Articles Posted in Product Liability

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House fires can start because of defective products.

Three Dead, 3 Severely Injured After Housefire in San Antonio

According to a report by San Antonio Express-News, three people are dead, and three more were hospitalized following a devastating house fire in San Antonio over the weekend.

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The FDA has issued a product recall for Hepatitis A risk.

H-E-B, Walmart, and Costco Products Recalled

The FDA issued an updated product recall on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, for frozen strawberries sold at H-E-B, Walmart, and Costco in Texas for the risk of Hepatitis A infection. According to a San Antonio Express-News report, similar products sold in other states resulted in nine cases of illness, with three of those cases resulting in hospitalization, though none have been reported in Texas so far. Customers who have purchased these products are advised to throw them away or see a healthcare professional if they have consumed them:

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Auto accidents can result in serious burns.

(January 4, 2022) New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are by far the worst time of the year for major auto accidents, usually because of drunk driving. This year was no exception. San Antonio Express-News reported an accident on New Year’s Day that resulted in at least two people burning to death after their crashed automobile erupted into flames. The vehicle reportedly swerved across three lanes on I-35 before crashing into a concrete on-ramp pillar and catching fire at 4:30 a.m. on the Northeast side of San Antonio. Burn injuries from auto accidents can be extremely painful and debilitating for their victims and are almost always the result of another party’s negligent actions. Let’s take a look at some ways auto accident victims are burned and the legal recourse available to them.

Did you know?

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Head-on collisions among the deadliest accidents in San Antonio

(August 16, 2022) A head-on collision with an off-duty deputy landed an unidentified woman in the hospital last night, August 15, 2022, according to KENS 5. Head-on collisions are among the most dangerous and deadly auto accidents that occur, despite the fact that they are comparatively rare accidents.

Did you know?

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Rollover accidents in Texas

(August 1, 2022) A rollover accident shuts down southbound lanes of Highway 281 by St. Mary’s Street today, August 1, 2022, according to KSAT News.

The single-vehicle rollover accident, which left one person dead, occurred around 12:15 p.m. today between St. Mary’s Street and East Josephine Street. The police did not report what caused the accident or if there were any other people injured.

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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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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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