Maryland Accident Law Blog

Payless Shoesource Inc. is voluntarily recalling some 90,000 Girls’ Boots that were manufactured in China because the guitar-shaped zipper pull on each boot can interlock and cause a girl to trip and fall while walking.

The shoes are sold were sold at Payless ShoeSource stores across the U.S. and Payless.com from August 2007 to September 2007. There have been five reports of the zipper pulls interlocking and one incident of a four-year-old girl who skinned her knee because she fell.

If a person is injured because of a defective product, he or she may have grounds to file a products liability claim or lawsuit against the manufacturer and/or the store where the product was brought.

The recalled boots have “Hannah Montana” engraved on their outsoles and were sold in girls’ sizes 4 ½ to 10.

Jewelry, jackets, shoes, belts, hooded sweatshirts, bathrobes, pants, and sweaters are just some of the clothing items that can be recalled if any of them prove to be flammability hazards, strangulation hazards, choking hazards, toxic hazards, or slip and fall hazards.

Product recalls are authorized because a particular product item has proved to be dangerous to users. The recall warns users of the hazard and pulls the product off store shelves.

Recent Recalls involving Children’s Clothing (Healthnews.com):

• Children’s Necklaces Recalled by GeoCentral Due to Lead Poisoning Hazard (June 19, 2007)

• Choking Hazard Prompts Nordstrom Recall of Children’s Jackets (June 14, 2007)

• Children’s Jeweled Sandals Sold by Nordstrom Recalled Due to Choking Hazard (June 14, 2007)

• Silver Stud Earrings Sold Exclusively at Kmart Recalled by Crimzon Rose Accessories Due to Lead Poisoning Hazard (June 12, 2007)

• Personalized Infant Long Johns Recalled by Personal Creations Due to Choking Hazard (June 7, 2007)

• Lead Poisoning Hazard Prompts Cardinal Distributing to Again Recall Children’s Rings (May 2, 2007)

• Oriental Trading Company Inc. Recalls Children’s Necklaces Due to Lead Hazard (May 2, 2007)

• Payless ShoeSource Recalls Children’s Clog Shoes Due to Choking Hazard (May 2, 2007)

If you or someone you love was injured by any kind of defective product in Maryland or Washington D.C., do not hesitate to contact an experienced products liability attorney right away. You may be eligible to receive compensation for injuries, pain, and suffering.

Payless ShoeSource Recalls Girls’ Boots Due to Fall Hazard, CPSC.gov, October 18, 2007
Clothing Recalls, Product Recalls, Health News

Related Web Resource:

Payless Shoesource

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Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, a pediatrician and the Baltimore Health Commissioner told a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel that cough and cold medicines don’t work and are dangerous for children under six years of age. He attributed lax FDA regulations as the reason that pharmaceutical companies are allowed to market drugs to the parents of young children—even though there is no proof that the drugs are effective and there is growing evidence of related illnesses and deaths.

Sharfstein is part of a group of pediatricians trying to convince the FDA to stop drug manufacturers from marketing cough and cold medicines to the parents of young children.

Last week, drug manufacturers voluntarily pulled cold and cough medicines by Tylenol, Little Colds, Triaminic, Pediacare, and Robitussin for infants, toddlers, and young children. Manufacturers cited concerns that parents might give too big a dose to their children who are younger than six years of age. Labels provided on the medicines withdrawn suggest that parents ask a doctor for advice regarding dosage.

The CDC says that since 2005, some 1500 toddlers and infants have been taken to hospital emergency rooms because of an adverse reaction to taking cold medication.

The FDA says that there have been 54 reported infant fatalities attributed to decongestants. Antihistamines reportedly caused 69 child deaths.

Two months ago, federal health officials recommended that the “ask the doctor” directive be replaced with a warning not to give the medication to children younger than 2 unless specifically instructed on how to do so by a pediatrician.

If you suspect that your child may have gotten sick or died because of a dangerous drug or because a drug manufacturer did not provide the correct instructions on the dosage to give your child, you should speak to an experienced products liability attorney in Maryland or Washington D.C.

The drug manufacturer is legally obligated to reasonably protect all consumers and must include safety warnings of any potential side effects. A drug manufacturer can also be held liable for personal injury if it markets the drug in a way that misrepresents it.

Sharfstein makes case to ban cold remedies, Baltimore Sun, October 18, 2007
Child deaths lead to FDA hearing on cough, cold meds, CNN, October 17, 2007

Related Web Resources:

What Parents and Caregivers Need to Know: OTC Cough and Cold Medicines and Children, Consumer Healthcare Products Association
Drug Facts Label

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Kraft Foods announced a U.S. recall of its Baker’s Premium White Chocolate Baking Squares. The packaged foods maker cited concerns of possible Salmonella bacteria contamination.

The products affected include the UPC Code 0043000252200 and the best-when-used by dates of:

• 31 MAR 2008 XCZ
• 01 APR 2008 XCZ
• 02 APR 2008 XCZ
• 03 APR 2008 XCZ

The products were distributed across the U.S. The possibility of Salmonella contamination was discovered after the Food and Drug Administration conducted tests and noticed that some of the chocolate packages had Salmonella. Kraft says it is taking aggressive action to discover the source o the problem.

Salmonella

Salmonella is a bacteria that causes infections. Salmonella usually leads to diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps—and in people with a weakened immune system—death. Salmonella is foodborne, and can be spread via people eating contaminated food products.

Beef, milk, poultry, and eggs have been known to contain salmonella. Raw foods can contain salmonella, but cooking a contaminated food properly can kill the salmonella. A food item can also be contaminated with salmonella if the person that prepared their food did not wash their hands after going to the bathroom or already has salmonella and touches the food with their hands.

Nearly 40,000 salmonellosis cases are reported in the U.S. annually. Some 600 people die from salmonella every year. The elderly, young children, and those with weaker immune systems are most likely to contract salmonellosis.

The CDC offers consumers what they can do to avoid salmonella contamination:

• Cook poultry, ground beef, and eggs thoroughly before eating. Do not eat or drink foods containing raw eggs, or raw unpasteurized milk.
• If you are served undercooked meat, poultry or eggs in a restaurant, don’t hesitate to send it back to the kitchen for further cooking.
• Wash hands, kitchen work surfaces, and utensils with soap and water immediately after they have been in contact with raw meat or poultry.
• Be particularly careful with foods prepared for infants, the elderly, and the immunocompromised.
• Wash hands with soap after handling reptiles or birds, or after contact with pet feces.
• Avoid direct or even indirect contact between reptiles (turtles, iguanas, other lizards, snakes) and infants or immunocompromised persons.
• Don’t work with raw poultry or meat, and an infant (e.g., feed, change diaper) at the same time.

• Mother’s milk is the safest food for young infants. Breast-feeding prevents salmonellosis and many other health problems.

Food distributors, producers, and workers are legally obligated to ensure that their food products are not a health threat to consumers. When this obligation is not met, a person who becomes sick, injured, or dies because of the contaminated food product may have grounds to file a products liability claim or lawsuit.

Other common foodborne illnesses that can lead to a products liability case if the contamination is caused by negligence:

• E.coli
• Food poisoning
Kraft recalls white chocolate, CNN.com, October 4, 2007
Kraft Foods Recals Baker’s Premium White Chocolate Baking Squares Because of Possible Health Risk, Kraft.com, October 3, 2007
Salmonellosis, CDC.gov

Related Web Resources:

What are Salmonella?, Salmonella.org

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