Articles Posted in Defective products

Officials with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) monitor and recall toys and other children’s products to help keep dangerous products out of our home and away from our children. Some of the most important regulations that officials have implements is to require testing by a third-party, independent laboratory and to enforce strict lead and phthalate limits to keep violative and dangerous toys at the ports and out of the marketplace and your child’s hands. With all of these efforts, Americans can be more at ease when shopping for their child’s holiday gifts. But consumers aren’t free from risks. Unfortunately, there are still items that make it through these checks and into our homes with some serious risks for accidents and injuries.

Over the last 5 years, officials with the CPSC and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have stopped close to 10 million units of roughly 3,000 different toys from getting into our homes. These stopped products violated federal standards.

Child product injuries in Broward are likely this holiday season if parents and guardians aren’t prepared. In 2013, there have already been more than 30 toy recalls placed by officials with the CPSC. Although the number of recalls has declined in recent years, with more than 170 in 2008, roughly 50 in 2009, about 34 in 2010 and less than 40 in 2011, there are still serious risks. The most common of recalls were the result of chemical and magnetic dangers. Even with the decrease in recalls, there will still more than 11 child fatalities result from dangerous products in the U.S. in 2012. Thousands of children are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year for toy-related injuries.
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Thanks to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), close to 5 million units of product that violated the nation’s safety rules were stopped from making it into the hands of consumers in the last year.

Working alongside its federal partner, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), officials with the CPSC have been able to screen close to 20,000 consumer products imported in the last fiscal year. Close to 2,000 of these products were found to have been dangerous or violated safety rules. These products were stopped from getting to you.

Our defective products attorneys understand that we purchase products each and every day with little to no concern for the safety of those in our household. Unfortunately, we’re not oftentimes aware of the dangers and risks of defective products until after disaster strikes. This is why it’s critical for families and consumer to check the Recall List from the CPSC frequently and thoroughly. Each and every day, there are new products added to this list and these are products that you are likely to find in your household.

Investigators with the CPSC as well as the CBP closed out last year’s fourth quarter efforts by trying to keep pace with the efforts of the third quarter. During this time, investigators examined close to 6,000 products and were able to find more than 400 that were deemed noncompliant with current safety rules. Throughout the third quarter, there were more than 5,500 products that were screened and roughly 420 that were deemed as violative.

As for the total number of units, officials were able to stop more than 900,000, down from an all-time high of close to 3 million in the third quarter. Officials believe that there was such an increase in the number of products stopped in the third quarter because of fireworks that were shipped in for Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Children’s products ranked as number one again because of high amounts of lead. Various children’s products with small pieces and other choking hazards were also ranked alarmingly high during the year.

In the 2011 calendar year, there were close to 15 reported fatalities resulting from children’s toys. All of them were under the age of 15: Twelve of them who were under the age of 12. Balloons were some of the most common associated with these fatalities, accounting for 13 percent.

While it’s nice to rely on federal investigators to keep these products and accident risks from you, it’s important that you’re a proactive consumer and do your own investigation. Stay in the know and keep dangerous products from your home!
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As we exchange gifts — whether among parents, friends, family members or coworkers — we are all bringing new products into the home through the long holiday season. An important step to help ensure the safety of you and your family is to check the latest product recalls list from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The CPSC is in charge of working to keep dangerous products out of the hands of consumers. Many of these products can cause serious accidents, injuries, fatalities and property damage. Each year, these products cost the U.S. more than $900 billion. Some of the products come with chemical, electrical, fire or mechanical hazards. It’s important to check the CPSC recall list often (especially when gift-buying) to make sure that no dangerous or defective products make it into the households of your friends and loved ones.

Our Florida defective product attorneys are here to keep you up-to-date with some of the latest recalls. It’s important to check these recalls when bringing products into the home.

Water Balz, Skulls, Orbs and Flower Toys Recalled by Dunecraft:

More than 94,500 of these toys have been recalled by Dunecraft Inc., of Cleveland, Ohio because of serious hazards to children. The marble-sized toys can be a choking hazard. They don’t show up on x-rays either and need surgery to remove, often causing intestinal blockage. An 8-year-old from Texas underwent surgery after ingesting the product. If you have one of these products, please call the company at (800) 306-4168 to get a free replacement toy.

Baby Jogger Recalls City Versa Strollers:

More than 8,000 of these strollers have been recalled from Baby Jogger LLC, of Richmond, Virginia. What can happen is the frame can come unlocked and can collapse during use. This serves as a serious fall hazard to children riding in the stroller. There have already been six incidents reported. If you have one of these strollers, contact the company at (877) 506-2213 for a free replacement stroller frame.

