has criticized the FDA for failing to set standards for the amount of lead in lipsticks. The founders of the coalition say manufacturers should concentrate on reformulating their products and making cosmetics that do not contain the toxic substance.

Lead has been in the news a lot lately and for all the wrong reasons. In recent months, millions of toys most of them made in China have been recalled after reports of high traces of lead paint on them which could be ingested by children causing serious long term damage to their health. This new report of lead laced lipsticks is even more worrying because lipsticks are ingested much more quickly, much the same way as candy. High lead levels have been linked to infertility and miscarriages, and are cited as especially dangerous to pregnant women.

Lipsticks are one of the most commonly used cosmetics, something that not too many women pay too much attention to other than in terms of what it will actually look like on their lips. They certainly don't expect their lipstick to cause any serious health problems, and they shouldn't have to worry that something as innocuous as a lipstick tube could contain toxic substances that could leave them infertile.

When a person is injured through the use of defective products, she may be entitled to receive compensation for her injuries, distress and suffering. The California personal injury lawyers at The Reeves Law Group bring decades of experience winning compensation for injured clients.

Permalink

Important Facts about Lead in the Wake of the Mattel Toy Recall
August 15, 2007

Because of its high malleability, abundance, and resistance to corrosion, lead was one of the first and most popular metals humans worked with. Unfortunately, its high toxicity was not discovered for millennia because the symptoms of lead poisoning are not immediate or obvious. When the US banned the use of lead paint in 1978, many thought that the risk of lead poisoning in this country was over. But the recent recalls of millions of children's toys and products from El Segundo, California based Mattel, Inc. and other companies have again raised concerns about this once commonly used metal.

Lead is toxic to humans because the metal mimics other, important, metals in the body. Proteins and molecules can bind with lead that enters the bloodstream instead of metals that are natural to the body such as calcium, iron or zinc. After the molecules are displaced from lead, they function irregularly and may fail to produce certain enzymes vital to the central nervous system.

Anyone can suffer from lead poisoning, but since children grow so rapidly and are still developing their neurological functions, they often suffer the worst effects. Because lead has to be ingested to have serious effects, children are especially vulnerable. They commonly put their hands or objects (such as toys with lead paint) in their mouths. Children also simply soak up more toxic material than adults. A growing child's body can absorb up to 50% of lead they ingest, while a developed adult's body usually only absorbs 10%.

A large majority of lead poisoning cases come from lead paint. Although lead paint has been banned in the US for decades, the Department of Housing and Urban Development reports that lead paint is still found in about 38 million homes in the US. However, toxic lead can come from other sources as well, such as construction sites, ceramic pottery, and old lead pipes.

Children who are consistently exposed to lead paint may end up suffering from lower IQ, learning disabilities, or behavior problems. Extreme cases of lead poisoning may cause staggering gait, muscle weakness, seizures, or coma.

The best way to avoid lead poisioning is to simply elimate all traces of lead from your home. If you want to check to see if your walls, children's toys, jewlrey or pottery contain lead paint, you can purchase a lead check kit from your local hardware store. These kits are easy to use and can detect the presence of lead in almost any household item, but can't check the level.

If you feel you or your children have suffered serious injury from lead poisoning exposure, don't hesitate to call the experienced personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group.

Permalink

Toying with Danger: Mattel
August 06, 2007

The last thing you should worry about when you buy a toy for your child is the specter of poisoning or injury, and probably trust that companies that produce the dolls, balls, and other products children play with take every precaution necessary to guarantee child safety. Yet the manner in which large toy manufacturers are routinely forced to remove tainted products from store shelves suggest that child safety is becoming less and less of a priority. Last week El Segundo, California based Mattel Inc., the world's largest toymaker, recalled close to a million plastic toys from stores nationwide after tests revealed they may contain lead.

This wasn't the first instance of such negligence on the part of toy companies. As recently as June, RC2 Corp. was forced to recall 1.5 million of its wooden railroad parts from its Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway product line because they were coated with lead paint. In both instances, the products in question were manufactured in China.

The symptoms of lead poisoning usually aren't immediately obvious, but can have detrimental effects on a child's development. Children who suffer from lead poisoning can experience slowed body growth, reduced IQ, hearing problems, behavior problems, and kidney damage. Pediatricians across California have advised parents to get their children tested for lead poisoning if they fear they have been exposed to lead from these tainted toys. The plastic pre-schooler toys were likely sold between May and August of 2007.

Increased competitiveness in the toy marketplace has forced more than 80% of the country's toy manufacturer's to outsource to countries like China. Chinese factories, under pressure to reduce costs, sometimes cut corners without informing the distributor. However, when basic quality and safety guidelines aren't adhered to, parents and consumers shouldn't just worry - they should be very angry. Mattel now says it's investigating why the manufacturer in question did not use approved paints and suppliers.

From the recently recalled exploding radio control airplanes to burn injury causing toy ovens, hazardous toys have become almost a routine feature and there is every reason to believe that more recalls are on the way.

If your child has suffered injury caused by a hazardous toy, call the personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group.

Permalink