Legal Research Blog

WARNING: This product contains lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash your hands after handling.
I spotted the above warning when shopping around for Christmas trees. Of all items that should be lead-free, I would imagine that Christmas trees should appear at [...]

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MSN Games: Photosensitive Seizure Warning. A very small percentage of people may experience a seizure when exposed to certain visual images, including flashing lights or patterns that may appear in video games. Even people who have no history of seizures or epilepsy may have an undiagnosed condition that can cause these “photosensitive epileptic seizures” while [...]

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MedPage Today: Brochiolitis Obliterans Pops Up in Home Microwave. A microwave-popcorn addict who found the aroma of the freshly made snack to be irresistibly intoxicating has developed brochiolitis obliterans[.]
I had previously seen reports of workers in popcorn plants suffering respiratory illness from breathing in diacetyl, which popcorn manufacturers use to impart the flavor [...]

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Forbes/Associated Press: Experts Urge Blood Tests in Toy Recall. Parents worried their children may have been exposed to excessive levels of lead in recalled Fisher-Price toys should visit the pediatrician for a blood test, experts said Thursday. 
So, explain this one to me. Toys that contain lead paint that you are not supposed to [...]

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Wall Street Journal: China Product Scare Hits Home, Too. China is still at the early stages of developing the type of product-liability and product-recall system that is common in many Western countries, a system that leaves little recourse against companies that flout regulations that are rarely enforced. Product-liability lawsuits, common in the U.S., [...]

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Ken Shigley: Ford - Volvo divorce in the works?. When Ford acquired Volvo a few years ago, I thought it was quite a mismatch of corporate cultures. Volvo had a reputation for building the world’s safest cars. Ford, on the other hand, sometimes seemed only slightly ahead of Yugo in that regard.
In his observations [...]

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Last week, Senator Mark Pryor (D-AR) introduced legislation to prevent children from being trapped or eviscerated by swimming pool drains. The Senator named the legislation after Virginia Graeme Baker who drowned when suction from an outdoor spa drain cover pinned her underwater. Virginia Baker was seven at that time, and was the granddaughter [...]

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