This Common Vehicle Defect Could Be Putting Your Family at Risk

Last week, we discussed how some child safety seats are sold with dangerous defects. If you are a parent, we have more troubling news involving car seat safety. Even normal car seats can carry significant risks for children.Many vehicles have front seats that are at risk for failing during rear-end collisions (even ones with safety ratings of five stars). Seatback failures occur when front seats break and fly backwards during an accident, often where children are sitting.The Center for Auto Safety, a consumer protection organization, has called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to address the problem by passing new seat strength standards. NHTSA currently uses seat strength standards from the 1960s, despite decades of evidence showing seatback failures have caused injuries or deaths. Even worse, NHTSA has claimed children are safest strapped into the backseats, the location where seatback failures cause the most damage.In fact, children are at high risk of being injured or killed when seats fly backwards during collisions. We can use a recent example involving Audi to illustrate how children have been hurt by seatback failures.A 7-year-old boy from San Antonio was left with a severe brain injury caused by a seatback failure. Like other seatback failures, the 7-year-old boy was crushed by the massive force of his father’s car seat propelling backwards during a rear-end collision. Now 11 years old, the boy suffers from partial paralysis and blindness. The boy’s family argues he will need care for the rest of his life.A lawsuit filed by the boy’s family discovered Audi had designed its front seats to use backseat passengers as an extra layer of protection. When the case went to trial, a Texas jury ruled Audi was negligent.Cases like these might have been prevented if automakers were required to make stronger car seats.

Can Seatback Failures Be Prevented?

Regulators have known about seatback failures for decades. In 1992, NHTSA was warned by internal researchers that seats could collapse backwards and kill or injure passengers. CBS News ran its own investigation using former court cases and discovered 17 children had died from seatback failures over the last 15 years. Auto engineers who participated in prior lawsuits have argued preventing seatback failures would cost one dollar per vehicle.If strengthening car seats is inexpensive, then what are regulators waiting for? NHTSA continues to maintain that it lacks the data needed to institute new regulations on strengthening seats. Current regulations require front seats to withstand 3,300 pounds of pressure during an accident. In Europe, similar regulations require front seats to withstand 4,691 pounds of pressure.Until automakers make changes that will prevent car seats from failing during rear-end collisions, this hazard will continue to put families at risk.

Is Your Child Safety Seat Defective?

Child safety seats have been marketed as products that can prevent injuries or deaths in the event of an accident. Unfortunately, we have troubling news for parents who use these products.Some child seats are not as safe as parents assume and many have been recalled for defects. If you use child safety seats, we encourage you to continue reading so you can be informed on how to protect your children. Finding information on recalls is a simple process due to laws on reporting defects.Once defects have been identified by manufacturers, they are required under the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act to inform the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) within five days so a recall can be issued. However, there are cases where manufacturers have been untimely in reporting recalls. In 2014, Graco recalled six million defective child safety seats over a defect that posed a risk to the safety of children.Graco’s defect was horrifying because it was exceptionally difficult for parents to spot. If children were to spill sticky drinks or food onto the harness buckles, the seats could fail to open during an emergency. All parents know that children are messy eaters, and many were put at risk by Graco’s safety seats.If an accident were to occur and the harness became stuck, it would be extremely difficult to remove a child from the vehicle. This means if a vehicle caught fire after an accident, a parent might be unable to remove his or her child from the safety seat. A NHTSA investigation revealed Graco had been untimely in reporting the defect and ordered the company to pay a $10 million fine.

Checking for Child Safety Seat Recalls is Easy

If you have children and use safety seats while driving, it is highly recommended that you regularly check for recall information. In addition to recall information, you can also access complaints from other consumers and investigations involving manufacturers. NHTSA operates www.safercar.gov, a website where parents can receive expedient information on child seat recalls and investigations.After arriving at the website, simply select the manufacturer of the safety seat you wish to check for defects and the model number. For example, if we enter safety seats made by Graco and the model number or make (Cozy Cline in this case), we receive a list of recalls, investigations, complaints and messages from the manufacturer.In this case, Graco’s Cozy Cline seat has been the subject of one recall and four investigations. Search results also display why the seat has been recalled and information on prior or existing investigations.Future blog updates will go into more detail on previous lawsuits and cases involving child safety seats, so we encourage you to follow us on Twitter.The product liability lawyers at Mike Love & Associates, LLC can assist families who have been harmed by negligent companies.