Bath Seats Recalled by Dream On Me:

About 50,000 of these bath seats have been recalled by Dream On Me Inc., of South Plainfield, New Jersey. They don’t meet federal safety standards, most specifically stability requirements. They can easily tip over and can serve up a serious drowning risk for children. There has already been five incidents reported, including a near-death report of a 12-month-old. If you have one of these items, please contact the company at (877) 201-4317 for a free replacement bath tub.

We want to wish you and your family a Happy Holiday Season and ask that you review the latest recalls with the CPSC to make sure that no defective, dangerous or recalled products make it under your tree this year.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is increasing warnings about Topamax, an anti-seizure and migraine medication, amid reports of birth defects, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Florida attorneys handling Topamax complaints continue to see data suggesting a high risk of cleft palates and cleft lips in infants whose mothers were prescribed the drug during or even before pregnancy.

The drug, which is topiramate, is sold by Johnson & Johnson under the brand name Topamax but is also available in a generic. Research suggest it may prevent the lip or palate of a newborn infant from fusing properly during the first trimester. It is not Johnson & Johnson’s only high-profile issue involving defective medical products — the company has also been forced to recall its DePuy hip replacement system after health officials in the U.K cited a high failure rate and metal shavings in the blood.

Unfortunately, Topamax is the latest black eye for the FDA, which has come under increasing fire for permitting dangerous drugs or defective medical devices to make it to market. The government watchdog relies upon the research of drug makers, which stand to make billions, in approving a new medicine for sale. Many of the human trials are being conducted in third-world countries, far from the prying eyes of regulators. And even when the agency has information that a medicine is likely dangerous, it has been accused of failing to act to protect the public — the risks of Avandia, a popular diabetes drug, were known for years before the government finally got serious with restrictions late last year.

Florida Topamax lawyers in Fort Myers and throughout the state understand the risks and can assist families dealing with a birth defect as a result of dangerous or defective pharmaceuticals or instances of medical malpractice.

In this case, topiramate is approved to treat seizures and epilepsy. It is also used in the weight-loss drug Qnexa, which was rejected last year by the FDA over concerns about birth defects.

The North American Antiepileptic Drug Pregnancy Registry found problems in 1.4 percent of infants exposed to topiramate during the first trimester — or about 1 of every 65 infants. Those findings confirm data being reported by officials in the United Kingdom.

The drug’s risks had previously been placed in Category C (meaning no human data available). But it is now being elevated to Category D, meaning evidence of fetal risk is present but the benefits may still outweigh the risks in certain situations.

Johnson & Johnson made $2.7 billion on the drug before losing patent protection in 2008. Generics are now available, however the company still made $538 million last year. The company pleaded guilty last year to promoting the drug for unapproved uses and paid an $81.5 million fine.
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Perhaps at no other time of the year are defective products injuries in Fort Myers a greater risk than during the holiday season. Holiday decorations, candles, toys and presents — even space heaters for those Southwest Florida cold snaps — can all spell danger if defective or used inappropriately.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently announced that the number of emergency room visits involving children injured by toys has increased substantially in recent years, from 152,000 in 2005 to 186,000 last year.

“By limiting metals and chemicals in toys and making the voluntary standard mandatory, CPSC has put safeguards in place for toys to better protect children,” said Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “The increase in injuries is a concern, and we want parents to make safe purchases and for children to be safe at play. To help keep what has been called the most wonderful time of the year happy and incident-free, CPSC is encouraging consumers to adopt a three-pronged safety approach.”

The organization reminds parents to choose age-appropriate toys, to purchase necessary safety equipment with skateboards and other toys, and to ensure a child has a safe place in which to play.

The government reports a total of 44 dangerous toys have been recalled so far this year, compared to 50 last year and 172 in 2008, when dangerous Chinese products were being recalled seemingly every week. But toys don’t tell the whole story — more than 100 other children’s products, including strollers, cribs and clothing, have also been recalled because of dangerous or deadly defects.

Fires, falls and other hazards associated with holiday decorating are also a concern. Each year, the government reports about 12,000 consumers are treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries associated with holiday decorating. More than 160 are killed in fires caused by Christmas trees and candles.

“Home decorating for the holidays is a wonderful tradition, and CPSC wants to ensure that this holiday season is a safe and happy one,” said Tenenbaum. “To prevent a holiday tradition from becoming a holiday tragedy, keep lighted candles in sight, check trees for freshness, and don’t use lights with broken sockets or frayed wires.”

A safe holiday decorating guide is available here.

List of product recalls in Florida is available here.
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