Children and Product Liability Law
Posted by: Tim Aiken
March 30, 2006

NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

CPSC, Speedway SuperAmerica LLC Announce Recall of “Speedway” Cigarette Lighters

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: “Speedway” Cigarette Lighters  Units: About 500,000 Importer: Golden Star Group, of Walnut, Calif. Retailer: Speedway SuperAmerica LLC, of Enon, Ohio

Hazard: The flame can flare up or the lighter can catch fire when ignited, posing risks of unexpected fires and burn injuries.

Incidents/Injuries: Speedway SuperAmerica LLC has received six reports of incidents involving flare-ups on these lighters. Burn injuries to the head, hair, face and hand have been reported.

Description: The recalled lighters have the “Speedway” logo on the front, “Acculite” embossed on only one side of the silver metal windscreen, and the warning information on the back in black type only (no red type).

Sold at: Speedway SuperAmerica and Rich convenience stores from July 2005 through October 5, 2005 for about $1 each.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should stop using these lighters immediately and return them to the store where purchased for a refund. ---

Send the link for this page to a friend! The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. To join a CPSC email subscription list, please go to www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.asp. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

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When a Child is Burned: Special Considerations
Posted by: Tim Aiken
March 23, 2006

Some of the most tragic fire loss claims involve children.  Each year thousands of children suffer serious, life threatening burn injuries.  Beyond the heart-rendering pain child burn victims endure, children who are burned must deal with lifelong physical and emotional trauma.

Recovery for personal injuries suffered in a fire frequently occurs under theories of negligence and product liablity.  In most states injured children receive special consideration and special protection under the law and both theories have special rules that apply to child fire victims.

Children and Negligence

Homeowners, landlords, shopkeepers, and others who own or control property have a duty to maintain their property and a duty to warn people of hazards on the property. When something on the property is both inviting and dangerous to children, an additional legal responsibility exists to try and prevent injuries to any children who may come or wander onto the property. In most states this rule is called the "attractive nuisance doctrine". The attractive nuisance doctrine is based on a shared belief that:

• Children cannot fully comprehend the dangers they encounter; and
• A property owner who maintains dangerous conditions on the property and knows that children are likely to come onto the property has a heightened responsibility to protect those children.

Use of the attractive nuisance doctrine differs from state to state. It usually will be applied when:

• A landowner knows or should know that children are likely to come onto the property;
• The artificial condition, like a swimming pool, chemical storage area, unprotected power line transformer, pose an unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily injury to children;
• The children, because of their age, do not discover or understand the dangers they may encounter;
• The usefulness of the condition and the burden of eliminating the danger are slight compared with the risk posed to children; and
• The possessor fails to exercise reasonable care to eiliminate the danger or otherwise protect children.

Under attractive nuisance doctrine, legal responsibility for you child's burn injuries may be imposed on a landowner even if your child did not have the right to be on the property, if the injuries occured because of an inviting and dangerous condition.

If your child's injuries occured on someone else's property, it is essential that you seek the assistance of an experienced personal injury attorney. There are some dangers, like touching an open fire, that even a very small child is presumed by the law to understand.  The property owner may try to claim that your child's own negligence or a lack of parental supervision contributed to the cause of injuries. Overcoming these defenses requires knowledge of your state's negligence laws as well as a detailed understanding of the ways to prove fire cause and spread in court. By working with a knowledgeable personal injury attorney, you will make sure that your child receives the full benefits of your state's negligence laws.

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Fire Loss Frequently Asked Questions
Posted by: Tim Aiken
February 06, 2006

Q: What legal options are available to someone injured in a fire?

• Depending on the facts of the situation, someone suffering personal injuries and burns in a fire may bring a personal injury lawsuit.  Recovery for fire loss related personal injuries most frequently occurs under the legal theories of negligence and product liability.

Q: What if someone is killed in a fire?

• It depends on whether a person dies as a result of the injuries or from unrelated causes.  If a person injured in a fire subsequently dies as a result of the injuries, that individuals hiers may recover money through a lawsuit.  Every state has a law permitting an action when someone causes the wrongful death of another.  If a person with personal injuries claim dies from unrelated causes, the claim survives in most cases and may be brought by the executor or personal representative of the deceased person's estate.

Q: What resposibilities do landowners have when it comes to fires?

