Charlottesville Personal Injury Lawyer - CPSC

Apple iPod Potential Fire Hazard

Greg Webb — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:00:00 GMT

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is investigating many reports of the Apple iPod overheating, and in some cases, catching on fire. In its own investigation, a news organization in Phoenix, Arizona, found three cases of the iPod catching fire. One victim had the iPod burn her as she was using it on a jog. Another woman, who received her iPod for Christmas, burned her hand as well after a few uses. The news organization discovered dozens of other reports of iPods, iPod Touches, and iPhones catching fire, and in some cases exploding. The culprit appears to be the iPod’s lithium ion battery, the same battery recalled by Sony after it was linked to several laptop computer fires.

The CPSC is investigating eighteen incidents, including an iPod setting off a fire alarm in a fourteen-year-old boy’s room in Michigan and an iPod catching fire in a man’s shirt pocket. Despite the incidents, the three victims in Arizona claim Apple did not seem too concerned when they contacted the company about the problem; Apple representatives said to send them $34 for shipping and handling and they would replace the iPod.

Apple’s spokesman released this statement, "iPods are incredibly well designed and safety is the highest priority for Apple. The number of confirmed incidents of batteries overheating is less that 0.0001 percent of all iPods sold, which is an incredibly small percentage and none of those incidents caused serious injury or serious property damage. If a customer has any concerns about their battery they should contact AppleCare."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

New Legislation May Aid Consumers Harmed By Foreign Manufacturers

Greg Webb — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:00:00 GMT

Many products consumed these days, from children’s toys to medicines, are made in countries where, often, manufacturing standards are almost nonexistent. Therefore, when products have defects, it is extremely difficult to hold these foreign companies responsible in the United States’ Court System. The consumer would have to travel to the country and rely on that country’s government to serve processes on the manufacturer and translate all documents into that language.

When Congress returns from its break in September, lawmakers will consider legislation called the Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act ("FMLAA"), which would even the legal playing field. The act would cover “consumer products regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission ("CPSC"); drugs, devices and cosmetics that are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration; biological products as defined by the Public Health Service Act; as well as chemical substances that are defined by the Toxic Substances Control Act.” It would also require foreign companies have representatives in the United States where legal papers can be served. Surprisingly few legislators have expressed opposition to this legislation so far.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Little Tikes Issues Recall On 1.6 million Toy Workshops and Trucks

Greg Webb — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:30:58 GMT

Little Tikes has issued a voluntary recall on 1.6 million toy workshops and trucks after a toddler choked on a plastic nail. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said the recall covers five toy models sold by Little Tikes as far back as March 1994. The problem involves the bright blue and red plastic nails that accompanied the Hudson, Ohio-based company’s Electronic Project Workshop, the Home Improvements Two-sided Workshop, the Little Handiworker Workhorse, the Black Pickup Truck with Tools and the Swirlin’ Sawdust Workshop. The toys were sold by major retailers such as Toys R Us and the Little Tikes’ online store at

www.littletikes.com from $25 to $100. Consumers are asked to take the toy nails away from their children immediately and contact Little Tikes for a free replacement.

Little Tikes stated the toys were intended for children ages two and older. The child who swallowed the toy part, however, was only eleven months old. The plastic nail, which is about 3 ¼ inches long by 1 ¼ inches in diameter, became forcefully lodged in the child’s throat; he was hospitalized and made a full recovery. While some products are no longer sold by the company, the toys may have been handed down to new owners or sold at garage sales. Little Tikes realizes they must do everything possible to ensure the safety of all children who come in contact with the products, no matter their age.

The CPSC says they are interested in receiving incident and injury reports that are either directly related to the recall or involve a different problem with the same product.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

"Wii-mote" Charging Stations Recalled For Potential Fire Hazard

Greg Webb — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:01:04 GMT

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced that Griffin International Cos. has recalled about 220,000 “Wii-mote” charging stations after the product hurt consumers hands due to a burning battery. According to the CPSC, the company’s Chinese manufactured Wii controller accessories, the Psyclone Essentials and React four-dock battery recharging stations, can overheat and pose a burn or fire hazard. Griffin has received six reports of controller battery packs overheating; two consumers received minor burns to their hands.

