product defects

A construction worker in Los Angeles suffered fatal injuries on the job after he fell off a wooden plank, into a hole and was buried under dirt from a collapsed trench. According to a news report in The Daily Breeze, the fatal construction accident occurred the morning of March 10, 2010. The worker was standing on top of a plank and attempting to work with a tool similar to a jackhammer when the vibration caused him to lose his balance and fall head first into the excavated trench. Read the rest »

A worker suffered fatal injuries on the job the morning of March 10, 2010 after he fell head first into an excavated hole at a Hermosa Beach construction site, which then collapsed around him. The Daily Breeze reports that the contractor is likely to face several citations because they did not even have a permit to excavate that site. The worker was apparently standing on a plywood platform that was seated on the raised fork of a Caterpillar forklift, at a height of about 15 feet above the bottom of the hole. The worker had been using a hand-held tool to push down a steel pile when the vibration from the tool caused him to fall into the narrow hole. Read the rest »

Auto defects have been known to cause fatal and catastrophic injury. For some drivers this may come as a shock. The reality is that an auto defect could cause serious harm to you or a loved one when you least expect it.

Why Do Auto Defects Happen?

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Jody D. Powell, 46, was killed in a Santa Barbara County motorcycle accident on July 6, 2009, according to a news report in the Ventura County Star. California Highway Patrol officials said Powell was traveling eastbound when the motorcycle accident occurred on Stagecoach Road near Paradise Road in Los Padres National Forest. Powell was apparently passing a friend who was riding a motorcycle, then accelerated into a right-hand curve in the two-lane road and drifted into the opposing lane. Powell struck a car traveling westbound at 10 to 15 mph and was ejected. Powell died at the scene. CHP officers are looking into whether alcohol was involved in this motorcycle accident.

I offer my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Jody Powell for their tragic and heartbreaking loss. Please keep them in your prayers. Read the rest »

Applica Consumer Products Inc. is recalling 584,000 Black & Decker Spacemaker Coffeemakers because of a serious burn hazard. According to a consumer alert released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Applica Consumer Products issued a voluntary product recall for these defective coffeemakers because its brew basket can shift out of alignment allowing hot water to overflow. This poses the risk of serious burn injuries and scalding to consumers. So far, the company has received 235 reports of hot water overflowing and burning consumers. There were 10 reports of consumers suffering second-degree burns. Read the rest »

Many defective product attorneys have received word of product liability found in recalled strollers. The company Bugaboo is recalling about 22,500 defective strollers because of possible stroller brake failures. According to a news report in Consumeraffairs.com, Bugaboo has already received 121 reports of brakes failing in its Bee brand strollers. However, so far, no personal injuries have been reported as a result of this product defect. Bugaboo Bee strollers have the item code "580210" on a label on the back of the seat and the item code "50100" on a label on the plastic support under the seat. The strollers were apparently sold in various colors including blue, khaki, pink, red, yellow and black. The strollers, manufactured in Taiwan, were sold at children's product retailers nationwide and online between August 2007 and April 2009 for about $530.

Those who own or use these recalled stroller product are asked to stop using them immediately and contact Bugaboo to receive a free repair kit. For more information, please call the company at 1-800-460-2922. Read the rest »

Skywalker Holdings has recalled 60,000 defective trampoline products because the enclosure can fail resulting in a fall hazard and serious personal injuries. According to news article in Consumer Reports, the company has received at least 250 reports of support straps that connect the top of the enclosure to the poles, breaking. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission officials say that so far no injuries or deaths have been reported as a result of these product defects.

This product recall includes a 13-foot square trampoline and enclosure combination, which has blue spring pads, a black net enclosure and a jumping mat. The name "Skywalker Holdings" is printed on a label located under the jumping mat. These defective trampolines were made in China and sold at specialty stores and major retailers nationwide and online from January 2007 through February 2009 for between $400 and $600. If you own one of these defective products and have questions, please stop using it immediately and call 1-866-603-5867 for a free repair kit. Read the rest »

A Moreno Valley off-road accident recently killed the rider of a Yamaha Rhino. Juan Carlos Camarillo, 31, of Garden Grove was killed the evening of May 24, 2009 near Moreno Calley after he lost control of his Yamaha Rhino utility terrain vehicle. According to a news report in the Riverside Press-Enterprise, Camarillo was riding off Gillman Springs Road near Alessandro Boulevard when he lost control of the Yamaha Rhino on a hillside 2,000 feet east of Alessandro Boulevard.

