By: Allison Lane

The consumer product safety commission has pulled over one million over the shoulder baby/child slings off of the market in North America.  Two Infantino carriers in particular, SlingRider and Wedny Bellissimo, are being pulled off the market completely as a threat of being deadly to children 4 months or younger.

To date, there are three infant deaths confirmed as a result of strangulation from these baby slings.  The risk with these particular products are not age specific.  Parents and caregivers are being urged to discontinue the use of the Infantino sling in general.  The Infantino sling places the baby very far down into the sling.  If the baby is turned into the mother, the baby’s airway is restricted, or the fabric may cover the baby’s nose or mouth.

Consumers are urged to discontinue use immediately and contact Infantino LLC for a free replacement product.  Infantino released a statement that the SlingRider was a “safe product”.

The personal injury law firm Balkan & Patterson, LLP, is an advocate for child safety and has made a donation of child identification kits to the Lighthouse Point Police Department and the Parkland division of the Broward Sheriff’s Office to help protect local children.

The child identification kits assist parents in creating a private and extremely comprehensive record of their child’s personal and medical information, for use in an emergency. The kits allow parents to make fingerprint and dental records, along with a complete and accurate description of the child. In an emergency where a child is missing, the first few hours are critical to a safe recovery. These kits help police and other emergency personnel in finding lost or missing children.

Balkan & Patterson, LLP, works with cases involving all types of personal injuries, including child abuse. For more information or to obtain a free child identification kit, please visit www.balkanpatterson.com or call (561) 750-9191.

The main office of Florida trial attorneys Balkan & Patterson is located in Boca Raton, Fla. They represent personal injury, auto accident, defective products, and consumer fraud clients throughout South Florida, including Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Lighthouse Point, Parkland, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and throughout the United States.

Florida has a new seat belt law, and adults over the age of 30 can now be stopped and ticketed solely for not wearing a seat belt in the front seat. Gov. Charlie Christ signed the legislation yesterday, and the law will go into effect on June 30.

The law already allowed for enforcement for drivers and passengers under 18. Adult drivers or passengers could face a fine of $30 if caught without a seat belt. To view the full story, please click here.

The personal injury and auto accident law firm of Balkan & Patterson in Boca Raton strongly encourages all passengers and drivers, regardless of their age, to wear a seat belt at all times while in a vehicle. Seat belts save thousands of lives every year, and they can protect you from serious injury or even death.

For more information or to contact our law firm, please visit www.balkanpatterson.com. Our Florida trial attorneys represent personal injury, auto accident, defective products, and consumer fraud clients throughout South Florida, including Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Lighthouse Point, Parkland, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and throughout the United States.

The first tobacco case in the original class action lawsuit against Philip Morris has ended with an $8 million verdict being awarded in a wrongful death case. The class action jury award in 2006 of $185 billion was thrown out by the Supreme Court, but individuals were allowed to file suit. There are about 8,000 individual lawsuits with similar accusations against the tobacco company.To view the full story, please click here.

In the news recently there have been several tragic stories about student violence in South Florida schools.  What often gets overlooked is the damage that poor staffing at these schools brings on children.  Another example came to light on today when a Pine Crest teacher was arrested for having sexual relations with minors.  See the full story here.

The attorneys at Balkan & Patterson, LLP have received justice and financial settlements for victims of abuse and injuries occurring at schools, including against Pine Crest.  Balkan & Patterson, based in Boca Raton, FL, have personal injury lawyers with experience at handling child abuse cases both as former child abuse prosecutors in Broward County and as civil justice attorneys. For more information or to contact us, please visit www.balkanpatterson.com.

As many as 30 million potentially faulty tire valves have been installed on cars and vehicles throughout the country. These valves were manufactured in China and have a tendency to crack and split, which can result in a tire blowout. Several American tire makers and car and auto companies have used these valves. The “ingredients” in the manufacture of the tire valves were not correct, and it causes the product to wear out at a faster rate. The tire valves are being investigated by the government, although the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s records show that millions of the faulty valves were installed on cars and truck in the U.S. between Sept. 2006 and June 2007.

Here are a few tips to determine whether the valves on your tires are safe:

1. Spray a mixture of soap and water on the tire valve. If air is seeping out, bubbles will form.

2. Monitor your tire pressure. If your tires are consistently low on fair, it could be a faulty tire valve.

3. Have a mechanic or auto professional check your valves to see if they are in good condition.

For more information, please contact the Boca Raton-based personal injury law firm of Balkan & Patterson, LLP at www.balkanpatterson.com or call (561) 750-9191.

We filed a lawsuit against the school board of St. Lucie County this week on behalf of a family and their then 8-year-old son, who was physically and mentally abused by a behavioral analyst employed by the school. Their son is a special needs student, and his behavioral analyst roughly dragged him down a hallway and physically assaulted him, leaving him with bruises and other signs of abuse. Additionally, the defendant had a criminal record and was allowed by the school board to work with children.

The child was enrolled at Oak Hammock Elementary School in St. Lucie County. For more information, see the recent television coverage. You can also see additional details on our website.

Over-the-counter medications made specifically for children have been getting some attention lately, as a major pediatrician group advised that these medications be banned. However, the FDA has rejected the request for a lack of information. Additionally, it’s thought that if these medications are no longer available, parents will begin treating their children with adult-strength medication.

According to an article children’s cough and cold medications on MSNBC, the reason is this:

“With a new cold season coming, pediatricians are urging the government to demand a recall of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children younger than 6. The effectiveness of the medicines in children was never scientifically established, critics say, and problems with the drugs send thousands of kids to the emergency room every year.”

For years drug makers and medical device manufacturers have known of risks associated with their products.  It used to be that you could count on the FDA to weed out harmful products. On the heels of questionable products comes legislation from the Bush administration, which could prohibit product liability litigation on all sorts of consumer products. Essentially, these laws would protect large corporations – not the consumers. See this article in the Wall Street Journal for more information.

There has been a concerted governmental effort to protect these corporations and their profits at the expense of consumers.  The law firm of Balkan & Patterson, LLP is dedicated to helping consumers who have been injured by defective products, pharmaceuticals and devices and holding accountable the corporations who have known of the problems but put profits over people. Visit our firm’s website at www.balkanpatterson.com for more information.