The affected product’s model numbers, Psyclone (PSE6501) and React (RT530), can be found on the bottom of the controller dock. Psyclone chargers were sold at Target, Toys ‘R’ Us, and Amazon.com and the React units were sold at Best Buy stores from January 2008 to July 2009 for about $50.

Consumers have been asked to immediately stop using these products. Griffin is, however, offering a free replacement product and can be contacted at 888-344-4702, by e-mail at productsafety@psyclonegamer.com or online at www.psyclonegamer.com/wii4doc .

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Nine Companies Pay Penalty For Lead In Toys

Greg Webb — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:00:00 GMT

As punishment for violating the federal lead paint ban, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced nine children’s product manufacturers, importers and sellers, including Dollar General and Michael’s, have agreed to pay more than $500,000 in civil penalties. These penalties settle the allegations that the companies knowingly manufactured, imported, or sold toys and/or other children’s products with paint or surface coatings that contained high levels of lead. The high levels of lead found in the affected toys violated federal law due to the health risks lead poses in children.

In 1978, a federal ban was passed that prohibited children’s products from having more than .06 percent lead (by weight) in paints or surface coatings. The products involved in the settlement were recalled in 2007 and 2008, and include such items as pencil pouches, sunglasses, children’s metal jewelry, and Halloween baskets. Tests showed that the paint or surface coatings on these items contained lead in excess of .06 percent by weight. One firm even found products that contained surface coatings of nearly 60 percent lead.

It is unfortunate that these penalties are not higher. They amount to less than a slap on the wrist for these companies, whose conduct is unacceptable. Hopefully, most of the conduct was just grossly negligent, and not a true, wilfull violation of the law.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Woman Crusades Against Pool Filters That Killed Husband

Greg Webb — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:00:00 GMT

Sue Halverson has become an activist, warning the public about the dangers of a two-piece, kettle style pool filter that exploded and struck her husband in the head, killing him. With the help of an undisclosed settlement she won from the filter’s manufacturer, Mrs. Halverson created a website (www.poolsafetyadvocates.org) to inform the public of the potential danger this particular pool filter design causes. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found twenty-two similar incidents since 1982, including four deaths. In the nonfatal incidents that were reported, the majority of victims suffered severe injuries, such as the loss of an eye or brain injuries.

According to the attorneys that filed damage claims, all of the injuries were results of a design flaw in the kettle-style or canister filters. The filters are held together by a fastener, in most cases a clamping system, that critics say can come loose after time and not hold the top and bottom pieces together properly; most of the filters also had air-relief valves that sometimes fail to release the built-up air. In all of the cases, the victims were cleaning the cartridges inside the filter and had placed the top portion back on when compressed air gathered up in the filter, resulting in explosions that separate the top part of the two-piece filter away from the bottom. A member of the CPSC claimed the incidents involved maintenance issues where the covers were not installed properly after cleaning, either not locked down sufficiently or incorrectly, or the system was not depressurized before the maintenance was attempted.

An attorney also pointed out that the reports of the filter explosions are scarce because of the way the CPSC tracks incidents; manufacturers only have to report incidents to the commission if they settle or lose lawsuits involving injury or death with the same model of a product during a twenty-four month period. Many different manufacturers, however, use the same filter design and the deaths would have to happen in clusters for anything to be reported to the CPSC. He says the better alternative is to have the top and bottom sections secured by bolts, like the type he has purchased for his own pool.

Three conditions must happen for the malfunction to occur. There has to be compressed air in the filter, the band has to malfunction, and either due to user error or the age of the filter, the victim must be leaning over the filter checking the gauges.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Toy Manufacturer Agrees To Penalty For Lead In Toys

Greg Webb — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:55:29 GMT

OKK Trading, an American based toy importer, has agreed to pay a $665,000 civil penalty settlement with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) after it was shown that the company imported and sold toys that violated many child safety standards, such as having high levels of lead. The CPSC announced that the settlement resolves the agency’s allegations that OKK Trading violated a thirty-year-old ban on lead paint in toys by knowingly importing and selling toys with excessive levels of lead from November 2007 to August 2008. The settlement also resolves several other allegations that it knowingly sold and imported games, toys, rattles, art materials and pacifiers that violated federal safety standards. In agreeing with the settlement, OKK Trading denies that it knowingly violated the law. The company further claims it received no reports of injuries or incidents involving the products covered by the settlement.

