Product Liability

The Boppy Co., makers of nursing pillows and baby carriers, is recalling three types of baby pillows after eight infants died from suffocation.

The infants' deaths, which occurred between December 2015 and June 2020, happened after the babies were placed on their back, side, or stomach on a newborn baby lounger and were found on their side or their stomach, the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday.

The Golden, Colorado-based company is recalling all of the about 3.3 million baby loungers sold.
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WASHINGTON, July 20 (Reuters) - Consumer Reports said Tuesday that Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) "Full Self-Driving" software lacks safeguards and raised concerns the system's use on public roads puts the public at risk citing reports from drivers.

The influential consumer publication cited videos posted on social media of drivers using it and raised concerns about issues, including "vehicles missing turns, scraping against bushes, and heading toward parked cars."

Consumer Reports said it plans to independently test the software update known as FSD Beta 9, as soon as its Model Y receives the update.

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Ford on Friday announced several recalls affecting roughly 850,000 trucks, cars and SUVs.

The recalls include 34,939 Ford F-350 Super Duty vehicles for rear axle issues and 40,995 Lincoln Aviator vehicles for improperly secured battery cable wire harnesses. The largest recall is 774,696 2013-2017 Explorer vehicles following six allegations of injuries related to a seized cross-axis ball joint.

Drivers of the affected SUVs may notice “a clunk noise, unusual handling, or a misaligned rear wheel,” according to a Friday news release.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators warned surgeons Thursday to stop implanting a heart pump made by Medtronic due to power failures recently tied to cases of stroke and more than a dozen deaths.

Medtronic said earlier in the day it would stop selling its Heartware assist device, which is intended to boost blood circulation in patients with heart failure.

Recent company data showed the device can unexpectedly stop working and sometimes fail to restart, the Food and Drug Administration said.
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The fund established to compensate victims of Takata’s defective airbag inflators is writing more checks. The fund administrators have announced they are paying an additional $46 million to settle 161 more claims.

The fund has already paid out billions of dollars after the largest auto recall in history. The airbag inflators can degrade over time and explode, spraying the inside of the vehicle with tiny bits of metal.

The faulty airbags have been linked to 18 deaths in the U.
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Kia is again recalling over 283,000 Optima sedans from the 2013 through 2015 model years and more than 156,000 Sorento SUVs from the 2014 and 2015 model years to fix a faulty part that may cause a fire. As with past recalls related to components causing fires, the automaker recommends that owners park their vehicles outdoors and away from structures until the problem can be fixed.

The issue is due to the potential of leaking brake fluid within the antilock brake system (ABS) module, which could lead to a short circuit and cause a fire within the vehicle’s engine compartment, either while driving or parked.

This is the second time these specific vehicles have been recalled, and it’s the latest in a series of fire-related recalls involving Hyundai and Kia cars. According to documentation there were six Optima and two Sorento fire-related customer complaints at the time of the original recall, and there were no fatalities, injuries, or crashes reported.
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Peloton has agreed to recall all of its treadmills and apologized for having fought the federal government's request to do so after the equipment came under scrutiny in the death of a 6-year-old child.

The exercise services company and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on Wednesday jointly announced voluntary recalls of Peloton Tread+ and Tread treadmills, covering about 125,000 and 1,050 units, respectively, in the U.S.
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3M Co (MMM.N) was found liable on Friday for hearing damage suffered by three U.S. military veterans who accused the company of covering up design defects in its earplugs, a blow to 3M which faces more than 200,000 similar claims.

The jury awarded each of the plaintiffs $2.
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The 2020-2021 Kia Soul and the 2021 Kia Seltos are at the heart of a new recall. The Korean brand is recalling 147,249 vehicles as a result of an engine flaw that could lead to a fire.

The recall relates specifically to vehicles fitted with the 2.0-liter Nu MPI engine whose piston oil rings may have been improperly heat-treated, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Inconsistent heating-treating could make the oil rings too hard.
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The perception that self-driving cars can really operate themselves without driver involvement is worrying automotive watchdogs, who say that some Americans have grown dangerously confident in the capabilities of semi-autonomous vehicles.

Their comments come as electric vehicle maker Tesla's so-called Autopilot system is under scrutiny once again following a crash that killed two passengers in the Houston area late Saturday.

"I would start by saying there are no self-driving cars despite what you may read about or what you’ve seen advertised," said Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing for Consumer Reports. "And there's certainly nothing anywhere close to self-driving that is in production right now."

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New York (CNN Business)Peloton shares fell more than 7% Monday following an "urgent warning" from the United States government telling owners of the company's Tread+ to stop using the machine.

On Saturday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said it has become aware of 39 accidents involving the $4,295 treadmill, including "multiple reports of children becoming entrapped, pinned, and pulled under" the machine. The CPSC said it's urging customers with small children and pets to stop using the machine immediately. A child died in March in an incident involving the machine.

That prompted a strongly worded statement from Peloton (PTON), claiming the federal agency's notice is "inaccurate and misleading.
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