It took doctors four days to figure out what was wrong with William Finely. The four-year-old began vomiting inexplicably, and three days later, was rushed to the hospital. Doctors were not able to diagnose his illness. When he re-entered the hospital after another bout of vomiting, doctors performed emergency surgery, where they found what was causing the vomiting - a pair of powerful earth magnets from the Magnetix range of toys stuck together on either side of his intestine. The damage was very obvious –a perforation where the two magnets had been stick together.

Williams was lucky – if he had been operated on even an hour later, he would have died. For the rest of his life, however, this four-year-old will have to live with the effects of a company’s negligence. He is at risk of gastrointestinal problems for the rest of his life, and will have to be put on a special diet throughout his days. Now seven years old, William’s life is expected to be punctuated with frequent spells of constipation, diarrhea and severe abdominal pain. It would be a health-impaired lifestyle, even for an adult to endure. For a child, it promises a bleak future marked by ill health and visits to the doctor.

Now, a lawsuit that his parents had filed against the company that was responsible for manufacturing the toy has been settled. The boy’s mother, Sara, will receive $20,000 for immediate assistance so she can get her life, which has essentially gone out of her financial control, back on track. In the weeks and months since William’s accident, he has been in need of constant medical attention. Sara has had to quit her job to stay home and look after him fulltime. With no way of supporting her family, she has had to move to her grandmother’s trailer, where the mother and son survive on fold-out beds in a single bedroom arrangement. There is no place in the trailer for William’s father, so he has been forced to move elsewhere, breaking the family further.

All of this could have been avoided if Rose Art Industries, the company that manufactured the toy, had been more diligent about the use of such powerful magnets in playthings that were meant for preschoolers. The packaging of the Magnetix toy mentioned choking hazards as one of the safety concerns for children, but said nothing about the possibility of the magnets, if ingested, sticking to each other and causing severe bodily harm. Even with reports of dangers involving the toys coming in from around the country, the company neglected to recall its toys, leading to more than 20 children being rushed to emergency rooms with perforated intestines.

With the settlement now, Rose Art Industries will have to pay $718,000 divided into three sums to be paid on William’s thirtieth, fortieth and fiftieth birthdays. The initial $20,000 settlement will be used to take care of his immediate needs, like a car to take him around for his medical visits, and to purchase the special diet that he will now have to follow.

If you have a child that has been injured by a dangerous toy, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury attorney. Contact a lawyer at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

It would seem that there is hardly any product out there fit for children that’s untouched by lead. First, we had the lead toy crisis. Tainted candy and jewelry followed. Now, a Los Angeles firm, T-A Creations Inc., has been fined $10 million for selling more than 100,000 pieces of it toxic lead-tainted lunch bags. One of the purchasers? The California Department of Public Health, which loaded up on thousands of these bags to be distributed at heath fairs, which ironically enough promoted healthy and natural living with the slogan “Eat Fruits and Vegetables and be Active” on the bags.

The judgment was issued on Tuesday in the San Francisco County Superior Court, and was handed down for violating the state’s laws on toxic products.

The Center for Environmental Health, which has been campaigning against lead in products, and which notified the company back in 2006 that traces of lead had been found in its lunch bags, will receive $2.5 million. The remaining $7.5 million will go to special environmental research funds sponsored by the state.

T-A Creations has also been barred from selling products like lunch bags, coolers and beverage containers without displaying prominent notices and labels on the products that the exposure to lead and carcinogenic compounds could cause cancer and reproductive defects.

According to legal experts, the fine is huge, and probably the most severe penalty imposed after Proposition 65 was introduced. Proposition 65, also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, calls for the posting of information on products about the dangers of toxic substances like lead and lead compounds on health.

When the lead products hysteria gripped the nation last year, the lunch bags were right up there making parents anxious along with toys, candy and jewelry. The scandal over the bags left California Department of Health officials red-faced. More than 56,000 bags had been procured by the department to use as educational tools, and they distributed them at schools, grocery stores and other spots. When reports of the lead traces were out, the bags were quickly recalled, and notices were posted asking people who had them to dispose of them. Then, the agency had declared that it would reexamine its own policies on promotional products.

There is enough to suggest that this lead-in-products saga is still ongoing. With the number of goods manufactured in faraway places like China where environmental and toxic safety standards are not imposed on the same level that they are here, we can expect there to be more such products, many of them related to children, that are on the market even as we discuss this lunch bag penalty. Lead is a particularly dangerous substance because it affects the tender nervous systems and brains of growing children. That we are constantly hearing about its presence in products used by little children should be a cause for concern.

