South Florida Injury Attorney Blog

As a Davie product defect attorney, I have kept an eye on the Toyota recall. Last year, the automaker announced the largest recall in its history, of 4.3 million vehicles implicated in multiple reports of sudden and unintentional acceleration. In that recall, Toyota said improperly positioned floor mats were causing accelerator pedals to stick open, sometimes causing panicked drivers to launch into walls or over cliffs. The defect has caused at least 19 deaths, including the August death of an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer trained in vehicle safety and three members of his family. Now, the Los Angeles Times reported Jan. 23, Toyota is recalling 2.3 million more vehicles, saying a mechanical problem is causing the pedal to stick.

The new recall is raising eyebrows, the Times wrote, because Toyota had previously denied any problems other than the floor mat problem. The automaker didn’t explicitly say it no longer believed this, but most of the vehicles involved in the new recall are the same vehicles in the floor mat recall. Some safety experts quoted by the newspaper said they believe the real problem is actually Toyota’s “drive by wire” system, which controls acceleration through an onboard computer rather than mechanical parts. Toyota says the pedal can stick down when it gets worn. It doesn’t have a solution to the pedal problem yet, but has asked drivers who encounter the problem to apply the brakes and call a dealer immediately. Experts also suggest that drivers deal with unintended acceleration by turning off the car or shifting into neutral. Drivers can find more information from Toyota here and a list of vehicles involved in both recalls here.

According to the article, Toyota rejected the computer-bug theory when investigating an incident that led to the most recent recall. This recall is probably still good for drivers, but it disturbs me as a West Palm Beach defective product lawyer that Toyota didn’t investigate the idea that its drive-by-wire system could be the real culprit. In fact, it was basically forced to concede the pedal problem after a sudden-acceleration incident that seemed unrelated to floor mat problems. Mechanical parts are much cheaper to fix than computer systems -- but if computers are the problem, that hardly matters. If the expert quoted in the newspaper is right, Toyota’s failure to face the problem will continue to put people at risk until it’s impossible for the automaker to ignore it -- putting more lives in danger.

Continue reading "Toyota Announces New Recall Implicating Stuck Pedals in Sudden Acceleration" »

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Posted In: automobile accidents , product defects

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As a Hollywood auto product defect attorney, I was very pleased to read Dec. 26 that Toyota will recall 4.26 million vehicles to address reports of unintended, uncontrollable acceleration in late-model Toyota and Lexus cars and trucks. Responding to more than 1,000 incidents that caused at least 19 deaths, the company said it would change the shape of the gas pedals in seven models; replace floor mats that may cause the pedals to stick; and reconfigure on-board software to override the throttle when both the gas and the brakes are pressed at the same time. But according to a Nov. 29 article from the Los Angeles Times, many Toyota owners and safety experts believe these fixes miss the real problem -- the electronic throttle system that replaced mechanical throttles during this decade.

The electronic system, also called drive-by-wire, uses sensors and a computer system, rather than a physical structure like a cable, to determine how much pressure the driver is putting on the accelerator. According to the article, there was an average of about 26 complaints a year about unintended acceleration in 1999-2001 model year Camry and Lexus ES sedans. After the electronic throttle was introduced, that average shot up by five times, to 136 complaints a year, in 2002-2004 model years. Similarly, the average number of complaints about sudden acceleration in Toyota Tacoma trucks shot up by 20 times after the trucks got drive-by-wire. Toyota denies that the electronic system is to blame for the problem, but the only independent test of the electronic throttle -- conducted by the federal government -- found that engine speed surged when a magnetic field was applied to the computer.

Perhaps most damning was the article’s story about Eric Weiss of Long Beach, CA. After Weiss survived one sudden acceleration incident in his 2008 Toyota Tacoma, his dealer removed the floor mats. Months later, he was stopped at a red light when his truck -- without the floor mats -- began accelerating, requiring him to stand on the brakes to avoid another accident. He told the newspaper that he doesn’t want to drive his truck anymore, but doesn’t want anyone else to drive it either.

