North Carolina Injury Attorney Blog

As parents and students begin preparing for the coming school year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a voluntary recall for a single speed bicycle sold by Campus Cruisers LLC of Boulder, Colorado.

Although the bicycle is popular among high school and college students, the CPSC has received several reports of crashes caused by the bicycle's front fork cracking and breaking. This type of front fork failure is extremely dangerous because such a break generally causes the rider to go head first onto the ground or pavement. Serious head and neck injuries can result from this type of crash. The bicycle was sold to independent bicycle dealers in North Carolina and in other states from March 2010 through May 2010. The cost of the bicycle was approximately $450. The bicycle was manufactured by a company in China.

Continue reading "Defective Bicycle Sold In North Carolina Recalled By CPSC" »

The National Law Journal recently reported that plaintiffs' class action attorneys could seek more than $7 Billion in damages from Toyota Motor Company for the decreased value to Toyota consumers' vehicles as a result of the problems associated with sudden unintended acceleration.

Plaintiffs attorneys believe that the members of the Toyota class action will enjoy some distinct advantages over members of other class actions, in that numerous consumer rating agencies have indicated that the value of Toyota vehicles have dramatically declined from 2.6% to 3.77%. Those figures may not sound like much, but, when you consider that Toyota sold almost 9 million vehicles in 2008 and is the world's largest automaker, it quickly adds up.

The National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) also fined Toyota the maximum amount ($16.4 Million) for its failure to timely disclose its knowledge of the sticky pedal problem. The basis for the fine was that manufacturers are required to notify the government whenever they have reason to believe that a product they manufacture may not be safe. Toyota did nothing until the issue was picked up by the national media. NHTSA has confirmed that Toyota knew that there were safety issues with its gas pedals for several months before they publicly disclosed the problems.

Toyota could have easily taken issue with the amount of the fine and demanded explanations about the method NHTSA used to arrive at the record penalty. $16.4 million is a mere drop in the large bucket of cash Toyota has amassed in recent years. Toyota paid the full fine last month without so much as a whimper. The auto manufacturer was careful not to admit any legal liability with regard to the sticky pedal problem. The following statement by Toyota indicates that the plaintiffs are probably going to be in for a fight as they seek to recover for their harms and losses.

"We have acknowledged that we could have done a better job of sharing relevant information within our global operations and outside the company," Toyota said, "but we did not try to hide a defect to avoid dealing with a safety problem".

At this point, Toyota would probably just like to "move forward."

Continue reading "Class Action Heats Up Against Toyota For Diminished Value" »

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced a recall of over 1.2 million Graco "Harmony" high chairs. Fourteen injuries have been reported from children falling out of the chairs because the screws holding the front legs of the high chair can loosen and fall out. The plastic brackets that hold the legs together can also crack, causing the chair to suddenly tip over. The injuries reported include cuts, bruises and scratches to infants heads, arms and legs from the falls. One parent reported a broken arm. If you own a Graco Harmony High Chair, you are asked to call 1-800-345-4109 to get a repair kit.

This is the latest of many recalls issued by Graco over the last several years. Prior recalls have involved child car safety seats, bassinets, strollers, booster seats and cribs. The company uses cheap and unreliable materials in its products in order to keep manufacturing costs down and profits high. Such conduct has led to multi-million dollar fines against Graco by the CPSC and also several multi-million dollar jury verdicts, including one verdict for $11.3 Million. These fines and verdicts have yet to get Graco's attention, in that they continue making and marketing cheaply made and unsafe child products.

If your child or the child of a loved one was seriously injured because of defective crib, car seat or other child product, you may want to contact a defective product attorney about a possible product liability lawsuit.

A recent verdict in Pennsylvania may open the way for firefighters in North Carolina and across the country to recover damages for hearing loss caused by defective sirens. Most cases filed against the manufacturers of firetruck sirens have been dismissed by various courts around the country, but that may be changing.

In the first case to go to trial in Philadelphia, a state court jury found that Federal Signal Corporation negligently designed the Q-Sirens it sold the the City of Philadelphia, and that those sirens were a cause of firefighter Edward Smyl's hearing loss. The lawsuit alleged that the sirens were defective because they emitted such an intense noise that it caused permanent hearing damage to the firefighter. The jury's verdict found that the firefighter was entitled to $100,000.00 in damages. This is a huge victory for firefighters in North Carolina and across the nation.

