The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that Nordica USA, of West Lebanon, N.H., has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $214,000. The penalty agreement has been provisionally accepted by the Commission (5–0). The settlement resolves CPSC staff’s allegations that Nordica USA knowingly failed to report immediately to CPSC the safety defect and hazard with the “XBi ALU Skis” binding plates, as required by federal law. In Fall 2008, Nordica USA discovered that it had about 200 reports of warranty claims related to the XBi ALU Skis’ binding plates cracking and breaking. CPSC staff alleges that Nordica USA knew that XBi ALU Skis’ binding plates were defective and could cause harm, but failed to report this information immediately to CPSC. The binding plates could crack or break, causing skiers to lose control or [...] Read more »
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Health Canada, and the Consumer Protection Federal Agency of the United Mexican States (Profeco) concluded a first-of-its-kind consumer product safety Summit that was aimed at strengthening the protections for children and consumers throughout North America. The three federal agencies with jurisdiction over consumer products in the United States, Canada, and Mexico issued a joint statement (Español) (pdf) promoting greater cooperation and engagement in ensuring the safety of products made and sold across North America. According to the U.S. Trade Representative, the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among the U.S., Canada, and Mexico created the world’s largest free trade area, linking 450 million people producing $17 trillion worth of goods and services. The increasing volume of global trade and the complexity of global supply chains require cooperation [...] Read more »
A $2.2 million grant will allow the University of Louisville and Frazier Rehab Institute to establish a new program to broaden their research and care in spinal cord injury cases. The research element will examine the effect of the drug baclofen on locomotion in chronic spinal cord injury patients, said Dr. Susan Harkema, a U of L professor and director of research for Frazier Rehab, who will be the lead investigator in the study. The new Frazier Rehab and Neuroscience Spinal Cord Injury Model System will join 13 similar model systems across the nation, officials announced Wednesday. Through the model system, researchers from U of L and Frazier Rehab will broaden the scope of care for traumatic spinal cord patients, officials said at a news conference. Researchers also will conduct evidence-based research on a drug [...] Read more »
The Federal Communications Commission’s “safe exposure” limits for low-level radiation absorbed from cell phones operating at their highest possible power level—known as the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)—“does not adequately protect” most people who use cell phones, especially children who absorb more cell phone radiation than adults, according to an article published online this week in the journal, Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine. The reason: The testing procedure used to certify cell phones’ compliance with SAR limits systematically underestimates radiation exposure levels for most cell phone users, reported the researchers from the Environmental Health Trust, a nonprofit scientific organization, and elsewhere. The main problem, they wrote, is that such testing has involved cell-phone radiation readings using mannequin heads based on the upper end of U.S. military recruits–the size of a 6-foot 2-inch, 220 pound man–and filled with [...] Read more »
All southbound lanes of Highway 101 are shut down at this time at the Interstate 80 split in San Francisco due to a fiery crash involving an overturned big-rig truck, authorities said. The crash happened near the westbound Interstate 80 split to southbound Highway 101 shortly after 5 a.m., when a truck crashed and overturned, causing a fire, the California Highway Patrol said. Several other cars are involved in the incident, and debris from the collision fell from the freeway onto 16th Street, causing one Muni line to take detours, authorities said. The driver of the truck suffered moderate injuries and was taken to San Francisco General Hospital. All southbound lanes of Highway 101 are closed indefinitely. The CHP has issued a Sigalert and is urging motorists to use alternate routes. If you or someone [...] Read more »
At least 18 people were injured in a low-speed collision between two Amtrak trains near the Oakland passenger station in Jack London Square late Wednesday. The collision occurred at Webster Street and Embarcadero around 10 p.m., at least 18 people had minor injuries. A passenger’s who were interviewed by KTVU said the impact was severe enough to jolt people from their seats and to the floor. Most of the injuries were bumps and bruises, but a Hayward woman told the station that her daughter was sent to the hospital with a broken arm. “It was an awful jolt,” said Alton Smith, a passenger from Oklahoma who told KTVU he had a sore neck after the crash. “I was sitting down, but I don’t know what would have happened had I been standing up.” Amtrak officials [...] Read more »
Five students suffered minor injuries this morning when the driver of their school bus crashed into a farm tractor while trying to pass it, authorities said. The collision happened at Runge and Hackman roads in Dixon at about 7:25 a.m., according to California Highway Patrol spokesperson Officer Chris Parker. The driver of the small bus was driving east on Hackman and decided to pass the tractor, which had its hazard lights flashing due to it’s slow speed, Parker said. The tractor made a left turn and crashed into the bus, causing the bus to tip over. The bus driver suffered moderate injuries and the students, ages 16 to 22, had minor injuries. Their names were not released. No citations were issued pending the outcome of an investigation, Parker said. If you or someone you know [...] Read more »
A total of 100 people have been infected with Listeria from bacteria-laden cantaloupes from Jensen Farms in Colorado, while an additional 18 people have died, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its latest update. All illnesses started on or after July 31, 2011, in what the CDC is calling the deadliest outbreak of a foodborne illness in the United States for more than a decade. The 18 deaths were reported from the following states: 5 in Colorado, 2 in Kansas, 1 in Maryland, 1 in Missouri, 1 in Nebraska, 5 in New Mexico, 1 in Oklahoma, and 2 in Texas. The outbreak has also sickened people from the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, [...] Read more »
A man was struck and killed by a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail train Monday evening in north San Jose, according to police. The collision was reported at 11:43 p.m. at North First Street and East Trimble Avenue, according to Officer Jose Garcia, a police spokesman. Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the collision and identify the man. As of this posting o further details are available. Alexander Hawes, LLP is a nationally-recognized and award-winning personal injury law firm with offices in San Jose and San Francisco. We are passionate about our clients and our community. We are advocates for our clients and we invite you to visit our client testimonials to understand our commitment to our clients. We have a long record of delivering results and we invite you [...] Read more »
Attention: Any woman currently using bill control pills, you may want to abstain from sex until you check out the packaging – unless of course you want to get pregnant. Qualitest Pharmaceuticals has issued a recall on six of its birth control products, including Cyclafem 7/7/7, Cyclafem 1/35, Emoquette, Gildess FE 1.5/30, Gildess FE 1/20, Orsythia, Previfem and Tri-Previfem. The recall takes effect immediately. According to Qualitest a packaging mix up may lead to women taking improper doses of the drugs, possibly leading to unwanted pregnancies. But if don’t panic well at least not until you check the lot numbers as not all pills were affected. Unfortunately, the packaging snafu also partially obscures the lot number so consumers may need to hunt for it, but in a case such as birth control its worth the extra [...] Read more »
