Florida Safety Recalls You Need To Know About

According to USA.gov, a safety recall is an action taken by a manufacturer, or the government, to protect the public from products—such as medications, food, vehicles, child safety seats, cosmetics, etc.—that may cause health or safety problems.

Some recalls ban the sale of an item, while others ask consumers to return the item for replacement or repair. Sometimes, a seller will provide a part that reduces the danger of using the product.

In any event, it is important as a consumer that you are aware of the safety concerns that may pose a threat to you, your children, or your family.

Before you purchase a product from a store, take a free item from a giveaway or restaurant, or give a new item to your child, it is important that you make yourself aware of any recalls.

USA.gov is a great place to find trusted companies that list all known recalls from around the country. A list of some of those websites can be found here. The Consumer Product Safety Commission at CPSC.gov is probably the most used and trusted.

McDonald’s

On August 23, 2016, McDonald’s issued a mass recall of its Step-iT Activity Wristbands and pulled the products from all U.S. and Canada stores.

The recall affects 29 million Step-iT products, which were included in children’s Happy Meals, after more than 70 reports of skin irritations and blisters as a result of children wearing the devices were reported.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has advised customers who purchased a Happy Meal with the toy inside to “immediately take the recalled wristbands from children.”

Once the recall was announced, McDonald’s issued an apology.

“Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of our customers, which is why upon learning about concerns with these bands we acted swiftly to stop distribution of these toys. We apologize to our customers who were impacted and for the inconvenience, this recall has caused.”

The toys were made to promote exercise and activity among children, but instead ended up jeopardizing their health in a different way. One of the toys counted how many steps the wearer took, while the other blinked colored lights when it detected the user walking.

The CPSC said McDonald’s distributed the wristbands across the US and Canada between August 9 and 17 of this year.

The devices had brightly colored plastic wristband straps and came in orange, yellow, purple, green, blue, and pink. If you recall your child receiving this toy, or notice them with one, take it from them immediately. Those who would like to return the item to McDonald’s will be offered a different replacement toy and either a yogurt tube or bag of apple slices for compensation.

This recall is just one of the many products in 2016 that may impact the safety of you, your children, or your family.

IKEA

On June 28, 2016, IKEA furniture manufacturer and CPSC announced the recall of about 8 million MALM chests and dressers and 21 million additional children’s and adult chests and dressers in the U.S. Another 6.6 million were recalled in Canada.

The recall applies to children’s chests and dressers that are taller than 23.5 inches and adult chests and dressers that are taller than 29.5 inches. As well as, the specific model MALM in the 3-drawer, 4-drawer, 5-drawer, and three 6-drawer styles.

The recalled chests and dressers are unstable if they are not properly anchored to the wall, posing a serious tip over and entrapment hazard that can result in death or serious injuries to children. Children, as you may remember from your childhood, like to pull out the drawers and climb up chests and dressers as if they were a makeshift ladder.

Although IKEA does issue the proper equipment to secure their furniture to the wall, they are recalling the items in an abundance of caution.

CPSC and IKEA have announced a repair program for the chests and dressers that included a free wall-anchoring repair kit for the MALM chests and dressers and other IKEA chests and dressers if the consumer needs one.

In 2014, two tragic deaths of young children, as a result of tipping MALM dressers, sparked the recall.

In February 2014, a 2-year-old boy from West Chester, Pennsylvania died after a 6-drawer MALM chest tipped over and pinned him against his bed. He was fatally injured.
In June 2014, a 23-month-old boy from Snohomish, Washington died after he became trapped underneath a 3-drawer MALM chest that tipped over on top of him.

Once the recall was announced, another fatal incident was reported. In this incident of February 2016, a 22-month-old boy from Apple Valley, Minnesota died when a MALM 6-drawer chest fell on top of him, pinning him to the ground and crushing his small body.

None of the chests or dressers in the above-listed incidents had been anchored to the wall. In addition to the three deaths, IKEA received reports of 41 tip-over incidents involving the MALM chests and dressers, resulting in 17 injuries to children between the ages of 19 months and 10 years old.

More information can be found at IKEA’s safety recall website. It should be noted that IKEA voluntarily recalled these products.

Hover Boards

The recall of so-called hover boards was one of the hottest stories of the summer, partly because of their popularity and partly because of the dramatic way they defected. The recall involves the more appropriately termed self-balancing scooters. They have two wheels at either end of a platform and are powered by lithium-ion battery packs. The boards were recalled because of defective lithium batteries that could catch fire. Some industry experts believe it is a combination of cutting corners on the parts used to create the boards and the size of the batteries since they need to transport a human for sustained periods of time. The boards were sold at almost every kind of store—from kiosks to big box, online to hobby shops—nationwide from June 2015 through May 2016. They sold for between $350 and $900. More details are provided by CPSC at this address.

Other Notable Products

5.4 million bottles of Liquid-Plumr have been recalled because of a failure with the child-resistant caps. They were sold at Amazon.com, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Publix, Target, Walgreens, and Walmart, among others. More info.
Target and Walmart have recalled frozen vegetables that were packaged in their store brands because of a potential listeria contamination. National Frozen Foods Corporation packages the vegetables for Target’s Market Pantry and Walmart’s Great Value brands. The products recalled include a variety of frozen peas and mixed veggies purchased between September 2015 and June 2016. More info.
IKEA is recalling 3 million children’s safety gates because the locking mechanism may not work, causing danger to the child who can now access whatever was being restricted. The company has urged customers with any model of Patrull safety gate to immediately stop using them and return them to an IKEA store for a full refund. More info.
Kellogg’s has recalled certain Keebler and Special K snacks because of allergen contamination in their flour. The same company Grain Craft, also supplied flour to Hostess, Rold-Gold, Chick-Fil-A, 7-Eleven, and Cinnabon. For more details and specific products, visit this site.
Nature Made has recalled some of their adult gummies over a potential risk for salmonella and staph. The company does say that the recall is strictly out of an abundance of caution since no cases have been reported. Click here for more info of the specific vitamins affected.
Fisher-Price has recalled thousands of Cradle n’ Swings baby swings because of reports that the seat can unexpectedly fall, causing the suspended cradle to hit the ground. Only two cases have been reported with no injuries. More info.
Snyders-Lance is recalling Emerald 100 Calorie Pack Roasted & Salted Cashew Halves & Pieces, which come in individual packs, because of a chance that the packages may contain small pieces of glass. It is thought the nuts were contaminated via one of their raw cashew suppliers. More info.

Dolman Law Group

Dolman Law Group has successfully represented countless clients who were injured because of a defective or unsafe consumer product. Everything from automobile and child restraint recalls, to contaminated food and dangerous medicines—we have effectively protected consumers’ rights to safety for years. If you or your child have been injured due to a defective or unsafe product, call Dolman Law Group today and speak to a product liability attorney for a free, confidential evaluation of your case. Call (727) 853-6275 and speak with a specialized attorney today. There is no obligation and your meeting is completely confidential.