As a North Miami Beach defective auto attorney, I am disappointed and concerned by this news. If the allegations the article makes are true, Toyota has failed to address a life-threatening problem. The government’s records show that sudden acceleration events have killed at least 19 people, and caused many, many more accidents. Toyota is a popular brand in the United States, which means there are many millions of late-model Toyota and Lexus vehicles with the drive-by-wire system on the road. Even if only a handful have sudden acceleration problems, they could still cause dozens of deaths and catastrophic injuries. The Times reported elsewhere that the cost of the announced recall could easily be more than $250 million, which is a lot to pay for a recall that might not actually solve the problem. Under these circumstances, it seems wise for Toyota to delay action until it can eliminate the possibility of electronic throttle system defects -- or can eliminate the defects themselves.

Continue reading "Doubts Persist About Accelerator Problems as Toyota Recalls 4.26 Million Vehicles" »

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As a Pembroke Pines auto accident attorney, I was sorry to see reports of a serious accident affecting four students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. According to a Nov. 16 article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Anthony Almonte, Sean Maxey and Robert Nugent died just after midnight on Sunday morning after their vehicle crashed through a guardrail and into a canal off Broken Woods Drive in Coral Springs. The fourth teen in the car, 15-year-old Evan Sinisgalli, was able to escape and stumble to the shore, where he called to neighbors for help. The four were out celebrating their high school’s homecoming weekend.

The accident may have been a mistake by Maxey, the driver, who had had his license for less than a month. Maxey reportedly had a fender-bender with another driver when trying to make a turn from Broken Woods onto University Drive. After that crash, Maxey put the car into reverse and apparently just kept going, traveling at least 242 feet and hitting a street sign before hitting the guardrail and going over the edge. Sinisgalli told police he had unbuckled his seatbelt after the crash, expecting to get out. The other young men were all wearing seatbelts when rescue workers found them drowned. Broward County’s Chief Medical Examiner said their injuries weren’t serious enough to stop them from trying to escape and suggested that water pressure may have made it difficult to open the doors.

My heart goes out to the families and friends of these young men. The victims’ friends say that they weren’t drinking, but suggested that Maxey may have been trying to flee the scene because he was out later than teenaged drivers are allowed under Florida law. This accident may have been a panicked overreaction by an inexperienced driver. But as a Tamarac car crash lawyer, I will be very interested to see whether the investigation turns up any defects in the 2007 Volkswagen they were using. Thanks to the Toyota and Lexus recall, we already know that electronic systems in late-model vehicles are suspected of causing problems, or exacerbating mechanical problems they were not designed to handle. If the rapid backward acceleration Maxey experienced was not intentional, he and his friends may have been victims of a serious safety flaw that could affect more Volkswagen drivers.

Continue reading "Three Teenagers Dead and One Injured After Unexpected Reversing Puts Car in Canal" »

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As a South Florida product defects lawyer, I was disappointed, along with many other Floridians, to see an Oct. 29 report from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Chinese drywall. As I have written before, homeowners in Florida and around the U.S. believe the drywall is tainted with chemicals that make residents of the homes sick. A group of federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, set out to test that theory. The agencies found elevated levels of some chemicals. But as the Sun-Sentinel reports, the chemical levels found are not associated with human health risks. This answer has disappointed and angered many homeowners who feel driven out of their homes by the drywall.

During the housing boom in the middle of this decade, many builders ran out of American drywall and imported substitutes from China. After moving in, homeowners around Florida and the nation discovered terrible sulfurous smells and health symptoms including persistent headaches, corroded metal, breathing problems, frequent illness and complications of asthma. For some, the problems were so bad that they moved out. In all, the newspaper said, the problems have generated 1,900 complaints from 30 states, including 1,317 from Florida alone. The test results released in October are preliminary, involving just 10 homes in Florida and Louisiana as well as new, uninstalled Chinese drywall. Results of more thorough testing in 50 homes are expected by Thanksgiving.

As the newspaper notes, the federal studies have focused on the health effects of Chinese drywall -- not the financial effects on homeowners. But as our Parkland defective product attorneys know, the financial side of the problem is very real for the homeowners who are affected. Those in the article include one woman who is renting, but also paying her mortgage and homeowner’s fees, while waiting for an answer. Another homeowner moved his family into a rental while paying a contractor to rip out and replace their home’s drywall. Not surprisingly, these homeowners are frustrated by the government’s lack of conclusions or support. Florida’s Sen. Bill Nelson (D) has called for FEMA aid, but at the moment, homeowners are stuck being their own rescuers.

