The Lombardi Law Firm Blog

Yamaha's Rhino unsafe and recalled, in Iowa

Yamaha Motor Corp. issued a recall of more than 120,000 Yahama Rhino ATVs today. All Rhino 450 and 660 model vehicles are being recalled for repairs intended to prevent accidents that have resulted in 46 confirmed deaths and hundreds of injuries. These Yamaha Rhinos suffer from inherent design flaws that make them unstable and susceptible to low-speed rollovers. 

NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 31, 2009

Release #09-172 CPSC
Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Yamaha Motor Corp. Offers Free Repair For 450 and 660 Model Rhino Vehicles CPSC advises consumers not to use the off-road vehicles until repaired

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A., of Cypress, Calif., is announcing a free repair program to address safety issues with all Rhino 450 and 660 model off-highway recreational vehicles. Yamaha has also agreed to voluntarily suspend sale of these models immediately until repaired. Consumers should immediately stop using these popular recreational vehicles until the repair is installed by a dealer.

CPSC staff has investigated more than 50 incidents involving 46 driver and passenger deaths in these two Rhino models. More than two-thirds of the cases involved rollovers and many involved unbelted occupants. Of the rollover-related deaths and hundreds of reported injuries, some of which were serious, many appear to involve turns at relatively low speeds and on level terrain.

About 120,000 of the 450 and 660 model Rhinos have been distributed nationwide since Fall 2003. Some units have been equipped by Yamaha with half doors and additional passenger handholds, either before or after sale.

Yamaha's repair includes the installation of a spacer on the rear wheels as well as the removal of the rear anti-sway bar to help reduce the chance of rollover and improve vehicle handling, and continued installation of half doors and additional passenger handholds where these features have not been previously installed to help keep occupants' arms and legs inside the vehicle during a rollover and reduce injuries. Owners of the affected Rhinos should stop using them and call their dealer to schedule an appointment to have repairs made once they are available and to take advantage of a free helmet offer.

Once these repairs have been made to their vehicles, Rhino users should always wear their helmet and seatbelt and follow the safety instructions and warnings in the on-product labels, owner's manuals and other safety materials. The Rhino is only recommended for operators 16 and older with a valid driver's license. All passengers must be tall enough to place both feet on the floorboard with their back against the seat back.

For additional information, contact Yamaha at 800-962-7926 anytime.

Yamaha Motor Corp. Offers Free Repair For 450, 660, and 700 Model Rhino Vehicles
CPSC advises consumers not to use the off-road vehicles until repaired

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A., of Cypress, Calif., is announcing a free repair program to address safety issues with all Rhino 450, 660, and 700 model off-highway recreational vehicles. Yamaha has also agreed to voluntarily suspend sale of these models immediately until repaired. Consumers should immediately stop using these popular recreational vehicles until the repair is installed by a dealer.

CPSC staff has investigated more than 50 incidents involving 46 driver and passenger deaths in these two Rhino models. More than two-thirds of the cases involved rollovers and many involved unbelted occupants. Of the rollover-related deaths and hundreds of reported injuries, some of which were serious, many appear to involve turns at relatively low speeds and on level terrain.

About 120,000 of the 450 and 660 model Rhinos have been distributed nationwide since Fall 2003. Some units have been equipped by Yamaha with half doors and additional passenger handholds, either before or after sale.

Yamaha’s repair includes the installation of a spacer on the rear wheels as well as the removal of the rear anti-sway bar to help reduce the chance of rollover and improve vehicle handling, and continued installation of half doors and additional passenger handholds where these features have not been previously installed to help keep occupants’ arms and legs inside the vehicle during a rollover and reduce injuries. Owners of the affected Rhinos should stop using them and call their dealer to schedule an appointment to have repairs made once they are available and to take advantage of a free helmet offer.

Yamaha is also voluntarily implementing the same repair program and suspension of sale for the Rhino 700 model, in order to ensure customer satisfaction. Consumers should stop riding the 700 model until it is repaired. About 25,000 Rhino 700s are part of this repair program.