• A landowner or someone in control of property has a duty to maintain the property and to warn of any hazards on the property.  Landowners may be resonsible for fire loss injuries if they do things like store flammable materials in an unsafe manner or let trash accumulate that can contribute to the spread of a fire.

Q: I was injured when a product caught fire.  What are my rights?

• Under the product liability law of your state you may be able to recover damage for your fire loss if you show that the product that caused the fire was defective.  Showing that the manufacturer or seller of the product failed to warn of a danger or that the product had a design or manufacturing defect is key to proving a successful product liability claim.

Q: Do building owners have to have safety precautions, such as sprinklers and posted escape routes, in case of fires?

• Building owners and/or management are required to exercise reasonable care to prevent injuries in case of fire and should help people on their properties escape, which would probably include sprinklers and posted escape routes.

Q: What if I was injured in a fire at work?  Is that only covered under Worker's Compensation benefits? 

• You may be able to seek recovery of damages not covered under worker's compensation law if the actions of a third party, like a manufacturer of a product or an outside service provider contributed to the fire, its spread, or the severity of the injuries you suffered.

Q: What is the difference between burn degrees and what does it mean to have a severe or critical burn?

• A first-degree burn is a superficial burn, affecting only the skin's epidermis or outer layer.  A second-degree burn destroys the epdermis and injures part of the dermis or second layer of skin.  These burns are usually the most painful because nerve endings exist in the dermis and are often damaged by second-degree burns.  A third degree burn destroys both layers of skin, the epidermis and dermis.  The American Burn Association classifies third-degree burns over 10% of the body, or burns covering of any degree, covering over 20% of the body as critical or severe.

Q: What can I do to help if someone in my family has been injured in a fire?

• After contacting an attorney experienced in fire loss and injuries, you should keep a detailed journal on your loved one's behalf.  Note the names and contact information of any witnesses and document the daily pain involved in treatment of fire related injuries.  Be sure to note the emotional toll the injuries take on you, especially if the fire victim is a child.  Your insights and observations will be invaluable for trial preperation and trial.

Q: What benefits are gained by contacting an experienced fire loss attorney right after the fire happens?

• When you contact an experienced fire loss attorney immediately after a severe fire injures you or a loved one, you help to initiate a detailed investigation into the causes of the fire while accident evidence may still exist.  Experienced fire loss attorneys work with the best fire investigation professionals who understand that a fire may have multiple causes.  Getting an experienced fire loss team on-site as soon as possible aids in the early investigation of cause and potentially liable parties.

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Understanding Fire Investigation & Reconstruction
Posted by: Tim Aiken
January 09, 2006

Fire loss investigators employ a variety of established scientific principles to support their conclusion about the cause and origin of an explosion and fire.  Fire dynamics, the body of engineering that uses the disciplines of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, mass transfer, and chemical kinetics to study fire ignition, growth and extinguishments.

Understanding the terminology and the findings of a fire investigation report require an understanding of fire investigation language.  Some key terms and their explanation follow.

• Heat Release Rate (HRH) or Rate of Heat Release (RHR): A measurement of the rate at which heat energy is generated by burning.  Individual fuels and accelerants have unique heat release rates based on chemistry, physical form and availability of an oxidant.
• Heat Transfer: Fire investigators use specific terms of conduction, convections and radiation to describe how a fire transfered heat.

1.) Conduction is the fuels phsical response to heating.

2.) Convection is the heat from buoyant hot gases moving across an object.

3.) Radiation is the means by which the hot gas layer heats the uninvolved regions of the compartment and creates the condition known as flashover.

• Flashover: A transition phase in a contained fire.  When a flashover occurs surfaces exposed to thermal radiation reach ignition temperature simultaneously and the fire spreads very rapidly throughout the space.
• Compartment: A confined space that contains a fire and its effluents.  Usually, any given room is a compartment but a compartment could be as small as a box.  These compartment dimensions will have volume that is important  scientific fire measurement.

The science of fire investigation and reconstruction is complex.  An experienced fire loss attorney will know the leading fire investigation experts and will be able to help a judge and jury understand key scientific findings they identify when establishing both how and where a fire or explosion started.  Contacting an attorney as soon as possible after a fire means that the investigation into the causes of your fire will begin while the existing evidence is still fresh. 

