The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates there are approximately 15,000 injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms nationally between November and December that involve holiday decorating. That figure has been steadily rising over the last several years. It works out to approximately 250 unintentional injuries every day during the holiday season. Holiday movies may make mishaps such as stepping on broken ornaments or falling off a ladder seem funny, but the reality of these injuries is anything but amusing.

The most common holiday decorating injuries include:

• Falls. These account for 34 percent of all emergency department treatments. Most often, these occur when people fall off ladders or roofs trying to hang decorative lights.
• Lacerations. These account for 11 percent of all holiday emergency department treatments.
• Back strains. These account for 10 percent of all hospital emergency department treatments.
• Ingestion of foreign objects. This is a major problem for children, who may grab decorations that look like holiday candy and attempt to put them in their mouths and swallow.
• Burns/ smoke inhalation. Fire departments reportedly respond to an average of 230 Christmas tree fires every December. Those incidents resulted in 10 deaths, 20 injuries and $16 million in property loss. Meanwhile, candle-related fires over a recent tow-year period resulted in 70 deaths, 680 injuries and $308 million in property losses. There are also risks with holiday lights/ extension cords, fireplaces and careless cooking.

Liability for these types of incidents will depend on whether the injury involves:

• A product defect that contributed/ caused the injury (product liability).
• An injury that occurred on someone else’s property (premises liability).

The ESFI survey indicated more than 63 percent of respondents use one or more extension cord while decorating for the holidays and 60 percent fail to inspect those cords. More than half of respondents said they don’t turn off outdoor lighted decorations when they leave home and a third leave them on when they go to bed.This can be a serious fire hazard.

So too are Christmas trees. The U.S. CPSC  recommends when it comes to trees:

• Placing lighted candles far away from trees (as well as curtains and furniture).
• Making sure artificial trees are rated fire resistant.
• Making sure live trees are fresh and well-watered (and thus less prone to dryness, which is a fire hazard).
• Place the tree away from all heat sources, including fireplaces.

And when it comes to decorating the tree, make sure to use caution when placing the top ornaments. Make sure to heed the warning labels on the ladders. Check out these Ladder Safety 101 tips. Keep small (possible choking hazard) decorations out-of-reach of children and take special care with sharp, weighted or breakable decorations.

If you or someone you love is injured in the course of decorating or in the midst of a holiday gathering, it may be worthwhile to consult with an injury attorney to determine whether you may have grounds to seek compensation for medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering.

If you have been injured in Miami, call Chalik & Chalik at (954) 476-1000 or 1 (800) 873-9040.

Additional Resources:

‘Tis the Season to Decorate Safely, Dec. 5, 2016, CPSC

More Blog Entries:

Third-Party Liability for Distracted Driving Accidents? Dec. 10, 2016, Personal Injury Attorney Blog

Consumers were advised to immediately stop using the phones and power them down. These pertain to all Galaxy Note 7 phones purchased prior to September 2016. The manufacturer is reportedly offering free of charge a new Galaxy Note 7 with a different battery, or alternatively a full refund or a different replacement device.

As CNNMoney reported, this has left a lot of users in an odd place. That’s because many stores don’t have enough replacement devices yet. On the one hand, customers like their phones and certain features – like the stylus that allows them to copy-and-paste. The store offered them a “loaner” phone until it could get a replacement Note 7, but that loaner lacked many of the same features as the newer model. Some customers opined on Twitter that it would great if they could get a new phone that “doesn’t double as a hand grenade.” Another user stated that leaving his Note 7 on the charger each night, “Makes me appreciate each day like it might be my last.” 

Joking aside, these devices reportedly have the potential to cause some real damage and serious personal injury.

The defective battery issue was reportedly acknowledged by the firm just a few weeks prior to the issuance of the formal recall. The devices were first unveiled in mid-August, though it became clear not long after there were major problems, despite mostly positive reviews on its design, battery life, speed and features. Soon after, social media began trending with reports, images and videos of the phones exploding or catching fire.

A recall like this is especially troubling because smart phones have become such an integral part of our everyday lives. They are with us almost everywhere we go – and even by our bedside tables at night. The Pew Research Center reported in 2015 that nearly 70 percent of U.S. adults have a smartphone, which is double the 35 percent who said they had a smartphone in 2011. In certain groups, it’s even higher. For example, among those 18- to 29-years-old, 86 percent have a smartphone. The same is true of 83 percent of those between the ages of 30 and 49. Among those earning $75,000 or more annually, 87 percent have a smartphone. These groups are also the most likely to have the newest, latest model of smart phone and are probably more at-risk for dangers like this.

These statics are only expected to grow.

Samsung phones are manufactured in China, South Korea and New Jersey and have been sold at stores nationwide and online for between $850 and $890.

As our Miami defective product attorneys know, there have been a few reported cases of cell phones causing injury to consumers, including phones connected to this recall. There was a report just a few weeks ago that included an injury to a 6-year-old boy in Brooklyn, NY who was playing with a phone given to him by his grandfather. Although it was not a Note 7, it was reportedly still a Samsung phone. The phone reportedly suddenly burst into flames.

In St. Petersburg, FL, a social media user reported his Jeep was engulfed in flames in his driveway when a Note 7 exploded.

And in Palm Beach, the Palm Beach Post reports, a man was reportedly hospitalized when the Samsung Note 7 phone he was carrying in his pocket exploded.

If you have been injured by a defective product, call Chalik & Chalik at (954) 476-1000 or 1 (800) 873-9040.

