Lawn Mower Mistakes to Avoid at All Costs

Last week, our blog discussed how cleaning products can be misused with tragic results. There are additional spring cleaning tips that are necessary for staying safe. Lawn mowers can cause catastrophic injuries or death, sometimes without any warning. According to statistics collected by the Academy of Pediatrics, lawn mowers injure 68,000 people every year. More than 9,400 of those injuries involve children. Common lawn mower injuries to children include lacerations, amputations and fractures.It is a matter of vital importance to keep your children inside while mowing the lawn, and to ensure children they are old enough to use this equipment.

Why Should You Keep Children Inside While Mowing the Lawn?

There are several ways children can be injured while parents are mowing the lawn. For example, parents may fail to see their children are in the path of the mower. Last year, a Houston man accidently backed over his 4-year-old son’s foot while mowing the lawn. The boy was treated at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital for a lacerated foot. According to the father, he was unaware his son was in the path of the lawn mower.Children can also run behind or in front of lawn mowers while they are in use. In addition, lawn mower blades can strike rocks or other objects, turning them into high-speed projectiles.

What Other Tips Can Protect Your Children from Lawn Mower Injuries?

Keeping your children inside while you are mowing the lawn is the best surefire way to prevent injuries. However, experts with organizations like the Academy of Pediatrics have other tips that may help keep your children safe.The Academy of Pediatrics has the following suggestions:

• Children under 12 years old should never use push or “walk-behind” mowers
• Children under 16 years old should not use riding lawn mowers
• Parents should never allow their children to be passengers on riding lawn mowers

It is also important to carefully check your surroundings when mowing the lawn. You will not be able to hear children approaching from the side or behind while mowing. If you are going to put the mower in reverse, look behind you beforehand.You should also stay informed of possible recalls. Some lawn and brush mowers may have defects. For example, the Pro-XL-44 field and brush mower has a fuel tank malfunction that may release gasoline liquid or vapors this is a fire hazard.You can check the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website for more information on lawn or brush mower recalls. If you or a family member were injured by a defective lawn care product, you may have legal options to pursue damages against the manufacturer or retailer. The Texas product liability attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC can help you weigh possible options.

Can Spring Cleaning Mistakes Endanger Your Safety?

If you are planning to do some spring cleaning in the next few weeks, it is essential to avoid making mistakes that can endanger your safety. When cleaning products are used incorrectly, chemical reactions can occur. Some of these chemical reactions may result in serious injury or death. The following examples are common spring cleaning mistakes people make with these products.

Never Mix Bleach with Other Cleaning Products

Bleach is great at what it is designed to do – clean and sterilize surfaces. However, it can create deadly chemical reactions when mixed with other products. Chlorine gas is produced when bleach is mixed with acidic products. This is a common mistake people make when cleaning toilet bowls. They will buy a toilet bowl cleaning product that contains acid, and then mix it with bleach. Another common mistake is to mix drain cleaners from different brands. Mixed together, this may also create chlorine gas.Chlorine gas irritates the mucus membranes. Low levels of exposure can cause coughing, breathing problems and watery eyes. High levels of exposure can lead to vomiting, chemical burns, severe chest pain, pneumonia and death. Acidic cleaning products include vinegar, drain cleaners, window cleaners (some but not all) and drain cleaners.Chloramines are produced when bleach is mixed with ammonia. These are toxic vapors that cause coughing fits, nausea, wheezing, shortness of breath and pneumonia.If you are cleaning with rubbing alcohol, do not also clean with bleach. Rubbing alcohol and bleach create chloroform and hydrochloric acid when mixed together. In large enough quantities, chloroform vapors can cause dizziness and irritation. Hydrochloric acid is a corrosive substance that may cause chemical burns.The Centers for Disease Control recommends avoiding the use of bleach products in enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces. Only mix bleach products with water and your own hard work ethic.

Are There Other Dangerous Cleaning Products?