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Understanding Fire Investigation and Reconstruction
Posted by: Tim Aiken
December 20, 2005

Successful fire loss claims often require that the injured party establish the exact cause of the fire.  Experienced fire loss personal injury attorneys work with a wide variety of professionals to help their clients prove the causes and origins of a fire.  A highly qualified and experienced fire investigator is a key member of any fire loss investigation team.

Reconstructing how and where a fire started poses some of the most daunting forensic challenges.  Particularly because with severe fires and gas explosions much of the evidence at the source of the gas explosion or fire may be destroyed.  Historically, fire investigators relied on their previous fire investigation experience to determine the fire's orgin and to help them form an opinion regarding the cause of the fire's or explosion's ignition source; however, a United States Supreme Court Decision in 1983 changed the criteria for determining a fire's and or explosion's source in order for it to be admissable at trial.  Forensic testimony must meet certain criteria to be  regarded as reliable. 

The criteria for reliable scientific testimony are:

• Whether the scientific technique or theory employed has been tested;
• Whether the scientific technique or theory employed has been the subject of peer review or publication;
• The known or potential error rate; and
• The degree of acceptance a technique or theory has within the relevant scientific community.

 These criteria have  been applied to fire loss testimony by fire investigation experts and, as a result, fire investigation has changed from an art into a science. 

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Home Gas Explosions
Posted by: Tim Aiken
December 12, 2005

We all depend on natural gas and propane in order to heat our homes, cook our food, and heat our water. Unfortunately, natural gas and propane are highly combustible when they leak into our homes and businesses through defective gas control valves, defective flexible gas connectors known as "Cobra valves," and negligently maintained natural gas and propane tanks, lines and equipment.  When these products have been badly manufactured or badly maintained, they pose a serious hazard to you, your family and co-workers. When there is a natural gas or propane leak, any open flame or electronic device can be enough to cause a horrific tragedy.

Some causes of natural gas and propane explosions and fires include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Defective Gas Lines, Cobra Connectors & Control Valves
• Leaking Propane Valves, Connectors & Tanks
• Natural Gas Line Leaks
• Defective Gas Connectors
• Negligent Maintenance of Propane Tanks and Natural Gas Lines 
• Improper Installation of Propane and Natural Gas Lines and Tanks
• Leaking Hoses

If you suspect you have faulty or improperly maintained natural gas or propane line or equipment, it is critical to evacuate everyone immediately from the area and call your gas provider to report the problem.  It is also very important not to add oxygen to the area by opening windows, doors, etc.

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Suggestions For Burn Victims And Their Families
Posted by: Tim Aiken
December 07, 2005

In the days following a fire, a lawsuit is often the last thing on the minds of victims and their families.  However, there are steps both the fire loss survivor and their next of kin can take to help establish a claim for the losses, pain and suffering caused by the fire.  Understanding the likely course of treatment and having a plan ready for each step along the way will empower all involved and provide true assistance for the long term health and welfare of the entire family.  Ultimately, the information you provide your attorney may prove a key element to success in settlement discussions and at trial.

Accident Information

Where was the burn victim when the fire started?  What caused the fire to start?  What did the smoke and flames look like?  In a serious burn case the injured individual may be unable to answer these crucial questions immediately after the fire.  Depending on the level of trauma, the burn victim may never be able to recall exact details.  For that reason, the testimony of eyewitnesses is often crucial to establishing key facts leading up to the fire.

Family members may be able to provide assistance in the identification of individuals who witnessed the fire and who may provide eyewitness testimony.  Spouses often know friends, neighbors or co-workers who were in close proximity to the injured individual at the time of the fire.  Whenever possible, the following information should be collected from any person with first-hand knowledge about the fire, its causes or immediate effects:

• Name, address and phone number
• Brief description of observations, understandings and knowledge related to the fire
• Knowledge of any statements made by burn victim(s), other witnesses and emergency services personnel immediately following the fire
• Description of injuries suffered by witness, if any

Emergency Treatment

Emegency personnel, including on-site first responders, ambulance or med-evac crew members, nurses and emergency physicians often provide testimony that may be as important as the testimony of eyewitnesses.  These individuals are the first to assess the extent of the burn victim's injuries.  They have first-hand knowledge of the appearance of the burn victim and the extent of the initial damage and injuries the fire caused.  While the names of all treating individuals should be in the medical records, family members and co-workers can help verify the identity of the service personnel responding to the call for help and take note of the first and last names of contact personnel whenever possible. 

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