According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Mercedes-Benz has recalled over 136,000 of its popular M-Class SUV’s due to complaints that the cruise control was not disengaging when average pressure was applied to the brake pedal.  According to the agency, an “unusually high” amount of force is required to disengage the throttle control that keeps the vehicle accelerated at a designated speed.  The recall affects M-Class vehicles from model years 2000 to 2002.  Owners of these vehicles should contact Mercedes to have the issue corrected.

Obviously, this type of manufacturing defect represents a serious safety concern.  Even a momentary inability of a driver to slow a vehicle at high speeds can result in a major crash resulting in death or serious personal injuries.  Toyota drew national attention recently when a sticking accelerator was blamed for a runaway vehicle and crash that killed a CHP officer and his family.

Consumer products must be designed and manufactured in a way that ensures they are reasonably safe when used in the manner intended.  Manufacturers and sellers of products must also provide warnings to consumers of the dangers associated with use of their product.  If a manufacturer or distributor sells an unreasonably dangerous product, or fails to provide a reasonable warning of a danger associated with a product, and that product kills or injures someone, it has a legal obligation to pay the victims for the associated losses.

Demas & Rosenthal, LLP, has successfully investigated and pursued hundreds of claims of victims injured or killed because of defective products.  If you believe you or a loved one has been the victim of a defective product, the product itself is key evidence and it is critical that you preserve the product in the condition that it was in at the time of the injury.  If you have possession of the product, do not let anyone touch it until you have spoken to a California product liability attorney.  If another party has possession of the product, immediately send them a letter stating you believe the product is evidence and not to dismantle, alter or destroy the product.  In all product liability cases, it is critical to speak to a qualified California personal injury attorney immediately.

California product liability attorneys can successfully obtain compensation for injured individuals. Demas and Rosenthal, LLP successfully represents victims who have been seriously injured or killed as the result of defective products. If you sustained injuries due to a defective product, contact the California product liability attorneys at Demas & Rosenthal to discuss your rights.

Most Americans enjoy celebrating the winter holidays and decorate their homes accordingly. Whether you prefer special candles, trees, baked goods or wrapped presents, you need to keep safety issues in mind when planning each event.

Before noting some of this season’s special dangers, our firm wants to remind you to be sure all of the following items are working properly in your home:

• Fire alarms and carbon dioxide detectors;
• Kitchen stoves, ranges and fire extinguishers;
• Fireplaces and space heaters. (It’s always best to have these serviced by professionals before using them again each fall and winter.) Be sure to always keep a fire screen in front of the fireplace – you never know when some small embers may still be burning. Also, carefully read and obey the list of safety precautions that came with your space heater—look online if you’ve lost them.

Christmas Trees

Every year, far too many fire engines must rush to people’s homes to put out Christmas tree fires. Here are some safety guidelines for keeping a tree up during the holidays:

• Keep your tree properly watered. Check the tree stand at least once a day. When a tree starts drying out, it becomes an even bigger fire hazard;
• Never erect a Christmas tree too close to curtains, a fireplace or a doorway;
• Don’t overload your tree with too many lights and avoid using any extension cords that can easily cause people to trip — and possibly pull your tree down;
• Never allow the tree lights to rest on wrapped packages below;
• Never even consider placing lit candles in holders on your tree – even if just for a short amount of time. The dangers just aren’t worth it;
• Keep pets and small children away from your tree. It’s too easy for them to tip the tree over and cause a fire;
• Never leave decorative lights on when you’re not going to be home. Seriously consider turning all outdoor seasonal lights off when you turn in for the night.
• Properly dispose of your tree at the end of the season. Never leave a dried out tree in your home or lying by the side of it. Check with your city or county to find out how you can legally dispose of your tree.

Candles and Special Oil Lamps

Although candles can be quite meaningful, beautiful and sweet smelling, they should never be lit when an adult isn’t home. Keep children and pets away from lit candles, only allowing children to be near them during special events when adults are nearby.

Never place lit candles near curtains, coat racks or doorways. Keep all matches away from small children and others who might misuse them. While scented oil lamps are beautiful and smell wonderful, they must be carefully watched to minimize fire dangers.

Other General Decorations

Carefully check every holiday decoration’s plug or cord. Never plug in and use any cords that appear to be frayed or worn out. Try to avoid using any extension cords since someone is likely to trip over them and fall. Make sure you don’t overload any wall sockets.

If you’re going to place decorations in your windows, on top of your roof or out in your front lawn, be sure to fully comply with your city’s governing ordinances. Never leave such lights on over night. Should there be a “short” in any wiring or plug, your home could catch fire so quickly that no one could arrive in time to save it.

