Alpharetta Personal Injury Attorney Blog

Dangerous Children's Products Found in Many Retail & Thrift Stores

The Consumer Product Safety Commission and many other organizations across the nations work diligently to help identify products, warn consumers and remove unsafe and dangerous children's products from the marketplace. Every year many children are seriously injured and some die because of poorly designed and tested children's products and toys or items which turn out to be defective or have some ingredient, like lead paint, which is harmful to babies and small children.

Kids in Danger released a report on February 13, 2013 about children's product recalls in 2012. They found that although there was a decline of product recalls in 2012 there was a rise in injuries and deaths. Some of the findings in the report included information such as;

• 1/3 of recalls were for nursery products for the most vulnerable - infants and toddlers
• There were 1,232 reported incidents from one item, The Flexible Flyer Swing Set, before consumers were alerted
• 8 children & 1 adult died from dangerous products such as the Nap Nanny, Chill Infant Recliners, crib tents, travel beds, strollers and an inflatable water slide before they were recalled.
• Sleep products seem to pose the highest risk hazard and were associated with 7 deaths
• The CPSC collected over $3 million dollars in fines from companies who violated safety standards and failed to report hazards

Some Manufacturers Continue to Ignore Safety Standards for Children's Products

Manufacturers continue to make products which violate well-established safety standards, according to the report by Kids in Danger. These violations include clothing not adhering to flammability standards, parts that are too small, products containing lead paint, and drawstrings on clothing known for years to cause a strangulation hazard and specifically prohibited by the CPSC.

Additionally there are many unsafe and dangerous children's products in thrift stores and re-sale shops. Many of these children's products, which were handed down and donated over the years, do not meet current safety standards for children's products or toys. They may contain lead or other dangerous chemicals and/or have defective designs or defective materials. The CPSC says that it is against the law for anyone, including thrift stores and re-sale shops to sell any unsafe or dangerous products which have been recalled.

Continue reading "Dangerous Children's Products Still in Marketplace Despite New Safety Regulations" »

Extended Power Outages Can Result in Food Spoilage

People & businesses across the nation have been dealing with the many severe storms this 2013 winter. It seems that every few days another line of severe weather caused by cold air from the north running into moist tropical air from the tropics creates severe weather conditions which results in major property damage and loss of electrical power for many hours if not days. One impact of this severe weather, the loss of electric power, can be problematic for food safety. That is because there are many foods which need refrigeration at optimal levels in order to keep them free from bacteria and other contaminants. When the power is out, time is of the essence in keeping many foods safe for consumption.

The United States Department of Agriculture issued recommendations on February 8, 2013 with guidelines to help minimize and/or prevent food borne illness. These guidelines were issued because of the major severe winter storms that continue to cross our country and leave thousands without power for extended periods of time. Food borne illness causes about 48 million illnesses each year and about 3,000 deaths in the United States alone according to the USDA.

While this information is primarily intended for individuals and families to secure their own food safety, it is important to remember that many food distributors, retailers, and restaurants will also be affected by power outages. These businesses are responsible for the safety of the food they distribute, sell, and serve and can be held liable if through negligence or carelessness their food products cause a serious illness, such as food poisoning, for anyone.

FDA Has Program For the Food Industry Designed to Help With Food Safety

The Food and Drug Administration has a program called the Retail & Food Service Hazard Analysis and Critical Food Points (HACCP), which offers specific food safety information to assist the food industry in providing safe food for consumers. HACCP is just one tool that is useful in helping keep our food supply safe in conjunction with good manufacturing practices, sanitation, and personal hygiene. The HACCP system involves making sure perishable food is kept safe starting with getting it quickly into refrigeration at the time of delivery, keeping it at the proper level of refrigeration, proper sanitation and housekeeping in the kitchen. It also involves making sure food handlers do something as simple as proper hand washing.

Continue reading "Winter Storms & Severe Weather Can Affect Food Safety & Possible Foodborne Illness" »

The assistant vice president of Liberty Mutual Insurance in Boston, Jim Quade, was recently interviewed by Fox Business News about what is important to consider when selecting car insurance coverage.

His advice was to buy enough car insurance coverage to protect your assets. You don't want to skimp on the premium and wind up losing the coverage you may need. The minimum car insurance coverage required in most states may not be enough, in the event of a serious car accident and/or a multiple car accident, to cover the costs of bodily injury and property injury. This is especially true when you consider skyrocketing medical costs, the possibility of rehabilitation, lost wages, expensive vehicles, and more.

If bodily injury and property damage costs exceed the coverage in your insurance policy, the injured party may file suit against you seeking to recover damages not covered by your policy. It is at this point that any compensation they are awarded you would have to pay out-of-pocket, putting your assets at risk.

Minimum Car Insurance Requirements in Georgia

The minimum car insurance requirements in Georgia are 25/50/25. The first number 25, is the maximum amount of bodily injury coverage for one person in an accident ($25,000). The second number 50, is the maximum amount of bodily injury coverage for one accident ($50,000). The third number 25, is for the maximum amount of property damage liability per vehicle ($25,000).

If you are a young driver and do not have a lot of assets to protect, you will still will want to have enough medical coverage to protect yourself for any serious injuries you receive. Choosing the right car insurance is important? Sit down with a professional insurance provider and discuss what insurance coverage level will protect you and your assets in the event of a serious car accident.

How insurance coverage protects assets is best discussed and worked out between you and your car insurance provider. If you are ever in a serious accident you will want to have sufficient coverage to take care of any accident injury claims while protecting yourself from any out-of-pocket expenses.

Continue reading "Having the Right Car Insurance Protects Your Assets in the Event of a Serious Car Accident" »

It was not that long ago that an investigation into consumer fraud uncovered a major problem in the seafood industry that had the potential of putting the health of many people at risk. That investigation reported on by ABC news back in October 2011 indicated that as much as 48% of fish tested that was for sale in stores and restaurants, was incorrectly labeled and was in fact, a less expensive variety. The fish was mislabeled as a more expensive species of fish and fetched a higher retail price. In effect, the less costly fish was being sold at a much higher profit margin as a more expensive and desirable fish. A new report on mislabeled seafood in December 2012 by CBS indicates that this problem is still ongoing.

While this finding at first glance is of concern as a consumer fraud, it is of much greater concern in that it can put many people at risk of serious health issues and possibly even death. People with seafood allergies, small children, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems can become very sick, some individuals may even die if they have been exposed to any seafood to which they are allergic or experience severe health complications because of a compromised immune system. Some of the mislabeled seafood was known to be contaminated with Mercury putting pregnant women and small children at risk.

Consumer Research Indicates Common Grocery Items May Be Mislabeled

Now consumer research groups have reported that their investigations have uncovered many regular grocery items whose food labels do not accurately reflect what is in the package. If the price of a food item seems too good to be true it is not far-fetched to be suspicious that it might not be everything it is supposed to be. According to the FDA, some of the food items which consumers should be cautious about include:

• Pomegranate juice - labeled 100% juice was found to often contain other fruit juices and sugar water
• Olive oil - found to be diluted with less expensive vegetable oils
• Spices - saffron, turmeric, and chili powder found diluted or replaced with less expensive spices/fillers
• White tuna - often found to be less expensive Escolar known to contribute to a type of food poisoning
• Lemon juice, fruit juices, jams - foreign produced products found contaminated with chemicals to make them look fresh squeezed
• Honey, maple syrup - found high fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners used to enhance sweetness
• Coffee, Tea - found with fillers added to ground coffee & teas to increase volume

Continue reading "Fraud & Negligence in the Food Industry Can Put Consumers Health at Risk" »