Products Liability

New Crib Safety Standards Aim to Protect Infants and Toddlers from Injury and Death

June 28, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Beginning today, the federal government’s new crib safety standards are in effect, which means that drop-side cribs can no longer be sold, manufactured, or distributed. Manufacturers, retailers, and distributors must also adhere to the other new requirements, including:

• Stronger crib slats
• Tougher mattress support
• More durable crib hardware
• More rigorous testing

Our Baltimore products liability law firm is pleased to hear about the tougher measures that are now in effect and hopefully decrease the chances of child injuries or deaths in a crib, which is supposed to be one of the few safe places a parent or guardian can leave their child unsupervised. However, this has not been the case in recent years. The CPSC has had to recall over 11 million cribs since 2007 because of possible safety hazards and over the last decade, defective cribs and faulty crib hardware have caused at least 32 deaths involving suffocation or strangulation.

Drop-side cribs have proven especially dangerous, with their sides that risk of becoming detached or collapsing. Fall accidents resulting in head injuries, entrapment from a baby getting stuck between the side of the crib and the mattress, and other serious injuries have also occurred.

Even with these new standards now in effect, it is important to note that hotels, day care providers, and crib rental companies still have until December 28, 2012 to comply with them, which means that your child could end up in a defective crib if you don’t double check to make sure that the crib does in fact meet the new safety standards.

Safer Cribs for Babies Available Starting Today, CPSC, June 28, 2011

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA)

Crib safety tips, Consumer Reports

Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association

More Blog Posts:
Nearly 800,000 Dorel Child Safety Seats Recalled, Washington DC Injury Lawyers Blog, February 16, 2011
Preventing Maryland Injuries to Children: Latest CPSC Baby Product Recalls Include Recliners, Pacifiers, Playards and Drop-Side Cribs, Maryland Accident Law Blog, July 26, 2010
Simplicity Drop-Side Cribs Linked to Eleventh Infant Death, Maryland Accident Law Blog, December 21, 2009

Dangerous Medical Device?: Woman Files Cold Therapy Lawsuit Against DeRoyal Industries Alleging Tissue Damage

June 18, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Another person has recently stepped forward to sue DeRoyal Industries for products liability. The plaintiff, Toleda Rotolo, claims that she sustained permanent tissue damage after using a DeRoyal T505 cold therapy unit on her one of her. Rotolo contends that as a result of her personal injuries, she will have to keep receiving ongoing and extensive medical care.

In her dangerous drug complaint, Rotolo claims that not only did the defendant make a product that was unreasonably dangerous, but also it failed to provide adequate warnings to health care professionals and patients about the injury risks involved. She wants damages for suffering, pain, emotional trauma, disfigurement, physical impairment, and medical expenses.

Rotolo’s personal injury lawsuit is one of a growing number of complaints over cold therapy while the questions over whether consumer-run machines meant for home use are safe. The units are supposed to help with swelling and pain by exposing the injured body parts to cold and heat for hours. The cold therapy is supposed to limit blood flow to the injured area, decelerate the nerve impulses letting you know that you are hurting, and help distract your mind from pain. However, there have been complaints claiming that the medical devices may cause skin damage, frostbite, nerve damage, or increase the risk of limb amputation.

Dangerous Drug Lawsuit Claims Humira Caused Permanent Eye Damage

May 26, 2011 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

It is important for you to know that you know that if you were injured or became sick from taking a prescription or over-the-counter medication, you may be able to obtain Maryland injury damages by filing a dangerous drug lawsuit. Unfortunately, even though drug manufacturers are supposed to make sure that their medications are safe for patients to use, and warn of possibly dangerous side effects, this isn’t always the case.

In recent products liability news, a woman who took Humira to treat her Crohn’s disease is suing Abbott Laboratories because she says that the drug Humira caused her to sustain permanent damage to her optic nerves. Jamie Bixby says that when she called the drug manufacturer’s helpline to report that she was experiencing eye pain, a nurse told her that the symptoms weren’t related to Humira. Bixby eventually sought emergency care when one of her eyes began experiencing blurred vision with black holes. An eye doctor later said that Bixby’s optic nerves had sustained permanent injury.

In her dangerous drug complaint, Bixby contents that if Abbott had warned her or her gastroenterologist that her eye pain could have been caused by taking Humira, she would have stopped taking the medication right away and immediately gotten the medical help she needed. She says that before Abbott started marketing Humira to Crohn’s patients, it should have known the potential risk it posed to the eyes—especially as similar drugs reportedly have caused similar optic nerve deterioration. Bixby notes that those other drugs, which are made by competitors, warn about this specific injury risk.

