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NEWS – BATTERY PETITION
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• Services Dienstleistungspalette (Deutsch) Servicios (Español) Services (Français) Chi siamo (Italiano) Serviços (Português) • About Scientific Advisory Services, Ltd. • Curriculum Vitae Dr. C. J. Abraham • What Effect Does Protective Headgear Have on Reducing the Impact to the Brain in Soccer and All Other Sports? [PDF] • New Materials Award of the Textile Institute • Amusement Park Accident Verdict • Overcoming Federal Preemption • Playground Safety • Playgrounds and Amusement Parks • Concussions - Your Body Is Nothing Without A Brain [PDF] • Prior Trial Results • Human Factors, Safety & Hazard Analysis • Toy Design & Safety • Warnings & Instructions • Sports & Recreation Safety • OSHA and Labor Law • Slips, Trips & Falls • Recreation & Sports Accidents • Columbia University Presentation • The Flammable Fabrics Act: An Unreasonably Dangerous Act • Flammable Fabrics Case • A New Standard of Care in Absorbing and Dissipating Forces • A Viable Product vs. The Legal System • Concussions, Head Injuries and the Textile Industry [PDF] • Concussions and Potential Risks in Children and Adults [PDF] • United States District Court Decision: Allison Nowak, et al Plaintiffs v. Faberge U.S.A. and Precision Valve Corporation, Defendants • Arnau v. WC Maui Coast LLC, et al.; U.S. District Court, District of Mawaii • Industrial Products & Equipment • Improved Protection For Sports Helmets • News – Battery Petition • NHTSA Petition: Battery Explosions • Soccer – Head Injuries and Protection • National Alliance for Youth Sports – SportingKid Magazine – Fall 2007 • Dr. Abraham at Columbia University [PDF] • ForceField FF Headbands • Contact Information |
MULTINATIONAL MONITOR MARCH 1990 - VOLUME 11 - NUMBER 3 N A M E S I N T H E N E W S Battling Bad Batteries A recent study conducted under the auspices of the Greater Detroit Society for the Blind estimates that 6,000 to 10,000 persons per year suffer eye injuries resulting from exploding car batteries. The survey, involving thousands of ophthalmologists and hospitals throughout the United States, arrived at these figures with statistical methods the Society claims were "as conservative as possible." The survey results are part of a petition to set safety standards for car batteries that was rejected last fall by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The petition was rejected on the grounds that the study included a "significant number of battery-related injuries ... [which] involve skin or eye irritation from acid vapors, spillage and splashing during ordinary battery handling and servicing, and not from battery explosions." The issue was recently revived, however, as the result of a letter sent by Congressman Thomas A. Luken, D-Ohio, to NHTSA, expressing concern "about the large number of injuries that still occur because of exploding batteries." The document estimates that car battery companies spend between $60 million and $90 million per year on litigation, settlement and awards related to battery explosions and subsequent lawsuits. In a recent battery explosion liability case in California, a plaintiff was awarded $6.5 million in punitive damages and $3.2 million in general damages from Johnson Controls Inc., the manufacturer of Sears, Roebuck, and Co.'s Die Hard battery. Dr. C.J. Abraham, an author of the petition, visited and interviewed battery companies including Sears, Exide, GNB and Johnson Controls. "All of the battery companies stated to me that because of the highly competitive situation in the aftermarket, no battery company would risk being the first to offer a safe battery that would eliminate all injuries," Abraham said. "Each company recommended that we approach the Department of Transportation and attempt to obtain a safety standard for batteries through a petition."
David Lapp
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