I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Juan Carlos Camarillo for their tragic loss. My heart goes out to everyone who knew and loved this man. Please keep them in your prayers.

In April, Yamaha Motor Corp. USA stopped sales of three Rhino off-road vehicle models and offered to take in about 120,000 of its defectively designed and manufactured Rhino 450, 660 and 700 model off-highway recreational vehicles for free repairs. The company took this step particularly to prevent off-road rollover accidents, which have so far caused 46 deaths and hundreds of personal injuries. Yamaha has stopped sales of those defective off-road Yamaha Rhinos until the repairs are completed. Read the rest »

Jardine Enterprises has announced the second expanded recall of defective Jardine Cribs sold by Babies 'R' Us. According to a news report in Consumeraffairs.com, the wooden crib slats can break creating a gap, which can pose an entrapment and strangulation hazard to infants and toddlers. This recall is for about 96,000 defective cribs. In June 2008, the company recalled 320,000 cribs and 56,450 in January.

So far, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has received 31 reports of slats breaking, including two reports of children becoming entrapped in the gap created by the broken slats. In 10 of the incidents, consumers said their children broke the slats while they were inside the crib. Injury reports in these cases were minor including bumps and cuts.

The latest recall involves seven models of Jardine wooden cribs. For a complete list of the recalled cribs, model numbers and date codes, please refer to this CPSC alert. Cribs with date codes other than those listed are not involved in the product recall. The date code and model number are printed on the label located on the inside of the bottom rail of the headboard or footboard.

The cribs were sold at nationwide retailers including KidsWorld, Geoffrey Stores, Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us stores as well as on babiesrus.com between September 2005 and April 2009 for between $220 and $330. The recalled cribs were manufactured in China and Vietnam. Consumers are asked to immediately stop using these recalled cribs and contact Jardine to get a full credit toward purchase of a new crib.

There is no question that this is a serious product defect that poses a definite risk of injury or death to children. Children's furniture, especially cribs, bassinets and toddler beds, have been the subject of large-scale recalls over the last one year. Millions of these products have been recalled primarily for strangulation hazards. But the recalls came too late for families who had already lost their little ones to these defective products. If you have lost a child or any other family member as a result of a defective product or if you or a loved one has suffered serious personal injuries because of a product defect, please consult with experienced California product defect attorneys to find out more information about pursuing youTVs and utility terrain vehicles or UTVs in the news. Yamaha Rhino stopped production of a number of vehicles to make some design changes. Lawsuits have been filed nationwide against Yamaha in connection with Yamaha Rhino ATV rollover accidents. These crashes have caused severe injuries as well as fatalities.

About 25,000 Simplicity Travel Tender play yards are being recalled for product defects, such as fall and entrapment hazards, Consumeraffairs.com reports. According to the report, one or more rails can collapse unexpectedly causing young children to fall or get trapped. Federal regulators say they have heard of at least five reports of one or more rails collapsing. However, no injuries have been reported. The defective play yards, made in China, are portable and were sold with a bassinet, changing table and other mobile features. All the recalled products bear the "Simplicity" logo. The model numbers involved in this recall are 5500DRM, 5500WDS, 5500FEL, 5501FEL, 5502MON, 5520PRO, 5550HAN, 5700MAN, and 5750MIR.

The recalled products were sold at retail outlets nationwide such as Burlington Coat Factory and online at Babiesrus.com, Target.com and Kohls.com from March 2005 through January 2009 for a price of about $100. Consumers are asked to immediately stop using these play yards and return them immediately to the place of purchase for a refund or a replacement product. For more information about this product recall, please refer to this consumer news alert (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09187.html), issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Simplicity Inc., which imported and distributed these defective products, is no longer in business. Over the last year, millions of Simplicity cribs and bassinets have been recalled for similar product defects that posed fall and entrapment hazards. Several deaths have been reported nationwide (California included) where children had become trapped and suffocated because of the defective products. These product recalls have come too late and have done nothing for the families that have lost their beloved children because this company could not find a way to regulate the quality of its imported products.

The frightening part of this story is that there are hundreds of defective products out there that have not been recalled. If you or someone you love has been injured by a defective product, please contact an experienced California product liability lawyer, who can give you more information about how to pursue your rights. Where defective Simplicity products were involved, several of the recalls would not have been issued had parents of deceased children not come forward with the truth. These are parents that wanted to make sure other children and their parents don't suffer the same fate. These parents, who worked to create awareness about these defective products while grieving for their children, must be highly commended. In my eyes, they are true heroes!