Landau Injury Law

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was created in 1972 with the purpose of protecting those in the USA “against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products.”  So it is sad to see Perfect Fitness try to hide a defective product for years from the CPSC, which could have created a more streamlined solution for customers.
In August Perfect Fitness was required to pay a civil penalty of $425,000.  The fine comes from their product Perfect Pullup, where in June 2008 the company discovered there was a defect in the handles.  In July 2008 they did issue a redesign to fix the problem but did not inform the CPSC.  The company waited until December 2010 at which point it was too late to claim ignorance and the CPSC was forced to take action.

If you have a legal question please contact us at The Herndon Law Shop.  If you don’t have a legal question and you want to ask a simple question or comment on something you seen from us check out our new Facebook page.

Bridgeway International has voluntarily recalled its product “NEXT”-branded men’s 26-inch hybrid bicycles, a hybrid bicycle. The recall is voluntary and will effect about 91,000 bicycles.  If you own one of these bikes or think you do please STOP USE IMMEDIATELY to confirm and then contact the company for a free repair.  The defect is in the chain of the bike and it could break without warning resulting in injury.  There have been 11 incidents, 9 of which ended in injury.  These bikes where sold from Walmart between February and July of this year.

If you have a legal question please contact us at Landau Law Shop.  If you don’t have a legal question and you want to ask a simple question or comment on something you seen from us check out our new Facebook page.

Motor-cross is a muddy hobby with some really cool safety gear.  Air-brushed helmets and matching styled boots and suit look great and keep you safe, but the less glamorous side is making sure your bike is running at peak performance.  Besides going to the mechanic making sure to stay up to date on equipment news is just as important.  Such as, on September 8th a voluntary recall was announced by KTM North America for some of its’ off-road sport bikes. Approximately 6,117 units are effected and if you suspect you are an owner of a defective unit discontinue use and check the US. Consumer Product Safety Commissions’ Report to verify.  The defect is in the piece which secures the handlebars to the bike.  Cracks can develop from regular use resulting in the handlebars slipping which can cause the rider to loose control.

For more information you can read this article by NPR.  If you have any legal question concerning recalls or bike injuries please respond to this post or contact us at The Herndon Law Shop or (703) 796-9555.

Weehoo iGo Bicycle Pedal Trailers

On September 13 Weehoo announced a recall of one of its products, an attachable children’s seat for a bicycle called the “Weehoo iGo Bicycle Pedal Trailers”.  Fortunately, there have been no major injures and any owner of the product can contact the manufacture (800-538-6950 or Weehoo’s Website)for the repair piece, but please discontinue use immediately.  Also, report any injuries sustained if you have experienced a failure in the product as described in the recall report.  This decision was voluntarily made by the company after it was discovered that one of the connecting pieces could crack and break from the bicycle which could result in harm to the child.

For more information regarding this recall please consult the following article.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding injures of any kind and would like legal advice please don’t hesitate to contact us at The Herndon Law Shop or call at 703-796-9555

Reston Triathlon volunteer Doug Landau checking helmet safety before tomorrow's race at South Lakes High School

If you pick a fight with race directors or volunteers when they try to protect you from head trauma or brain injury.

“Not every Triathlon or multisport competition takes the time to inspect helmets, but when they do, it is for the athletes’ safety.  When a triathlete, duathlete or bike racer competes with an unsafe, cracked, delaminating or outdated helmet, they are ‘Voluntarily assuming the risk of harm,’ adds All American Triathlete Landau, whose “Law Shop” regularly helps injured victims of other peoples’ unsafe conduct.

Under Virginia law, “Assumption of Risk”  in and of itself may preclude any reimbursement for losses caused by (more…)

Having just settled a case for a grocery store worker who lost two fingers to a motorized cutting blade at work, Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau has helped many workers injured due to the lack of protective guards on saws.  The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) estimates there are an average of about 10 finger amputations a day, just from table saws used by consumers.  “The safety of table saws needs to be improved in a way that prevents school children in shop class and woodworkers from suffering these life-altering injuries,” CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum told USA TODAY.

