Randy Barnhart

Toyota Tacoma Airbags May Fail

Toyota is recalling certain Tacoma trucks for possible defect leading to the failure of the airbag to deploy in the event of an accident. Model years 2005 to early 2009 trucks are being recalled to replace the steering wheel spiral cable assembly. Approximately 495,000 Tacoma trucks are covered by this recall. According to Toyota: "Due to the combination of steering wheel spiral cable design and characteristics unique to the Tacoma chassis, friction between the spiral cable and the retainer in the steering wheel spiral cable assembly may occur in some vehicles. Friction over time may result in loss of connectivity to the driver’s air bag module. If connectivity is lost, the air bag warning lamp on the instrument panel will remain illuminated after starting the vehicle and the driver’s air bag may be deactivated, preventing deployment in the event of a crash."

Brain Injuries Are Not No-Brainers

March is brain injury awareness month!

Brain injuries can have consequences which cannot be predicted or even properly self-assessed because such an injury, due to an accident caused by a defective product for example, can affect who that person thinks he or she is, or the way that person thinks and feels. Get more information here.

If you have, or a loved one has, suffered an accident or trauma due to a design or manufacturing defect in a product and which accident you believe has or may have caused a brain injury, you can be certain that the firm knows that a brain-injured person is person first and foremost, that we know that no two brain injuries are identical, and that the effects of brain injury can be complex and vary from person to person.

Call the firm today if you have any questions.

Dumping Defective Hip Implants Overseas

The Trial Lawyer, A Magazine for Trial Lawyers & a Voice for Justice, re-reported an important article in the N.Y. Times about how non-FDA-approved hip implants were shipped off-shore instead. Here's an excerpt demonstrating the typical shift-the-blame stance taken by manufacturing conglomerates regarding the risks of their defective products:

Before the recall, DePuy long defended the articular surface replacement device, saying that any failures associated with it reflected failures by surgeons to properly implant the hip cup. The surgeons who performed the study of the resurfacing version of the device that was rejected by the F.D.A. were handpicked by DePuy and included the model’s designers.

Dr. Antoni Nargol, an orthopedic surgeon in England who worked on the study that DePuy submitted to the F.D.A. and later became a critic of the device, said in a telephone interview that the company had never informed him that its application for approval in the United States had been rejected.

Thousands of people now face pain and injury due to defective hip implants. Contact the firm if you have questions about the safety of your hip implant and your legal rights.

Recall: Power X Bike Chain Defect - Product Liability

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.  It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Hazard: The bicycle chain can break, causing a rider to lose control and fall.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm is aware of 11 reports of incidents, including 9 reports of injuries, including lacerations and contusions.

Description: This recall involves “NEXT”-branded men’s 26-inch hybrid bicycles. The bicycles are red or orange. “Power X” and “Suspension” are printed on the frame. Model numbers LBH2611M and LBH2611M2 are included in this recall. The model number is located on the frame between the pedals.

Sold at Walmart from February 2011 through July 2011 for about $100.

Stop using the recalled bicycle and contact the company for a free repair.

Consumer Contact: Bridgeway International at (877) 934-3228 - or visit the firm’s website at www.powerxbike.com.

 

 

NEXT BRANDED BICYCLES SOLD AT WAL-MART

 

The 26-inch bicycles are red or orange and “Power X” and “Suspension” are printed on the frame. 

 

Model Numbers:  LBH2611M and LBH2611M2

 

Bicycles were sold from February 2011 through approximately July 2011 with manufacturing Date Codes between 20110101 to 20110420 (January 1, 2011 and April 20, 2011)

 

 

 

 

Stop using the NEXT Power X bicycle immediately.  Inspect the manufacturing label on the bottom of the bicycle frame. If you have a bicycle that was manufactured between January 1, 2011 and April 20, 2011, please contact Bridgeway International for a free repair.

Target Recalls Children's Lamps - Laceration and Fire Hazards

Hazard: Lamps can overheat, causing the adhesive inside the lamp socket to melt and migrate into the bulb area of the socket. The cooled glue can adhere to the light bulb base and make the bulb difficult to remove which can result in a broken light bulb, posing a risk of laceration to consumers. Melted flammable glue that migrates onto the electrical components of the lamp poses a risk of fire.

Incidents/Injuries: Target has received six reports of glue on the lamp socket melting and migrating into the bulb area of the socket. No injuries have been reported.

via www.cpsc.gov

Defective Strollers Recalled - Risk of Amputation

From the CPSC website:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Maclaren Strollers
Units: About one million
Distributor: Maclaren USA, Inc., of South Norwalk, Conn.
Hazard: The stroller's hinge mechanism poses a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is unfolding/opening the stroller.
Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received 15 reports of children placing their finger in the stroller's hinge mechanism, resulting in 12 reports of fingertip amputations in the United States.
Description: This recall involves all Maclaren single and double umbrella strollers. The word "Maclaren" is printed on the stroller.
Sold at: Babies "R" Us, Target and other juvenile product and mass merchandise retailers nationwide from 1999 through November 2009 for between $100 and $360.
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using these recalled strollers and contact Maclaren USA to receive a free repair kit.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Maclaren USA toll-free at (877) 688-2326 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the Maclaren firm's web site.

Clip-on Chairs - Defective!

Toyota Fined Again by NHTSA

On December 20, 2010, NHTSA announced new and larger fines against Toyota for its failure to handle recalls properly:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that Toyota Motor Corporation has agreed to pay an additional $32.425 million in civil penalties as the result of two separate investigations into the automaker's handling of auto recalls. Toyota will pay the maximum fines allowable under the law - $16.375 million in one case and $16.050 million in the other - in response to the Department's assertion that it failed to comply with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act for reporting safety defects to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

...

The second investigation completed today resulted in a $16.050 million fine. In that case, NHTSA investigated whether Toyota properly notified the agency of a safety defect in several Toyota models that could result in the loss of steering control. In 2004, Toyota conducted a recall in Japan for Hilux trucks with steering relay rods prone to fatigue cracking and breaking, causing the vehicle to lose steering control. At that time, Toyota informed NHTSA that the safety defect was isolated to vehicles in Japan and that the company had not received similar field information within the United States. In 2005, however, Toyota informed NHTSA that the steering relay rod defect was present in several models sold in the U.S. and conducted a recall for nearly one million vehicles. Then, in May 2010, NHTSA was alerted to additional information, including complaints from U.S. consumers, that Toyota had not disclosed when Toyota initially notified NHTSA that a U.S. recall was unnecessary.

But what is human safety really worth to Toyota? Compare the $32 million in fines thus far with Toyota's quarterly profits: for example, "the world's largest auto maker by sales, posted a net profit of 153.2 billion yen ($1.68 billion) in the three months through December" of last year! {source}

For Toyota, loss of and injury to human life is easily affordable.