Toyota Recall: Speed and Greed?

January 28th, 2010. By janem

Perhaps car makers, Toyota in particular, should figure out how crash test dummies can work a worn gas pedal–it might have saved lives. The latest accelerator recall is none too soon: In March 2007 Toyota began receiving reports that pedals were operating roughly or were slow to return to the idle position in the Tundra pickup, and again in December 2008, similar problems with its Aygo and Yaris models.

Toyota reported the Tundra problem was fixed in February 2008 and said it lengthened a part and changed the material to fix Aygo and Yaris, starting in August 2009. But the world’s largest auto maker recently seems to be plagued with even bigger problems.

On its website, Toyota says that “certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may, mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position…it can occur when the pedal mechanism becomes worn and, in certain conditions, the accelerator pedal may become harder to depress, slower to return or, in the worst case, stuck in a partially depressed position.”  YIKES!

Just months ago, the company recalled of 4.2 million vehicles due to its gas pedals getting trapped under floor mats, causing sudden acceleration. Several crashes, including a number of fatalities, prompted that recall. This recent recall involves eight models affecting more than 2.3 million vehicles.

Toyota has one of the best track records for building safe cars, so why has it gone off the rails-or I should say, assembly line? Perhaps greed is a component. Analysts say the company’s former president, Katsuaki Watanabe, was a cost-cutting expert with an aggressive growth strategy that landed Toyota into the Number 1 global sales spot two years ago, beating out General Motors.

Wanna know what happened to Watanabe? In 2006, the Japanese government launched a criminal investigation into accidents suspected of being linked to vehicle problems, though nobody was charged. Watanabe later acknowledged overzealous growth was behind the quality problems.

Last year, Watanabe was replaced by Akio Toyoda, the grandson of Toyota’s founder. I bet Toyoda is pissed.

Toyota predicts that 2.19 million vehicles will be sold in North America in 2010, up 11 per cent from 2009. Globally, Toyota said it was planning sales of 8.27 million vehicles this year, up 6 per cent from 2009. But those targets might need to be tweaked somewhat…

Trust in China Should be Toppled in Similar Fashion

January 28th, 2010. By Hunter West

Okay, so China has had its problems with heparin and toothpaste, lead in kid’s toys and tires, cribs and pet food. But you can’t argue with the fact that the Republic of China is an economic powerhouse already and if you’re a manufacturer, you can’t argue with the cheap cost of labor. 

They’re talking about having cars built in China now. 

If that’s just fine by you, take a few minutes and study the picture here—that’s an apartment building lying down. On its side. Intact. It happened in June while workers were attempting to add an underground (and under building) garage. According to reports, one worker died in the collapse. And as ChinaDaily.com reported, “Improper construction methods are believed to be the reason of last Saturday’s building collapse in Shanghai, according to a report from the investigation team”. Really?

Are you shaking your head yet? This a country that wants to build our cars? Vehicles that will carry our children, our spouses, ourselves? Vehicles that could fail, at a moment’s notice and take out other cars on the road carrying innocent people? 

I don’t think so. 

The building collapse from last June is yet another example of the apparent greed on the part of the Chinese, so Read the rest of this entry »

Having a Baby? Get to Know the FDA Drug Classifications

January 27th, 2010. By Kristine B

Navigating the complex web of drug categories can be complex and overwhelming. Add to that the pregnancy categories and it can be tough to determine just which drugs a pregnant woman should and shouldn’t take. This week, Pleading Ignorance looks at the different FDA pregnancy categories. 

How Does the FDA Classify Drugs for Pregnancy? 

Basically, the categories are based on studies, including animal studies, human studies and/or post-marketing data (reports that have come in after a drug is released on the market). Information taken from those studies—including adverse reactions and potential side effects—is then used to put the drug into a pregnancy category. 

Now, although the categories may seem straight-forward (they are all letters) they aren’t necessarily that simple. Some drugs might have a higher impact on the fetus depending on the point at which they’re taken during pregnancy. Other drugs might have a higher risk of abnormality depending on the dosage taken. When it comes to taking medications while pregnant it’s important for pregnant women to discuss their options with their doctor to determine if the benefits outweigh the risks. 

Also, keep in mind that as increased post-marketing data for a drug becomes available, the FDA can change a drug’s pregnancy category. So, a drug may start out in Category B, for example, but be moved to a Category C if there is enough evidence of an increase in risk after the drug is approved for use. 