Continue reading "North Carolina Firefighters May Seek Damages for Hearing Loss" »

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has received more than 60 reports from Toyota owners who claim they have experienced sudden acceleration events after having their cars fixed for the very same problem. The safety agency is in the process of contacting each of the owners to gather more details about the reports. Many safety experts and those in the industry believe that Toyota's problem is electronic and not mechanical as the largest automaker in the world has claimed. The recall involves installing a metal piece the size of a postage stamp and shortening the length of the accelerator. As I have mentioned in prior posts, Toyota so far has recalled over 8 million vehicles.

Many of those who have been seriously injured or killed in sudden acceleration events have sued Toyota for selling a dangerous and defective vehicle. Click here to see a copy of one of the complaints. One hot issue in all of these lawsuits has been the information contained in each vehicle's black box. Each Toyota has a black box, like those on airplanes, that records various data when the vehicle is in a crash - such as speed, whether the accelerator was depressed or whether the brake pedal was depressed. Toyota has fought tooth and nail to keep from having to turn over any of the specifics about the black boxes in these cases. Toyota has settled most of these cases out of court, but several are pending. This author thinks Toyota is afraid to have their black box information made public for a very good reason.

Continue reading "Toyota Recall Not Fixing Some Vehicles In North Carolina" »

Wisconsin's governor signed a bill into law yesterday that bans the dangerous chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) in all cups sold in Wisconsin for children three years and younger. The ban will cover baby bottles, sippy cups and other similar products used by young children. Many studies have found that BPA is an endocrine-disrupter in animals, including early sexual maturation, altered development of the mammary gland and decreased sperm production in offspring.

A recent FDA announcement indicated "some concern" about how BPA may affect babies and children. The federal agency has now put $30 million aside for additional research studies over the next 2 years. Last year, a Harvard study found that participants who drank for one week from the popular polycarbonate (hard plastic) bottles, commonly used as water and baby bottles, had a 66% increase of BPA in their urine. The study concluded that BPA is leached from the container into the blood stream in sufficient quantities to show up in the urine.

The dangerous chemical has already been banned in Minnesota, Connecticut, the city of Chicago, and three counties in New York. Legislation to ban BPA in childrens' products is currently pending in Washington, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington, D.C. Canada was the first country to pass a nationwide ban of BPA. The North Carolina Legislature should take steps to protect all North Carolina children from BPA because children do not get to chose the type of container from which they drink.

Continue reading "North Carolina Legislature Should Ban BPA In Children's Products" »

As I suggested in an earlier post about the Toyota recall, if you own one of the recalled models, you should not wait for the gas pedal to start sticking before having the problem fixed. Millions of Toyota owners are making dealership appointments to have the gas pedal problem fixed, and many owners are considering whether they are due a refund on their car insurance.

National Public Radio recently aired a piece about the potential effect of the massive recall on insurance companies. During the radio news program, NPR spoke to the manager of the NC Rate Bureau. The Rate Bureau is responsible for setting the rates that insurance companies can charge for car insurance. Ray Evans (the general manager of the North Carolina Rate Bureau) suggests that you contact his office if your insurance rates increased after being in an accident or receiving a ticket that you believe was caused by a sticking accelerator pedal.

Making such an appeal to the Rate Bureau could result in a substantial refund from your insurance company. If such an appeal is successful, then your insurance company would look to Toyota to cover the loss of revenue.

You may contact the North Carolina Rate Bureau at (919) 783-9790.

The world's largest automaker, Toyota, has announced the largest vehicle recall in history, recalling an estimated 2.3 million vehicles. The following Toyota vehicles have been recalled:

* 2005-2010 Avalon
* 2009-2010 RAV4
* 2007-2010 Camry
* 2008-2010 Sequoia
* 2009-2010 Corolla
* 2005-2010 Tacoma
* 2008-2010 Highlander
* 2007-2010 Tundra
* 2009-2010 Matrix
* 2009-2010 VENZA
* 2004-2009 Prius

The sudden acceleration sticking problem is responsible for at least 16 deaths and more than 200 injuries. Several wrongful death actions have been settled by Toyota and several more are still pending.

Toyota announced the recall only after ABC News told the Jananese automaker that it planned to air an expose on Toyota's sudden acceleration hazards. If you own one of the vehicles on the list, then you should watch for any problems with the accelerator feeling like it's not working as smoothly as is should. Toyota claims the problem is a "wear" issue, and that it does not happen overnight.

At the first sign of a sticking problem, Toyota says you should contact a local dealership and schedule the repair. But, if you are like me and do not believe that Toyota has your best interest at heart, then you should schedule the repair next week. Call Toyota's customer service hot line at 800-331-4331.