The head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission will call in the power-tool industry and the safety standards group to find out why more hasn’t been done to address the problem.  The CPSC estimates the cost to society of saw-related injuries is about $2 billion a year. (The industry has contested that figure in lawsuits.)  The companies face hundreds of lawsuits over injuries and at least 50 legal claims that a product called SawStop could have prevented the injuries. Last March, a jury awarded $1.5 million to a man who injured his fingers on a saw after plaintiff lawyers argued SawStop would have saved his hand.  If you or someone you care for has had fingers amputated or suffered injury as the result of a power saw accident, contact an experienced lawyer at once.  There are strict legal time limits to these claims, and valuable rights may be lost if the claim and its investigation are delayed.

Saw injuries can be devastating, permanent and disabling.  For those who use circular saws, table saws, mitre saws and other dangerous power tools, the Power Tool Institute (“PTI”) has safety presentations that can be viewed online – click here. The safety demonstrations, available, at no charge, in English or Spanish, are:

• “Power Tool Accidents — They Can Be Prevented,”
• “Circular Saw Safety,”
• “Table Saw Safety” and
• “Miter Saw Safety”

Click here for the PTI video site.

Having seen countless finger amputation cases, grocery store hand and digit lacerations and workplace degloving injuries, workers comp and disability lawyer Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU hopes that these saw safety films will help prevent future power tool injuries at work and at home. Small companies might want to make use of these workplace safety videos in order to reduce worker injury and time loss. According to the staff at the Landau Law Shop, newer workers especially seem to encounter a greater number of permanent injuries during their first weeks on the job. Showing safety films such as those produced by the Power Tool Institute may help rookie employees in the construction and crafts trades avoid unnecessary and foreseeable injury

The Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. is bombarded by solicitations from companies wanting the Virginia “Law Shop” to borrow money to finance litigation. While the Landau Law Shop once looked into assistance financing an international catastrophic cycle crash paralysis case that wound up going all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, the personal injury team decided against doing so due to a variety of reasons. One reason was the high rate of interest.  Another was the fact that neither the client nor counsel had any personal relationship with the potential lenders. And, lastly, Landau had heard too many “horror stories” of situations where things did not work out where the injured victim’s interests in the litigation had been mortaged. The New York Times took a detailed look at (more…)

Ever wonder what was in the “weight loss” “muscle builder” or “super energy supplement” advertised in in many popular health, bodybuilding and sports magazines ? The Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) warned the dietary supplement industry not to spike its products with steroids, prescription drugs or other prohibited substances

According to news reports since 2007 nearly 300 products marketed as supplements have been found to contain potentially dangerous or illegal ingredients.  Many of these consumer health products were sold as diet, bodybuilding or sexual enhancement supplements.  Unlike drugs, dietary supplements do not have to be proven safe by scientific or medical testing before being sold to consumers.  Manufacturers can make general claims about health benefits.

Herndon defective product injury lawyer Doug Landau warns consumers should be wary of supplements sold as (more…)

After the initial impact of a car or truck accident, there is often secondary injuries caused by the rolling of the vehicle and the failure of defective elements within the crash protection structures of the car itself.  Having represented injured car crash victims in car rollover accidents, Herndon injury lawyer Doug Landau has seen the various ways that occupants can be permanently injured due to several overlapping causes, even in single vehicle accidents.

In a car rollover wreck, the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU has seen:

• Occupant ejections
• Failure to have side airbags
• Defect in the seatbelts
• Glass, window frame and glazing claims
• Failures of the seatbacks
• Roof crush head and neck injuries
• Vehicle Stability systems failure

In short, in many rollover crash cases, there may be more than one defect that causes injury to the occupants.  There may be numerous reasons for additional, unnecessary injury and permanent disability.  If you or someone you know has been injured in a car crash where there has been a rollover, call (703-796-9555) or e-mail ABRAMS LANDAU today so that we can evaluate the product safety issues at once.