Pennsylvania Injury Attorneys Blog

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, along with the Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) have announced a voluntary recall of the lithium-ion batteries used in Hewlett-Packard and Compaq notebook computers. These batteries can overheat and can pose a fire and burn hazard to users.

A recall was issued in May 2009. However, since then HP has received 38 additional reports of batteries overheating and rupturing. There have been 11 instances of minor personal injury and 31 instances of minor property damage.

Since the batteries are used with various HP and Compaq models, consumers can visit the following website to see if their model notebook computers:

Two asphyxiation deaths involving a 9- and a 10-year old boy have prompted Family Dollar Stores, Inc. to recall their toy dart guns sold exclusively at their stores.

The toy darts sold with the “Auto Fire” toy target set are soft and pliable, and if a child places the toy dart in his or her mouth, the toy can be inhaled into the throat, preventing the child from breathing.

The target sets are sold with either an orange and yellow or blue and yellow gun. The set also includes eight orange darts and a circular target with numbers from 1 to 20. The sets were sold only at Family Dollar stores from September 2005 to January 2009 for $1.50.

The arrival of spring means prom season is not far behind. But gowns and tuxedos may be more of a priority to high schools students, while parents worry about their safety. Here are a few tips to keep in mind to make prom night a success for everyone:

>> If your high school student is driving to the prom, limit the number of passengers that will be in the vehicle. Too many passengers can divert the driver’s attention.

>> Underage drinking is against the law. Parents should prohibit the consumption of alcoholic beverages by teenagers before, during, and after the prom.

Federal, state, and local highway safety organizations remind motorists to “share the road” with motorcycles during May, which has been named Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month.

Motorcycles are one of the smallest vehicles on the road and can often be hidden in a vehicle’s blind spot. All drivers should look aggressively for them. Motorists should check mirrors and blind spots before entering and leaving a lane of traffic. All those on the road are reminded to never drive, walk, or bicycle while distracted.

Motorcyclists also need to follow the rules of the road, staying alert to other drivers and never driving when distracted. Motorcyclists are reminded to make themselves visible to other motorists. Motorcyclists should also where a Department of Transportation-compliant helmet and other protective gear.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare issed a voluntary recall of the following over the counter products because they don’t meet quality standards: Tylenol Infants’ Drops, Children’s Tylenol Suspensions, Children’s Tylenol Plus Suspensions, Motrin Infant Drops, Children’s Motril Suspensions, Children’s Zyrtec Liquids in Bottles, and Children’s Benadryl Allergy Liquids in Bottles.

In a press release issued May 1, McNeil noted, “Some products in the recall may have a higher concentration of active ingredient than specified while others may have inactive ingredients that don’t meet testing requirements.” The company said no adverse medical events have been reported.

The company advises consumers who have purchased these products to discontinue their use.

Today the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Graco announced the recall of Graco-branded drop side cribs made by LaJobi due to entrapment and suffocation hazards. According to the report, consumers are advised to stop using these cribs immediately.

The drop side hardware can break or fail, allowing the drop side to detach from the crib. When the drop side detaches, a gap is created between the drop side and the crib mattress, and infants and toddlers can become wedged or entrapped, with a risk of suffocation and strangulation. Children can also fall from the cribs when the drop side detaches or fails to lock.

A total of 99 reports of drop side incidents have been received by the CPCS and LaJobi. Two children became entrapped in the gap created by the detached drop side. There were six reports of children falling due to drop side failure, including one report of a mild concussion.

In January, Oprah Winfrey began a campaign and launched a public service announcement to end distracted driving. Today, April 30, is the first national “No Phone Zone” Day, an effort to break Americans of the deadly habit of talking or texting while driving, a habit that kills nearly 6,000 people a year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“A call or text isn’t worth taking a life,” said Winfrey.

On Friday’s show, Winfrey will interview Jacy Good of Lancaster County, who lost both her parents when a tractor trailer driver who was talking on a cell phone drove into the path of their car.

Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell is reminding residents that today is the deadline to register to vote in Pennsylvania’s May 18 primary election. In the primary, voters cast ballots for candidates for a variety of offices, including governor, lieutenant governor, state senator and representative, and U.S. senator and U.S. representative.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro A. Cortes said, “I would like to remind everyone who has moved since they last voted to apply for registration using their new address.

Individuals applying to register to vote for the May 19 primary must be:

To the American Cancer Society, the daffodil represents the hope that one day cancer will no longer threaten those we love. We share that same hope by participating in the Cancer Society’s yearly Daffodil Days campaign. As a result of our participation in March of this year, our office was recognized as the Top Pre-Sale Coordinator of Attorneys. Thanks to everyone for their hard work and contributions – even the smallest donation helps to raise awareness to help beat the disease.

An article on Health.com recently reported that some antiseizure drugs used to treat epilepsy, depression, chronic pain, migraine, bipolar disorder, and other conditions have a higher risk of suicide and violent death than other drugs in the same class.

The article lists the anticonvulsants drugs in question as gabapentin (Neurontin), lamotrigine (Lamictal), oxcarbazepine (Trileptal), tiagabine (Gabitril), and valproate (Depakote). But experts caution that patients should not stop taking the drugs without consulting their doctor.

The warnings come after a new study was published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The findings are similar to a 2008 review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that found that taking anticonvulsants roughly doubled the risk of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, although the absolute risk was less than half of 1 percent. According the FDA analysis (which included 11 anitconvulsants), the risk that a person taking those drugs would exhibit suicidal behavior or have suicidal thoughts was about 1 in 230, compared to about 1 in 450 in people taking a placebo. Following their analysis, the FDA required that the label of all anitconvulsants carry a warning about this increased risk.