Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog

This week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a recall of millions of box fans citing “an electrical failure in the fan’s motor,” which can pose a fire hazard. (AP, 3/24). The recall affects just under 5 million Lasko Products fans.

Although no injuries have been reported to the CPSC, Lasko has been notified of at least seven fires associated with motor failures. Two involved house fires, and all seven caused extensive property damage.

The affected fans were manufactured in the United States and sold between July 2002 and December 2005. Consumers are urged to stop using the fans and contact Lasko at 877-445-1314 for a fused plug safety adapter. As a Chicago products liability attorney, I too urge consumers to cease using these fans without the necessary safety adapters. Consumers should further evaluate whether fans pulled from storage in the coming months are safe for continued use.

Amid detection of low levels of radiation in the United States, he Food and Drug Administration says “it will halt imports of dairy products and produce from the area of Japan where a nuclear reactor is leaking radiation.” (M.C. Jalonick, AP Washington, 3/22).

Although the FDA previously reported it would enhance the screening of foods from Japan, the agency is now saying foods from the affected area of Japan “will be detained at entry and will not be sold to the public.” Other imported foods, such as seafood, will continue to be sold but will first be screened for radiation.

Although Japanese imported foods constitute less then 4 percent of all imports of the U.S, it is still critical for the FDA to ensure safety for all consumers. As a Chicago personal injury lawyer, I am supportive of the FDA’s steps to ensure food safety.

According to recently updated advice from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Children should ride in rear-facing car seats longer, until they are 2 years old instead of 1.” (C. Johnson, AP Medical, Chicago AP, 3/20).

Both organizations additionally advise that “older children who've outgrown front-facing car seats should ride in booster seats until the lap-shoulder belt fits them.” Seat belts won’t work properly on Children that are too small for them. Generally, children should not use adult seat belts until they have reached 4 feet 9 inches. The advice “may seem extreme to some parents, who may imagine trouble convincing older elementary school kids up to age 12 to use booster seats, but it's based on evidence from crashes. For older children, poorly fitting seat belts can cause abdominal and spine injuries in a crash.”

As a Chicago car and truck accident attorney, I strongly encourage parents to take these additional safety precautions.

The government has created and launched “a public database that allows people to report and search safety complaints on thousands of products.” (J. Kerr, Washington AP, 3/11). A Chicago personal injury lawyer, I commend the government has taken this step to find out about safety issues sooner and disseminate information to consumers.

The website, www.SaferProducts.gov, is managed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Despite objections by manufacturers and fund thwarting efforts on Capital Hill, this site went live last Friday.

The database creates a way for consumers to file reports about a multitude of products and allows consumers to search for specific items to determine if there have been any safety complaints filed. Although opponents assert that the database will be replete with false claims and misleading information, nonetheless, I support SaferProducts.gov and think it is an extremely valuable resource.

As a Chicago personal injury lawyer, I am very concerned by the following Chicago Tribune story.

An inadvertent discovery by a Crestwood police officer of psychiatrist Joel Carroll’s office led to the discovery of an office space in complete disarray including “roaming cats, a Colt AR-15 assault rifle and other guns, ammunition, military-grade smoke grenades, sex toys, and pornography.” (M. Twohey, Chicago Tribune, 2/24). Later, state regulators suspended his license declaring him a “danger to his patients” after determining that Carroll had “engaged in sexual misconduct and committed other violations of the state Medical Practice Act.”

However, Carroll’s practice should have been shut down years earlier after a 2007 finding by the Illinois Department of Corrections that Carroll committed “inappropriate conduct with a female inmate and barred him from working in a prison.” Naturally, this raises questions about the viability of the reporting and disciplinary systems.

State agencies, county prosecutors, insurance companies, and health care employers and associations are “required to report potentially dangerous and unprofessional doctors to medical regulators, who can bar the doctors from practicing and keep patients out of harm's way.” However, the Tribune article reports that these mandatory reporters reported only 348 incidents in 2009, only one of which led to suspension of the Physician’s license. This is an unacceptable level of disciplinary action, which allows dangerous doctors to continue practicing subject patients to further harm.

Not only is the disciplinary response problematic, so is the mandatory reporting. For example, “in the case of Carroll, the corrections department provided no notification that the psychiatrist had breached security during a visit to the inmate and allegedly made a sexual advance toward her, even though state agencies must report any potential violation of the Medical Practice Act.” Therefore, the regulators were unable to seek any disciplinary action. Sadly, Carroll’s story only gets worse as more information is uncovered. In addition to making sexual advances towards a female inmate client, it has also been discovered that Carroll gave presigned prescriptions to a recovering drug addict, and he has admitted that he spend “numerous nights at the home of a patient who suffered from anxiety and panic disorder.” Although this is only the tip if the ice berg, it is immediately clear that Carroll; is dangerous to his patients and should not be allowed to practice medicine. The regulators and mandatory reporters must step up enforcement of the Medical Practice Act in order to keep patients safe.

Recent recalls affect exercise equipment including bicycles and exercise bands. As a products liability lawyer in Chicago, I encourage all consumers to stay informed about product recalls and cease use of recalled products.

The recall of exercise bands “involves the Everlast Resistance Stretch Tubing, Everlast Pilates Stretch Tubing, Sportline Resistance Stretch Tubing and Pineapple Pilates Stretch Tubing.” (AP, 2/22). These exercise bands were sold at many sporting goods retail stores between March and December of 2010.

Additionally two different bicycle recalls were released recently. Felt adult bicycles have been recalled because the “bike's fork can break, causing the rider to lose control.” These bikes were sold at bicycle specialty stores nationwide between July and November of last year. Consumers are “advised to stop using the recalled bikes and see a local Felt dealer to receive a free inspection and repair.”

Novara Fusion Bicycles imported by REI have been recalled because “the alloy steerer tube could separate from the fork causing the rider to lose control of the bike.” The bikes were sold at REI stores and on the REI website from November 2009 to November 2010.