No CO Detector in Rowhouse Where Fatal Baltimore Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Occurred

December 29, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to The Baltimore Sun, Department of Housing and Community Development assistant commissioner Eric Booker says the rowhouse that was the scene of a deadly Baltimore carbon monoxide poisoning accident did not have a CO detector even though one should have been installed and working properly. The victims, 40-year-old Vonita Gibbs and 30-year-old Mikeia Lucas, died on Tuesday after a gas oven was left on with the door open. Three others people, two adult males and a child, were admitted to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in serious condition.

City officials are reporting that the lower part of the oven had been covered with aluminum foil, which caused the gas to build before coming out. The gas then entering a heating duct that allowed it to spread to practically every room. According to fire officials, CO readings were as high as 500 parts per million in the unit.

According to the American College of Emergency Physicians, while carbon monoxide poisoning can pose a serious threat, it can be especially deadly during the winter, when people are trying to stay warm. In addition to the Baltimore accident, this week, a couple and their child, age 7, were taken to the hospital in Connecticut on Monday afternoon because of a CO poisoning incident in their apartment that was caused by a defective furnace. That same day, a maid found the bodies of five teenagers in a Florida hotel room. A car that had been left running in the private garage underneath the room is believe to have caused their fatal CO poisoning.

With over 400 people killed and thousands ending up in emergency rooms in the US each year from carbon monoxide poisoning, it is important that product manufacturers and premise owners make sure that they do not create or fail to remedy any type of hazard that could cause a CO poisoning accident to occur. The risk of carbon monoxide leaks go up in the wintertime with people using heating appliances and ovens to stay warm.

Open oven determined to be culprit in carbon monoxide poisoning, The Baltimore Sun, December 29, 2010
Family rushed to hospital after carbon monoxide poisoning, CT Post, December 27, 2010
Carbon monoxide poses a real, and needless, threat, USA Today, December 28, 2010
5 found dead in Florida motel room, CNN, December 28, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Carbon Monoxide May Be Greater Threat in Winter, US News, December 27, 2010

A Guide to Preventing Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Maryland Fall Accident?: Police Probe Death of Man Discovered in Trash Chute

August 16, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

An autopsy conducted on the body of a man found in a downtown Baltimore apartment building trash chute indicates his injuries are “consistent with a bad fall,” says the police department and reports the Baltimore Sun. Also, police spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi says that if another person had inserted the body into the chute, there would have been “more signs {of a struggle} on the body.” Homicide detectives and the state medical examiner are continuing to investigate his death.

Building employees found the man’s body on Thursday morning. According to police, the man seems to have fallen into the chute from around the 20th floor. The 26-floor building, located on N. Charles Street, houses offices and apartment units.

According to ex- and current tenants, each of the building’s trash chutes have a spring mounted door that must be pulled. The chute opening is approximately 3 feet high by 2 feet wide. It opens at an angle. One resident says that he usually must “push a little” to get a regular-sized garbage bag to go through the chute opening.

Trash Chute Accidents

In the event that someone falls through a garbage chute because it was poorly designed or faulty in some other way, the injured party may have grounds for a Maryland products liability and/or Baltimore premises liability. Property owners must make sure that there are no hazards on the premise that could cause serious Baltimore personal injuries.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that someone has been injured from falling down a trash chute. In February, a 38-year-old man accidentally fell into his apartment complex trash chute. According to the county coroner, the man was trapped upside down in the chute for a long time and died from suffocation. Last year, another man died after falling down a narrow garbage chute. He was drunk at the time.

Police: Man found dead in trash chute may have fallen, Baltimore Sun, August 13, 2010
Central IL man’s trash chute death an accident, KMOV, February 5, 2010
Jersey City man plunges 25 stories to death down NYC trash chute, NJ.com, April 13, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Products Liability, Nolo
Premises Liability, Justia

Preventing Maryland Injuries to Children: Latest CPSC Baby Product Recalls Include Recliners, Pacifiers, Playards and Drop-Side Cribs

July 26, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

Our Maryland child accident attorneys work hard to obtain the financial recovery that our clients’ families are owed by the manufacturers of defective products. The makers of consumer goods, especially furniture, accessories, and toys that are intended specifically for child and infant use, must make sure that there are no defects to their products that can cause injuries to a child. Failure to do so can cause serious Maryland personal injuries to a minor or wrongful death.

