Virginia Child Injury Lawyer » unsafe

Product Safety

srohrstaff — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:50:16 +0000

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children. It provides information on product recalls so that you can be sure to have only safe products in your home.

Possible Botulism in Baby Food = Recall

srohrstaff — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 20:28:07 +0000

Plum Organics recalled its Apple & Carrot baby food today. The recalled baby food is Apple & Carrot Baby Food in Portable Pouches, UPC code 890180001221, with a “Best By” code typed in black that reads MAY2110. The product is sold nationwide at Toys-R-Us and Babies-R-Us.

Here’s a picture of the label:

The company’s recall letter did not use the word “botulism”, but merely said that its investigation revealed that the formulation was incorrect. While I approve of the company’s swift action in recalling its contaminated baby food, a recall is serious business but the letter didn’t sound too alarming to me. I’m glad I read elsewhere about the real problem, because botulism can kill people.

Teens Driving While Distracted – Yikes!

srohrstaff — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:06:50 +0000

If your teen has a cell phone that she uses to text her friends and if she also drives, there’s a good chance she does both of them at the same time. Teenagers think they are “bullet proof.” I remember being bullet proof — nothing could happen to ME, even when things happened to my friends. As an adult, I came to understand that teens (like younger children) don’t appreciate the consequences of their behavior.

As of July 2009, it is a traffic offense to drive while texting in Virginia. There also are driving laws that apply to teens in particular that carry penalties of restricting (or removing) their right to drive.

I posted a parent-teen driving contract at my firm’s website. It’s designed to give parents an opportunity to talk straight to their teen, to let her now exactly what is expected of her, to get a commitment from her, and to set out the close-to-home consequences of breaking the contract. It’s not the only answer, but it’s one arrow in a parent’s quiver for keeping their teen safe.

Safety Gates Aren’t Always Safe

srohrstaff — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:35:10 +0000

Safety 1^st Stair Gate Recall

What are parents scared of when they have an infant or toddler moving around? Stairs! Keeping infants and toddlesr away from dangerous areas such as a flight of stairs is hugely important. Enter the stair gates. We all use them to prevent our children from reaching these hazardous areas.

Unfortunately, one of those gates has now become its own hazard. Safety 1st SmartLight Stair Gates have been recalled because the hinge that holds the gate in place may break, allowing children to fall down stairs. A child who falls down stairs can suffer very serious injury, including brain damage, broken bones and death.

Safety 1st Safety Gate

If you purchased this gate between January 2005 and January 2009, please stop using the gate right now and contact Dorel Juvenile Group for a free repair kit.

Make sure the product you bought to protect your child is itself safe. Manufacturers are required to be reasonable in the design of their products. But, don’t take a chance and rely on a product that may be unsafe.

Toys R Us Trade-In Program Ends September 20, 2009

srohrstaff — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 14:20:34 +0000

Toys R Us launched a program to get used cribs and other children’s equipment out of the chain of commerce. If you bring a used crib, car seat and other baby products to a Toys R Us and trade it in on a purchase in the same category, Toys R Us will give you a 20% discount on the new item.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued 563 product recalls in 2008, up from 472 the year before and 402 in 2005, including cribs and play yards and and children’s jewelry. And, did you know that car seats have an expiration date on them? Materials can deteriorate over time, making them potentially less safe in a crash.

Toys R Us encourages daycare centers that want to make trade-ins in bulk to call ahead of time to be sure of merchandise availability.

Read This Before You Buy Used Toys and Equipment for Your Child

srohrstaff — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:19:41 +0000

People used to get “hand-me-down” baby furniture from friends and relatives. Toys used to be handed down when the older child outgrew them. You could find all kinds of bargains at yard sales and advertised in neighborhood newspapers. Now, lots of us go to Craigslist if we want to buy or sell used children’s furniture, toys and clothing.

BUT, YOU MUST BE CAREFUL when buying used items for your child from whatever source. Why? Because the item might have been recalled between the time it was new and the time you buy it. The Consumer Product Safety Commission issues frequent recalls of products that can injure your child. Check out the CPSC website before buying a used item for your child to be sure it hasn’t been recalled for being unsafe.

Or, you might want to go to Toys R Us to take advantage of its discount program. Until September 20, 2009, it is giving consumers a 20% discount when they trade in used cribs, car seats and other baby products and make a purchase in those categories. Toys R Us launched this program in an effort to get older, unsafe products out of the chain of commerce.