Continue reading "Multi Agency Federal Investigation of Chinese Drywall Defects Is Inconclusive" »

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As a Broward County injuries to minors lawyer, I was relieved to see a happy ending to a South Florida case that got national attention. Firefighters from Key Biscayne and Miami spent a tense hour Aug. 24 rescuing a three-year-old girl who got stuck in a swimming pool’s drain. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the little girl was swimming under adult supervision in a backyard pool at a condominium building on Key Biscayne when her arm got stuck. Rescue workers eventually managed to free her, but had to cut a part of the pipe and attached concrete in order to do it. According to the paper, the girl’s hand was slightly crushed, but she was not seriously injured.

It was unclear how the unnamed little girl got stuck in the drain, but the suction created by the drain kept her, and rescuers, from being able to simply pull her arm out. Instead, they tried draining the pool to relieve water pressure, then realized that pressure was not the problem and began cutting out the pipe. While the firefighters worked, the girl’s parents jumped into the pool and helped hold her head above water so she could breathe. After she was freed, she was airlifted to a hospital for further treatment.

Safety advocates told the newspaper that the case underscores the importance of a new federal law intended to prevent just this kind of accident. The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act requires public pools and spas -- including apartment and condo pools like this one -- to install dome-shaped or large and flat drain covers that children cannot get their hands into. Poolsafety.gov, a government Web site explaining the law, said the suction can entrap small children, causing deaths or serious brain damage due to drowning. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 83 swimming pool entrapments between 1999 and 2008, including 11 fatalities and 69 injuries. Nonetheless, safety advocates said pools around the nation, including the Key Biscayne pool, are not complying with the law, and states have not enforced it, suggesting there may be “a huge safety problem.”

As a Boca Raton child injury attorney, I am particularly concerned about this because South Florida is full of swimming pools, many of which are not in compliance with the Act or not obligated to be. However, manufacturers of swimming pool drains and equipment, like all manufacturers, have a legal obligation to make products that are safe to use and free of defects -- or at least warn their customers about potential safety problems. And operators of public and apartment-complex swimming pools are obligated to comply with the Act. In this case, failing to fulfill those duties puts children at risk of death, which I believe everyone can agree is unacceptable. When children are hurt as a result of this negligence, they and their families have a legal right to hold the negligent people legally liable for the injuries and the often-steep financial costs they cause.

Continue reading "Safety Advocates Call for Stronger Product Safety Enforcement After Key Biscayne Girl Entrapped by Pool Drain" »

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Posted In: injuries to minors , premises liability , product defects

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Broward County health officials investigating a possible food poisoning death have ordered a country club to throw out a substantial amount of meat, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported June 15. The inspection of the Weston Hills Country Club’s restaurant was ordered after a member, Edward Nacht, died of an illness that set in after eating at the club. Inspectors have not found evidence connecting the incident with food poisoning, but they did find multiple health code violations. The investigation is ongoing.

Nacht, a dentist from Plantation, had played golf with three friends on the morning of June 3, then headed to the restaurant. All four people in the party had a chicken dish, and all four felt sick later in the day. Six days later, Nacht, an apparently healthy and active 65-year-old, died. The Sun-Sentinel reported that the cause of death was a massive bacterial infection, but the country club disputed that in a press release. Pointing out that no one else who ate chicken that day got sick, it suggested that the illness was viral.

Nonetheless, the state’s inspectors found 16 health code violations on a June 10 visit. The violation that led to discarding the meat had to do with a malfunctioning cooler, which let the temperature of the meat rise above the maximum 41 degrees for 12 hours or more. Other violations included allowing raw foods to touch; leaking coolers; improper hand-washing and a slimy ice machine. An inspection in April turned up similar problems.

As a Pembroke Pines defective products lawyer, I’m pleased that this case is bringing attention to the risk of food poisoning at restaurants. Most recent high-profile food poisoning scares, such as the Georgia peanut butter recall, had to do with food products intended for consumption at home. While those risks are real and serious, risks at restaurants can be even greater. Because they handle such high volumes of food and customers, restaurants run a much higher risk than home kitchens of accidentally serving contaminated food. The problem is only compounded by the disconnect between kitchen staff and customers, which can allow violations to go unnoticed longer.

Just like the manufacturers of food for home consumption, restaurants have a legal obligation to make sure their food is safe to eat. If they fail in that obligation, they could be legally liable for selling a defective product, just as food manufacturers would be. (Depending on the cause of the food poisoning, the restaurant might also, or instead, be guilty of negligence.) In a Hialeah food poisoning lawsuit, victims can claim all of the losses the tainted food caused for them, including the cost of medical bills and time off work, as well as compensation for their pain, suffering and any permanent disability or wrongful death.

If you believe a food manufacturer or restaurant’s carelessness gave you serious food poisoning, you should call our law firm, Cohn, Smith & Cohn, as soon as possible. Our Jupiter product defects attorneys represent people throughout South Florida who were seriously injured by a defective or unreasonably dangerous consumer product, including food products. We’re proud to say that, in more than 25 years of practice, we have helped hundreds of Floridians get the compensation they need to pay medical bills, make ends meet while recovering from a serious injury and eventually move on. To learn more about your options at a free, confidential consultation, please contact us online or call our main office at (954) 431-8100.

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A trial has begun in Naples in a lawsuit alleging that design defects were responsible for a woman’s disabling and disfiguring injuries, the Naples Daily News reported June 8. Audrey Decker, 64, and her husband, 66-year-old Fred Decker, are suing boat engine manufacturer Boston Whaler over a 1999 accident in which Audrey Decker fell overboard, sustaining serious injuries when her body became entangled with the boat’s propeller. The case was contentious, with the judge in the case repeatedly warning defense attorneys that they would be penalized if they continued to reargue settled issues or personally attack the plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Fred Decker was cited for careless operation of his boat that day, with alcohol involvement, but no charges were filed. However, the Deckers’ claim is a South Florida products liability lawsuit, which means that the reason Audrey Decker fell overboard isn’t being disputed. Instead, the couple alleges that the boat was defectively designed because manufacturers didn’t include a propeller guard, an inexpensive part that keeps objects out of the path of the propeller’s sharp blades. The judge ruled that the case is about the “crashworthiness” of the boat -- meaning that, because boating accidents are foreseeable, the question is whether the manufacturer did enough to forestall serious injuries in accidents.

A June 6 article from the Daily News details the injuries Audrey Decker suffered in the accident. She lost her left eye, her left breast and part of her nose and lip in the accident. Doctors saved her left arm, but it’s heavily scarred and the slightest touch causes her pain because of nerve damage. Her face is heavily scarred and disfigured by the loss of fat and bone. She has had 40 operations since the accident, but children and adults still stare sometimes, making her reluctant to leave the house. She takes pain medication regularly and needs help performing household tasks. She can no longer work, and the Deckers sold their home to pay some of her medical bills, living in a trailer for two years before they could afford another.

The Daily News cited federal statistics saying Americans had 80 accidents with boat propellers in 2007, causing seven deaths and 75 injuries. As a Pompano Beach boating accident lawyer, I know that’s a tiny fraction of boating accidents -- the U.S. Coast Guard reported 685 deaths from recreational boating in the same year. The same report said 485 people fell overboard from any cause, suggesting that it’s easy for boating companies and boat parts manufacturers to anticipate falling-overboard accidents. As with all manufacturers in Florida, these boating manufacturers are legally obligated to design products that don’t pose an unreasonable risk, including a risk from a foreseeable accident. If they fail in that duty, victims have the right to hold them responsible for the results with a Miami-Dade product defects lawsuit.

If you or someone you love was seriously hurt in South Florida by flaws in any consumer product, you have the right to hold the manufacturer legally liable for the results. That includes design flaws, manufacturing problems and failure by the manufacturer to warn you about the dangers of using the product. Cohn, Smith & Cohn can help. Our Cape Coral defective product lawyers have more than 25 years of experience helping Floridians get justice after a serious accident. We can help victims win the money they need to pay medical bills; make ends meet while they cannot work; and compensate them for the painful and sometimes lifelong effects of a serious injury.

Our Davie product defect attorneys offer free, confidential consultations to all potential clients. To set one up, please call our main Hollywood office at (954) 431-8100 or contact us online today.