Demas & Rosenthal is a law firm comprised of Sacramento personal injury lawyers that has helped clients fight for their consumer rights for nearly 20 years. The firm represents clients in California personal injury lawsuits that include matters relating to traffic accidents, defective products and general negligence. Demas and Rosenthal has an “AV” rating, the highest possible national rating from Martindale-Hubbell. The “AV” rating is derived from confidential assessments by attorneys in the community as well as judges. In addition to the highest attainable legal ability ratings, Demas and Rosenthal has been given the highest marks for “adherence to professional standards of conduct, ethics, reliability and diligence.

Many of us use ladders around our homes so often that we rarely think twice about carefully positioning and climbing them. Instead, we often just pull one out of our garage or borrow one from a neighbor so we can quickly repair roof shingles, paint the upstairs window shutters or clean the leaves out of our roof gutters. When you’ve climbed ladders all of your life and never been injured, you tend to just assume you’ll always be safe.

Sadly, as one recent article published by MedicalNewsToday.com indicated, nonfatal ladder injuries increased by 50% between 1990 and 2005. Furthermore, a January 2008 Home Safety Council publication noted that each year, “nearly 5.1 million people in America are injured by falls occurring in and around the home.” Click here to read more

These numbers indicate that falls cause “one-third of all unintentional home injury deaths, and more than 40 percent of all nonfatal home injuries.” Read more here

These statistics should motivate all of us to take every safety precaution possible when using ladders at home. The following list contains a number of helpful tips for protecting ourselves while using ladders:

• Carefully examine each ladder to be sure all of its parts are working properly before every placing your foot on the first rung. Also, make sure all of its key parts are present and properly fastened to it. Lock the ladder in place so it can’t suddenly shift its position. Keep a regular maintenance schedule for the ladder posted in your home or garage and stick to it.
• Make sure the ladder you’re about to use can handle your weight and was designed for your intended purpose.
• Whenever possible, avoid carrying anything in your hands when climbing a ladder. Use other safe means for moving work materials up to the roof or other destination.
• Should you start to fall or slip, you’ll need both hands to steady yourself and stay on the ladder. Wearing a tool belt can help you keep your hands free; be sure each tool is safely fastened to it so it can’t swing outwards and cause a hazard.
• Only use a ladder on firm, level ground. Any other surface can pose a serious threat to your balance.
• Whenever possible, fasten a ladder to a safe and secure surface.
• Never climb a ladder during high winds or near power lines. Always have someone else steady the ladder whenever possible. Try to position thick mats or other appropriate surfaces beneath your work area so if you do fall, you’ll hit a surface softer than hard ground.
• Never lean a ladder against a moveable object like a weak tree branch or other unstable item.
• Make sure you’re using the appropriate ladder for each intended use. Ask yourself or an employee at a home improvement store if your desired task requires a metal, wood or fiberglass ladder. Added Note: Be sure to purchase appropriate ladders for your family in case a fire forces you to exit your home upstairs. Next, immediately teach everyone how to properly use the purchased ladder(s) – or who they should seek out to help them if they are too young or infirm to position and climb down a ladder unassisted.
• Observe the commonly known “four-to-one rule:” A ladder needs to be based one foot away from whatever the top of the ladder is leaning against for every four feet of its height. You can find additional information about safely using ladders on the Web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Just type the word “ladders” into the search box at: www.cdc.gov
• If you’re using an extension ladder, you’ll need to raise the ladder to the proper height and then securely lock the sides. If you’re using a step ladder, be sure you’ve locked the spreader before stepping on to it.
• Do not let children use a ladder for anything other than a playhouse, assuming it came with one. Yet even in that situation, you should first inspect the ladder to be sure it’s been safely designed and always remain nearby and observe your children while they use any type of ladder. For their safety, it’s probably best to forbid the use of any ladders away from home. You can never know what level of supervision, if any, will be offered elsewhere. Of course, properly supervised school playgrounds may provide the one safe exception to such a rule.
• Only wear shoes with appropriate soles, like rubber, that can grip the rungs of the ladder. It’s far too easy to slip off one when wearing loafers or other shoes that have completely worn out, slick soles.
• Never allow more than one person at a time on a ladder. When you’re climbing one, keep yourself centered between the rungs. Never climb onto the two top rungs.

If you’ll observe each of these listed safety precautions, you should be able to avoid a ladder injury while safely making the home improvements you need. Keep in mind that some ladders are defective and you have been injured from a defective ladder, contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately.