Just today the US Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 30,000 Nap Nanny® portable baby recliners. The recliners pose a suffocation hazard and fall danger. The CPSC is investigating a report involving the death of a 4-month old child who died while harnessed to the recliner She got stuck between the crib bumper and the recliner.

In another child entrapment accident involving the Nap Nanny®, the baby got caught between the crib’s side and the baby recliner. The infant sustained a forehead cut. There have been 22 reports of babies under 5-months-old who ended up either hanging our falling out of the recliner even though they were harnessed to it.

Last Tuesday, CPSC recalled about 44,900 Kariño Baby Pacifiers that don’t meet federal safety standards. No injuries or incidents have been reported, but the pacifier is an aspiration and choking hazard to kids.

On July 15, the CPSC and Health Canada recalled approximately 20,000 Cozy Indoor Outdoor Portable Playard Tents Plus Cabana Kits because they pose an entrapment hazard to children. In December 2008, a 2-year-old boy was found hanging with his neck trapped between the tent’s metal base rod and the playard. He died from his injuries. The child entrapment accident happened as the boy, who managed to pop off the clips that kept the metal base rod secure, was trying to get out of the playard. Three other incidents were reported involving kids who removed the clips and were able to put their neck between the playard and the tent. Fortunately, they were not injured.

The day before, Pottery Barn Kids recalled about 82,000 drop-side cribs because they pose suffocation, fall, and entrapment hazards. At least seven kids have sustained minor injuries when their legs got stuck between the drop side and the mattress and they fell out of the cribs. There have been 36 reports of drop-side detachment or malfunction.

Recalls and Safety Product News, CPSC, July 2010
Related Web Resources:

Kids in Danger

Potentially Dangerous Children’s Products, Good Housekeeping

ATV Accidents: Number of Spinal and Head Trauma Injury Cases are Rising, Say Researchers

July 8, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

According to the University of Utah Department of Neurosurgery, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of severe head and spinal trauma cases involving all-terrain vehicle. Its researchers’ findings, published in Neurosurgery, emphasis the need for better ATV stability, better rider training, and helmet use.

The research, which is to be published in the journal Neurosurgery, states that:

• ATV injuries resulted in 495 deaths and 1,117,000 emergency room visits in 2001—159% and 211% more, respectively than 1993.

Recall of Over 1 Million Baby Slings by Infantino Following Three Infant Deaths

March 24, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Infantino LLC are recalling over 1 million baby slings following the deaths of three infants. The victims are a 7-week baby, a 3-month-old infant, and a 6-day-old newborn. All three child fatalities occurred last year. Consumers should stop using the baby slings as soon as possible.

The recall comes two weeks after the CPSC issued a warning to parents and guardians about the importance of using the sling carriers correctly. 11 other deaths have been linked to the baby slings in the last two decades. Yet, despite an earlier warning by Consumer Reports of the hazards posed by using a baby sling, many consumers remain unaware that these “hip” child carriers can cause suffocation injuries and deaths.

If your child was injured in a baby sling or because of another infant product, contact our Maryland products liability lawyers immediately. You may be entitled to sue the manufacturer for injuries to children or wrongful death.

Baby Slings as Suffocation Hazard

Because newborns are unable to control their heads yet, an infant may not be able to turn away should the sling’s fabric end up covering the mouth and nose. When the baby’s breathing is blocked in this way, suffocation can take no more than a couple of minutes. Or, if the baby is curled up in such a way that the chin is bent into the chest, oxygen might have a hard time getting through the airways, resulting in slow suffocation.

Earlier this year, the CPSC added infant slings to the list of infant products that need to have mandatory standards.

In the wake of today’s recall, replacements are being offered to consumers for the Infantino “Wendy Bellisimo” and the “SlingRider” baby slings. Consumers can choose between the a Wrap & Tie infant carrier, a 3 in 1 Grow & Play Activity Gym, or the 2 in 1 Shopping Cart Cove.

Infantino baby sling recall: Are any baby slings safe?, Christian Science Monitor, March 24, 2010
Infant Deaths Prompt CPSC Warning About Sling Carriers for Babies, CPSC, March 12, 2010
Related Web Resources:

Consumer Reports

Infantino

Are Bed Rails a Maryland Nursing Home Hazard?