If you have been injured by a dangerous product, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

In its final days, the Bush administration is quietly going about making it hard for consumers to sue corporations. Since 2005, the Washington Post reports, lawsuit limits have been mentioned in at least 51 rules proposed or adopted by bureaucratic agencies, and relating to everything from medical products, to railroads. At least 41 of these rules came from the FDA.

Bush has always been an ardent proponent for restrictions on lawsuits, but hasn’t been able to make much headway as President. A hostile Congress doesn’t help. Now it appears that bureaucratic agencies are using the government’s rule-making authority to impose lawsuit restrictions. The agencies are inserting language into rules indicating that the rules pre-empt state laws allowing consumer lawsuits.

There hasn’t been a hue and cry over this, because this isn’t an all out effort by the administration to impose restriction on lawsuits. That step could have resulted in plenty of criticism from consumer advocates, and any such bill would have been sure to meet hostile Democrats in the House. The administration is therefore going about it quietly without a fuss, and rules imposing restrictions in lawsuits have begun to find their way into rules regulating a number of products and services.

Drug labeling and packaging is one such area where the rules have been imposed, and the impact of this rule will be debated in a high profile setting in coming weeks. Hollywood actor Dennis Quaid is to appear before a congressional committee. Quaid and his wife are suing a maker of the blood thinner heparin. Their newborn twins were injected with a massive overdose of the blood thinner while in the hospital. The Quaids say the manufacturer of the heparin was negligent in packaging the bottles of varying dosages in the exact same kind of vial with blue backgrounds. The company that manufactured the heparin, however, claims that since the FDA approved the labeling and packaging of the heparin, it cannot be held liable now for any civil lawsuit that claims money.

Consumer advocates are up in arms against this use of rule-making authority to impose restrictions on customer’s right to sue.

Another high profile case that will come before the Supreme Court involves a drug maker who will try to overturn a $6.8 million award against it. In that case, a woman who had anti-nausea medicine injected into her arm had to have her arm amputated, and successfully sued the company. The company however is defiant, claiming that since the FDA approved the warning label on the drug, it cannot be held liable.

It’s no secret that the FDA’s preemption preamble has resulted in drug companies wining a spate of recent lawsuits. Judges who were inclined to rule for customers against industry previously have shown a tendency to rule for the FDA.

A new EPA regulation that outlines procedures for contractors who renovate homes that were built before 1978 has come under fire from watchdog groups and politicians alike. The regulations have long been awaited, and deal with the proper way to shield children from the effects of lead paint that’s dispersed into the air when old houses are demolished. Critics say the regulation leaves children unprotected, and is also ambiguous about the methods to detect whether the house is completely safe to live in.

Lead-based paints were widely used in homes that were constructed before 1978, and every year Americans conduct 11 million renovations on such homes. The dangers of the lead dust from the paint as it crumbles dispersing in the air have been identified as a silent scourge. The new EPA regulation requires all contractors to train their employees to contain lead dust in work areas, post sufficient warning signs about the dangers of inhaling the lead dust and close all vents. All pets should be kept away from lead dust and a proper clean up should be done after the renovation. The standards will apply to older homes where children or pregnant women live. Older buildings that currently house schools and day care centers will also fall under the new regulations. It is estimated that close to half of schools and buildings built before 1960 contain lead-based paint, and up to two thirds of homes built during the period may also have traces of lead paint.

Lead exposure has long been recognized as responsible for a number of illnesses and disorders in children, particularly hyperactivity, behavior problems, problem in learning and other signs of brain and nervous system damage. It’s not just children who suffer when they are exposed to lead in any form. Adults can suffer from high blood pressure, memory loss and nervous disorders. Pregnant women are also known to suffer damage to the fetus if they are exposed to high quantities of lead.

When there is evidence that proves that when adults are exposed to lead-based paints they can suffer health disorders, it is strange that the EPA only chose to concentrate its concern on homes which have children.

Also, there seem to have been no procedures laid down for the detection of lead in houses after the remodeling has been done. The current rules by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development state that workers must obtain a sample of lead dust after the renovation is complete, which will then be checked for traces by a laboratory. Under the new EPA rules, however, any testing will be done by the people responsible for the renovation. The methods of testing for the presence of dust is also hardly scientific – a worker will rub a white piece of cloth over surfaces; if the cloth remains white, it will be assumed that the lead levels and the house are safe.

Lead paint in homes is a silent scourge because it exposes children to higher levels of lead than toys do, but gets little press. Since 1992, when the rule was first proposed, more than 17 million children have been unnecessarily exposed to lead. A rule that has come after 16 years was expected to be more stringent, and more focused on safety verification checks.

