Just recently, General Motors (GM) issued a recall of over 300,000 Chevy Impalas due to a defect in the seat belts. According to GM earlier this week, the front seat belts may not be properly anchored within the car. This defect could prove fatal to those occupants in the front seat if they are involved in a collision.
Additionally, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall this Thursday of more than 450,000 Ryobi cordless power drills. The company reported that the drills have a defect on the drill’s switch, which can cause the switch to overheat and produce a high fire and burn risk. At this time, Ryobi has received 47 reports of the drills overheating, two of which resulted in injuries to consumers of its product.
California bicycle company, The Hive, has announced a recall of bike brakes due to a high rate of failure. According to the company, “the cable clamping area of the bicycle brakes can crack over time, causing the brakes to fail.” Obviously, such a defect increases the risk of a crash and injury to its user.
Finally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is planning to rescind its approval of the Menaflex patch, which was granted in error in 2008. The Menaflex patch, which is manufactured by ReGen Biologics, is used to treat injured knees. According to the FDA, the approval came about due to undue pressure from four New Jersey congressmen and its own commissioner.
Any consumers that have these products should immediately take notice of the serious risks in using these products.