Earlier this month the manufacturer of a magnetic toy set called “Magnetix,” agreed to pay $1.1 million in civil penalties to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for failing to provide the government timely information about the dangers that the product posed to children as required by federal law.
Mega Brands America Inc., formerly Rose Art Industries Inc., manufactured the Magnetix building sets which contained plastic components with small powerful embedded magnets that allowed the parts to be joined together. In March of 2006, Rose Art voluntarily recalled nearly 4 million of the Magentix sets following over 1,500 complaints of the magnets falling out in more than 65 different models of the toys. Numerous children were seriously injured when they ingested the magnets. Once ingested, the magnets would cause intestinal blockage, bowel perforation and secondary infections. Surgical removal and repair of intestinal damage was being reported to Rose Art. Rose Art reported the occurrence of a child’s death in Washington to the CPSC, but failed to reveal the other serious injury complaints that were coming in daily.
Our office has successfully handled several of these cases since 2006. If you have these toys in your household, or see them in use at day care centers or other play facilities, please stop their use immediately. If your child has been injured by the toy, we would be happy to discuss the matter with you to see if we can help. There is no charge for this consultation.
The recent death of screen and stage actress Natasha Richardson from what appeared to be a mild head injury has brought forth some startling statistics regarding the frequency of traumatically caused brain injuries, and the long term disabilities that they cause.
Most traumatic brain injuries are sustained in vehicular collisions. Traumatic brain injuries also occur in sports accidents, falls and violent assaults. According to the Brain Injury Resource Foundation, approximately 1.5 to 2 million people suffer from traumatic brain injuries each year in the United States. Of these, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 50,000 people die.
As reported by Injuryboard.com, males are more likely to suffer traumatic brain injuries than females. Persons 15-24 years of age, or over the age of 75, are most commonly affected.
Traumatic brain injuries can cause lifelong physical and mental impairments. Impairment of cognitive functioning can effect a persons ability to learn, work, socialize and even take care of themselves. Many traumatic brain injuries are initially overlooked, as the deficits may be very mild at first. Those who have suffered mild traumatic brain injuries often feel that their memory and other cognitive processing will simply improve with time. Often they do. However, when the effects of the traumatic brain injury continue beyond a year, no matter how mild they may be perceived, evaluation should be sought from a medical or neuropsychological expert. Delay in seeking such an evaluation could be detrimental as the ability to restore certain cognitive deficits may be irreversible with time.
On April 23, 2009 the U.S. Bureau of Reclaimation announced that water flows from Keswick Dam will be increasing to a level above 7,000 cfs. Under guidelines adopted by the Redding City Council after reconstruction of the Cypress Ave bridge commenced two years ago, boat traffic under the bridge or construction tressels is prohibited when flows reach or exceed 7,000 cfs. Boating is stopped because of lack of clearance under the structures. This affects motorboats and non-motorized boats and flotilla alike.
According to the Record Searchlight signs have been posted announcing the closure. As we have stated in past posts, the signs do not seem to be effective, particularly for non-motorized traffic such as rafts, as people still access the river above the bridge, and once committed may not be able to get to shore before the flow takes them under the construction zone. From our office over the past year, we have seen many flotilla succumb to these circumstances. Fortunately, as far as we know, no one has been injured to this point.
We would recommend to casual rafters and others not familiar with the currents and topography near the Cypress Ave bridge, that access to the river be gained downstream from the bridge.