Once these repairs have been made to their vehicles, Rhino users should always wear their helmet and seatbelt and follow the safety instructions and warnings in the on-product labels, owner’s manuals and other safety materials. The Rhino is only recommended for operators 16 and older with a valid driver’s license. All passengers must be tall enough to place both feet on the floorboard with their back against the seat back.

For additional information, contact Yamaha at 800-962-7926 anytime, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.yamaha-motor.com

Melamine in Minnesota crackers

According to the Associated Press the Minnesota Department of Agriculture announced there is melamine in Minnesota groceries. Lab tests found melamine, an industrial chemical in Fortuna brand sugar crackers. The product was taken from the Dragon Star grocery store in St. Paul.

The recall announcement was posted on March 26, 2009.

Dragon Star Oriental Foods Inc

(651) 488-2567

633 Minnehaha Ave W
St Paul, MN 55104 44.9631 -93.1267

Iowa Legislature considers whether it can trust Iowans

In Iowa consumers can’t sue companies under Iowa’s anti-fraud act; only the A.G. can. Iowa’s policy is not to trust its own citizens to know when a manufacturer should be sued. Instead Iowa law treats manufacturer’s as if they were royalty, perhaps because of how the legislature feels about campaign contributions from the manufacturing sector. Too dumb, not royal enough or just a campaign money issue; whatever camp you’re in, this legislature is giving it another look-see.

Pamela Dowd thought she was buying a high-efficiency furnace; instead she bough four-years of aggravation and legal wrangling. AARP backed the Attorney General’s proposal to allow Iowan’s the right to sue, but the blue suits carrying briefcases full of promised campaign contributions posed a formidable opponent.

“To defuse the opposition from business interests, the measure this year exempts many businesses and professions from the law. On Wednesday, that effort didn't appear to work as business lobbyists jammed the hearing room. Jim Carney, a Des Moines lobbyist representing cable television interests, said many communications companies were exempted, but cable didn't make the list. "They exempt telephones and utilities, but they don't exempt cable," said Carney.

The effort has drawn a strong advocate, however, with AARP backing the proposal. The organization represents politically powerful senior citizens, who AARP spokeswoman Ann Black said have a special interest in the legislation.”

The Iowa Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Division Iowa Consumer Fraud Act

Code of Iowa (Iowa Section 714.16) Prohibits unfair and deceptive trade practices in the sale, lease, or advertisement of a product or service, and in the solicitation of charitable contributions. Authorizes the Attorney General to issue subpoenas, hold hearings, adopt administrative rules, and file lawsuits to obtain temporary and permanent injunctive relief, consumer reimbursement, costs and attorney fees, and civil penalties up to $40,000 per violation.

Don’t hold your breath for change, because even in Iowa the moneyed interests usually win out over common sense.

The Sugar Wars - Is the truth being sugar coated?

I I heard it said that the first casualty of any war is the truth. More and more I've asked myself questions concerning food production, processing and distribution. The melamine contamination from China imports has everyone's stomach upset with worry about what we are eating and whether our government can protect us from future incidents of poisoning. You too must be asking yourself these questions.

Where do legitimate sale's tactics cross the line into outright lying and fraud?

And, at what point must a company examine its collective conscience of the board of directors and stop the company's sales force from making claims that improve the bottom line while exposing the end-user-consumer to unreasonable health risks?

As consumers, how can we know what is safe?

The sugar wars are a place to start examining food safety. The sugar wars have gone on long enough to have produced some useful consumer information. When two countries have industry's that make a healthy profit from selling competing products it gets hard to appreciate from all that they publish what is fact and what is fiction. In the sugar wars the products competing for your sweet tooth are sugar cane, aspartame and honey. These wars include stories about disease and birth defects along with tumors, obesity, diabetes and cancer.

First let's look at what is aspartame.

There is even an aspartame website (AW) where you can be told or sold I'm not sure, the facts in a way too positive for myself. Here is what they say about aspartame.

