Articles Posted in Defective Products

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paolo-bendandi-678730-unsplash-copy-300x200Instant Pot multicookers have become extremely popular over the last year, but do they pose a risk of burn injury? Articles have emphasized that the pressure cookers can make almost anything, from stews to wines. However, according to a recent report from WebMD, certain Instant Pot models may have a safety defect that could result in the unit overheating and, ultimately, starting a fire. If you own an Instant Pot and regularly use it to make dinner in Rancho Bernardo, do you need to stop using the pressure cooker altogether? We will discuss the recall associated with defective pressure cookers and how the defect could cause burn injuries.

Getting the Facts About the Recalled Gem 65 8-in-1 Multicooker

According to the report, the problem exists in some models of the Gem 65 8-in-1 Multicooker. Many were sold at Walmart and by other popular retail outlets, and they are now being recalled. Double Insight, the company that currently imports these Instant Pot models from China, has received to date more than 100 separate reports of the Instant Pot “overheating and melting on the bottom.” In at least five cases, consumers have sustained property damage. An overheating kitchen device can pose a serious risk of burn injuries and fire damage to your home.

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imthaz-ahamed-156276-unsplash-copy-300x169Whether you live in Encinitas or another part of San Diego County, you should know about a bill that has been introduced in California to “prohibit settlement agreements that keep secret information about dangerous products and environmental hazards,” according to a recent article in the Sacramento Bee. The bill is not the first of its kind. To be sure, a number of other states have enacted similar laws to help ensure that consumers can have important information about hazardous products that could cause personal injuries. We want to provide some more information about the bill, and to give you an idea of how it could impact personal injury lawsuits in Southern California concerning product defects.

Confidential Settlements and Defective Products in California

Assemblyman Mark Stone introduced Assembly Bill 889, which is designed to prevent lawsuit settlements that are conditioned on information about defective products that could pose “a danger to public health and safety” being kept confidential. Currently, when consumers file lawsuits against manufacturers after being injured by a product with a safety defect, for example, the manufacturer can settle the lawsuit and require the consumer to agree to confidentiality. Often, such confidentiality is to ensure that a protective order issued by the court that “prevent[s] plaintiffs from disclosing information that they have learned and insist, as a condition of settling a lawsuit, that the parties remain silent about the matter.”

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clark-young-403377-copy-300x200Consumers in Valley Center and throughout Southern California should be able to purchase products without worrying that a safety defect will cause serious or life-threatening injuries. However, product defects happen much more often than they should, and consumers often do not learn about recalls until other people have gotten hurt. According to a recent report in The Washington Post, a series of recent recalls highlights design and manufacturing flaws in a number of consumer products that could lead to serious personal injuries if consumers do not heed the recall information.

Defective Children’s Products and Child Injuries

A toddler bed has been subject to a recent recall after consumers reported that the bed “can collapse and entrap a child.” According to reports, The Land of Nod company’s “Nook” toddler beds have a faulty headboard and frame system. The recall notice indicates that the headboard can unexpectedly disconnect from the bed frame and can fall onto the bed, entrapping a child who is using the product. Currently, the company knows about four separate reports of the headboard disconnecting from the bedframe and falling onto the bed. Although no injuries have been reported, anyone in possession of one of these beds could be placing their children at risk of injuries.

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joey-banks-380271-copy-300x200When product recalls happen in Oceanside, do most North County residents pay attention to these serious warnings? As many Californians know, products can be subject to recall when there is a serious safety defect that can result in serious and even fatal injuries. According to a recent survey conducted by SteriCycle Expert Solutions, while many people may in fact respond appropriately to news of a product recall, millennials “are the least likely among the U.S. population to say they respond positively to product recall notices.”

To be clear, young people who are often classified as millennials (typically those between the ages of 18-34) may be exposing themselves to more risk from product defects by avoiding recall notices.

Older Adults More Likely than Younger Adults to Comply with Product Recall Notices

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kalu-ci-146209-300x200For many San Diego residents, the relatively recent and seemingly ever-expanding Takata air bag recall was a source of anxiety and frustration. As you may remember, the Takata air bags installed in dozens of different automobile makes and models ran the risk of exploding as a result of a defective inflator, causing severe and life-threatening shrapnel injuries, and some victims even died as a result of their injuries. Over the last several weeks, Takata news stories have largely focused on culpability for the Takata executives who may have known about the serious product defect yet did not take steps to remedy the issue before consumers got hurt. However, according to a recent article in CNET.com, there is a new Takata air bag safety issue that has prompted another recall.

