Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys personal injury lawyer talks about Chevy Cobalt and other related crashes and potential GM cover up

The Department of Justice and committees in the U.S. House and Senate are now investigating whether GM delayed recalling Chevrolet Cobalts and other cars with faulty ignition switches, as well as whether the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) should have demanded the automaker act sooner.

According to depositions filed in a civil lawsuit against GM over the death of a 29-year-old pediatric nurse in the crash of her Chevrolet Cobalt, the company knew a decade before it issued a recall that its Cobalt had an ignition switch problem that could shut off the engine while driving. This would cut off the driver’s power steering and brakes, in addition to safety systems, such as airbags.

GM acknowledged the problem in a 2005 technical service bulletin, a routine notice from automakers to dealers about possible problems and fixes. The bulletin did not tell dealers to put new key covers on the keys of the new Cobalts before they were sold or to alert buyers of the possibility that the key might move out of place and the engine might stall. […]

Pennsylvania personal injury lawyer discusses GM safety recall

GM has announced a recall of 1.6 million cars in the U.S. for a faulty ignition switch that can cut power without warning, shutting off safety systems, including airbags. GM knew of 13 deaths linked to the airbag failures.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has launched an investigation into why GM did not promptly recall the vehicles after it learned that faulty ignition switches were causing fatal crashes.

An increasing number of defective airbags lead to a record number of recalls in 2013, according to NHTSA records. Airbags have, at times, failed to deploy in serious car crashes and deployed on drivers who weren’t in crashes, causing serious injuries.

GM recalled their vehicles in two phases last month, but documents filed with the federal safety agency demonstrate that the automaker first learned of the problem in 2004. GM told NHTSA that it knows of 31 frontal crashes and 13 front-seat deaths in cases in which the faulty ignition switch had moved out of the “run” […]

More Than 260,000 Children Injured in Toy-Related Accidents

Toy-related injuries land hundreds of thousands of children in the ER in 2011

A serious accident involving your child is one of life’s most wrenching experiences. A family’s ordeal is compounded if the child’s death or serious injury occurred in a preventable accident caused by an unsafe toy or dangerous product.  If you believe your child was injured by a dangerous toy, talk to attorneys who know the law regarding unsafe toys.

A recent report on toy-related injuries by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says there were 262,300 children treated for toy-related injuries in U.S. hospital emergency rooms in 2011. While most children were treated and released, some suffered serious injuries or even fatal injuries. Thirteen children younger than age 15 died of toy-related accidents in 2011, the consumer product safety commission reported.

Most toy-related deaths were caused by asphyxiation or drowning. Three children died from choking on balloons. […]

Children Killed By Falling Furniture In 2011

41 killed by falling furniture in 2011

Falling TVs and furniture caused the death of a record number of U.S. children last year, according to federal safety statistics.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released a report on December 13 that found 349 people were killed by toppling televisions, dressers and appliances between 2000 and 2011. Eighty-four percent of the victims were under the age of nine.

Forty-one people were killed in 2011 alone – or almost one death per week. This was 10 more than 2010 and the highest one-year number of tip-over fatalities ever reported.

Accidents and unintentional injuries are the fifth leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

This is from the CPSC report:

CPSC estimates that more than 43,000 consumers are injured each year in tip-over incidents. […]

Half a Million Bottles of Generic Lipitor Recalled

Pennsylvania residents taking cholesterol medicine should be warned that 480,000 bottles of generic Lipitor have been recalled because they might contain tiny glass fragments.

On November 9, Ranbaxy Inc. announced a massive voluntary recall of Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets.

Days later, Ranbaxy announced it was halting production of the tablets altogether until it had pinpointed the cause of the glass particulates – thought to have come from a faulty liner on a production tank at the company’s production facility in India.

Individuals and families who are injured by defective drugs have a right to bring a lawsuit for financial compensation.

Following is from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recall notice:

On November 9, Ranbaxy Inc. initiated a voluntary recall of 41 affected lots of Atorvastatin Calcium Tablets (10 mg, 20 mg and 40 mg) which is a solid oral dosage form, […]