Because there are several Family Dollar Stores in the Buffalo region, Buffalo parents should be aware that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Family Dollar Stores are recalling 1.8 million toy dart gun sets sold exclusively through Family Dollar.  This decision was made following the asphyxiation deaths of a 9 year old boy in Chicago and a 10 year old boy in Milwaukee.  The children inhaled the soft plastic dart and were unable to breathe.

The dart guns subject to the recall were imported by Henry Gordy International Inc., of Plainfield, New Jersey.  Because Henry Gordy Int. refused to recall the dart guns, Family Dollar is now working with the CPSC to announce the recall.  The dart guns are labeled as the “Auto Fire” toy target set and is sold with either an orange and yellow toy gun (item #P238) or a blue and yellow toy gun (item #9328).  The set includes eight orange darts and a five inch target board with numbers from 1 to 20. The item number may be located on the side of the handle in raised lettering.

If you have one of these toy gun sets, you should either return the set to Family Dollar for a refund or discard it.  If you need additional information, Family Dollar’s recall hotline can be reached during normal business hours at (800) 547-0359. 

 If you or one of your children has been injured by a dangerous product, please feel free to contact my office at 716-542-5444.  We would be happy to help you.

Many of our children in the Buffalo area are excited to see the Buffalo Sabres back in the playoffs.  If you have purchased a hockey stick for your children, however, please be aware that several sticks have recently been recalled due to the potential for injury.

On April 1, 2010 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada announced that Bauer Hockey Inc. of Greenland, New Hampshire was issuing a voluntary recall of several youth and junior hockey sticks, shafts and blades due to excessive levels of lead found in the paint and decals.  Approximately 67,000 hockey sticks in the U.S. and 60,000 in Canada are involved in the recall.

Several different junior hockey sticks are involved that were sold under the name brand of Bauer or Nike Bauer.  If you have such a hockey stick, a complete listing of specific sticks subject to recall can be found at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10189.html. 

The lead in these sticks may prove especially dangerous if you have a very young child in your household who may chew on the stick or one of the decals.  If you have such a stick, please stop using it immediately and put it out of the reach of children.  You should then contact the manufacturer for a replacement stick or refund at (888) 734-0443.

In Buffalo, and most other jurisdictions throughout the country, manufacturers are required to include proper warnings on labels on products or product packaging if that product presents a danger that is known to the manufacturer.  As a result, failure to properly label a product may be helpful if you are seeking compensation in a product liability case.

When determining whether a product should have carried a warning or not, courts consider issues such as whether the product is inherently dangerous, whether the manufacturer is aware of that danger, whether the product is dangerous when used for its intended purpose, and whether the danger should have been obvious to the user. 

As an example, objects such as knives generally do not need to bear a warning label because their danger should be obvious to anyone using them.  Medication, however, is required to carry warnings about possible side effects since the potential problems that could arise from use are not obvious to the user.

If you suffer an injury while using a product as directed by the manufacturer, the danger of the product was not obvious, and the manufacturer failed to adequately warn you of the potential danger, you may have the right to file a product liability lawsuit against that manufacturer.  In this situation, you should consult an attorney experienced in product liability law to help you evaluate whether you have a potential claim for damages.

Most people in Buffalo are old enough to remember Love Canal, where hazardous waste buried in the ground leaked into the environment, causing cancer, birth defects and other injuries among the local population.  Love Canal is an example of a toxic tort.

Toxic tort lawsuits involve injuries caused by chemicals or materials that are linked to physical ailments such as cancer and other diseases.  They often involve the release of dangerous material into the environment or exposure to such materials at a worksite.  Substances such as asbestos, pesticides and hazardous waste are examples of the types of materials frequently addressed in this type of litigation.

Because of the difficulties that may arise in linking a specific injury to exposure to a dangerous substance, these cases are often difficult to prove on an individual level.  As a result, toxic tort cases usually, put not always, involve a large number of plaintiffs who have been exposed to the dangerous material and exhibit similar physical problems or incidents of birth defects beyond those seen among the general population.

A person injured by a defective product may bring a lawsuit to recover damages for that injury.  So, for example, if a person living in the City of Buffalo is badly hurt when using a poorly made piece of lawn equipment, he or she may bring a lawsuit in Erie County Court.

Defective product lawsuits are commonly called product liability cases.  To recover damages in such cases, the injured party usually must establish that the defective product is inherently dangerous as it was designed or manufactured. If this is not the case, then whether the injured party can receive compensation may hinge on whether the maker of the product knew, or had reason to know, that the item was defective.

The injured party must also prove that the defect in the product was the cause of the injury.  In some cases, product liability cases may be brought in the form of class action lawsuits where compensation is sought for a large number of people injured by a defective product.

The best personal injury is the one that never happens.  This month, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a large recall of cribs, some of which may have been sold to parents in Buffalo.  Dorel Asia SRL has recalled 635,000 cribs sold in at K-Mart, Sears and Wal-Mart stores nationwide from January 2005 through December 2009. 

Apparently, the hardware holding up the dropdown side can fail, creating a space in which the infant may be trapped.  There are also concerns about the potential for broken slats resulting in injury or entrapment. 

There have been 31 reports of this hardware failure, with six children becoming entrapped.  Three of these children suffered bruises and one died.  There were also 36 reports of broken slats, some of which resulted in minor injuries or entrapment of the child.

As Buffalo personal injury attorneys, we have firsthand experience with the trauma a personal injury or wrongful death can bring, especially when a child is involved.  Please, if you think you may have one of these cribs, visit the Consumer Product Safety Commission website at www.cpsc.gov for further details.  If you do have such a crib, quit using it immediately and contact Dorel Asia at www.dorel-asia.com or (866) 762-2304 to receive a free replacement kit.