Last week, a nation wide class action lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles against ten automakers in an effort to curtail threats and deaths caused by keyless ignitions in their vehicles.
GM, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Volkswagen are among the ten targeted manufacturers that the suit accuses of producing dangerous products. According to Safety Research & Strategies and NHTSA reports, the keyless design leads some drivers to believe that their key fobs are responsible for turning their vehicles on and off; however, removal of the fob from the vehicle does not turn the engine off. This has led drivers to exit their vehicles mistakenly thinking they have turned them off. As a result, at least thirteen carbon monoxide poisoning deaths have occurred. The lawsuit filed last Tuesday seeks to implement an automatic cut-off feature that would put a stop to this danger.
In addition to the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning, the keyless ignition feature reintroduces the rollaway problem that was solved in 1992 with a Final Rule stating that automatic vehicles would be required to incorporate a key-locking system that would stop the driver from being able to remove the key unless the transmission was first locked in “Park.” Manufacturers have skirted this issue with an electronic code that acts as the “key,” but this leads to confusion among drivers over the exact process of shutting off their vehicles.
So far, the NHTSA has received 46 complaints of drivers mistakenly leaving their vehicles on and 59 complaints of rollaways to date.
A two-vehicle collision in Nashville, Tennessee resulted in the death of one man and injured seven others on Wednesday, August 19. The accident occurred on Interstate 440 near Interstate 65 in the eastbound lanes near Nollensville Pike.
According to preliminary investigations, a 2002 Oldsmobile Silhouette van, driven by 49-year-old Darlene Drive resident Hussain Al-Sarhan, collided with a 1999 Nissan Pathfinder, operated by 22-year-old Murfreesboro resident Adam Cogdal.
Roadways remained closed until after police investigators and maintenance crews were done with their investigations and cleanup at around 8 p.m. the same day.
The children who were inside Al-Sarhan’s van during the incident were identified as his three daughters, 14-year-old Fatima, 12-year-old Ala, and 10-year-old Wla; his nieces, 13-year-old Zahra and 11-year-old Zeinab; and his nine-year-old nephew, Ali.
All of those involved in the accident were transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the treatment of their non-life-threatening injuries.
Al-Sarhan was killed instantaneously in the incident. Cogdal, on the other hand, was taken to Skyline Medical Center for his injuries.
A GoFundMe account has been put in place for the Al-Sarhan family.
Swedish household products chain IKEA has announced that it will be recalling around 27 million chests and drawers because they are in danger of tipping over if not securely anchored to a wall.
Two incidents in 2014 occurred where the unstable chests tipped over and fatally injured a child.
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is advising people who are using IKEA’s furniture to immediately stop using IKEA’s MALM children’s chests higher than 23 ½ inches and adult chests and dressers higher than 29 ½ inches unless they are safely mounted to a wall.
Consumers are encouraged to reach out to IKEA for free wall anchoring repair kits for chests and dressers by calling their United States offices at (888) 966-4532 or logging on to www.IKEA-USA.com/saferhomestogether.
If you need an attorney to represent you in your personal injury accident case, and your accident has happened in Nashville or other areas in Tennessee, do not hesitate to acquire the legal services of our attorneys at Pohl & Berk, LLP today by calling our offices at 615-277-2765.