March 18, 2010 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

By now we’ve heard about crib entrapment and the dangers posed by some poorly designed cribs that have openings wide enough between the crib slats and the mattress that an infant or toddler can easily fall into the space and die from suffocation. But were you aware that hospital beds can pose a similar hazard to the sick and the elderly?

According to the Food and Drug Administration, in the last 24 years, 480 people have died from entrapment in a hospital bed. A patient’s head can gets stuck between the bed’s rails or in the middle of the mattress, which can quickly lead to asphyxiation. There have been 138 reported injuries, 185 close calls, numerous other incidents involving hospital beds that have very likely gone unreported.

Hospital Bed Rails as an Entrapment Hazard

Apparently knowledge of this hazard isn’t new. The FDA issued a warning about bed rail entrapment in 1995. With this awareness, the use of bed rails at assisted living facilities is now under 10 %–although that is still a significant number.

People have filed nursing home negligence and products liability lawsuits as a result of personal injuries and wrongful deaths caused by a hospital bed with rails. One nursing home patient, Harry Griph, died not from failure to thrive, which the 75-year-old was suffering from, but because his neck got trapped between the mattress and bed rail. His cause of death was asphyxiation.

Hospital Bed Rails as a Fall Hazard

Although bed rails are considered a safety device for keeping confused, disoriented medicated, sick, or restless people from falling out of their beds in nursing homes and hospitals, bioethicist and geriatrician Steven Miles told the New York Times that while bed rails do lower a person’s fall risk by 10 – 15%, they increase injury risk by approximately 20%. A patient that tries to climb over the rails to get out of bed can end up falling from a higher elevation and sustaining a head injury.

Assisted living facilities can be held liable for Maryland nursing home negligence if they allowed a hazard to exist on the premise that should have been removed or repaired. A person who sustains a traumatic brain injury from falling off a hospital bed or the family members of a resident that dies from suffocation during a bed entrapment accident may have grounds for a Maryland injury lawsuit. The manufacturer of a poorly designed or defective hospital bed can be sued Maryland products liability.

Safe in Bed?, New York Times, March 10, 2010
Siderails, Falls in Long-Term Care
Related Web Resources:

Maryland Nursing Home Care Guide

Falls in Nursing Homes, Maryland Nursing Home Lawyer Blog

Simplicity Drop-Side Cribs Linked to Eleventh Infant Death

December 21, 2009 | Lebowitz & Mzhen

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is once again warning parents, adults, and child caretakers about the dangers of using a Simplicity drop-side crib. An 11th child death has been linked to the defective cribs. The crib’s plastic hardware is prone to deformity and breakage. If this occurs and the drop side detaches, a space can open up between the crib mattress and the side of the crib that a toddler or a sleeping baby can fall into, becoming entrapped and suffocating.

The CPSC has recalled all Simplicity drop-side cribs—over 2 million—in the last four years. However, Simplicity is not the only crib maker whose drop side cribs have been recalled. Last month, the CPSC recalled 2.1 million Stork Craft Manufacturing drop-side cribs after reports of four infant suffocations. Two of the other drop-side sleeper recalls: 1.6 million Delta drop side cribs following two infant deaths and about 2000 Playkids USA portable cribs after a 5-month old suffocated when he became entrapped between the drop-side rail and the mattress.

While drop-side cribs are popular with consumers because the side that drops makes it easy for adults to lift their kids into and out of the supposedly secure beds, there have been so many reported child injuries and deaths involving this kind of crib that some crib manufacturers have called for a ban on all drop-side cribs. Broken and missing pieces, poor design, poor assembly directions, and defective materials are some of the product defects that have led to drop-side crib-related entrapment accidents, fall accidents, and strangulation accidents.

Our Maryland injuries to minors and children lawyers handle products liability claims for families seeking damages for a child’s personal injury or wrongful death. We’d be happy to discuss your defective crib case during your free consultation.

Drop-side cribs are not the only child sleepers considered an entrapment hazard. Last month the CPSC recalled approximately 24,000 Amby Baby Motion Beds/Hammocks. Two infants died from suffocation while in an Amby Baby Hammock. The movement of the hammock makes it easy for the infant to roll into and get stuck against the mattress pad and/or fabric.

11 baby deaths now linked to Simplicity cribs, AP/Google, December 17, 2009
Infant Suffocation Deaths Prompt Recall of Amby Baby Motion Beds/Hammocks, CPSC, December 8, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Crib Safety, HealthBanks
Will Drop-Side Cribs Be Banned?, ParentDish