Articles Posted in Defective Products

General Motors has added 1.5 million vehicles to its recalls yesterday and publicly acknowledged that it fell short in catching faulty ignition switches linked to 12 deaths.

GM chief executive Mary Barra issued a statement to her GM employees saying, “Something went wrong with our process in this instance, and terrible things happened,” according to Reuters. Barra also apologized for the company’s failure to catch the faulty ignition switches and acknowledged that the company is now changing its practices in handling defect investigations and recalls.

Since the first series of recalls two months ago, GM has recalled more than 3.1 million vehicles globally. The initial recall, which included 1.6 million vehicles, was prompted by evidence of faulty ignition switches. The latest recall includes more than 1.5 million newer crossover utility vehicles, luxury sedans, and full-sized vans because of faulty airbag wiring, brake parts, and other defective components.

Because this recall encompasses models nearly a decade old that should have seemingly been recalled much sooner than this year, GM is now under criminal and civil investigations, and faces congressional hearings and class-action lawsuits in both the United States and in Canada. The major question remains though: Why did GM take so long to address a problem that came to its attention in 2001?

GM is in negotiations with Delphi Automotive, the company that supplies GM cars’ ignition switches, to supply a second line for replacement parts. Barra stated that customers will receive a detailed notice by mail during the second week of April.

MODELS RECALLED

According to Reuters, the latest recalls include 1.18 million mid-sized crossovers to repair an issue that could lead to the non-deployment of side airbags. It said it will repair the wiring harness of seat-mounted side airbags.

Affected are some 2008-2009 and all 2010-2013 Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia crossovers, some 2009 and all 2010-2013 Chevrolet Traverses and some 2008-2009 and all 2010 Saturn Outlooks. Most of the vehicles were sold in the United States, but some are in Canada and Mexico.

303,000 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans are also being recalled to replace plastic material in the passenger instrument panel to meet federal head-impact crash standards for unbelted passengers, a spokesman for GM said.

Affected are vans from model years 2009 through 2014 that are rated to carry up to 10,000 pounds including the vehicle’s own weight. The majority of these vehicles were sold in the United States, and were also sold in Canada, Mexico and other markets.

In the XTS, a brake booster pump wiring issue can lead to overheating, melting of plastic parts and a possible engine compartment fire, the spokesman said. There were two reports of fires in unsold cars on dealer lots in June and September last year as well as two cases of melted components.

Affected are 63,900 of the 2013 and 2014 luxury sedans, mostly in the United States, but also in Canada, Mexico and a small number in the Middle East, the spokesman said.
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Graco Children’s Products has announced a recall of more than 403,000 child safety seats in addition to last month’s recall of nearly 4 million car seats because of faulty harness buckles.

The company came under scrutiny by government watchdog National Highway Traffic Safety Administration when it issued the first recall. NHTSA alleges that it has received thousands of complaints from consumers having to resort to extreme measures to unlock their children from Graco’s safety seat harnesses because they’ve become stuck. Often the harnesses would become stuck because food and beverages can make the harness buckles in the children’s seats sticky and therefore harder to unlatch over time.
Graco has maintained that only 1% of its seats are affected, but the NHTSA wants Graco to add an additional 1.8 million seats to its recall. According to the company though, this recall does not include rear-facing infant seats because infants likely do not get food or drinks on their seats. Yet this is the only explanation the company gave as to the reason why it did not call infant seats. Graco has until March 20 to formally explain to NHTSA why it did not include infant seats in the first recall.

The 403,222 seats added to the previous list of recalled child safety seats include models: Argos 70 Elite, Ready Ride, Step 2, My Ride 65 with Safety Surround, My Size 70, Head Wise 70 with Safety Surround, Nautilus 3-in-1, Nautilus Plus, and Smart Seat with Safety Surround. These include all models manufactured between 2006 and 2014.

Graco confirmed it will send replacement buckles to owners of infant seats upon request. The company also has issued cleaning tips for buckles as well as instructions on how to replace the buckles (including posting a video to its website) for customers who requested a replacement buckle for their child’s seat.
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Just week after General Motors announced that it was doubling the amount of cars it was recalling over faulty ignition switches that had been linked to 13 deaths, a new review of federal information is showing that there have been at least 303 fatalities involving air bags that didn’t inflate on two of the models recalled. The automaker is recalling 1.4 million vehicles in the US alone, including Pontiac G5s and Chevrolet Cobalts (’05, ’06, and ’07 models) and Chevrolet HHR SUVs, Pontiac Solstices, and Saturn Sky Cars ([06, ’07 models) and Saturn Ions (’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, and ’07 models). The air bag deaths occurred in Ions and Cobalts.

