Defective home appliances are a real danger to life and property. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent federal regulatory agency, major appliances caused some 150,000 residential fires each year from 2006 through 2008, which resulted in 150 deaths and $547 million in property damage.
Consumer Reports did its own study into home appliance fires. Reviewing federal fire data from 2002 through 2009 in single and multi-family homes, it found that half of reported ...
Under Missouri law, the driver of a motor vehicle on the public roads is charged with using the "highest degree of care" at all times. This means the degree of caution that a VERY careful and prudent driver would use under the circumstances.
Missouri Standard for Driver Highest Degree of Care
This standard applies to all aspects of driver conduct including:
• speed
• keeping a careful lookout for danger in all directions
• having the preparedness to slow, stop or swerve upon the first appearance of ...
Helicopter accidents occur more frequently than most type of aviation accident. Flying a helicopter, whether for private, commercial or military purposes, has its own unique challenges, including the fact that helicopters tend to fly close to the ground and in congested areas that offer a range of obstacles, both man-made and natural.
Most helicopter accidents are caused by one of three factors:
- Pilot error
- Mechanical malfunction
- Electrical malfunction
In 2005, the International Helicopter ...
The February edition of SmartMoney magazine included an eye-opening article about fine print and U.S. consumers entitled "Attack of the 6.5-point Typeface." The article raises a lot of interesting points from the growing length of consumer contracts, agreements, warnings and disclaimers. Among the important takeaways from the article:
- A lot of consumer documents are intentionally designed to mislead or hide important information;
- Many consumers do not fully read these materials when ...
According to a nationwide survey of medical professionals, patient misdiagnosis happens relatively frequently. QuantiaMD, the largest mobile and online physician community, last year surveyed 6,400 medical providers, and 47 percent of those said they encounter diagnosis errors at least monthly; 3 percent said they see such errors most days
A majority - 64% - said that up to 10 percent of the misdiagnoses they saw resulted in patient harm. And almost all of the respondents (96 percent) said ...
Consumer fraud can take many forms, but in general it involves false or misleading claims in the marketing or selling of a product or service. Simply, the product or service does not perform as advertised. Hidden fees, overcharging, and all sorts of other "scams" and "rip-offs" reported on the local news are examples of consumer fraud.
Incidences of consumer fraud can be isolated, so that only a small number of individuals are hurt. But there are times when the issues of consumer fraud are complex, and ...
Sleep apnea is a disorder in which a person suffers pauses in breathing while asleep. The pauses can last from a few seconds to a few minutes, and can occur up to at least 30 times per hour. The result for an individual suffering from sleep apnea is a poor night's sleep and excessive sleepiness the next day. Sleep apnea is typically a chronic condition.
While it is a relatively common disorder, when a commercial truck driver suffers from it, the consequences can be devastating if the driver were to fall ...
On January 5, the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention, a federal panel, voted to recommend that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lower its threshold for lead poisoning in children, from 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood to 5 micrograms.
Lead can harm a child's brain, kidneys and other organs. It has been shown that even low levels in the blood can lower IQ, impair hearing, and cause behavioral problems. High levels in the blood can cause death. Children ...
Each year millions of children's products are recalled because of safety defects. A new federal law now requires companies that make "durable infant and toddler products" include a postage-paid post card, with every crib, play pen, stroller, and many other kinds of baby products they sell that are made after June 2010, to help recall notifications become more effective.
Defective Products Recall Notification
Parents fill in their contact information and mail the card. They can also go the ...
Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, the country's third largest insurer of both personal lines passenger automobile and homeowners insurance, recently settled a class action lawsuit in which policy holders alleged the company mishandled their claims after being injured in auto accidents. The settlement was approximately $140 million.
Specifically, the lawsuit argued that Farmers failed to pay reasonable expenses for necessary medical services related to automobile accidents under ...
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