Aqua-Leisure Recalls Children’s Trampolines

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: First Fitness® Trampolines with Handlebars

Units: About 40,000

Manufacturer: Aqua-Leisure Industries Inc., of Avon, Mass.

Hazard: Metal fatigue can cause the handlebar to break away during use, posing a risk of laceration from exposed metal surfaces or other injury from a fall.

Incidents/Injuries: Aqua-Leisure has received four reports of handlebars breaking from the metal connection joint during use. No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves First Fitness Kid’s First trampolines with handlebars. The child-size toy trampolines have a red and blue metal handlebar, a blue nylon deck guard and a black jumping deck. “First Fitness” is embossed on the jumping deck in white letters. The trampolines can be identified by model number FF-6902TR and Toys R Us SKN 491463. The model and store numbers can be found on the lower right corner of the back of the packaging. A sewn-in tag on the bottom of the deck lists the factory date code of five numbers followed by “GLTX.”

Sold Exclusively at: Toys “R” Us stores nationwide from September 2010 through April 2012 for between $45 and $70.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately take the recalled trampolines from children and contact Aqua-Leisure’s recall hotline for a full refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, please contact Aqua-Leisure toll-free at (888) 912-7087 between 8:30 a.m. through 5:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at www.aqualeisure.com

Picture of Recalled Children’s Trampoline

Bicycle Recalls

The US Consumer Products Safety commission has listed ten bicycle recalls.   Take a look before you venture out on your bicycle outing.

Walmart Trampoline Recall

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2012
Release #12-172		 Firm’s Recall Hotline: (888)-965-0565
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Trampolines Recalled by Sportspower Limited Due to Fall Hazard; Sold Exclusively at Walmart

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Sportspower BouncePro 14′ Trampolines

Units: About 92,000

Importer: Wal-Mart Stores Inc., of Bentonville, Ark.

Manufacturer: Sportspower Limited, of Hong Kong, China

Hazard: The netting surrounding these trampolines can break, allowing children to fall through the netting and be injured.

Incidents/Injuries: Sportspower has received 17 reports of the net breaking, resulting in 11 injuries including broken bones, back and neck injuries, and contusions.

Description: The recall involves the Sportspower BouncePro 14’ Trampolines with brown mesh netting. UPC codes 68706404210, and 68706404244 are printed on the trampoline box. “Sportspower BouncePro 14” and “TR-14-63-A” are printed on a plate on the leg of the trampoline frame. The trampolines are surrounded by brown netting measuring about 6 feet high on the perimeter of the trampoline. The netting is designed to contain individuals bouncing on the trampoline.

Sold exclusively at: Walmart stores nationwide from February 2009 through February 2012 for about $275.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the trampolines immediately and contact Sportspower to receive replacement black netting for the trampoline.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Sportspower’s customer service hotline toll-free at (888)-965-0565 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at http://www.sportspowerltd.net/recall-bouncepro-14ft.html, or send an e-mail to Sportspower at customerservice@sportspowerltd.net

Bicycle Safety during National Bike Month

May is National Bike Month, and this year the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and AAA are teaming up to launch the annual “Be a ‘Roll’ Model” public awareness campaign, with a focus on bicycle safety.

The focus of the Roll Model campaign is to get parents, grandparents, older siblings and caregivers to commit to demonstrating safe bicycling habits every time they get on a bicycle. This means:

  • Riding and driving with focus—never getting distracted
  • Riding and driving prepared—always expecting the unexpected
  • Putting safety first—always wear a bicycle helmet
  • Following the rules of the road—remember that a bicycle is required to follow motor vehicle laws , including all traffic signs and signals
  • Sharing the road—all vehicle drivers, cars and bicyclists, need to be aware and respectful of one another

On that last point—about sharing the road—Nebraska recently passed an important piece of legislation that will help to make the roadways safer for both bikers and motorists alike. Known as the “3 foot passing law”, the legislation requires every vehicle to leave a clearance of three feet between their vehicle and any bicycle or electric assistive mobility device (such as a motorized wheelchair) when passing.

Iowa currently does not have similar traffic laws and would be wise to follow Nebraska’s example. This type of legislation that requires motorists to give bicyclists a safe distance when sharing the road is crucial to making our roadways safer and increasing the use of bicycles as a safe and healthy form of transportation.

Throughout the month of May, there will be several bicycle events across the country, including Bike to School Day on May 9; Bike to Work Week from May 14-18; and Bike to Work Day on May 18.

Pradaxa

Pradaxa linked to unexpectedly high number of fatal bleeding incidents

At the end of last year, the FDA caught the attention of thousands of patients when it issued new drug safety information concerning the link between Pradaxa and potentially deadly hemorrhaging. Pradaxa is a blood thinning medication that helps to reduce the risk of stroke for patients who suffer from a heart condition known as non-valvular atrial fibrillation. The drug was approved for use by the FDA in 2010, providing a substitute for the widely-used, but risky drug warfarin. But since then, a number of hemorrhaging incidents have called into question the safety of Pradaxa.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of persistent irregular heartbeat. Patients who suffer from this particular condition face a greatly increased risk of stroke. When the heart doesn’t beat strongly and regularly, there is a greater likelihood that a blood clot can develop and travel to the brain, which in turn results in a stroke. Often, patients with AF use medications like Pradaxa or warfarin to counter this risk. The anticoagulant drugs act as blood thinners to prevent clots from forming. Between obtaining FDA approval in October of 2010 and August of 2011, nearly 1.1 million Pradaxa prescriptions were filled in the United States.

But the use of blood thinners like Pradaxa carries its own risk: even a minor scrape or injury can quickly result in excessive and uncontrolled hemorrhaging. This was apparently known at the time of FDA approval, and studies even showed bleeding events occurred at the same rate for Pradaxa as compared to warfarin. But after Pradaxa went on the market, there has been higher rate of reported bleeding incidents than expected. The FDA continues to investigate why that is the case.

In the meantime, claims against the maker of the anticoagulant drug Pradaxa are starting to make their way into the court system. This last month, three plaintiffs filed suit in the United States against the German company that makes the drug, Boehringer Ingelheim. That company admits that in just one year of being on the market, Pradaxa was linked to 260 cases of fatal bleeding.

While the FDA investigation and litigation moves forward, patients are advised not to stop taking the drug without consulting their physician. But at the same time, patients need to be keenly aware of any adverse effects that indicate a bleeding problem:

  • unusual bleeding from the gums
  • nose bleeding that happens often
  • menstrual or vaginal bleeding that is heavier than normal
  • bleeding that is severe or you cannot control
  • pink or brown urine
  • red or black stools (looks like tar)
  • bruises that happen without a known cause or that get larger
  • coughing up blood or blood clots
  • vomiting blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds.