First Quarter 2004 Personal Injury Law News & Recall Articles

The Associated Press, "Bill would require carbon monoxide detectors in homes"

          Carbon monoxide detectors would be required in most Alaska homes under a bill that passed the House on Wednesday. Rep. Carl Gatto, R-Palmer, said the requirement could save lives and protect children whose developing brains can be damaged by continuous exposure to even low levels of the gas. More...

The Associated Press, "Jury awards Nevadans $52 million in suit over Ford truck brakes"

          A federal jury awarded $52 million in damages Friday to the family of a young Nevada boy who was killed nearly 10 years ago when a Ford pickup truck rolled over him because of a defective parking brake. More...

Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI), "Authorities Say Detectors Are Key to Saving Lives; An Odorless Threat"

          For years, experts have issued warnings about carbon monoxide's invisible and odorless stealth. Three deaths discovered Wednesday underscored the message. More...

Agence France Presse, "Dozens at French restaurant suffer carbon monoxide poisoning"

          About 50 people dining at a restaurant in eastern France Sunday suffered carbon monoxide poisoning because of a malfunctioning wood stove and were hospitalized, rescue services said. More...

Daily Press (Newport News, VA), "Welders Preparing for Possible Lawsuits"

          A Newport News law firm is investigating whether local shipyard welders suffered brain damage from overexposure to dangerous fumes on the job, gearing up for probable lawsuits against companies that make a key piece of welding equipment. More...

CBS News, "Firestone Tires Under Fire Again"

          William Robbins survived not one, but two accidents where his Firestone Steeltex tires exploded out of the blue. "Looks like a hand grenade went off inside of it," says Robbins. More...

Newsday, "'Real-World' Rollover Tests; In fed check, no SUV gets best rating"

          A Ford Explorer Sport Trac, a small SUV, earned the lowest score among 28 vehicles in the first group to be rated for their rollover propensity using a new track test. More...

          For the first time, some truck-based sport utility vehicles received as many as four out of five stars in rollover ratings, according to 2004 model ratings released yesterday by federal regulators. But the higher ratings may not necessarily mean the vehicles have become safer, because the government has changed the way it tests them. More...

Associated Press, "New rollover test puts Ford SUV at bottom of list"

          The Ford Explorer Sport Trac got the worst rating among 14 vehicles subjected to a new government safety test designed to predict the likelihood of a rollover during a sharp turn. The federal auto-safety agency, which announced the ratings Wednesday, uses a system in which five stars is the best score and means the likelihood of rollover is less than 10 percent. More...

The Detroit News, "Ford Explorer plagued by lawsuits; Majority of cases settled out of court, company says"

Africa News, "South Africa; Probe Into Poisonous Welding Rods"

          Cape Town's ship repair industry is the focus of a US-led legal investigation into the liability of the producers of welding rods that can cause a disease resembling Parkinson's disease in welders. More...

The Detroit News, "U-Haul rejects Explorers; Firm outlaws trailer rentals to owners of popular Ford SUV, citing lawsuits"

          U-Haul International Inc. is forbidding its stores to rent trailers to customers who plan to tow with the Ford Explorer, saying it no longer can afford to defend product liability lawsuits linked to the best-selling SUV. The unusual move by U-Haul comes after the Explorer appeared to have overcome lingering image problems associated with the Firestone tire debacle. More...