North Carolina Product Liability Blog : North Carolina Product Liability Lawyer & Attorney : D. Hardison Wood : Toy Safety, Child Restraint, Car Seats

Ever wondered if you have installed your child's car seat correctly?    This site provides many details and  graphics that may be useful when installing a car seat.  It also has many safety tips, general usage information, and things  to  remember. A couple of  important  notes, make sure that the seat belt is securely around your child, not twisted, or  loose, or too high and certainly not under  his or her arm. In addition, if your car seat is involved in a car accident, you should not reuse it.

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On some cars, the Totally Integrated Power Module  (TIPM) was programmed with software that may allow the engine to stall under certain conditions.  This could cause a crash without prior warning. Dealers will reprogram the module. Their  number is 1-800-853-1403.  The recall began July 5, 2007.

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This young lady from Michigan was set to enter seventh grade this fall.  Apparently she a missed a ground ball during softball practice, the ball  hit her head.  She never regained consciousness.  The story can be found here.

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Really good article on roof crush.  It starts off taking you through one of the "lucky" survivors of roof crush, a paraplegic named David Garcia.  Then they walk you through FMVSS 216.  The article reminds of a film I've seen from GM (I think, could've been Ford) from about 1960 or so.  It shows an onboard camera view of a rollover in a sedan.  The vehicle stays together pretty well and everyone who sees the video says the same thing: "even the roof held."  It is pretty scary that we say that, but everyone does.  Problem is roof crush is an all too often issue in vehicle crashes, especially rollovers.  Please read the whole article carefully, some life saving information in there.

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Pretty impressive engineering behind this test.  While I can't be certain, I am told that one of Ford's hunkety hunks was in the stands watching this test.  Hopefully that person was taking careful notes.

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Rollovers kill about 10,000 people a year in the US.  This is a slightly accelerating trend due to the popularity of SUVs.  Understanding how rollovers occur can help in prevention, and it can also help in understanding why manufacturers can help reduce rollover accidents with SUVs and other automobiles.
Continue Reading...

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Hi everyone, Hardison here.  Just wanted those out there following this stuff to know that we are moving in Monday to our new space.

We'll be in Suite 101 at 2601 Weston Parkway in Cary, NC, 27513.

Also, wanted to make sure our new website was firmly imprinted in everyone's mind.  It is a pretty easy domain  to remember:

http://www.hardisonwood.com

See you soon!

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Charles Wilson, the inmate killed on I-40 while working on the side of the road, was laid to rest today.  His family is still mourning.  Charles had a strong impact on many people, and now he is gone.  The circumstances surrounding his death are still being investigated by our firm and we hope to have that wrapped up soon.  I told Charles' family that right now, I can't give them many answers.  For me, the Psalmist is the one with the answers. 

On the flip, one of my favorite Psalms, apropos the funeral of Charles Wilson... Continue Reading...

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Cooper Tire and Rubber Co. recalled some of their  tires. It has been reported that certain Cooper Load Range E Dominator Sport A/T tires, size LT265/75R16E, manufactured between 7/2/02 and 3/20/05.  Apparently the tread can separate from the tire casing. This can lead to a vehicle crash.  Cooper will notify owners and replace the tires free of charge.  The recall was expected to start on 7/10/07.  cooper's customer relations  number is 800-774-6560.

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Thule, Inc. recalled certain bike racks with fold down arms.  apparently there exists a pinch  bolt between the bike arm bracket and the upright assembly of the hitch style rack.  This pinch  point can cause sever laceration or amputation of the hand or fingertips.  Thule will notify owners and provide a repair  kit and instructions free of charge. The phone number is 800-THULE91 (800-848-5391).

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Our thoughts and  prayers are with the  family of Charles Wilson.  He was the victim of  the horrible crash on I-40 where an SUV hit a van and then rolled over on top of Charles Wilson as he cleaned up trash along the road.  View the latest  video from WRAL.

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Booster seat versus car seat...what a dilemma. I had bought a  booster seat for our  daughter...one of the seats that utilizes the car's seat buckle.  We figured she is  five years old, most of the children in her class were using booster seats, and she meets the height  and  weight requirements for the seat.  But every time I would look in my rear view mirror, and the car was making even the  slightest of turns...there she  was moving  around...the seat essentially not doing  anything to protect her.  Then I saw this video, and realized that my worries were not unfounded.
  Continue Reading...

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This is a very unfortunate story, and our thoughts and  prayers go out to this child's family. 

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As a parent,  this  video makes me  think twice  before turning our daughter to  a forward facing seat.

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Baseball is a great sport.  My son plays baseball, and I'll  admit that one of the reasons I don't worry so much about it is because at least he isn't playing football, or some other full contact sport.

Yet according to the blog Transducer Reviews, baseball  is the sport with the highest  fatality rate for kids from 5-14 years of age.  The post is here, and I'll go into more detail about how these statistics can play out in the legal world on the flip. Continue Reading...

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