Toyota Motor Corp. has announced the recall of 550,000 vehicles in its global fleet due to a power steering flaw that could result in steering difficulties.  The majority of the vehicles affected, approximately 420,000, are being driven by U.S. consumers.  The recall includes certain model year Avalon, Camry, Highlander, Sienna, Solara, and Lexus vehicles.  Read more here.  

95,000 Children's Sketchpads Recalled for Possible Choking Hazards  

Battat Co. is recalling approximately 95,000 Toulouse-LapTrec magnetic sketchpads because the tip of the drawing pen can detach, becoming a choking hazard to young children.   The sketchpads were sold at Target and Barnes & Noble stores nationwide, plus various online retailers. Learn more here. 

Harper Trucks Recalls 292,000 Hand Trucks for Tire Explosion Hazard

Harper Trucks recalled 292,000 hand trucks due to the risk of the tires exploding from over-inflating.  If the tires explode, the wheel hub can separate or break, ejecting pieces of the hub and posing an injury hazard to anyone in close proximity. To date, 19 injuries have been reported, including broken bones, loss of sight in one eye, contusions and lacerations. Get more information here. 

Firm Wins $6.32 Million Arbitration Against Negligent Radiation Oncologist

Firm Wins Claims Against Rental Car Company for Improperly Secured Rear Passenger Seat

A removable rear passenger seat in a rental car, which was not properly locked and secured to the vehicle by the rental agent, became dislodged during a rollover crash, trapping a young child whose booster seat was seat-belted to the vehicle seat.
 
When the vehicle rolled over into a shallow canal and came to rest on its roof, the unsecured vehicle seat trapped the child against the submerged roof of the vehicle, causing her to drown despite her parents' best efforts to move the seat off of her. All other occupants in the vehicle escaped without serious injury.
 
Clark Fountain's products liability team successfully pursued claims against the rental car company for failing to properly secure the seat before renting the car to a consumer who was unfamiliar with the seat's various functions, and for failing to have proper safety policies in place. The attorneys also argued that the vehicle and seat manufacturer were liable for developing and implementing a seat design that appeared normal to the user when it was not actually firmly secured to the vehicle's structure. As a result, the seat became life-threatening during an accident, particularly for a passenger seat-belted to the free-moving seat.   

Study Finds Women at Greater Risk for Injury in Car Crashes

According to a study just published online in The American Journal of Public Health, female drivers are much more likely than male drivers to be seriously injured in a crash; even when both groups wear seat belts.   Investigators state that car safety devices are geared more towards men, and women may need safety features that take into account differences in their shorter stature, neck strength and other factors.  Read about the University of Virginia study in The New York Times.

Consumer Product Safety Commission Database Faces Legal Challenge

According to an article in The Washington Post, A Consumer Product Safety Commission website where consumers can post and review incidents involving products the agency regulates is coming under legal fire by a company who claims baseless allegations were made against its product.  A lawsuit filed in a federal district court in Maryland seeks to prevent the CPSC from making public an incident that allegedly harmed a child.  Critics claim any inaccurate information posted on the CPSC's database can threaten a company's profits and mislead consumers, but consumer advocates say the system enables emerging safety hazards to be more quickly identified.  Learn more here.

Will Electronic Health Reporting (EHR) Systems Increase Physician Liability?

The debate is still on over whether reporting adverse events through electronic health reporting systems will increase physician liability in medical malpractice claims.  According to an article in Information Week, reporting through EHRs has been limited thus far because many healthcare providers fear being held responsible for mistakes they admit to on the systems.  However, the HIMSS EHR Association, an affiliate of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society that represents 44 HER vendors, just announced an endorsement of the reporting of adverse events through a voluntary, anonymous reporting system called EHRevent.  The system, developed by the iHealth Alliance, a patient-safety organization overseen by patient-safety advocates, liaisons from the FDA, U.S. medical societies and medical malpractice insurers, allows physicians to report confidentially in an effort to improve the overall care that is delivered to patients. Learn more here.