If you walk your children to the school bus stop and wait until they’re safely seated before leaving, you may think you’ve done your job. In fact, school buses are almost eight times safer for children than privately driven vehicles. Nevertheless, other accident statistics indicate that we must take a closer look at the school bus safety issue. In its most recent report entitled, “Traffic Safety Facts: 2006 Data,” See the PDF document link at: click here. the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that between 1996 and 2006, there were 1, 387 fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes that were “school transportation-related.” Although about 140 people die in such crashes each year, most of the fatalities involve the passengers in the privately driven cars.

Still, close to nine children riding in school transportation vehicles died each year between 1996 and 2006. Numerous school-age pedestrians, age 19 or younger, have
also lost their lives by coming into contact with school buses. About half of these young pedestrians who died were between the ages of five and seven.

Read More

These statistics clearly indicate that whether we are parents, caregivers, teachers, general pedestrians or drivers, we must provide children with plenty of safety rules and suggestions. Likewise, we must carefully monitor our own driving and walking behavior when we’re near school buses.

The following suggestions are made with all school-age children in mind:

(See this link)

• Remind your children to never push and shove when boarding a bus. They need to walk calmly and carefully, boarding or exiting the bus one at a time. They should always wait for the driver’s signal that they may board or disembark. Also, they should try to arrive at their bus stops at least five minutes early to avoid rushed attempts to board. Once on the bus, children must remember to never engage in any rough play or throw objects at one another.
• Be sure your children use the handrails when boarding or exiting a bus. That way, should another child be pushing or shoving others, they’ll be less likely to fall down. Kids should always wait for the driver to make a complete stop before even thinking about standing up and exiting the bus.
• Children need to be told that the most dangerous areas around a school bus are those just behind the bus and on both sides, closer to the front of the bus. Kids should never step out into the street from between parked cars or from behind nearby bushes since this may further prevent drivers from seeing them in time to stop.
• As tempting as it is to all of us to take shortcuts, remind your children to always cross the street in a crosswalk, if one is available, and at a corner.
• Tell your children to remain seated at all times and to keep their belongings just below them. Putting anything out in the aisle may prove dangerous.
• Remind children to immediately go and tell the driver if they have dropped something near the bus so the driver won’t accidentally hit them when they are bending over to pick it up and out of view. Be sure your kids have backpacks or other items in which they can carry all of their school books, supplies and lunches. Make sure their carry-on items don’t have anything hanging off them that could cause them to get caught in a bus doorway or elsewhere.
• When a school bus stop is located in a particularly dangerous location, ask the school district if it might be moved someplace nearby — perhaps closer to a reputable store, place of worship or other safe gathering place.
• Remind children to never start walking as soon as the driver tells them it’s safe to disembark from the school bus. They must always look for themselves to be sure that there are no cars on the shoulder near the curb or on the street side of the bus.
• Children should walk at least five big steps out in front of the bus, catching the driver’s eye and waiting for his or her signal that it’s safe to cross the street, before they begin to do so. Next, young people should always personally look to both the left and the right to be sure the road is clear of all vehicles before crossing. Children should always keep their eyes on vehicles while still crossing the street. They need to be reminded that just because most drivers are adults, they may still not look carefully for pedestrians because they are often distracted by their passengers, traffic lights, cell phones and other items.

If we will share each of these warnings and explanations with our children, we should be able to dramatically decrease the number of kids who are annually harmed, both as riders and pedestrians, in school bus accidents or fatalities. Having represented many children in California who have been injured in different motor vehicle accidents, we hope you will never to call our offices for possible representation.

Introduction

Every month, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issues product recall lists to help protect the public from allegedly unsafe products. Frequently, further testing must be completed or design changes made before some of the products can be sold again. Most companies agree to “voluntarily” recall their products. However, when it’s necessary, the government can step in and prevents further sales until the products are properly recalled, modified and able to meet all required standards.

In January of 2009, a number of new products were recalled. The following short list contains a sampling of them. (You can review the entire list at the following link): http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prereljan09.html

• L.L. Bean Inc. of Maine voluntarily recalled approximately 7,000 of its Stabilicer Lite Cleats. There have been complaints that these attachable cleats can unexpectedly detach, subjecting wearers to sudden falls.
• JAKKS Pacific Inc., of Malibu, California, was asked to recall its Spa Factory Aromatherapy Kits because they might cause explosions or flying projectiles that might harm users. These problems are apparently linked to carbon dioxide pressure that can build up in the jars of Bath Bombs/Balls or Bath Fizzies. Injuries can allegedly occur when the jar caps blow off due to internal pressure. There are further concerns about the citric acid in the products that might harm people’s eyes during explosions.
• Milestone AV Technologies, of Savage, Minnesota, voluntarily recalled about 140,000 LCD television wall mounts. Apparently, these wall mounts can crack when TVs 26 inches or larger are attached to them. Likewise, this cracking may occur when certain combination TVs and DVD players are attached to these wall mounts. Anyone standing or sitting underneath the wall mounts might be harmed when they crack or break.