Earlier this month, the CPSC also announced that toy maker Mattel Inc. and its subsidiary Fisher-Price have agreed to pay $2.3 million for importing and selling toys with excessive amounts of lead. A CPSC spokesperson said the agency expects to announce more civil penalties against companies that violated the lead ban in order to hold companies responsible for all of the recalls that attracted so much media attention in 2007 and 2008.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Alarming Data in the Amount of Children Injured While Playing Baseball

Greg Webb — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:00:00 GMT

While baseball may seem to be a fairly safe sport, researchers have found that over a thirteen year period, more than one and a half million players under eighteen years of age were injured enough to be treated in emergency rooms. Although it is unclear how many children are involved in the sport, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) claims there are about six million in leagues and another thirteen million playing baseball on their own.

Researchers discovered this alarming data after analyzing a nationally representative sample of emergency room visits from baseball-related injuries during the years 1994 to 2006 using data that was gathered by the CPSC. Though most of the injuries were minor and more than ninety-eight percent were treated in the emergency room and released, 24,350 required hospitalization, mostly due to fractures and concussions.

The data has shown a decline in the amount of injuries from 147,357 in 1994 to 110,602 in 2006 possibly due to improvements in equipment. For example, the most common injuries were caused by children being hit by the ball, however, the now softer safety balls have been offering more protection. A separate study has also shown there have been no facial injuries to batters wearing helmets with face guards. Doctors hope there can also be a change to encourage children to wear mouth guards while playing the sport for added protection.

It seems clear to this writer that the improvements in safety equipment have helped to reduce injuries. Having played baseball as a young man from age 7 to 18, when we did not use batting gloves and wore metal spikes, it is nice to see the game is a bit safer than in the "old days" when I played. But, for traditionalists, it may be shocking to see a young person going to bat with a helmet and face mask, and hitting a "safety ball". I guess it depends upon the angle from which you view the situation, but it is hard to argue with the above numbers.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

New Baby Crib Recall by CPSC

Greg Webb — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:47:10 GMT

For the third time, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled cribs that were manufactured by Jardine Enterprises due to slats that break. This time, about 96,000 cribs were added to the tally of those that could strangle or trap a baby. This action brings the number of recalled Jardine cribs, which are largely sold in Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us, to more than 472,000. The CPSC has announced it received thirty-one reports of slats breaking, including two that said children were trapped in the gap created by the broken slats.

This type of gap is considered one of the most dangerous hazards a baby product can have, because babies’ bodies can slip through the gaps, while their heads get caught. This may lead to a baby being hanged to death or dying of strangulation. Consumers told the CPSC that in ten cases the children broke the slats while they were still in the cribs; one child received bumps and bruises.

Those consumers that purchased a recalled crib can receive credit towards the purchase of a new crib. For a list of the recalled cribs, please go to www.cpsc.gov . For additional information, you may also contact Jardine at (800) 646-4106 from 7 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Exercise Balls Recalled After Bursting

Greg Webb — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:48:55 GMT

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has released a statement that almost three million fitness balls, sold in department stores and sporting good retailers, have been voluntarily recalled following forty-seven reports that they have unexpectedly burst. The balls, whose brand names are Bally Total Fitness, Everlast, Valeo and Body Fit, were manufactured in China and distributed by EB Brands in Yonkers, New York. They were sold for between $15 and $30 between May 2000 and February 2009. The 55-, 65-, and 75- centimeter sizes were all involved in the recall. All were sold with a pump and inflation instructions.

The CPSC believes the balls exploded due to over-inflation. Consumers should called EB Brands at 800-624-5671 or go to the company’s website at www.ebbrands.com/inflation_notice.php in order to receive updated inflation instructions.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb