Worst Toy List: Incredible Hulk Gamma Green Fists Pack a Punch

December 4th, 2012. By AbiK

Here’s one that made the Worst Toy List published by consumer watchdog World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH): Marvel Avengers Gamma Green Smash Fists.

What possibly could go wrong with these?

The description of them over at KMart.com says the following:

“When you put these green hands of power on your own hands, it will be that much easier to imagine yourself smashing everything that gets in your way!”

Sounds like what every 7-year old boy needs to find under the tree Christmas morning—a potentially dangerous toy!

According to WATCH, the issue with these is that there is the potential for “blunt impact injuries” (really?) and, the watchdog group states there are no warnings on the product. Maybe the folks at Marvel thought the image shown here—which is from their website—is enough of a warning: yes, ginormous green fists coming straight at you, or some object, could inflict harm.

Warnings or not, get a group of 10 & under kids together with a pair of these and it’s almost guaranteed there’ll be some “blunt impact” going on—or at least some damaged drywall or knocked over lamps. Not to mention the phone calls mom will receive after the play date from the other kid’s moms.

Hasbro manufacturers them, and they’re available at stores like KMart, Target, Kohl’s and Wal-Mart for about $19.99.

Asbestos News Roundup: 11.29.12 – Auto Mechanic Asbestos Disease

November 29th, 2012. By LucyC

This week’s asbestos news roundup includes all the recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Auto Mechanics & Asbestos Disease

This week we report a multi-million dollar settlement awarded to a former auto mechanic and his wife, after the husband was forced to give up his business after being diagnosed with asbestos mesothelioma. While the outcome of the lawsuit is no doubt welcome by the couple, it nevertheless serves as a poignant reminder of just how much at risk auto mechanics really are for asbestos-related disease.

Asbestos was used in countless products, including automotive parts such as brake linings and clutch facings, from the 1930s until the 1980s. In fact, it is still used today in many products like car brakes, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

According to an EPA document entitled “Guidance for Preventing Asbestos Disease Among Auto Mechanics”, “Millions of asbestos fibers can be released during brake and clutch servicing. Grinding and beveling friction products can cause even higher exposures. Like germs, asbestos fibers are small enough to be invisible and they can remain and accumulate in the lungs.” This can cause asbestos disease such as asbestos mesothelioma, which can take 30 years to manifest.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Charleston, WV: Allen Johnson and his wife, Janet Canterbury Johnson, have filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 28 companies they claim are responsible for Mr. Johnson’s diagnoses of lung cancer other asbestos-related diseases.

According to the lawsuit, Allen Johnson was exposed to large quantities of asbestos-containing products during his career. The Johnson’s allege that Mr. Johnson was required, as part of his work, to handle products containing asbestos and exposed him to other asbestos products present in the workplace.

The Johnson’s further allege the defendants failed to timely and adequately warn Allen Johnson of the dangers of asbestos and failed to provide him with information as to what would be reasonably safe and sufficient wearing apparel and proper protective equipment and appliances. Therefore, the lawsuit claims, the defendants failed to take reasonable precautions or exercise reasonable care to publish, adopt and enforce a safety plan and/or safe method of handling and installing asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products. This, the lawsuit claims, makes the defendants’ actions negligent and in flagrant disregard for the rights of others and with awareness on their part that their conduct would result in human deaths and/or great bodily harm.

The Johnsons are seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. The 28 companies named as defendants in the suit are 3M Corporation; A.O. Smith; Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc.; Blue Bird Corporation; Blue Bird Motor Company; Borg Warner Morse Tec, Inc.; CBS Corp.; Certainteed Corporation; Eaton Electrical, Inc.; Ford Motor Company; Genuine Auto Parts; Georgia-Pacific Corporation; Honeywell International, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; Kelsey-Hayes Company; Maremont Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Pneumo-Abex Corporation; Rockwell Automations, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; State Electric Supply Company; Thomas Built Buses, Inc.; UB West Virginia, Inc.; Union Carbide Chemical & Plastics Company; Vimasco Corporation; and West Virginia Electric Supply Company. (wvrecord.com)

Asbestos Settlements

Los Angeles, CA: A retired auto mechanic who developed asbestos mesothelioma as a result of his exposure to asbestos from Ford vehicle parts such as brakes, clutches and gaskets, has been awarded $6,825,000 as settlement of his asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit.

Sixty-nine year old Patrick Scott had to give up his auto repair business when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in the fall of 2011 and has been unable to work since. After serving in the U.S. Air Force and working for nine months at Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, he opened his first auto repair shop in 1966 in Sausalito. Later that year, he moved his shop to San Francisco. Then, in 1978, Scott opened a one-bay auto shop in St. Helena, California, which he ran until his diagnosis.

In his asbestos lawsuit, Scott alleged Ford’s products were defectively designed to include the use of asbestos; that Ford failed to warn of such defects, and that Ford was negligent. Further, that Ford had been aware that asbestos causes mesothelioma since 1960, yet continued to sell asbestos parts until 2001.

Throughout his career, plaintiff worked primarily on American-made vehicles, including many Ford cars and trucks. The Ford cars and trucks had asbestos brakes, clutches, gaskets, and other parts. Evidence at trial showed that Ford was a member of the National Safety Council in 1948, when that organization published a paper on the harmful effects of asbestos in brakes. (juryverdictalert.com)

Attorney Cyrus Rajabi Pays it Forward as a Firefighter

November 29th, 2012. By AbiK

Sometimes, the simplest of messages we receive say the most. Here, our editorial team received an email from attorney Cyrus Rajabi, at Jones & Keller, P.C. in Denver, CO, after he read our weekly newsletter. His message to us said,

“In response to your email newsletter which requests information on lawyers giving back, please see the attached [news clip]. I am hopeful the story will inspire others to be more involved and give back.”

As you view the video, you’ll see it was a very traumatic experience that led Rajabi to become a firefighter—and to give back, or as he says in the clip above, “pay if forward.”

As we begin the holiday season, amidst the frenzy of post-Black Friday shopping and paying for all those gifts, maybe we should remember to pay it forward a bit, too.

Thanks to Attorney Cyrus Rajabi for reaching out to us!

 

Watchdog Goes After Portable Bed Rails Citing Deaths

November 28th, 2012. By AbiK

Consumer watchdog group, Public Citizen has asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to order Bed Handles, Inc. —makers of portable bed rails used by the elderly or infirm—to stop its deceptive advertising practices.

According to a letter sent by Public Citizen to the FTC, Bed Handles claims its Bedside Assistant bed handles are safe—”[making] and bed a safer bed”. However, Public Citizen notes, the bed handles have been responsible for four deaths.

The Public Citizen request calls for:

1. An immediate ban the marketing of Bedside Assistant bed handles, model numbers BA10W and BA10W-6, manufactured by Bed Handles, Inc., because these devices have directly caused the deaths of at least four adult patients through entrapment and subsequent strangulation or positional asphyxia and therefore present “an unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury” …

2. An immediate order for Bed Handles, Inc. to recall all Bedside Assistant bed handles, model number BA10W and BA10W-6, that have been sold or distributed; and

3. An immediate investigation by the FTC to thoroughly assess the association between (a) the design and use of all similar bed handle or bed rail devices manufactured by Bed Handles, Inc. or any other manufacturer and (b) the risk of life-threatening injury or death due to entrapment and subsequent strangulation or positional asphyxia, and as appropriate, based on the result of this investigation, take action to ban the marketing of, and to recall, those devices that pose similar risks of death and injury as seen with Bedside Assistant bed handles.

At issue with the portable bed railings is that they can allegedly slip out of place thereby creating a gap between the railing and the mattress. An individual can become accidentally entrapped in the space between the mattress and the railing. Injury or death can occur as a result of the victim’s trachea being compressed against the bars of the bed railing, leading to strangulation.

The letter from Public Citizen to the FTC included a picture (above) of a caregiver showing how one of her patients had become trapped in the Bedside Assistant bed railing. The victim was found dead in that position.

According to the Public Citizen website, the FTC did acknowledge receipt of the letter. As of this writing, however, while the word “safe” does not appear on the Bed Handles Inc. website in reference to the portable bed railings, there has not been a recall. (Note, the Bed Handles website does reference “safer”–but it’s as it relates to the bed handles leaving “floor space clear”).

Best Dating Advice for Online Dating: Mum’s the Word re: Murder!

November 26th, 2012. By johnnyspade

If you’re reading this, you’re about to get the best “how-to” tip for creating a successful dating profile on the top dating websites. You ready? Here it is: don’t tell prospective dates that you killed your husband. That kind of info probably won’t land Mr. Dreamboat. But you should probably have a little more background on this one, so read on…

See there’s this woman from Vermont—Christine Billis—who, back in 2009, was in an awful car accident. She was driving and her husband, Charles Billis, was in the front passenger seat. Christine apparently had her seat belt on; Charles did not.

The accident occurred on Route 5A in Charleston, VT. Christine, at the wheel of the car, drove the car into a tree. She survived, her husband did not.

At first, it appeared to be just an awful accident. After all, what else could it have been?

Life went on and Christine must’ve felt it was time to get back into the game of love, so, she joined the online dating website, OKCupid. (Note for those who care, About.com calls it the ‘best free dating site on the web’…fwiw). Hey, Christine knows how to pick ’em.

Ahh, but she did not know how to pick her guy. Heck, who does when just about anyone can create a glowing, attractive profile online, right? Everyone’s so beaauutiful and successful there…

Well, Christine fell—hook, line and sinker apparently as she felt super-comfortable letting it rip with one particular suitor. That would be Kevin Leland. She trusted Kevin for sure—otherwise she wouldn’t have told him (in Leland’s words, according to a report on NECN.com), “I killed him. I drove him into the tree on purpose. I did it on purpose.”

Christine, Christine, what were you thinking? Didn’t you know that Rule #1 in dating—especially online dating—is don’t reveal everything? You know, a little mystery is sexy—that sort of thing?

Well, reveal she did. And then Kevin did a little revealing himself. To the local police!

Sidenote: Kevin, our seemingly angelic tattletale, was caught at a later date at the border with a gun and drugs, according to a report by WCAX.com. Earth to Christine…

Oh, should mention, too that Kevin started blogging about his new ‘police informant’ role as well—the pic of Christine Billis above is from his blog.

Long story short—and fast-forward—Christine was charged with first-degree murder. The charges were ultimately reduced after a plea bargain deal for manslaughter, for which Billis has now been sentenced to 7 – 15 years in prison. Moral of story: if you’re going to commit murder, don’t share that little tidbit with your online dating connections.

Aside from the fact that Christine is living proof of the dangers of feeling too comfortable online with people you don’t know, and aside from the fact that a man was killed, reports indicate that the reason Christine Billis took her husband’s life was because she suffered from his mental and verbal abuse.

Abuse of any kind is serious—but killing someone is not usually the way to go unless, one could imagine, it’s truly in self-defense. Any woman (or man) who is suffering from abuse by a spouse or partner should contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit www.thehotline.org. You can also visit www.safehorizon.org.