Additional Resources:

Government Recall Issued for Samsung Note7 Over Battery Fire Hazard, Sept. 15, 2016, By Paul Blake, ABC News

More Blog Entries:

Safeco Ins. Co. v. Fridman – Proving Wage Loss Damages After Car Accident, Aug. 22, 2016, Miami Defective Product Lawyer Blog

This is a shocking turn of events.  Two months ago, hoverboards were among the most popular Christmas gifts, and now the entire industry is in a bit of turmoil.

There were a couple of things that were very interesting about this to me.  First, in the letter, the CPSC declares that no manufacturer in the industry meets the CPSC’s safety standards.  This is amazing.  I can’t think of another instance off the top of my head where the government has declared an entire industry unsafe.

Second, the reason provided by the CPSC was also interesting.  The CPSC declared hoverboards unsafe because of their risk of fires caused by the batteries.  This is certainly a known risk, but in my mind, not the greatest risk.

For me, the most significant risk from hoverboards is the risk of falls and related injuries.  There have been hundreds of reports of people falling off of their hoverboards and incurring significant injuries, including numerous brain injuries and fractures of various bones.  Those types of injuries have the potential to be permanently life-altering.

I don’t know how this will turn out.  At some point, after more testing is done, perhaps the government will declare that some hoverboards are safe.  But we’re clearly not at that point yet.

In tests conducted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), scientists found that, under certain circumstances, gas vapor blends can ignite within portable cans and cause significant injury to those in the vicinity of the explosion.

CPSC has documented 11 deaths and 1,200 emergency room visits linked to gas can explosions during the pouring of gasoline since 1998.

Additional tests conducted at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s combustion laboratory demonstrated that, under limited conditions, a so-called “flashback” explosion can occur inside plastic gas cans.

A flashback explosion can be triggered even when a very small amount of gasoline is left in the can. Gas vapor can escape the container and meet a ignition source, such as a flame or a spark. The igniting vapor outside the can then “flashes back” inside the container, which ignites the mixture within it and causes a large burst of flames.

There have been at least 80 lawsuits filed in the last 20 years on behalf of plaintiffs injured in gas can explosions. The primary argument has been that the portable cans are “dangerous” and “unsafe” because they are “susceptible” to these flashback explosions. The bulk of the lawsuits have targeted Blitz USA, the biggest maker of plastic gas cans, as defendants, as well as Wal-Mart, the leading purveyor of the cans.

Central to the argument is the fact that the can’s design does not include a flame arrester. Lawsuits against Blitz have contended that they, if included, would prevent flashback explosions. Flame arresters, which are pieces or mesh or disks with holes designed to disrupt flames, are present in “safety” gas cans made of metal and in storage vessels of other flammable liquids.

CPSC has called on the gas can industry to manufacture gas cans with flame arresters within them. “CPSC believes that this technology also should be included in gasoline containers,” said the agency in a statement. “CPSC is calling on the industry to regain the momentum that was lost in years past by designing their products to include this safety technology. In addition, CPSC is asking voluntary standards organizations to incorporate a flame arrestor system into applicable safety standards for gas cans.”

At The Hale Law Firm, we have helped thousands of clients successfully prosecute their personal injury claims including auto accidents, wrongful death, dangerous products, brain injuries, burn injuries, and defective medical devices. Clients depend on their personal injury lawyers for guidance and legal advice across a broad range of personal injury accidents. To learn more, visit http://www.hale911.com/ or call 972.351.0000.

More than 4,500 former professional football players had entered into lawsuits against the NFL when a $765 million settlement was reached recently. Following a months-long period of court-ordered mediation, U.S. District Judge Anita Brody announced the settlement, which she must yet approve in order for it to go into effect. The plaintiffs claimed a wide variety of concussion-related symptoms, including memory loss, impaired speech and motor control, depression, and mood swings. At least two former NFL players committed suicide by self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the chest and left notes asking that their brains be donated for scientific research.

The NFL also implemented safety-oriented rule changes for the 2012 season, including prohibiting “head shots” and making them fineable, and requiring heavier protective padding. That season, 160 players were diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms, a steep decline from the previous season’s 270 such diagnoses.

Far more pressing is the issue of how to protect children who play contact sports. Over a quarter-million concussions are reported among high school athletes each year. In July, 2012, a Florida law went into effect that requires young athletes suspected of sustaining a head injury or concussion to be immediately removed from practice and competition. After completing a gradual, four-course return to play, consisting of light activity, then moderate aerobic activity, followed by drills specific to their sport, and finally full-contact practice, athletes are allowed to return to competition with a doctor’s written medical clearance.

Concussion is difficult to diagnose, but a commercial software program called ImPACT, already in use by the NFL, has recently been adopted by a number of Tampa Bay-area high schools. The program requires fully healthy athletes to complete a series of computerized cognitive tests before the season begins. Following a head injury, players must post a score as high as or higher than their baseline score before they can return to play. While the program shows promise, it is easily manipulated by players who deliberately score lower than they are able on initial tests in order to get back in the game as soon as possible in the event they are injured.

On the federal level, the Youth Sports Concussion Act was recently introduced by Senators Jay Rockefeller and Tom Udall. If passed, the bill would instruct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to review a forthcoming report from the National Academy of Sciences on sports-related concussions in young athletes. After the review, the CPSC would be authorized to issue recommendations or rule changes for manufacturers of sporting equipment.

If you need to speak with a brain injury attorney or lawyer, Call Joyce & Reyes at 1.888.771.1529 or visit more of http://www.joyceandreyespa.com/.