It is very important to keep cleaning products away from children. If you are going to be doing some spring cleaning, be sure to keep these products out of reach. For example, drain cleaners that contain sulfuric acid can lead to serious chemical burns and disfigurement when it comes into contact with soft tissue. Many of these products are uniformly fatal when ingested.Although some websites claim these products should be kept on a high shelf, that is hogwash. Keep these products in a high area in a locked cabinet or large toolbox. Children can climb counters and they may not understand why these products are dangerous. Make sure your children can not see how you unlock these cabinets or toolboxes. Never leave cleaning products unattended.The Texas personal injury attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC are committed to serving the community by promoting safety.

What Are Possible Consequences of Social Media Mistakes Made During Spring Break?

One of the worst spring break mistakes is to make careless posts on social media. Clogging your Facebook or Instagram feeds with unprofessional or unflattering posts may lead to consequences that follow you for life. Your relationships with family, or obligations to school administrators or employers can also suffer damage. What you post online will never go away. Think of the following consequences of social media mistakes before you hit the post button.

1. Depending on what you post, you could be fired from your job. For example, if your employer sees photos of you drinking heavily, it may reflect poorly on your professional life. This is especially true for people who hold professional licenses, such as teachers, nurses or lawyers. Posting anything deeply unprofessional, whether it be a photo or regular status update, may end with you losing your job. Texas is an “at-will” state, which can make it easier for an employer to terminate your position.
2. You may get into trouble with your school. School administrators may see or become aware of your posts. Are you on campus and violating a school policy? You may wind up in your school’s administration office for disciplinary reasons.
3. You could hurt your future career prospects. Many employers meticulously comb through the social media accounts of job applicants. They may check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat or Google. Photos or status updates can reflect poorly on your professional ambitions. Employers want candidates who are not going to be a liability. Any time you post to social media, ask yourself: “Is this something I would want my future boss to see?”
4. Your family may take offense to some of your posts. Depending on the post, this may strain your relationships with family members.
5. In the worst-case scenario, your embarrassing post could go viral. This means tens of thousands or millions of people could see one of your most embarrassing moments. These are the types of posts that get picked up by media outlets and haunt people for the rest of their lives.

Want to Avoid Social Media Mistakes? Keep Your Future in Mind

Alcohol is a major reason people show poor judgement when posting on social media during spring break. However, even the excitement of the moment can lead to permanent consequences. Always have your future in mind when you are posting on social media. Are your posts something you would want your family, employers or school administrators to see?It’s also a good rule of thumb to keep your personal and professional social media accounts separate. You can have social media accounts for your professional life and personal life. If they are not separate, you can max out your privacy settings to increase the chances only select people can see your posts. For example, Facebook allows you to limit who can search for you or see your timeline. You can also use security options to limit who can search for you on Google.The Texas personal injury attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC are dedicated to serving the safety and wellbeing of our community.

Can You Avoid Buying Defective Consumer Products this Holiday Season?

Holiday shopping has commenced. Over the next month, billions of hot products will fly off the shelves and wind up as gifts at family gatherings. If you are about to start shopping, please be aware that defective consumer products can pose a significant safety risk. Recent history is full of examples.Hoverboards gained notoriety during last year’s holiday season after several reports of fires and explosions. In one case, a defective hoverboard almost burned down a house. Earlier this year, Samsung captured headlines over reports its Note 7 could explode and catch fire. The Federal Aviation Administration banned Note 7’s from being carried on flights.Children’s toys may also pose dangers, even without defects. A recent Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) report claims toy injuries resulted in 11 deaths and more than 185,000 visits to emergency rooms in 2015. All injuries and deaths affected children under 15 years old. Some toys may be flagged by consumer safety groups, and others could be under recall for defects.Our guide may serve as a tool for avoiding these dangerous consumer products.

How Do You Check for Product Recalls?

One of the best ways (but not the only way) to check for product recalls is to use the CPSC’s website. This area of the site displays recent recalls. You can also use the website’s search engine to look for specific products.If you were to click on a listed product, it would display detailed information on why the product was recalled. The page would inform you of recent injuries or accidents involving the product, and where it is sold. It would tell you which company manufactured the product and whether you can receive repairs or a refund.Using CSPC’s website is not the only way to check for product recalls. You can also sign up for automatic email alerts that will notify you when specific products are recalled. Alerts can be tailored to outdoors products, children’s toys or sports and recreation equipment – just to name a few examples.The CPSC also operates www.saferproducts.gov, which allows consumers to post reports of possible injuries or other safety concerns involving products. This website also allows you to look for recalls.