FDA Drug Classifications for Pregnancy

So, here’s how it breaks down: 

Category A: Means that controlled studies have found no risk to the fetus when the mother takes the medication during any trimester of pregnancy. 

Category B: Means that controlled studies in pregnant women have not shown an increased risk of fetal abnormalities, although some adverse findings have occurred in animals. It can also mean that there are no adequate human studies but animal studies show no fetal risk. There is a remote possibility of fetal harm. 

Category C: Means that there is a risk. Either there are not enough adequate human studies, but animal studies have shown a risk or there are not adequate animal studies. There is a chance of fetal harm but benefits may outweigh the risks.  Read the rest of this entry »

McDonald’s: Funniest Lawsuit Quote of the Week

January 27th, 2010. By AbiK

McDonald’s counsel has the material for a reality show on its hands—I’m convinced. Case in point #1, yesterday’s Totally Tortelicious. Case in point #2 is better though…the setting is a McDonald’s located in Lemmer, The Netherlands.

Apparently, a waitress sold a hamburger to a co-worker. After the transaction was complete—and that’s a key element here—the co-worker asked for some cheese. The waitress complied—thereby turning the HAMburger into a CHEESEburger. And you and I and every fool across the globe knows that a CHEESEburger costs more than a HAMburger. Even in a Happy Meal.

So the cheese-doling waitress was fired. Hey, 10¢ is 10¢ (I’m guessing). And if 100 waitresses did that, why, that would be $10 eating into Mickey D’s bottom line. Unacceptable.

Now, I don’t know why the waitress didn’t ask for the extra cash. Maybe there wasn’t a key on the register that said “Extra Cheese” that could be hit as a single transaction; or maybe she’d have to process a refund for the hamburger, get management’s authorization, and re-process the transaction as a cheeseburger. And maybe she did some quick math and realized it would cost the company more for her to invest her time in such a transaction (not to mention the cost of the paper receipts!) that she was actually trying to save the company a dime (no pun intended). Doubt it, but you never know.

Regardless, McDonald’s stance was based on some hard and fast company staff rules that prohibit free gifts to family, friends or colleagues. (Note to self, if offered slice of cheese as gift, drop friend). Rules are rules and the waitress had to go.

And then came the wrongful termination lawsuit.

And now the judgement: McDonald’s was ordered to pay the former waitress 4,200 euros—roughly $5,900—to cover the last five months of her employment contract.

And the funniest quote? The written judgement states the “dismissal was too severe a measure” followed by:

“It is just a slice of cheese.”

McThis, McThat…it’s Totally Tortelicious…

January 26th, 2010. By LucyC

Welcome to Totally Tortelicious—a review of some of the more bizarre lawsuits making news. Goodness knows there’s no shortage of them.  

C’mon…Someone Needs to get Happy… I’ll bet Ronald McDonald is in desperate need of a Happy Meal or likely something a good deal stronger about now, as his employer, the fast food giant McDonald’s, is suing Boston University student, Lauren McClusky over the name of a charity event she set up when she was in high school and still runs today, the Mc.Fest. Yes, this from the company that recently had the you-know-whats to launch a McItaly campaign…

According to the official website, “Mc.Fest is an annual music festival and fundraiser organized by Lauren McClusky and a team of students and future professionals. It is dedicated to support and promote Special Olympics using music as its driving force. Mc.fest encourages young adults and teenagers to give back to the community.” Maybe Ms. McClusky, who claims she named the event after her family name, should be counselling tired professionals at McDonald’s on the basics of community spirit. 

So far, Mc.Fest has raised $30,000 for its cause, according to a report on UPI.com. That sounds threatening to me… 

Lawyers at Work….

Attracting the Wrong “Class” of People? A law firm in California is facing a defamation suit over some rather zealous and arguably ill advised advertising it undertook on YouTube. The advertising was in fact a video for a class action it was involved in against Brian Research Labs, the maker of a diet supplement called Procera AVH. It seems the problem is not so much the content, but the medium used to present the content, if I read this right… 

In his ruling on the matter, San Francisco Superior Court judge, Harold Kahn, said that the law firm, by using new media, was not speaking to its targeted or specific audience—but any English-speaking individual who has an Read the rest of this entry »