If you were injured in car crash involving a GM vehicle (or any other auto) that had air bags that failed to deploy or because the ignition switch failed, please contact our Boston auto defects law firm today. Altman & Altman LLP represents victims and their families against automakers and others in wrongful death cases, auto products liability lawsuits, air bag cases, and other types of injury claims.

The GM recall was over ignition switches at risk of moving from “run” position to off, which could shut down the engine and the electrical power. The problem seemed to arise if the driver’s key chain is too heavy or the roads are extremely rough. The shutting down of the power may also turn off the power brakes, power steering, and deactivate the air bags.

A woman in New Jersey is suing Dunkin’ Donuts for burns she sustained after ordering a hot apple cider from the coffee retailer, and subsequently spilling it on herself.

The product liability suit was filed February 11 by Jennifer Fragoso. Fragoso alleges that Dunkin’ Donuts was negligent and breached it warranty to its customers by serving her a beverage that was excessively hot. According to the complaint, she had visited a Dunkin’ location in September of 2012 where she ordered a hot apple cider. Fragoso accused workers at the Belleville, N.J. location of improperly securing the lid, causing it to become dislodged and for the hot contents to spill into her lap. Fragoso suffered painful second-degree and third-degree burns and is now permanently scarred with full-thickness scars that will never heal, according to her lawyer.

Though the Canton, MA-based retailer has not formally commented on the matter, a spokeswoman for the Dunkin’ brand did say that all of Dunkin’ Donuts’ hot beverage cups come with a displayed warning reading: “CAUTION: THIS BEVERAGE IS EXTREMELY HOT.” Fragoso’s attorney said that while this warning label may provide the company the opportunity to argue that the purchaser mishandled the product, the fact remains that a person cannot sustain third-degree burns unless the beverage was excessively high.

Products liability lawsuits like Fragoso’s have become much more common since one of the first lawsuits of its type involving an elderly woman and a McDonald’s coffee came to fruition more than 20 years ago. The woman, like Fragoso, had ordered a hot beverage and been seriously burned after it spilled onto her lap. She sued McDonald’s to cover her related medical expenses however she was awarded $3 million in punitive damages when the case was brought to trial. Though the case became complex, the facts remained clear that McDonald’s did not willingly accept responsibility for their share in the incident, and according to jurors, did not seem to take the victim’s injuries seriously.
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In one of the biggest car seat recalls in history, Graco issued a recall last week of 3.8 million car safety seats over concerns that children may become trapped by buckles that may not unlatch.

The recall covers 11 models produced between 2009 and 2013 by Graco Children’s Products, Inc. of Atlanta. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, this recall marks the fourth largest child seat recall in U.S. history. NHTSA said that in the event of an accident, such a problem with the buckle could cause difficulty in removing a child from the restraint, thereby increasing the risk for serious injury or death in the event of a motor vehicle crash, fire, or other type of emergency.

Though the company has already issued a voluntary recall for 11 models, the company is receiving backlash from many federal regulators, including NHTSA who allege Graco excluded seven rear-facing infant car seat models which have the same buckles, from their recall. Both Graco and NHTSA have received numerous complaints about stuck buckles on those infant seats. According to a letter written to Graco by NHTSA, some consumers have even had to resort to the “extreme measure” of cutting the harness straps to remove their child from the car seats. NHTSA asked Graco to identify the total number of seats that are potentially defective and explain why it chose to exclude infant seats from the recall. Graco estimated that only 1% of all child seats were affected by the issue.

One potential reason, according to statements by Graco, could be that food and beverages can make the harness buckles in the children’s seats sticky and therefore harder to unlatch over time. The statement continued, saying that rear-facing infant seats do not face that problem because infants don’t get food or drinks on their seats. Graco said that it will send replacement buckles to owners of infant seats upon request. The company also has issued cleaning tips for buckles, as well as issuing instructions on how to replace the buckles (including posting a video to its website) for customers who requested a replacement buckle for their child’s seat.