Protecting Your Family -- What You Really Need to Know About Your Auto Insurance Policy

Protecting Your Family -- What You Really Need to Know About Your Auto Insurance Policy

It is common knowledge that automobile accidents represent one of the highest ‘risk of injury’ in the lives of most people.  Over the years, my law firm has seen hundreds of East Texans injured in serious automobile accidents.  Sadly, in many of these cases, the person at fault either had little (or no) insurance to cover the injuries caused by the accident.

 By making sure that your auto policy includes a relatively inexpensive ‘add on’ coverage, you can go a long way toward protecting yourself and your family in the event you are involved in a serious accident of this nature.  In fact, for just a few dollars a month (over state required minimum policies) most people can significantly increase their coverage protection.There are basically three types of auto insurance:1)  Liability Insurance  -  Designed to pay others for personal injury and property damage if you cause an accident.  [State required and expensive]2) Collision  -  Designed to pay for your car repairs.  [This coverage can be moderately expensive.]3) Personal insurance designed to protect you, your family, and your passengers in an accident.  This coverage is relatively inexpensive and is by far the most important coverage to protect your family.  Unfortunately, most people never get a full explanation of the real value of this relatively cheap insurance from their agents.There are also three types of auto insurance in this third category.  They are Underinsured/Uninsured motorists coverage [UIM], Personal Injury Protection [PIP], and Medical Benefits Coverage [Med-Pay].Perhaps the most important of these is Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage.  UIM covers you, your family, and any other person riding in your vehicle if the at fault driver doesn’t have insurance (or enough insurance) to cover all the damages.  I explain to my clients that purchasing UIM coverage is like buying a liability policy on every single person in the world just in case they crash into your car (or family).  In other words, your liability policy protects other people if you cause an accident.  That’s good. However, for just a few dollars a month, a UIM policy also protects you, your family, and every passenger in your vehicle if the other driver caused the accident.Another piece of critical advice I give my clients is to be sure to get price quotes on a range of different coverage levels.  Unless you ask, many agents will only quote a minimum level policy (perhaps hoping to win your business with the cheapest bid).   However, you can probably get ten times the protection [$250,000.00 in coverage] for just a little more money.  For example, my premium for a six month auto policy with USAA is $463.15 and provides coverage at $300,000/$500,000/$50,000.   Out of the total six month premium, $78.07 is for liability property coverage (i.e. $50,000 to pay for the other person’s car if the accident is my fault).  At the same time, I pay only $38.31 every six months for $500,000.00 in UIM coverage protecting every person in my car if we are hit by an uninsured/underinsured driver.  That is a mere $6.38 per month for a half million dollars in UIM coverage!Insurance companies are able to sell these much larger policies for only slightly higher premiums because serious injuries are statistically rare.  On the other hand, it is in the case of a rare, but serious, accident when most individuals and/or families need protection.  With the high costs of today’s medical bills, adding Uninsured/Underinsured motorists coverage [UIM] to your auto policy makes a lot of sense.  Once your agent has provided prices for a range of different coverage amounts, then you can chose the level of coverage that protects your family and meets your budget.As a service to the community, our office offers a free review of your insurance policy.  Anyone who would like more information can call (936) 632-2000 to schedule a free appointment.  Additional answers to common questions [like why you should always buy PIP instead of MedPay] can be found on our website at www.texaslawoffice.com.Mike Love

Defective Water Filter Recalled by Manufacturer

You might want to check the label on any filters attached to your faucet following a recent announcement by Nephros water systems. Nephros has recalled its SafeSpout, SafeShower HH (Hand Held), and SafeShower FH (Fixed Head) systems because the filters “may pose risks to health potentially resulting in adverse health events or death.” The filter that supposed to make your water cleaner and safer may actually exposure you and your family to harmful bacteria through cracks in the fiber filter and/or the sealing compound, holding the fiber in place.The filters at issue are of the type that attach to the end of your sink faucet or shower head and should have the manufacturer’s logo and model name on the filter body. The defective filers were sold between October, 2011 and September, 2013. To date, one death has been reported.The FDA has classified the recall as a Class I (the most serious). To see the FDA recall notice click here.http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/ListofRecalls/ucm380452.htm

Why Insurance Companies refuse to pay your medical bills

Probably the biggest reason most people decide to call a lawyer after being in an accident is the fact that the insurance company for the driver that caused the accident ALWAYS refuses to pay any medical bills or lost wages unless you are willing to settle the entire claim.

