Philadelphia Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

McDonald's has recalled 12 million collectible Shrek glasses due to cadmium contamination. Cadmium is a known carcinogenetic and cause kidney problems and bone softening. The glasses were manufactured ARC International of Millville, New Jersey.

Cadmium can be used to create red and yellow in paints and was used on the paintings of Shrek characters on the outside of the glasses. The cadmium in the paint could leach out onto the child's hand and then enter the body if the child was to place their hand in their mouth. McDonald's and the Consumer Product Safety Commission have urged all owners of the glasses to immediately stop using them and keep them away from children.

Cadmium concerns surfaced in January 2010, when it was discovered that children's jewelry from China contained 91% of the dangerous metal. It is unknown the amount of cadmium contained in the paint on the glasses but the federal government is looking to implement stronger testing for the known carcinogenetic. Instructions for refunds for the glasses can be found on McDonald's website.

Related Sources:
McDonald's pulls 12M cadmium-tainted Shrek glasses

Shrek Forever After™Glassware Recall

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) has issued another warning to Philadelphia parents and those across the country about the dangers of drop-side cribs. Eleven recalls involving more than 7 million drop-side cribs have been issued in the past 5 years due to the hazardous gap the cribs can create.

In the past decade, over thirty children have died by suffocation or strangulation after they were trapped in the hazardous gap that can be created by a defective drop-side crib. The agency also received hundreds of complaints of children getting injured by falling out of a defective crib. The commission is urging all parents to remove the defective cribs from their homes to protect their children.

A drop-side crib tends to be less structurally sound that a traditional crib and the drop side is routinely know to break away from one of the crib corners. Defective hardware and incorrect installation are the most common causes of a drop-side breaking. When the drop-side breaks a hazardous gap is created that the infant or toddler can become trapped or wedged in leading to suffocation or strangulation.

Starting in June 2010, all drop-side cribs will be banned from the United States Market. The government will also increase the safety standards for all cribs to protect children from defective and dangerous sleeping areas.

For more information please visit the CSPC page on Drop-Side Cribs.

Tracheostomy tubes are designed to help people breathe on ventilators but defective tubes are putting patient's lives at risk. So far three people have died from the defective product. All Shiley-branded tracheostomy tubes and Shiley-branded custom tracheostomy tubes are being recalled.

Tracheostomy tubes are placed in a patient's throat to enable them to breathe on a ventilator. A medical supply company based in New England has received over 1,000 complaints of tracheostomy tubes leaking. The leaking tubes can result in a sudden increase of carbon dioxide in the patient's blood or a sudden decrease of oxygen. Either outcome can be fatal.

The company informed the Food and Drug Administration that a problem with manufacturing has caused the tubes to become defective. A possible leak in the pilot balloon is causing the tubes to lose air pressure. Investigators are currently examining the manufacturing technology to prevent future defects from occurring.

Related Sources:
Tracheostomy tubes recalled after 3 deaths

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced two massive crib recalls due to suffocation and entrapment risks. Graco has recalled 217,000 drop side cribs that were manufactured by LaJobi Inc., of Cranbury, New Jersey amid reports of defective hardware which can cause the drop side of the crib to become dethatched. The CPSC has recalled all Simplicity full-size cribs with tubular metal mattress-support frames amid reports of the support frames breaking and causing the mattress to collapse.

The Graco cribs were sold nationwide in retail stores February 2007 to March 2010 for between $140 and $200. The drop side hardware can break and create a hazardous gap between the drop side and the mattress. Infants or toddlers can become stuck or wedged in this gap and suffocate. The crib also poses a fall hazard when the drop side hardware fails. Parents and other caregivers should stop using the crib immediately and contact Graco for a repair kit. A complete list of the defective crib names and model numbers can be found at this link.

Simplicity and its successor, SFCA Inc. are no longer in business limiting the amount of information the CPSC could obtain regarding number of defective cribs and manufacturing date. The CPSC has recalled all simplicity cribs with tubular metal mattress-support frames regardless of model number. Previously, the CPSC recalled all Simplicity drop-side cribs due to suffocation hazards similar to the Graco recall above. There have been reports to the CPSC of the support frame bending or breaking creating a gap where an infant or toddler can suffocate to death. Parents and caregivers should not attempt to fix the defective crib frame and should immediately stop using the crib and find a safer sleeping environment for their children.

Realted Sources:

Thousands of cribs recalled

Simplicity Cribs Recalled by Retailers; Mattress-Support Collapse Can Cause Suffocation and Strangulation

Graco®-Branded Drop Side Cribs Made by LaJobi Recalled Due to Entrapment and Suffocation Hazards

After recent attention to over exposure of radiation by medical tests and procedures, a group of manufacturers have agreed install safety controls that will alert technicians when a patient is receiving an inappropriate amount of radiation.

The scanners will notify technicians whenever the machine emits more radiation then required. Each hospital will be able to preset the scanners with the appropriate levels of radiation for the different types of diagnostic tests and procedures. The announcement comes from the medical imaging industry's trade association and the fail safe software will be installed in the machines by the end of the year.

