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

I recently read an article by Mike Hendricks in The Kansas City Star. As  a parent, reading this article made my stomach churn. These stories are gut wrenching to read...thinking about those poor children who are forgotten or  left in cars with windows rolled up who essentially boil to death...or the stories of a parent or a grandparent  who run their (grand)child over simply because they didn't see the child while backing up.  Mr. Hendricks introduces Jannette Fennell, founder of Kids and Cars (www.kidsandcars.org).
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A new study relates that strength of a car's roof to its ability to prevent  serious injury  in a rollover crash.

A new report from the University of Alabama has studied Ford's own internal crash test data and concluded that the strength of a vehicle's roof is absolutely critical in preventing death or serious injury in the event of a rollover incident. Read More.

Ford has resisted this common sense conclusion for decades in its defense of hundreds of crashworthiness lawsuits.  In these suits, Ford argues that serious injury and death are not a function of roof strength, but instead these injuries a function of violent rollovers.  Implicitly, and sometimes explicitly, championing the position that rollovers are so violent no roof can help, no matter how strong.
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It looks  like next month Federal official will reveal a new requirement for automakers to install side air bags by the early part of the next decade.

Side-impact crashes are the second most common fatal type after frontal crashes, killing 9,200 people in 2005. The percentage of fatalities caused by side-impact crashes is on the rise -- from 31 percent in 1980-81 to 49 percent in 2004-05.

That's at least partly because frontal air bags are required in today's vehicles (and have reduced frontal-crash fatalities), and side air bags are not, said Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Also, Lund said, "growing sales of SUVs and pickups have exacerbated height mismatches among passenger vehicles, thereby increasing the risks to occupants of many vehicles struck in the side."

 

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Big Dog Motorcycles, LLC issued a recall for the big dog/bull dog 2007 model. On certain models the tachometer may have been improperly installed which may cause the motorcycle to short circuit and shut down. This shut off may occur without prior warning resulting in a possible crash. The recall is expected to begin August 24, 2007. Dealers will isolate the tachometer board from housing.  Owners may call  Big Dog at 1-316-219-9129 OR email customer.service@bigdogmotorcycles.com. Continue Reading...

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By now you may have heard about the "worst performing" BMW 5 series sedan in side impact testing performed by IIHS.  It should send shockwaves, we hope, through BMW.  From the article:

The air bags in the BMW 5 Series protected the head, but separate air bags designed to protect the chest and abdomen performed poorly, the institute said.

BMW's are expensive, high-performing automobiles and there is simply no excuse for them to offer their passengers sub-standard safety in deadly side impact collisions.  The tests that the BMW failed were tests of what, at least in America, are becoming very common side-impact tragedies:

The tests were designed to show what would happen if a truck or sport utility vehicle hit the side of the sedan at 31 mph, the speed of a serious crash. Side-impact crashes are the most common type of fatal crash after a frontal crash, killing around 9,000 people in 2005, the institute said.

But there is a silver-lining to this latest round of crash 'em up.  The $25K sedan made by KIA ended up with the highest safety rating available from the IIHS.  Putting it in the same league as the vaunted VOLVO S-80.  Which of course should make you wonder, what's all that extra money doing for you in a BMW?

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Today the defendant charged with Charles Wilson's misdemeanor death by motor vehicle had his first setting.  His attorneys asked for a continuance and were granted one until October 3, 9am, when the next hearing is scheduled.

The family of Charles Wilson attended and had t-shirts printed up featuring pictures of Charles and honoring his memory.  His mother, Brenda Sue, continues to be in visible grief, as the rest of the family tries to put on as strong a face as possible.

I attended the hearing on behalf of the family, and so did my co-counsel for this matter, Chris Nichols, whose help has proved invaluable as we continue to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding Charles Wilson's tragic death on July 10th of this year.  Chris has great experience in handling wrongful death actions in this state, and he has already aided us immensely in our work thus far.  For those readers who practice law in North Carolina, Chris also maintains a blog on North Carolina trial law topics found here.