Obviously, this puts the injured person in an impossible situation. How can you possibly settle your claim when you don't even know how bad you're hurt, how long you will be off work, if you will need surgery, or how much it will cost? One of the most common questions we get from people who start off trying to handle a claim on their own is "Why does the insurance company refuse to pay my medical bills?" Especially when they know it was their driver's fault. The answer is sad ..... but simple.The insurance company knows that if you can not afford to go to the doctor, you will not be able to prove you were hurt in the accident and they will not have to pay you anything. Likewise, if they help you and your family by paying your lost wages while your off work, you are much more likely to be able to afford medical treatment. Again, the insurance company knows that if you have medical treatment, you can prove you are hurt, which means they will have to pay more money. They know that if you can not afford medical treatment ... or the light bill, then you will accept pennies on the dollar for your claim out of desperation.An experienced lawyer can almost always predict what an insurance company will do. Its really simple actually. The insurance company will always do whatever saves them the most money. Unfortunately, with the insurance company, fairness is seldom the deciding factor.So now that you know the bad news ... what do you do about it if you have been hurt in an accident that was someone else's fault? First, understand that the other drivers' insurance company is not your friend. The adjuster's goal is to 1) try and avoid paying anything, and 2) if they have to pay … to pay as little as possible, and 3) delay, delay, delay. Remember, the big insurance companies collect premiums in the billions and cover losses in the hundreds of millions (if not billions). The interest on that kind of money is phenomenal. Every day they can make you wait is more money for them.So, if you are hurt, do not wait on the other side's insurance company. Go to the doctor as soon as possible. KEEP GOING TO THE DOCTOR for as long as you still have problems. Each time you go back to the doctor, tell him or her exactly what symptoms you are having.  My advice to all of my clients about the best question to ask your doctor is this: "What next?" In other words, if you are still in pain, or still having problems, still can't get back to work after a couple of weeks, you need to be telling the doctor: "This isn't getting any better" and "What is our next step in treatment?".  "What are my options, or tests to determine what is wrong?" and, "Is there a specialist that I need to see for this condition?"STRONG WARNING HERE ..... Referrals to specialists are critical if you are suffering from an ongoing injury. However, if you are to this point on your own and have still not consulted an attorney, seriously consider calling someone now. The reason I say this is related to what I mentioned above, insurance companies look to medical documentation to establish whether you are hurt or not (really more of whether you can prove you are hurt or not).  Here's the problem, there are many qualified specialist out there.  Doctors normally work on what's called a reciprocal referral basis. In other words, Dr. Smith refers all his hurt back patients to the Dr. that sends him OBGyn patients.Here's the problem with that arrangement. Defense attorneys and insurance companies have 'hired gun' specialists in every area that they use as 'expert witnesses' in their big cases.  In every town of 40,000 people or larger, there will be at least one or two neurologists, and orthopedic surgeons that are c0mmonly used by defense lawyers and insurance companies to 'review medical records' and say the patient is not really hurt, or more commonly, not hurt when their drunk driver ran the red light and broad sided your car.The last thing you need when you have been in an accident, is to have your well-meaning family doctor refer you to the insurance companies hired gun!! Unfortunately, unless you are a trial lawyer who knows the doctors in your area, you have no way of knowing who to avoid. If you have been seriously injured and are at the stage where it is time to start seeing specialists, I would strongly urge you to talk to an experienced attorney that is familiar with the doctors you need to avoid.For answers on how an attorney can help you get medical treatment if you don't have health insurance, see my post titled "How your attorney can help you get medical treatment."Our firm represents injured people all over the state of Texas and partners with top law firms across the country. If you are located outside the state of Texas and need a referral to a top P.I. law firm in your area, we can gladly help you find someone close to you.