If you have suffered adverse side effects from lead-based products, you need the help of an experienced California personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

RC2, the makers of the Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway Toys have announced a $30 million settlement in a lawsuit over its lead-tainted toys that were recalled in June of 2007.

The recalls, when they were announced, were the first in a series of recalls by several companies, almost all involving lead-tainted products manufactured in China.

According to the settlement, customers who purchased the tainted toys will receive a cash reimbursement. Optionally, they could opt for a replacement or bonus toy. Customers who lack the toys, and don’t have proof of purchase get a $15 coupon.

In a year marred by a series of toy recalls, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 19 out of the 61 toys that were recalled were coated with lead paint and made in China. According to the plaintiff’s attorney, RC2 had some safety checks in place, but was guilty of relying too heavily on what the Chinese manufacturers informed them. Quarterly checks at random were normal procedures at the company, as with so many other toy companies. Since the lead scandal, RC2 has severed ties with its Chinese manufacturer. Stronger testing is now performed on toys, and the company said it has tougher standards for paint suppliers. Lab-test results are required for every batch of wet paint.

From all accounts, RC2 has been quick to make changes to its production processes, a welcome step and hopefully to be emulated by other toy companies. Mattel, which has been named in 17 lawsuits for its toy recalls has also raised quality control standards in its production plants.

If you have been exposed to lead-tainted toys or other productions, you need the help of an experienced personal injury lawyer. Contact an attorney at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

HSN LP (previously known as Home Shopping Network) recalled a line of Korean made pressure cookers under the brand name Welbilt Electronic Pressure Cookers in 2005. As it turns out, the cookers were not so “well built” after all!

These pressure cookers have reportedly caused at least 37 burning and scalding injuries.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) website, these cookers have a safety defect which causes them to open while pressure is still contained inside the cooker, resulting in the hot contents bursting out and spilling over nearby persons.

At least 43 reports of the cooker opening while still containing steam have been reported. Out of the 37 injured, four persons suffered severe third-degree burns.

Now having a dangerous product is bad enough, but not reporting that you have a dangerous product is even worse. This is where HSN really got into scalding hot water. They had received reports as early as 2001 that their pressure cooker had a tendency to fail and cause injuries. At least 25 reports of injuries came in between 2001 and 2004. It took HSN until February 2005 before they reported the problem to CPSC, and then voluntarily recalled their defective product in June and October 2005.

CPSC rightly decided that HSN LP waited too long to report their pressure cooker and, as a result, the shopping channel has to pay $875,000 in penalties.

The CPSC has asked consumers who still own these cookers to stop using them immediately.

If you have been burned or otherwise injured by a dangerous product, contact the Orange County injury lawyers at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.

When Mattel recalled 18 million toys last summer because of high power magnets that could prove fatal to children if ingested, parents everywhere woke up to the dangers that may be contained inside their children’s toys.

Since then, companies like Mattel have redesigned their magnet toys to ensure that small loose magnets don’t fall out. The toy industry drafted a set of guidelines that will force manufacturers to display that toys have magnets in them. According to the new guidelines, manufacturers will also be required to ensure that magnets are “reliably contained” within the toy, or make sure that parents are warned about the danger to their children if ingested.

The hitch? These rules don’t take effect until January 2008, which leaves an entire holiday season marked by worry as parents wonder just what to do when gift giving time rolls around.

The toy industry insists it instituted these guidelines as soon as the dangers from magnets in toys first surfaced, but say most toys were already manufactured by the summer, and nothing could be done about those. While that may be true, some consumer advocates have pointed out that the first magnet-related toy recall – the Magnetix line of toys marketed by Montréal based Mega Brands Inc. – took place in early 2006, giving the industry plenty of time to act sooner.

Consumer advocates also question the efficacy of having labels on the toys. You might be able to keep these toys away from toddlers who are most susceptible to ingesting magnets, but you might not be able to stop older kids who have the toys from handing them over to younger siblings. A Cincinnati pediatric radiologist says he has seen at least 8 cases of toddlers swallowing magnets. In all these cases, older siblings gave the toy containing the magnets to them.

Even as the holiday season rolls around, reports of dangerous toys have continued to make the rounds. In October, about 100,000 backpacks with game pieces were recalled after it was found that magnets in the pieces were coming loose. More alarmingly, according to the US PIRG, at least 5 toy lines that are believed to have ingestion hazards are still being sold at discount stores across the country.

If your child has been injured as the result of ingesting a magnet from a defective toy, call the experienced California personal injury lawyers at The Reeves Law Group for a consultation today.