Have a Safe Holiday Season! Ten Tips.
December 18, 2009
As the holiday season approaches, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges us to be safe when holiday decorating. Simple safety steps can go a long way in preventing fires and injuries this time of year.
Annually, during the two months surrounding the holiday season, more than 14,000 people are treated in hospital emergency rooms due to injuries related to holiday decorating. In addition, Christmas trees are involved in hundreds of fires annually resulting in an average of 15 deaths and $13 million in property damage. Candle-related fires lead the list of hazards averaging more than 12,000 a year, resulting in 150 deaths and $393 million in property damage.
“Holiday decorating-related fires and injuries most often involve defective holiday lights, unattended candles and dried-out Christmas trees,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “We are providing this list of 10 simple safety steps to help keep your holiday home safe.”
Use the following ten safety tips when decorating this year:
Trees and Decorations
- When purchasing an artificial tree, look for the label “Fire Resistant.” Although this label does not mean the tree won’t catch fire, it does indicate the tree is more resistant to catching fire.
- When purchasing a live tree, check for freshness. A fresh tree is green, needles are hard to pull from branches and do not break when bent between your fingers. The bottom of a fresh tree is sticky with resin, and when tapped on the ground, the tree should not lose many needles.
- When setting up a tree at home, place it away from heat sources such as fireplaces, vents, and radiators. Because heated rooms dry out live trees rapidly, monitor water levels and keep the reservoir stand filled with water. Place the tree out of the way of traffic, and do not block doorways
- In homes with small children, take special care to avoid sharp, weighted or breakable decorations, keep trimmings with small removable parts out of the reach of children who could swallow or inhale small pieces, and avoid trimmings that resemble candy or food that may tempt a child to eat them.
Lights
- Indoors or outside, only use lights that have been tested for safety by a nationally-recognized testing laboratory, such as UL or ETL/ITSNA.
- Check each set of lights, new or old, for broken or cracked sockets, frayed or bare wires, or loose connections. Throw out damaged sets. Electric lights should never be placed on a metallic tree.
- If using an extension cord, make sure it is rated for the intended use and not frayed or broken.
- When using lights outdoors, check labels to be sure the lights have been certified for outdoor use and only plug them into a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protected receptacle or a portable GFCI.
Candles
- Keep burning candles within sight. Extinguish all candles before you go to bed, leave the room or leave the house.
- Keep lighted candles away from items that can catch fire and burn easily, such as trees, decorations, curtains and furniture.
Crib recall- over 2 Million Cribs Involved
November 25, 2009
Infant Entrapment and Suffocation Prompts Stork Craft to Recall More Than 2.1 Million Drop-Side Cribs. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. today announced the voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs, including about 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. The recall involves approximately 1,213,000 units distributed in the United States and 968,000 units distributed in Canada.
The cribs’ drop-side plastic hardware can break, deform, or parts can become missing. In addition, the drop-side can be installed upside-down, which can result in broken or disengaged plastic parts. All of these problems can cause the drop-side to detach in one or more corners. When the drop-side detaches, it creates space between the drop-side and the crib mattress. The bodies of infants and toddlers can become entrapped in the space which can lead to suffocation. Complete detachment of drop-sides can lead to falls from the crib.
CPSC urged parents and caregivers to immediately stop using the recalled cribs, wait for the free repair kit, and do not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit. They should find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby. Consumers should contact Stork Craft to receive a free repair kit that converts the drop-side on these cribs to a fixed side.
CPSC, Health Canada, and Stork Craft are aware of 110 incidents of drop-side detachment; 67 incidents occurred in the United States and 43 in Canada. The incidents include 15 entrapments; 12 in the U.S. and three in Canada. Four of the entrapments resulted in suffocation. Fall injuries ranged from concussion to bumps and bruises. The cribs involved in these incidents had plastic drop-side hardware that had broken, missing, or deformed claws, connectors, tracks, or flexible tab stops; loose or missing metal spring clips; stripped screws; and/or drop-sides installed upside-down.
The recall includes Stork Craft cribs with manufacturing and distribution dates between January 1993 and October 2009. The recall also includes Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo that have manufacturing dates between October 1997 and December 2004. The Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo were first sold in the U.S. in July 1998 and in Canada in September 1998. The cribs were sold in various styles and finishes. The manufacture date, model number, crib name, country of origin, and the firm’s name, address, and contact information are located on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board. The firm’s insignia “storkcraft baby” or “storkling” is inscribed on the drop-side teething rail of some cribs. In Stork Craft cribs that contain the “Fisher-Price” logo, this logo can be found on the crib’s teething rail, in the manufacturer’s instructions, on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board, and on the end panels of the Twinkle-Twinkle and Crystal crib models.
Major retailers in the United States and Canada sold the recalled cribs including BJ’s Wholesale Club, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Meijer, Sears, USA Baby, and Wal-Mart stores and online at Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, Costco.com, Target.com, and Walmart.com from January 1993 through October 2009 for between $100 and $400.
The cribs were manufactured in Canada, China and Indonesia.
If you or a loved one has a child who was injured by a defective crib, or if you just have questions about this recall, contact The S.E. Farris Law Firm for a Free consultation. You may reach us at 314-A-LAWYER (314.252.9937) or by clicking here.
Toyota’s Idea of Safety- Hide Incriminating Documents?
October 16, 2009
A federal judge’s order sheds new light on what Toyota Motor Corporation is fighting to keep hidden, according to Todd Tracy, a Dallas vehicle safety legal expert. The documentation order issued by U.S. District Judge T. John Ward reveals that Toyota’s former in-house lawyer for rollover cases gave the judge a 40-page internal memorandum that is apparently so explosive that only the judge is allowed to keep it.
According to Tracy, ”The court sent a clear message that you cannot trust a fox like Toyota to guard the henhouse. “
Toyota’s ex-litigator, Dimitrios Biller, turned over the boxes in question to Judge Ward in a Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) case filed by Tracy. Tracy is attempting to reopen 17 Toyota accident cases in the wake of Biller’s allegations that the Japanese automaker destroyed and hid evidence from hundreds of accident victims in court.
Judge Ward ordered that the remaining documents are to be independently copied, numbered and coded with a security mark. The digital images of the documents will be stored on a secure computer database accessed by a tracking log and restricted to inspection by Toyota’s in-house counsel and its counsel of record. The judge prohibited Toyota’s legal team from bringing any type of copying device, camera, PDA, or recording device to inspect the documents.
Tracy says Toyota cranked out disinformation about his motions to protect the documents. Toyota in a statement on its corporate website claimed that, “. . .Mr. Tracy was satisfied with the procedures Toyota already had in place to maintain documents relevant to the case.” In fact, Tracy was alarmed that Toyota might try to copy Biller’s documents in order to replace ones that had been destroyed. “I didn’t want to let the fox back into the henhouse to clean-up the feathers.”
Toyota’s response to Tracy’s RICO suit engages in character assassination against Biller in order to cover-up the real issue in this case, according to Tracy. “Toyota’s attack mode mentality just shows this fox has fangs for its critic. I don’t know who writes this fiction inside Toyota’s PR Department, but it’s filled with so many side-steps that Toyota’s CEO should be a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.”
The case, Lopez et al vs. Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., Christopher Reynolds, Jane Howard Martin, Eric Taira, and Dian Ogilvie, is currently pending in The U.S. District Court For The Eastern District Of Texas Marshall Division; Civil Action No. 2:09-cv-292. I wonder if this will make the list of “frivolous” lawsuits touted by insurers and manufacturers. Probably not!