Defective & Dangerous Products

• Consumer Advocacy Group Asks For A More Efficient CPSC

  Greg Webb | February 19, 2008 10:04 PM | 0 CommentsCharlottesville, VA

  Public Citizen, a District-based advocacy group, criticized the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for sometimes taking more than six months to inform the public about dangerous products. The advocacy group also complained that it took some companies almost three years to report hazards to the commission. Forty-six cases, from 2002-2007, were taken into consideration in Public Citizen's...

• CPSC Proposing All Home Furnishing Products Be Nonflammable

  Greg Webb | February 19, 2008 9:57 PM | 0 CommentsCharlottesville, VA

  The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is pushing a proposal to require all home furnishing products sold in the United States be nonflammable. The CPSC has been trying to get this proposal passed for more than ten years because they believe such a standard could save about one hundred lives and prevent one hundred and thirty injuries annually. It would require consumer upholstered...

• Consumer Product Safety Commission: Understaffed, Underfunded

  Greg Webb | February 14, 2008 9:52 PM | 0 CommentsCharlottesville, VA

  The year 2007 was full of nerve-racking recalls for American consumers. Millions of lead intoxicated toys littered the consumer market. Even babies' cribs were being recalled after three children were strangled by one particular model due to defective side rails. It has become apparent that the slow-moving Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is part of the problem at hand. The CPSC, for...

• New Study Warns Of Dangerous Chemicals In Baby Products

  Greg Webb | February 14, 2008 9:41 PM | 0 CommentsCharlottesville, VA

  A new study suggests chemicals found in some baby powders, shampoos, and lotions expose infants to dangerous toxins that could later affect their reproductive capabilities. Phthalates, the chemicals in question, are commonly used to make plastics flexible and to also stabilize fragrances. They are commonly found in many products such as toys, cosmetics, vinyl flooring, and medical supplies. The...

• Ford Recalls More Than 225,000 Vehicles Due To Faulty Wires

  Greg Webb | February 14, 2008 9:38 PM | 0 CommentsCharlottesville, VA

  Ford Motor Company is recalling more than 225,000 vehicles, most of which were part of an earlier recall of 9.5 million cars and light trucks that were recalled due to a dangerous defect in the cruise control switches. Although no injuries or accidents have yet to be reported, these vehicles, mostly the E-Series vans, are being recalled again to fix wiring that does not protect fuses from...

• Baltimore Jury Awards $15.3 Million In Asbestos Case

  Greg Webb | February 06, 2008 5:15 PM | 0 CommentsCharlottesville, VA

  A Baltimore jury awarded seventy-three year old George J. Linkus $15.3 million dollars in damages after continued exposure to asbestos laced rope led him to develop mesothelioma. The company being charged is John Crane Inc., a sealant company responsible for producing the rope. Linkus worked for Key Highway Shipyard from 1952 to 1959. In 1954, he worked with the contaminated rope after being...

• Allstate Finally Begins Handing Over Important McKinsey Documents To Florida

  Greg Webb | February 06, 2008 5:12 PM | 0 CommentsCharlottesville, VA

  Last week, Allstate Insurance Co. handed over parts of the McKinsey Documents, a controversial set of documents that gives insights on how insurance companies determine rates, to attempt to appease the state of Florida. For some time now, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has sought the documents to supplement an investigation into how Allstate has set the rates on its homeowner...

• New Consumer Activist Report Shows U.S. Property Insurers Overcharging Policy Holders

  Greg Webb | February 06, 2008 5:04 PM | 0 CommentsCharlottesville, VA

  A report made by consumer activists claims the United States property/casualty insurance agency systematically overprices policy holders and underpays their claims. This report shows, in 2007, the insurers paid fifty-five cents in benefits from each dollar collected. The insurance companies are overcharging their consumers while cutting back on benefits and not fully paying claims. This new rise...

• CPSC Issues Recall On Red Toy Wagons

  Greg Webb | February 06, 2008 4:56 PM | 0 CommentsCharlottesville, VA

  Red toy wagons are being recalled by the U.S. Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and their importer, Tricam Industries, due to a violation in the paint lead standard. The recall is voluntary, although consumers are being asked to stop using the recalled products immediately unless instructed otherwise. The fifteen thousand affected toy wagons, manufactured in China, were sold for thirty dollars at...

• Over-The-Counter Cold Medicines Potentially Not Safe For Infants And Toddlers

  Bryan Slaughter | January 24, 2008 11:33 AM | 0 CommentsCharlottesville, VA

  A tip for parents of young children (like me). The government has declared parents should not give sniffling infants or toddlers over-the-counter cough and cold medications because they are not safe for children that small. Not only are the drugs dangerous, they have not even been proven to help children under the age of two. Health groups confirm that small doses usually are not harmful to an...