NHTSA said that parents should check seat buckles and contact Graco for a free replacement, and that people should in the meantime get another safety seat for their child until the seat is fixed by Graco. In addition to Graco seats, NHTSA has since last month, begun investigating four models of Evenflo child safety seats which have a design that is similar to the recalled Graco seats, and potentially uses buckles from the same manufacturer, AmSafe Commercial Products Inc. of Elkhart, Indiana.
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Japanese car manufacturer Toyota has told North American car dealers to discontinue sales of six popular car models with heated seats because the fabric does not comply with U.S. safety codes, and have the potential to catch fire.

The order affects 36,000 trucks, cars, and minivans; which equals to nearly 13% of the inventory currently on dealer lots in the United States. Vehicles being sold in Canada, Mexico, Korea, Israel, and other countries around the globe are also affected however the company did not give exact numbers on their website.

Currently there have been no issues of fires or injuries reported, but Toyota is not legally allowed to sell cars that do not comply with U.S. safety codes. Models affected include Toyota Camery, Avalon, Sienna, and Tacoma models with heated seats that were produced between 2013 and 2014, as well as Corollas and Tundras from 2014. Camry currently ranks as the top-selling mid-size sedan in the United States with more than 408,000 model sales last year alone.

All of the models affected were produced in U.S. factories-some models were exported to South Korea where safety regulators discovered the problem after disassembling the seats and testing individual fabrics. The fire hazard lies in the soft material beneath seat covers that does not adhere to safety codes. Toyota does not yet know how long repairs of this problem will take, however replacement material is currently being manufactured and installed at factories. Dealers will use the material to fix cars that are currently on their lots. Spokesperson for Toyota, John Hanson, said that while he does not have a specific time frame as to how long the repairs will take, he doesn’t expect them to take much time to complete repairs.

For vehicles that are already on the road, Toyota does not believe a recall is necessary since there have been no fires or incidents reported, however it will petition the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to ask that the problem be declared “inconsequential” to vehicle safety. The NHTSA is aware of the problem and is monitoring the risk, taking public comments on the proposed petition. If the petition is granted by the NHTSA, there will not be a recall of the impacted vehicles.

The timing of this issue could seemingly not come at a worse time, as much of the United States has been impacted by a record cold snap or “polar vortex” as many have referred to it. Kelley Blue Book analyst, Karl Brauer said that there is a high demand for car models with seat heaters. The company, though a leader in global car sales, is trying to regain its reputation for quality after announcing several massive recalls since 2009 for a variety of defects including braking and accelerating systems, and floor mats.
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Playtex has issued a safety recall of 1.4 million pacifier holders over concerns that small children could choke if a part of the clip broke off.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a statement last week saying that the clips, which are used to connect a pacifier to clothing, diaper bags, and strollers, have the potential to crack and cause a small part to break off. Playtex has received 99 reports of the holder cracking or breaking, however the company has not received any reports of injuries. Playtex has recalled 1.25 million pacifier holders in the United States and 150,000 in Canada.

According to the company, the products were sold between 2010 and 2013 at major retailers including Target, Walmart, and Amazon.com. Consumers are being told to discontinue using the pacifier holders and contact Playtex Products Inc. for a refund.

Product manufacturers, like Playtex, are responsible for ensuring their products are safe for consumption and use, and do not pose a risk for serious injuries to those who use them. Currently, there are a number of different baby products on the market, however the reality is that many baby products may pose a threat to the health and wellbeing of children who come in contact with them.

When companies fail to ensure their products are safe, it becomes their responsibility should a consumer be injured. At the law offices of Altman & Altman, LLP our Boston Products Liability Attorneys have decades of experience handling all types of personal injury and products liability cases, and have a track record of achieving successful settlements and verdicts on behalf of our clients.
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The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a warning in response to the tragic incident in which two young siblings were found unresponsive after being locked in a hope chest on Sunday evening.

According to investigators, the two children had been playing in the chest and accidently locked themselves inside and were unable to unlock it. Officials reported that the lid could only be released from the outside, not from within.

In 1996, the Lane Company issued a voluntary recall for 12 million hope chests with lids that automatically shut when closed after reports that a half dozen children had suffocated inside the chests. The company also offered customers the option of installing safety locks on cedar chests with latches.

The CPSC has since ordered customers buying new hope chests to make sure that it has a lid support that will hold the lid open at any position, or to purchase chests that do not have lids or with lightweight, removable lids, or chests with sliding doors or panels to prevent a falling lid. The CPSC has also told customers who’ve been handed down hope chests by family members to ensure the product has ventilation holes that will not be blocked if the chest is placed against the wall, when closed, and leaves a space between the lid and the sides of the chest.
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