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Posted In: boating accidents , product defects

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As a Hialeah defective products attorney I have followed news reports about problems with defective Chinese drywall with great interest. In short, regulators have seen a flood of complaints in the past year about defective drywall installed in their brand-new homes, generally those built between 2004 and 2008 and especially homes in South Florida. Residents say the foul-smelling drywall corrodes metal in their homes, forcing them to replace components of systems like air conditioners much more frequently than they should. More importantly, the defective drywall makes residents chronically ill, they said, giving them allergies, sinus infections, asthma attacks, chronic coughs and other cold symptoms that won’t go away.

The health problems are so bad for some families that they are forced to move out of their own homes and pay rent on another home. That was the story for the family featured in a May 6 article on CNN.com. Until recently, homeowner Amy Massachi lived in an 18-month-old, $1.2 million home in Parkland with her children and other family members, including a pregnant niece. But after more than a year of chronic visits from the family for sore throats, respiratory infections and bloody noses, their doctor advised them to simply move out. Despite the health risk, Massachi’s mortgage lender refuses to suspend her payments, leaving her obligated to pay off a home she now believes is worthless, along with rent payments.

According to CNN, authorities believe the problem is drywall imported from China during the housing boom. A test for the Florida Department of Health found volatile strontium sulfide in the drywall, which created the smell and the corrosive vapors when exposed to heat and humidity -- very common conditions in South Florida. Authorities don’t yet know how the compound is related to the corrosion and health problems, but multiple state and federal agencies are investigating, including the EPA and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has received more than 180 complaints about the drywall. The Florida Department of Health told CNN it had received more than 330 complaints.

The defective Chinese drywall has already spurred multiple product liability lawsuits, and as a Boca Raton defective products lawyer, I predict many more. CNN reported that as many as 30,000 homes across the U.S. may contain the drywall, and that adds up to hundreds of thousands of affected homeowners. Florida state law allows people who have been harmed by defective products like the drywall to sue manufacturers for deaths, serious injuries and any financial costs the flawed product required. In Massachi’s case and in many others, those financial costs could be as much as the cost of the defective home. Home builders and others who used the defective drywall might also be liable in a Miami defective product lawsuit.

If your family is experiencing serious physical and financial problems because of defective Chinese drywall, or any other dangerous product, Cohn, Smith & Cohn can help. We have more than 25 years of experience helping seriously injured Floridians get justice after they were seriously hurt by someone else’s negligence. We can help you win the money you need to pay the costs of chronic illness and multiple doctor visits, missed work and the cost of setting up an entire new home. And we offer free consultations, so you can learn more about your options without any further obligation. To set one up, please contact Cohn, Smith & Cohn online or call us at (954) 431-8100 as soon as possible.

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Millions of drivers could be driving on tires that are likely to blow out without warning due to a safety defect. Tire valve stem manufacturer Dill Air Control Products announced Dec. 9 that it is recalling millions of tires with the defective stems, which were sold with cracks. About 200,000 tires are implicated in the recall, but because the manufacturer doesn’t know which ones are which, about two million are included in the recall. The affected tires were sold between November of 2006 and July of 2007 and should have the word “DILL” stamped on the cap of the valve stem (the area where drivers inflate their tires). If you have these tires, you can visit the retailer that sold you the tires for a free inspection and possible replacement. Detailed instructions and more information are here.

Unfortunately, the recall comes after a blowout blamed on a defective valve stem claimed the life of a Florida man. According to Orlando television news station WESH, Robert “Chip” Monk died in 2007 when a tire on his car blew out unexpectedly on Interstate 75. Blowouts can cause motorists to lose control of their vehicles, especially at highway speeds, leading to a serious accident. Monk’s wife, Sara Monk, hired an attorney who traced the cause of the accident to a defective tire valve stem imported from China. Dill Air Control Products admitted to Monk’s attorney that it knew about the problems in the summer of 2007, but did not tell federal regulators or the public until May of 2008. Sara Monk has sued.

This story is a sad example of the tragedies that result when we trust cars and auto parts that turn out not to be so trustworthy. Even the most careful drivers can’t avoid serious accidents if they’re driving with vehicles or parts that betray them. And when manufacturers fail to report problems, due to embarrassment or concerns about profits, they betray their customers a second time. Federal regulators are charged with investigating defects and ordering a recall whenever necessary, but unfortunately, they cannot be everywhere. Even so, thousands of consumer products are recalled each year, including cars and trucks and their parts and accessories, such as child safety seats.