What do you need to know about the new recall, and what should you do if you drive one of the affected vehicles?

New Takata-Sourced Air Bag Product Defect

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799px-Played_with_Tonka_toysNow that Thanksgiving has come and gone, many parents in Carlsbad and throughout San Diego County are beginning to think about holiday gifts for children. With considerations for children’s toys often come concerns about toy safety, product defects, and the risks of child injury. According to a recent article in WebMD.com, a safety group has just released its “annual dangerous toys” list just in time for the holiday season. What toys should parents avoid when purchasing gifts for young children?

WATCH Releases List of Dangerous Toys

Each year, World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH), a consumer watchdog group, releases a list of dangerous toys. As WATCH emphasizes, “since January 2015 there have been recalls involving more than 800,000 individual products, including 500,000 this year alone.” As such, it is important to be careful when selecting toys for children. Just because a toy says that it is intended for a child of a certain age group does not mean that the product is free of safety defects.

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flames-300x200Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes or electronic nicotine delivery systems, have been “promoted as safer alternatives to traditional cigarettes,” according to a fact sheet from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. However, as a recent article in Scientific American explains, e-cigarettes have been linked to serious burn injuries caused by the explosion of these devices. While we do not yet have enough information to know about the health risks associated with e-cigarettes, we do know that they can cause serious burns to the hands and mouth, and in some cases can cause fractures and paralysis.

What else do you need to know about e-cigarettes and serious injuries? Can injury victims seek compensation by filing a lawsuit?

Learning More About Electronic Cigarettes

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Child car seatIt is always concerning when we hear about a product recall, especially when that product has been linked to serious injuries or even deaths. However, product recalls often are even more upsetting when they involve products that we have purchased with the expectation that they will be safe for our children’s use. We expect quite a lot of kids’ products, and we should be able to presume that a child’s car seat or an infant cup will not cause preventable injuries to our children. However, as a recent article from Safe Kids Worldwide reports, there were two major recalls of children’s products last month alone. Failing to pay attention to these safety defects could result in serious and even life-threatening injuries to your child.

What do you need to know about recent recalls concerning safety defects and kids’ products?

Spill-Proof Children’s Cups and Dangerous Mold Risk

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Tire Tread 1If you have defective tires, are you at risk of sustaining serious injuries in a car accident? According to a recent article in CBS News, a majority of defective tires simply are not being taken off the road. Drivers with defective tires continue to take their vehicles onto neighborhood roads and city highways, putting themselves and others at substantial risk of harm.

How do we know that most of these dangerous automobile products are remaining on the roads? A federal accident investigations board within the National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) looked into the removal rate for recalled tires and determined that “only about 1 in 5 defective tires is being removed from the road through the safety recall process.” Given that abysmal number, the NTSB concluded that the “recall system is broken.”

Broken Recall System Failing to Alert Consumers

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file0001887367985IKEA is a popular retailer for San Diego residents who are seeking affordable but stylish furniture for their homes. Are IKEA product defects, particularly those implicated in child injuries, a reason to stay away from the store? According to a recent article from Consumerist, IKEA is re-recalling (in other words, recalling for a second time) one of its crib mattresses. What is the problem with the crib mattress? Based on the recall issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the recall is due to the alleged flammability of the mattresses. In previous recalls, the same mattresses posed a risk of entrapment to young children. News of this recall comes on the heels of two other serious IKEA recalls, begging the question: Are IKEA products safe for your kids?

Details of the Mattress Recall

What do you need to know about the product defect identified in a specific group of IKEA mattresses? First, the name of the product is the VYSSA SPELEVINK crib mattress, and the CPSC identified the following hazard in this consumer item: “The crib mattresses fail to meet the federal open flame standard for mattresses, posing a fire hazard.” The mattresses were sold at IKEA stores throughout the country, including the San Diego area, between October of 2010 and May of 2014.

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