On this New Year's Eve, Danny Keysar would have turned 13 years old. Danny was killed in 1998 in a dangerous and defective portable crib. Danny's death prompted his parents to found KID - an advocacy group dedicated to alerting parents about unsafe children's products.

There has been tremendous change in the last few years in the area of children's product safety. With some new laws, some honoring Danny by name, and a new active administration at CPSC, our children are already safer today, but more must be done. Some children are still sleeping in cribs that have been recalled, some kids are still riding in child safety seats that have been taken off the market because they are unsafe, and some children are still playing with toys that have been recalled because of poisonous lead paint levels.

Join with us to honor not only Danny, but the children in your life with a safer tomorrow.

Make a donation to KID in a child's name.

Check the children's products in your home for recalls and urge others -- grandparents, caregivers, neighbors and family -- to do the same. There were 7 Million cribs recalled in the last 2 years. Sign up for email alerts from CPSC and KID.

Have a safe and happy 2010!

Continue reading "Safe Products for North Carolina Children in 2010" »

Each year, more than 10 children, most under 5, are killed when a piece of heavy furniture tips over onto them. Several thousand more young children are seriously injured each year in the same way. Most of these injuries and deaths happen when a child climbs onto, runs into or pulls up onto a TV stand, bookcase, dresser or other unstable furniture. Sadly, most of these incidents are totally preventable.

For less than $10, parents can purchase an anchor system that secures the furniture to the floor or wall. This holiday season, if you have small children, take a few minutes and inspect all of the furniture in your house for being a tip-over hazard. If you identify a potential tip-over hazard, please take the time to correct it so that someone in your family doesn't become a statistic.

Continue reading "TVs & Furniture in Asheville Create Tip-Over Hazard for Children" »

Drug giant Eli Lily has been caught red-handed in an off-label marketing scheme of the drug Zyprexa. The FDA has approved the drug for treatment of schizophrenia and certain types of bipolar disorder. Many states have sued the drug giant for marketing the drug to treat other mental health conditions such as depression, dementia, Alzheimer's and agitation. Marketing a drug to treat conditions it has not been approved for is illegal.

The Associated Press reports that Utah has entered into an agreement with Eli Lily to settle that state's claim. Eli Lily has agreed to pay Utah $24 Million. The Utah Attorney General stated that his office found that 1,769 patients over the age of 65 had been prescribed the drug but had never been diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Last year, Eli Lily settled similar claims with more than 30 other states, including North Carolina, in a $62 Million settlement, but Utah and 13 other states refused to settle and filed separate lawsuits. In the last 60 days, South Carolina agreed to settle for $45 Million and Connecticut agreed to accept $25 Million for Zyprexa's illegal marketing.

Eli Lily settled with the US Department of Justice in January for $1.4 Billion. As part of that settlement, Eli Lily also agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges that it violated the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. In that case, the DOJ alleged that Lily had persuaded physicians to prescribe Zyprexa to children and elderly patients when they knew that the drug was not designed for these patient populations and that it can be harmful to these age groups.

When a consumer purchases a bicycle, or any product for that matter, they have the right to expect that the product will be safe for its intended use. After all, a corporate retailer is never allowed to needlessly endanger its customer or the general public. But that is exactly what big box giant Target has been doing for years. There are an estimated 67 million bicycles being ridden in America, and more than 59% of those are ridden by children.

On April 15th, 2006, a North Carolina couple decided to purchase a bicycle for their 14 year old daughter. They researched the various types of bicycles available and selected, what was in their opinion, the best bike for their daughter. They purchased the bicycle at Target because Target offered free assembly, represented that the bike was ready to ride, and their price was cheaper than buying the bike at a local bicycle specialty store.

Two weeks later, after the bicycle had been ridden just a few times by the daughter, the mother hopped on the bike to ride 3 blocks down the street to a neighbor's house. As she pedalled along, she shifted the bike's gears and suddenly the handle-bar violently jerked to the right, throwing her into the street on her head. The investigation found that the cause of the bicycle wreck was that the gear shift cable was incorrectly routed around the water bottle cage.

The brain injury was devastating. Severe amnesia, over a week in the intensive care unit, and months of brain injury rehabilitation therapy. The medical bills were enormous. She was unable to return to her profession as an auditor, and the extent of her injury left her with severe cognitive and emotional impairments. There are more than 150,000 non-fatal brain injuries from bicycle accidents each year in the US.

Continue reading "Asheville - Target Fails to Inspect Bicycle - Brain Injury" »