Aspartame is said to be "Great taste without the calories for today's healthy lifestyles." But is it? What is aspartame?

The AW recommends the Mayo Clinic website as a reliable source for the truth.

Searching the Mayo Clinic site for, what is an amino acid? I was then directed to several articles. The first was about phenylketonuria, a well-known birth defect. (PKU) That wasn't very reassuring but there was some basic information about PKU. The Mayo Clinic tells me that amino acids are building blocks for protein and that too much phenylalanine can cause a variety of health problems. The cause of PKU is a defective gene needed to process phenylalanine and without the ability to process this amino acid (phenylalanine) builds up when a person eats foods high in protein. Those foods are milk, cheese, nuts or meats. If mother and father have this PKU they will pass it on to junior.

What complications can arise from PKU if goes undiagnosed and treated?

If untreated PKU leads to irreversible brain damage and mental retardation. It can cause damage to the central nervous system in a child that shows up as irritability, restlessness and destructive behavior.

What everyone seems to agree with is the conclusion that Aspartame is not good for children who suffer from PKU. This neutral ground should lead mothers and fathers to conclude that the use of Aspartame for infants and children is prohibitive. A can of diet Pepsi ingredients label shows that the product contains phenylalanine and Aspartame but offers no warning about who should not drink this diet soda. I would hope no parent would give diet soda to an infant but what about other products?

Next time let's look at all those foods containing phenylalanine and Aspartame.

"Phenylalanine
One of the moieties of the aspartame molecule is phenylalanine, which is unsafe for those born with phenylketonuria, a rare genetic condition. Phenylalanine is one of the nine essential amino acids and is commonly found in foods. Approximately 50% of aspartame (by mass) is broken down into phenylalanine, which is considered safe for everyone except sufferers of phenylketonuria. Because aspartame is metabolized and absorbed very quickly (unlike phenylalanine-containing proteins in foods), it is known that aspartame could spike blood plasma levels of phenylalanine. Scientists have reported that a rise in blood plasma phenylalanine is negligible in typical use of aspartame and their studies show no significant effects on neurotransmitter levels in the brain or changes in seizure thresholds. In addition, they say that proven adverse effects of phenylalanine on fetuses has only been seen when blood phenylalanine levels stay at high levels as opposed to occasionally being spiked to high levels.

An alternative sweetener, neotame, has been developed apparently to solve the phenylalanine problem said to be associated with aspartame."

Food Safety: Where can you read about Aspartame to decide if it's right for you?

Where can you look for answers to whether Aspartame is or is not safe?

What this all comes down to is a personal choice. The government for a long time believed saccharin was safe. They told us DDT was safe, it wasn't.  Sooner or later need to just decide and leave the arguing to history.

I'll collect a few of the websites both pro and con and let you do some reading to see on what side you want to be on.

PRO - I LOVE ASPARTAME I EAT IT RIGHT OUT OF THE PACKAGE!

http://www.aspartame.org/index.html or  www.aspartame.com - lays out the pro-argument and attempts to dispel urban legend about Aspartame.

http://www.aspartame.net/ - is another pro-site with the latest and greatest information about why Aspartame is safe.  This site includes a "Scientific Library" for you to peruse.

http://www.aspartame.info/ - This site includes news, FAQ, opinions, a library, links and an Aspartame Movie. The nice part of this site is it clearly and conspicuously tells you the Aspartame Information Service is provided by Ajinomoto, a producer of aspartame and supplier to well known food and drink makers.

CON - NO WAY AM I GOING TO EAT ANYTHING WITH ASPARTAME!

www.321recipes.com - This site includes physician contributions, the history and all that supports the belief it's bad for you.

http://www.aspartamekills.com/ - is as it says dedicated to proving to you that Aspartame will kill you. This site has a pretty good collection of video interviews and exposes'.

http://www.presidiotex.com/aspartame/index.html - is a support group for those believing they have been victimized by eating Aspartame.

Unsafe Products - Transvaginal Placement of Surgical Mesh