Articles Posted in Dangerous or Defective Products

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(July 25, 2022) A Northeast side couple was indicted by a Bexar County grand jury yesterday for allowing their four children to live surrounded by trash and rodents and were charged with four counts of endangering a child. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office told San Antonio Express-News that deputies who responded to a concerned neighbor’s call thought the children inside may have been dead because of the awful smell of decomposition coming from the apartment. The children aged between two and thirteen years old.

Did you know?

Endangering a child is a state felony and is punishable with up to two years of jail time and a possible fine of 10,000 USD.

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(May 26, 2022) Two people are in critical condition, and one person has only minor injuries after a rollover accident on the Far West Side on Saturday, May 21, 2022, according to KSAT News. Authorities are unclear as to what caused the accident or whether drugs or alcohol were involved. The accident happened on Marbach Road and Pue Road at around 12:30 a.m. when an SUV collided with a Jeep and rolled over. The woman driver had to be extracted from the vehicle with Jaws of Life and was transported to a local hospital along with her passenger in critical condition. The driver of the Jeep was also taken to the hospital but fortunately only sustained minor injuries. This happened less than a week after a four-vehicle accident on Tuesday, May 16, 2022, also on the Far West Side, according to NEWS4SA. A driver ran a red light at an intersection at Potranco and Stevens Parkway around 8:15 p.m. No other details were provided, except that at least two people were transported to the hospital. Their conditions are unknown.

It is possible for any vehicle to roll over. However, SUVs and Pickup trucks are more prone to rollover accidents due to their high center of gravity. Although accounting for a mere 3 percent of all auto accidents, rollover accidents are among the worst types of accidents to experience. Because it is likely that the vehicle occupants will be ejected, the injuries sustained are usually severe if not deadly. Sadly, rollover accidents account for 10,000 deaths a year, or thirty-five percent of all traffic fatalities. Sixty-nine percent of deaths in rollover accidents are caused by the motorist’s failure to wear safety restraints. Design flaws can also be a contributing factor. If this is the case, the manufacturer may be liable for damages.

Have you been injured or lost someone you love in a rollover accident in San Antonio or the surrounding area? Contact Carabin Shaw today.

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A man tragically lost his life early on Friday morning. He was on the city’s far West Side when this single-vehicle accident occurred. According to initial reports, the fatal incident occurred at roughly 1:30 a.m. in the 1200 block of SW Loop 410 on the access road headed southbound, nearby Loop 410 and Marbach Road. After driving over a puddle on the street, the driver lost control, and the 2004 Mustang crashed into a utility pole, a fire hydrant, a tree, and a drainage culverts metal railing. The Mustang flew over the metal railing and landed on its roof. The driver, unfortunately, did not come out unscathed from this accident. He received fatal injuries, and officials declared him dead at the scene. Reports say a passenger in the Mustang suffered minor injuries. 

In accidents such as this one, the manufacturer of the car may be held liable. The reason is that in the car’s production process, the parts used can sometimes be dangerously poor in quality. At Carabin Shaw, we’ve seen time and time again defective product lawsuits overlooked in an auto accident due to ignorance of knowing how to determine a potential claim or potential defect in the product. It’s often the case that unless an experienced injury attorney, qualified investigators, and product experts are involved early on in the process after a car accident, those claims go unnoticed. Instead, driver error is commonly determined to be the cause of the incident. Product liability claims are, in some cases, never even investigated. In our experience, a highway collision involving death or severe injury needs investigating and reviewing as a potential crashworthiness claim or product defect claim. 

There are a vast number of product liability cases involving automobiles. In instances where the possibility of a product defect in an accident could be, an investigation into the matter should go underway. Here are some instances: 

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An additional spray sunscreen has been recalled following just three months after widely purchased Neutrogena and Aveeno sunscreens were pulled from the shelves. Five products from Coppertone were affected by this recall, all being spray-on SPF’s. 

