Product Safety Articles

Expert analysis and accident statistics have shown the Yamaha Rhino 450 and 660 ATVs to be defectively designed.

A disproportionate number of Rhino accidents have led consumers and experts to question the safety of the Rhino ATV. Read more to find out why the accidents are happening, and what the company has or has not done to address it.

As the old adage goes, “there’s a lot riding on your tires.” Many of the safety advances made in recent years, such as Antilock Brakes and Electronic Stability Control are dependent upon good interaction between the vehicle and the road surface.

Used tires have been the subject of growing concern by automakers and safety advocates. While the tire industry has fought efforts to require clear manufacture dates be printed on tires, car manufacturers and regulatory agencies such as NHTSA have begun taking steps in the right direction.

Tire failures can occur due to improper or defective design or manufacturing, or the tire may simply be too old to withstand the heat and pressure of the road, regardless of tread. Read more to learn about the dangers of tire aging, and the cause of the problem behind one of the tire industry’s biggest recalls in history.

Event Data Recorders in vehicles offer complex data and are increasingly used by attorneys in product defect and personal injury cases. Read more about important steps to take and protocols to be established before data is downloaded and accessed.

Trucks are a constant sight on America’s highways. Daily, these behemoths lumber alongside vacationing families, business travelers and people obeying traffic laws trying to get safely from one point to another. Accidents involving commercial trucks (including semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, dump trucks and buses) can be devastating, as well as extremely complicated. And obviously a 3,000 pound car is no match for a 10,000 pound truck, often resulting in fatalities. Truck vs. car crashes can be caused by many factors including truck driver fatigue, loading company negligence, defective roadways, and brake malfunction.

Consumer Reports magazine published crash test data by the Consumer Union showing that many child safety seats failed disastrously in simulated “real-world” collisions. Read more about current federal safety standards, and the common pitfalls of proper installation.

A correctly used car seat can be the difference between life and death in the event of a crash. Child restraint laws currently exist in all fifty states requiring child seat use, yet children are still losing their lives in accidents. Learn more about manufacturers’ role in protecting our children from dangerous defects, and what we need to do to keep our children safe.

A prominent issue in products liability actions is the issue of what persons are proper Fabre defendants by way of them being joint or concurrent tortfeasors as opposed to initial/subsequent tortfeasors. Read more about this ruling and how it affects parties involved in lawsuits.

An otherwise survivable car crash can become deadly if a fuel-fed fire breaks out after the collision. While fuel is necessary for a vehicle to function, fuel systems should be designed to contain and safely manage the fuel and minimize the risk of the vehicle igniting after an impact. A vehicle fuel-fed fire commonly occurs when the fuel tank ruptures or is punctured. However, fuel lines can also break or come apart at their connection points and release fuel. Moreover, even with good tank and fuel line designs, the failure to incorporate anti-siphoning devices in appropriate places can lead to the undesired release of fuel. This can be seen in cases where the filler neck separates or is broken off from the fuel tank or when the vehicle’s fuel system is compromised and the vehicle is inverted causing the continuous release of fuel. While the causes for the escape of fuel can take on many forms in a collision, there are a number of structural vehicle safety defects that have been identified as being responsible for post-collision fuel-fed fires.

Automotive manufacturers concede that a vehicle occupant should not survive a car accident only to burn to death in a fire caused by the undesired release of fuel. Auto safety designers charged with addressing this fundamental fire safety concern have approached the risk of post-crash fuel-fed fires by focusing on the prevention of the release of the fuel itself, the elimination of inadvertent ignition sources, and the protection of the passenger compartment itself from fire.

The golf cart is not limited to the fairways anymore. More and more communities and municipalities are permitting the use of golf carts on roadways, but they are subject to less stringent guidelines than low speed vehicles. Read more about the legal issues surrounding this growing issue.

One often overlooked aspect of vehicle safety is the type of glass used in the vehicle. While consumers are more and more aware of the importance of seatbelts and airbags, the type of glass in their windows is likely not at the forefront of their minds. Safety experts, however, believe that laminated glass should be used in more vehicle windows to save lives and prevent injuries. Laminated glass can be especially critical to prevent ejection during a rollover accident.

A fiery car accident near Orlando on November 16th left one person dead and two others seriously injured. The four-car crash occurred on Interstate 4 in Lake Mary when an SUV, driven by 31-year-old Chemwapuwa Jackson, rear-ended a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which then burst into flames. The male passenger in the Jeep was burned and pronounced dead on the scene. The driver was flown to a hospital and remains in critical condition.

On September 30, 2004, pharmaceutical manufacturer, Merck & Co., Inc., pulled its popular arthritis and pain medication Vioxx off the worldwide market. Vioxx accounted for $2.5 Billion in sales for Merck last year. This withdrawal came about after a recent study was discontinued due to the increased risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke, noticed in patients taking Vioxx as compared to those taking a placebo. As this news has reached the public at large, Plaintiff’s attorneys have been contacted in large numbers regarding what constitutes a claim worth pursuing.

On September 30, 2004, pharmaceutical manufacturer, Merck & Co., Inc., pulled its popular arthritis and pain medication Vioxx off the worldwide market. Vioxx accounted for $2.5 Billion in sales for Merck last year. This withdrawal came about after a recent study was discontinued due to the increased risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke, noticed in patients taking Vioxx as compared to those taking a placebo.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s proposed roof crush standard, set to be issued by the end of 2008, includes a rule that would preempt consumers’ rights to demand justice in state courts. The preemption rule would override state tort law, blocking injured people from being able to hold manufacturers accountable for defective products that meet the new, proposed standard.

While preemption arguments continue to find their way before judges, some Court’s have refused to accept the application of the defense. One significant case occurred recently in O’Hara v. General Motors Corporation.

To understand the concerns raised by preemption, it is important to understand the United States Supreme Court decision in Riegel v. Medtronics which upheld federal preemption in medical device design defect cases.

In the face of nationwide debate over preemption, the Supreme Court is now considering the Wyeth v. Levine case.

When designing vehicles, safety engineers refer to the room over the heads of vehicle occupants as the “survival space.” Read more about the role of roof crush in rollovers accidents, and the new standards NHTSA is set to propose.

Vehicle seats today may be comfortable, but are they safe? The low federal standard for seat strength has been blamed for deaths and injuries in rear-end collisions in which the seat collapses. Find out what alternatives may exist.

Seatbelts are arguably the single most important safety feature in your vehicle, and when properly designed and utilized save countless lives. However, when they fail to perform as intended or malfunction due to a defect in their design or manufacturer tragic results can occur.

Spoliation is predicated upon the basic principle of duty, and if that duty is breached causing damages, then civil liability may exist. In Florida, your case is not destroyed just because your evidence was. Learn the criteria that must be met to bring a spoliation case.