How Else Can You Check for Dangerous Products?

Some organizations release annual lists of dangerous toys and consumer products. World Against Toys Causing Harm (W.A.T.C.H.) recently released its “most dangerous toys of 2016” list. Toys that made 2016’s list presented choking and suffocation hazards. Other toys put children at risk for eye, impact and ingestion injuries.Many toys that make it on W.A.T.C.H.’s naughty list have many of the same problems. According to the organization, these toys are defective due to poor design, manufacturing and marketing practices.It never hurts to perform research before buying a product. By checking beforehand if other people have issued complaints, or if the product is under recall, you may help make the holiday season safer for yourself and loved ones.The Texas personal injury attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC encourage you to remain vigilant of defective consumer products this holiday season.

If You Are Buying a Car, Beware of Auto Dealer Fraud

Mortgage fraud is only one of many ways scammers target vulnerable consumers. Car dealerships also take advantage of those in desperate situations with fraudulent tactics. Salespeople will target folks with poor credit, the disabled, the elderly and those with a poor grasp of consumer protection laws. Here is how you can spot these auto dealer fraud scams and avoid being ripped off.

The Top Five Auto Dealer Fraud Scams to Avoid

1. Bait and switch rebates: Car dealership scams will sometimes offer numerous rebates to attract potential buyers to their lots. In reality, this is deceptive advertising because the dealership knows that most of the people who show up will not be able to use these rebates. For example, a vehicle will be advertised at a reduced price of $25,000. What the salesman does not say, is that the rebate is only for members of the military. Without the rebate, the vehicle is $26,000. A prospective buyer would not find out that they do not qualify for the rebate until it is almost time to sign for the car. After spending hours in the finance office going over paperwork, vulnerable buyers are exhausted and ready to sign for the vehicle anyways.
2. Misrepresentation and non-disclosure fraud: Used car dealerships may fail to specify if vehicles were rental cars or involved in collisions so they can sell at the normal market value. In other cases, the car warranty may be expired. Scammers may also tamper with the odometer to make the vehicle look like it has fewer miles, or sell a used vehicle as new. See if it is possible to run a vehicle history report using the car’s vehicle identification number.
3. Spot delivery scams: This is more commonly known as the ‘yoyo financing scam’. Dealerships that allow consumers to buy on the spot before completing financing may entice potential buyers with lower credit scores. After the buyer leaves the lot with a new car, the scammer may call back a week later and say that the paperwork is incomplete or the financing fell through. Buyers will be called back into the dealership to sign paperwork for new monthly payments and higher interest rates. This is an especially disastrous scam for people trading in vehicles for lower monthly payments on new cars. People in this situation may find the dealership has sold their cars within hours of driving off the lot, and they are now at the whim of higher interest rates and monthly payments for new vehicles.
4. Fake credit score scams: Dealerships may misrepresent the credit history of buyers to sucker them into higher interest rates and monthly payments. For example, a buyer with a credit score of 680 is told by the dealership his or her score is 550. Scammers will use this trick to tell buyers they do not qualify for the deal they were originally told about, and instead have to pay much more. The way to get around this scam is to show up with a printout of your most recent credit score. Keep in mind, you get one free credit report from all three credit bureaus once a year.
5. Predatory lending: Predatory lending is a growing problem in the used car industry. These loans will have super-high interest rates, long repayment terms and be hidden with fees. Predatory lenders sometimes advertise vehicles with extra features, but sell cars that lack the said features. In addition, predatory lenders will use some of the scams we have already mentioned.

Our Attorneys Can Help You Fight Auto Dealer Fraud

Texas does have consumer protection laws that can help the victims of auto dealership scams. If your vehicle is new, you may have protections under the Texas Lemon Law. Under some circumstances, the Texas Lemon Law allows you to receive a refund or replacement vehicle.The Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act can also offer protections. Victims of car dealership fraud should call an attorney to explore what options might be available.The Texas personal injury attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC can look over your vehicle or leasing paperwork and help you develop a strategy for recovering from acts of fraud.