Product Recalls

Published on: January 25, 2013

Frozen Pizza Recalled Due to Possible Metal Fragments

By Brian Chase

A report from ABC News indicates that a Berkeley company is recalling a number of frozen pizzas after discovering that they may be contaminated with metal fragments. The company found that a flour mill screen may have sifted metal into the pizza dough, posing a threat to consumers. So far, no injuries have been reported as a result of this problem.

Annie’s Homegrown Rising Crust frozen pizzas with “best by” dates of January 9, 2013, to September 14, 2013, are affected by the recall. Retailers have been asked to pull these products from the shelves and any consumers who believe they may have these pizzas are asked to return them to the store of purchase for a refund.

Why Do Companies Recall Products?

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Published on: January 8, 2013

CPSC Recalls Arctic Cat Snowmobiles

By Brian Chase

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall of 19,000 Arctic Cat snowmobiles due to a crash hazard. About 7,100 of the models in question were recalled in December of 2011 due to a headlamp fuse failure.

Arctic Cat, Inc., a company out of Thief River Falls, Minnesota, is cooperating with the recall after four reports of incidents stemming from a loosened tie-rod attachment. This issue can cause loss of steering control, leading to a crash.

So far, no injuries have been reported as a result of the failure, even in models in which users have experienced separation of the tie rod attachment. However, both Arctic Cat and the CPSC warn that the problem could have potentially dangerous results for users and those with these models are asked to cease use immediately and contact a local dealer for inspection and repair.

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Published on: December 27, 2012

Consumer Reports Designates Two Strollers as Dangerous Due to Strangulation Risk

By Brian Chase

Consumer Reports has put the “Do not Buy – Safety Risk” stamp on two stroller models – iCandy Cherry and the Mutsy Evo — because these pose a potential strangulation hazard to young children. According to Consumer reports, both these stroller models have a removable grab bar that attaches above the child’s legs. When a child is placed with the grab bar in its normal use position, the opening between the bar and the seat may be large enough to allow the child’s torso, but not the child’s head to pass through. As a result, the child’s head could get caught on the bar causing the child to potentially asphyxiate.

Consumer Reports states that this hazard, also known as “submarining” exists only when a child is not buckled up into the stroller. Between 1995 and 2008, at least 10 children were reported dead as a result of submarining in strollers. It is not clear if any of these fatalities involved the two stroller models in question. Consumer Reports suggests that anyone who owns these strollers remove the grab bars. The stroller is safe to use if the child is always harnessed. These stroller models have not yet been recalled and are still sold in the United States.

Injuries and Fatalities Caused by Nursery Products

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Published on: November 29, 2012

Feds Shut Down Peanut Butter Factory after Salmonella Recalls

By Brian Chase

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended production at Sunland, Inc. after several batches of the manufacturer’s peanut butter were linked to a widespread salmonella outbreak leading to a nationwide recall of Sunland nut products. According to a news report in the Christian Science Monitor, this is the first time FDA officials have used the authority granted them by the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010. Two years ago, President Obama signed a bill into law giving the federal agency the power to shut down food producers over public health issues.
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Published on: October 24, 2012

Banana Boat Recalls Spray-on Sunscreen

By Brian Chase

October 23, 2012–St. Louis, Missouri–Energizer Holdings, Inc., of St. Louis, the manufacturer of Banana Boat, is recalling a line of spray-on sunscreen after five people have caught fire while using the product, according to the Patch.
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Published on: July 16, 2009

Fatal SUV Rollover Accident Injures Los Angeles residents

By Brian Chase

Two people died and six were injured in a three-car rollover car accident in Utah early morning July 12, 2009. According to a news report in The Spectrum, most of the injured victims were from Los Angeles and the Southern California area. The fatal car accident occurred when 29-year-old Juan Garcia, who was driving south on the 15 Freeway, swerved to avoid a deer. Garcia’s 1993 Range Rover rolled over several times. His two children–Zapatista Angulo, 3, and Assata Angulo, 5 months, were ejected from the SUV.

The baby–Assata Angulo–died of head injuries. Olegario Angulo, 31, a passenger in the Range Rover, suffered fatal head injuries after the SUV’s roof and door caved in. He died at the scene. Chantel Manuel, 22, suffered injuries to the lower torso and Garcia sustained head and arm injuries. Zapatista Angulo was also taken to the hospital with injuries.

Mario Mendez, 67, was driving a 2006 Toyota 4Runner south when he saw the debris, but missed the Range Rover crashing into it. He was not injured. But a third driver, 47-year-old Jennifer Jordan of Rancho Santa Margarita crashed her Toyota Tacoma into the Range Rover and suffered ankle injuries. Her son, Jeremy, 20, suffered minor injuries.
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Published on: July 7, 2009

More Zicam Lawsuits Filed

By Brian Chase

The California Zicam lawyers at Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys continue to receive inquiries regarding lawsuits and class-action suits about defective over-the-counter Zicam cold medications, which have apparently caused hundreds of Americans to lose their sense of smell and/or taste. These Zicam defective products were meant to relieve cold congestion. However, the defective Zicam nasal cold remedy products clearly have done more harm than good.

Matrixx Initiatives Inc., the manufacturer of the Zicam cold remedies that are believed to be responsible for hundreds of users nationwide losing their sense of smell is expecting to face more Zicam lawsuits, in addition to the ones already filed, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers about Zicam drug effects, according to a Dow Jones news report. Last month, federal officials cautioned consumers to stop using Zicam cold and allergy medications because they can cause permanent loss of smell.

Matrixx officials have said that they are facing a lot of legal action including two economic Zicam class-action lawsuits and a personal injury lawsuit involving 117 plaintiffs. They are now saying that additional Zicam lawsuits involving individual plaintiffs making allegations that its nasal gel products have caused a permanent loss or diminishment of the sense of smell or smell and taste, have been filed. Matirxx officials have also said that they absolutely disagree with the FDA’s stance that these drugs are dangerous and defective and that they intend to vigorously defend each and every one of these lawsuits. However, Matrixx has started a formal recall of all of its Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel and Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swab products in a move to comply with the FDA’s request.
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Published on: June 25, 2009

GM-Chrysler Bankruptcy Will Have Chilling Effect on Product Recalls

By Brian Chase

The General Motors-Chrysler bankruptcy has caused much anxiety among consumers because it seeks to throw out auto product liability and personal injury lawsuits against them. Now, a new report predicts that a loophole created by the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler will make it possible for the companies to avoid issuing product recalls of defective cars that were manufactured prior to the bankruptcy filings.

According to a news article on Consumer Reports, this new report released by Safety Research and Strategies (http://www.safetyresearch.net/chrysler-gm-bankruptcy) looks into the implications of a provision in the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies that allows the automakers to avoid liability for the vehicles made before the bankruptcy. The report projects that based on information provided by both GM and Chrysler and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 3,400 Americans will be injured or killed by a defective Chrysler of GM vehicle during the first year after the bankruptcy.
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