We didn't have much to say in court as the Estate isn't a party to the criminal proceeding, however we did speak with the press afterwards.  A recap of that conversation is on the flip.  If you are visiting this blog for the first time, and if you happen to know anything about Charles Wilson's death, please contact us toll-free at 1-877-829-7211.

UPDATE: WRAL's Internet coverage can be found here. Continue Reading...

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Mattel issued yet another round of recalls.  This recall involved toys that may contain lead paint as well as toys that have  magnets that cause serious digestive problems if children swallow them. The recall includes the popular "Cars" characters, Polly Pockets and  more.  Please view the latest recall notices for more information, and please be extremely cautious. If you think your child may have been exposed to lead paint please consult with your child's doctor.  We will be one of the millions of families combing through our toys determining whether or not what we have was affected by the massive recalls.

Polly Pocket Recall

Doggie Day Care Recall

Barbie and Tanner Recall

Die Cast Toy Cars Recall

Batman Recall

For further information visit the Consumer Protection Safety Commission.

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The Office of Defects Investigation at the NHTSA opened an investigation on July 17, 2007 involving Evenflo / Triumph car seats.  Apparently there have  been 12  complaints since 2003 of a choking hazard involving child seats from  this manufacturer.  The complaint alleges children are able to  gain access to the  styrofoam from underneath the seat padding/ cover and break it  into  pieces. In 10 of the 12 cases, it  was stated that the child placed these pieces into their mouths. 3 of those children were reported to choke and 1 reportedly gagged.  We'll be watching  to see what happens with this  investigation.

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Some of Apple's ads for the new iPhone were played so often during a recent vacation of mine that I actually considered buying one just in order to make the ads stop.  But then I realized, they don't play the ads to get you to buy just one!

All joking aside, apparently there's a failure to disclose a material fact about the iPhone (which were it not for the lawsuit, I probably would have never known).  You can't replace the battery unless you give the phone back because its welded shut to the phone.  Not good.  And according to this attorney, an unfair trade and deceptive practice.  Which seems fair when you consider they charge almost another $100 for the service needed to replace the battery!

So, even the blessed iPhone, and its miraculous powers, are not free from the world of products liability.  Oy vey.

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We recently settled a case involving a product defect with a peculiar mechanism of injury.  I say peculiar because until our case, the defendant manufacturer purportedly had never received a complaint alleging a similar factual instance as our injury.

That's a tough place to be as a plaintiff in a product liability action: the first instance.  And undoubtedly you are going to have a hard time getting the defendant to be reasonable unless you go forward with a lawsuit.  The issue there is, as everyone in this area of law knows, going full steam ahead on a product liability suit can be very expensive... so expensive that unless your damages are severe you will have a hard time making he case cost effective for your client.  So what do you do then? Continue Reading...

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Ford recalls another 3.6 million vehicles due to engine fires resulting from faulty cruise controls.  They had recalled 6 million back in 2005 for what appears to be the same defect.  Apparently the issue is with vehicles primarily out of the Louisville plant.

More on this here.  Just hope they got them all this time.

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I hope at some point, and I suspect that point is close, American consumers will realize that price in itself is determinative of nothing... except price.

What does that mean?  It means that even though "you can't judge a book by its cover" it is equally true that "cheaper ain't always better."  And thus, we have the world of the crashworthiness narrowed down into a couple of trite sayings.  Here's a contemporary example... the Chinese sedan...


More on the flip.
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An interesting class action suit has been filed against Lexus USA Inc., Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. and others.  The suit was filed on behalf of owners of the ES350.  These automobiles are supposed to be equipped with sensors in the passenger side seat.  When the sensor is activated by the weight of  the passenger, the passenger airbag should engage and therefore deploy if there is a collision. This suit alleges that these sensors do not  function properly.

The suit goes on to explain that the defective vehicles are fitted with a weight sensor that gauges the weight of the person in the front passenger seat, but that these sensors have been found to be faulty.
The owners want Toyota to recall and repurchase all ES350s, refunds for those that leased the cars, each car to be refitted with a working airbag system, and compensation for any loss of value and costs owners incurred during this process.
(more here)

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A press release from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission was just released. About 967,000 units have been recalled due to a possible  lead poisoning hazard.  Please read the entire release here.

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