Voluntarily, Coppertone decided to recall twelve different batches of product this week, and among these 12, 5 of them were spray-on sunscreen. Retailers throughout the United States received the products between January 1 and June 15, 2021. (2021) Sarah Jacoby at MSN News States, “Here are the specific sunscreens and lot numbers included in the recall:

Coppertone Pure & Simple Kids SPF 50 Spray (lots TN00854, TN00855, TN00857, TN00CJV)

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When a consumer makes a purchase in the United States, they trust that the companies they are purchasing from offer safe and effective products. However, even with the strict testing and high federal standards, a few dangerous products make their way on the shelves and cause harm to the consumers. This week, Dole and Fresh Express recalled several of their packaged salad products after two separate listeria outbreaks hospitalized 22 and killed three across 18 States, including Texas. Fresh Express is recalling all products with codes Z324-Z350. Dole issued a voluntary recall on all products beginning with lot code “N” or “Y” and have a Best if Used By date between November 30, 2021, and January 8, 2022. Companies may try to avoid liability for their defective products by issuing such recalls. However, a warning may be too broad to void liability, as they must prove that the notice reached the specific customer. If you or a loved one has been hospitalized or killed due to a defective product, it is imperative that you contact the Carabin Shaw law firm right away.  

What is listeria? 

           Listeriosis is an illness caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. According to the CDC, an estimated 260 people die from Listeriosis every year (2021). It is more dangerous for those who are immunocompromised, pregnant or the elderly over 65 years of age. Symptoms for pregnant women are flu-like, such as running a low-grade fever and experiencing fatigue or muscle aches. Listeriosis can also cause birth complications or the death of infants. For others, symptoms include muscle aches, headaches, loss of balance, stiff neck, or confusion (CDC, 2021). If you think you may have contracted Listeriosis, contact your doctor immediately.  

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CANCER CAUSING BENZENE FOUND IN SUNSCREENS LINKED TO HIGHER RISK–KILLER TAN CAN BE DEADLY – 40 SUNSCREEN BRANDS RECALLED

July 17, 2021, San Antonio, Texas:  Sunscreen products have been pulled from shelves across the country after they were found to contain significant amounts of benzene, a known carcinogen.  Experts say any benzene exposure poses a health risk. Benzene has been linked to increased cancer risk since and had five times higher than normal risk of leukemia.

“There’s no such thing as a safe level of exposure, and that’s especially true for children,” said Philip Landrigan, director of the Global Public Health Program and Global Pollution Observatory at Boston College.

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April 27, 2021, Houston, TX On the evening of Friday April 16th a Tesla Model S crashed and burst into flames after hitting a tree in the Carlton Woods subdivision in the Woodlands.  The Tesla, traveling at high speed, failed to negotiate a bend and came off the road on Hammock Dunes Place, a residential street in the upscale Houston suburb. 

Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman said that the investigation showed “no one was driving” the fully electric 2019 Tesla Model S when the accident happened. There was a person in the passenger seat of the front of the car and in the rear passenger seat of the car. One of the men was identified as Dr. William Varner, a member of the Memorial Hermann medical system. The second victim of the Tesla crash was named as 69-year-old engineer Everett Talbot.  The accident has made national headlines because local officials investigating the incident say there was no one driving the vehicle. 

Federal investigators with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are among those now looking into the deadly accident that killed both men.

https://www.texasinjurylawyersblog.com/files/2020/09/Screen-Shot-2020-09-08-at-9.47.57-AM.pngWednesday September 2, 2020 Cameron County:  The Texas Department of Public Safety continues to investigate a two-vehicle head-on collision that left three people dead, including two children.

The accident happened at about 1:53 p.m. Wednesday September 2nd, on FM 803 North of St. Francis Street in Los Fresnos.

Killed in the accident was Maria Guadalupe Zamora, 49, who died at the scene. Zamora’s grandchildren, Ariel Castillo, 2 and Reynaldo Alvarado, 6, both of Port Isabel, who were traveling with her, were transported to local hospitals where they later died, the DPS reported.

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