The average American's total radiation exposure has doubled in the last three decades. Nearly two thirds of all Americans undergo tests that involve radiation, doubling the amount of radiation they would have received had they not undergone the tests. The increased exposure to radiation has caused severe and permanent injuries to patients. This fail safe software is an important step to ensure that patients are safe when undergoing radiation tests and procedures.

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Medical scan makers to install radiation controls

Radiation has become a significant tool in diagnosing and treating patients. Radiation is routinely used to treat cancer and many of the routine diagnostic imaging tests use radiation to discover what is ailing patients. Complications and injuries occur when patients are unnecessarily over exposed to radiation.

Radiation battles cancer by eliminating the cancerous tumor. It kills the genetic material that allows cells to grow and multiply. With all radiation treatments, radiation must enter and exit the body through healthy tissue causing damage to the area surrounding the tumor. Typical injuries associated with radiation include redness, soreness, and skin burns comparable to sun burn. Injuries that occur from over radiation are much more severe and include damaging the blood vessels that provide nourishment to the skin. Over radiation destroys healthy cells creating severe wounds that are unlikely to heal. After soft tissue damage, over radiation can cause bone death most commonly in the head and the jaw. Finally, over exposure to radiation can lead to organ failure and death.

Patients suffering from severe and repeated over exposure to radiation have suffered crippling injuries with the majority ending in death. A woman with breast cancer underwent targeted radiation treatments and suffered a gaping wound in her chest that refused to heal even after numerous attempts through surgery to cure the injury. Eventually the woman died when her breast cancer resurfaced because the radiation was not effectively treating the disease.

Another man was left blind, death, unable to swallow, severely burned, nauseated and unable to breathe after several repeated doses of radiation that was not targeted to his tumor. Patients are receiving inappropriate doses of radiation in the wrong areas of the body with some receiving treatments specifically designed for other patients. With radiation there is always some damage to healthy tissue but the injuries should never be crippling or life threatening. Unusual injuries should be immediately reported to doctors before it is too late. In today's health care it is almost impossible to avoid radiation but radiation is a tool doctors to diagnose and treat not harm and kill.

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Radiation Offers New Cures, and Ways to Do Harm

Philadelphia cancer patients and others across the country undergoing targeted radiation treatments to beat cancer may actually be harming their bodies and causing severe and permanent injuries.

Targeted radiation treatments allow doctors to more efficiently and accurately attack a tumor; however studies have shown that this new form of radiation has opened the door to more frequent and severe errors. Software glitches, inexperienced technicians, and the lack of a failsafe are just some of the factors that are causing patients to suffer unjustly from overexposure of radiation.

People are exposed to more radiation than ever before and over half of all cancer patients undergo some sort of radiation to diagnose or treat the disease. A new type of radiation called Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy or I.M.R.T. is a directed beam of radiation that doctors can lead directly to the patient's tumor. This new technology can help spare healthy cells and allow doctors to treat patients with radiation where it would have been too risky in the past.

The I.M.R.T. is completely computer controlled. With the help of an oncologist software designs a treatment specific to each patient set to undergo the radiation. Oncologists can selected the designed treatment or work with the software to modify it. Next the technician or oncologist responsible for administering the radiation enters the dose of the radiation, followed by the location of treatment and finally prompts the machine to guide the radiation directly to the tumor.

While there is no failsafe system installed in the machines there are still opportunities for medical physicists to notice and prevent any radiation mistakes before they occur. First a test run is supposed to be conducted to ensure that the radiation amount and location are accurate. Second, during the radiation the monitor of the machine displays the amount and location of radiation but these monitors are not always watched as the technician usually focuses their attention on the patient.

Doctors are relying too heavily on the computer software when administering I.M.R.T. and failing to notice the signs the treatment is not appropriate for their patients. The software has no failsafe system to ensure that the doctors and technicians are administering the radiation properly and not causing serious and permanent harm to patients. Unfortunately for patients the risks and injuries of this new technology are currently outshining the benefits and healing capabilities.

Related Sources:

Radiation Offers New Cures, and Ways to Do Harm

Philadelphia parents should immediately stop using all Maclaren brand strollers. After several reports of children having their fingers amputated by the stroller, Maclaren in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Comission (CPSC), has recalled all makes and models of their umbrella strollers. The defective strollers have been found to amputate children's fingers when placed in the hinge where the stroller closes. The recall covers over one million strollers that have been sold nationwide in the past decade.

The recall comes at a surprise to many parents because the brand has a reputation for being extremely dependable. The light, compatible, upscale but relatively inexpensive stroller is very popular among young urban parents. To remedy the situation Maclaren is offering free hinge covers to protect children. Maclaren is offering a free repair kit to be ordered from the website; however parents are finding it difficult to order the kit because of excess site volume. Maclaren is doing the best they can to repair their public image and stresses that parents stop using all of their make and model folding strollers until they receive a repair kit.

If you believe that your child has been harmed by a defective stroller please contact our experienced child safety attorneys to discuss your potential products liability case today.