January 2009: Product Recalls Related to Excessive Lead Content Concerns

A large percentage of the January recalls were due to allegations of excessive lead content in various products and jewelry.

• DDI Inc., of Iowa voluntarily recalled close to 3,000 construction play sets since their surface paint may contain lead.
• Fantas-Eyes Inc., of New York, New York, was asked to recall about 15,000 High School Musical Manicure Kits. Some of the lettering on the kits may contain too much lead. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is concerned that children might swallow some of this toxic lead and become very ill.
• Discount School Supply, of Monterey, California, is voluntarily recalling about 500 Jesus Fish Beads. It’s been alleged that the paint on the green fish may harm those who swallow it due to its lead content.
• Spencer Gifts LLC, of Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, voluntarily recalled about 8,400 Skull-And-Crossbones Necklaces. There are concerns that specific parts of the necklaces contain unsafe levels of lead.
• Axiom International Inc., of Billings, Montana, has voluntarily responded to the CPSC’s request that 5,300 pairs of Children’s Sunglasses be recalled. It’s been alleged that the federal government’s lead paint standard may have been violated in regards to the paint used on these sunglasses.
• TDI International, of Los Angeles, California, has agreed to recall about 150 “High Speed” Pull Back Toy Cars. Once again, there are allegations that the paint used on the cars contains lead.

This second part describes products that may cause: choking, burn and fire hazards. It concludes with a brief overview of the types of additional news items frequently set forth in these monthly reports.

January 2009: Choking, Burn and Fire Hazard Recalls

• Outdoor Research Inc., of Seattle, Washington, is voluntarily recalling about 900 “Primavolta” Warming Gloves. Some consumers have alleged that the heating pads in these gloves can “short circuit and overheat,” possibly causing users to suffer burns. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prereljan09.html
• Rheem Manufacturing Company’s Air Conditioning Division, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, agreed to recall about 14,000 Rheem, Ruud and United Refrigeration Oil-Fired Furnaces. Some consumers have alleged that if the furnaces aren’t wired properly, users may be exposed to dangerous fire hazards.
• Mad Dog Concepts, of New York, New York, has agreed to recall about 25,000 Tony Hawk Boy’s Pajama Sets. It’s been alleged that this children’s sleepwear may not meet the federal government’s flame retardant guidelines, thereby putting children at risk of burn injuries.
• Infantino LLC, of San Diego, California, has cooperated with the recall of about 131,000 Infantino Lion and Lamb Grabby Rattles™ (Note: Many units were already recalled in March of 2008). Some consumers have claimed that these rattles pose a choking hazard to young children since some of their parts may become detached.
• BSH Home Appliances Corporation, of Huntington Beach, California, has recalled 476,500 Bosch® and Siemens® Model Dishwashers. There are concerns that some of these dishwasher models having electrical components that can overheat, threatening consumers with fire hazards.
• The Land of Nod of Northbrook, Illinois, is voluntarily recalling about 500 Rolling Toy Xylophones. It’s been alleged that some of the xylophone parts can be broken off, creating a possible choking hazard to young children.
• Rashti & Rashti, of New York, New York, has recalled close to 16,000 Taggies™ Sleep’n Play Infant Garments (Note: 6,200 were previously recalled on July 1, 2008). Some consumers are concerned that this clothing’s detachable snaps may pose a choking hazard to small children.

Other Important Recall Warning Categories and Announcements

Readers may also want to review some of the other January Recall entries that address such injuries as: falls, strangulation, shock, product entrapment, lacerations, suffocation, dangerous home heating vent pipes and carbon monoxide hazards tied to winter home heating. Two other January entries addressed a Fisher Price product that may pose a possible fall or entrapment hazard to children and window blinds sold at Cost Plus and World Market stores. The latter items may pose strangulation threats. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prereljan09.html

These monthly CPSC Recall listings also cover general product safety news, civil penalty fines imposed against certain companies and the names of new CPSC officials. New interpretations of former product guidelines are also sometimes set forth and explained.