Because of the risk that manufacturers will choose profits over customer safety, Florida laws hold manufacturers strictly liable for injuries caused by safety defects in their products. A Florida defective products lawsuit holds manufacturers legally and financially liable for the injuries they cause, including wrongful deaths and permanent disabilities. It can also help compensate victims for the losses they’ve sustained, including financial injuries like repair costs and missed work, as well as emotional losses like the loss of a loved one’s love and care. If you or someone you love has been hurt by a defective product and you’d like to learn more, you can contact my firm, Cohn, Smith & Cohn, for a free consultation.

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Posted In: automobile accidents , product defects

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A news report suggests that bad Christmas lights might be to blame for a house fire that destroyed a home early on Dec. 10. The owner of the home, Roberto Gonzalez, told Miami’s Local 10.com that he and his wife awoke at about 1:30 a.m. after they smelled smoke. The couple managed to grab their children, ages four and five, and escape the fire, but nearly everything in the home was destroyed. While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, the station reported the fire started near the family’s Christmas tree, and that a firefighter told Gonzalez that a faulty cord was probably to blame.

According to the American Red Cross, bad wiring (including wiring of electrical appliances) is a leading cause of house fires. With strings of lights appearing every day in honor of the holidays, that’s worth keeping in mind. When a string of Christmas lights or another electrical device comes with bad wiring, it’s a defective product just like a tainted food product or a child’s toy with lead paint. Florida law holds manufacturers of defective products legally liable for any injuries, deaths and financial damages the product flaws cost. Even if the manufacturer didn’t know about the product’s flaws, those who are hurt as a result may still fire a Florida product defects lawsuit.

House fires that take place at night pose special dangers, because the residents of the home are almost always asleep. If they don’t wake right away and can’t be rescued quickly, they can inhale so much smoke that they are unable to wake at all -- causing death from lack of oxygen, burns or very high temperatures. If rescuers get victims out in time, those victims may still have serious injuries, including brain damage from asphyxiation and serious burns. These are physically, emotionally and financially devastating injuries that often lead to permanent disabilities or disfigurement.

This family was fortunate enough to wake up in time to escape without serious injury, but they have still lost everything in their home -- a difficult prospect at any time of year. If it turns out that their fire was caused by a product with unsafe electrical wiring, they would have the right to sue the product’s manufacturer for their financial losses, including missed wages from time off work as well as the loss of their property. Our firm, Cohn, Smith & Cohn, has handled many such Florida defective products claims. If you or someone you love is in a similar situation and you believe it may be due to a defective product, we would like to help. To set up a free consultation with an experienced South Florida attorney, contact us today.

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Up in the Tampa area, a tragedy was narrowly averted when two teenagers were rescued from a house fire caused by a malfunctioning clothes dryer. Around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, a neighbor noticed flames in the home and called firefighters, who rescued a teenage girl, a teenage boy and a cat. Fortunately, the rest of the family wasn’t home. The boy remained at Tampa General Hospital, according to the report, but the girl has been released. I am delighted that nobody was killed and wish them a speedy and full recovery.

According to the article, the fire was started when the dryer overheated because of a clogged lint screen. But it was exacerbated because the house’s smoke detectors weren’t working, making them unable to warn the teens that they were in danger. House fires are the most common type of fire in the United States, according to the American Burn Association, and faulty electronic appliances or wiring are one of the most common causes of house fires (after cooking and smoking accidents). According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency responsible for monitoring product defects, clothes dryer fires caused more than 15,000 fires in one year, causing 20 deaths and 370 injuries.

If it turns out that the dryer was designed or manufactured in a way that made this fire unreasonably likely, that would make it defective -- which means this family would likely have a defective product lawsuit. Of course, they and every family should have working smoke detectors -- but as minors, the teens were hardly responsible for that omission.

The article doesn’t say what injuries the teen suffered, but statistically, they’re most likely to have smoke inhalation injuries and contact burns, both of which can be serious and life-threatening injuries. Severe burns can also leave their victims disfigured, causing discrimination from thoughtless strangers and necessitating years of expensive corrective surgeries. If you or someone you love has suffered these sorts of serious injuries because of a defective product, you have the right in Florida to hold the product’s manufacturer or seller responsible for the results. Contact Cohn, Smith & Cohn for a free evaluation of your product liability case.

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Posted In: burn injuries , injuries to minors , product defects

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