MARIN COUNTY
Bikes had defective design, expert says
Front-wheel lever blamed in series of bicycle accidents
Jim Doyle, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, December 10, 2005
A metals expert testified in court Friday that a San Rafael company
distributed children's bicycles with an inherently dangerous design
flaw, resulting since 1999 in more than 100 accidents nationwide in
which front wheels flew off the bikes and riders were catapulted
headfirst over the handlebars.
Robert Neil Anderson, professor emeritus of materials engineering at
San Jose State University, said he examined several bicycles imported
by Dynacraft BSC Inc. of San Rafael and sold by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.,
and concluded that they had a defective quick-release lever on the
front wheel.
Nine boys from California and other states are suing Wal-Mart,
Dynacraft and Carl Warren & Co., which investigated claims for the San
Rafael importer. Wal-Mart and the other defendants have denied
wrongdoing.
Friday's testimony before a Marin County Superior Court jury came in
the first week of a trial in which the plaintiffs accuse the nation's
largest retailer and the bike importer of knowing about the problems
with the front wheels but continuing to sell the bikes and failing to
report injuries to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
In other testimony Friday, a former claims adjuster testified in a
video deposition that her firm ignored her pleas that certain Wal-Mart
bicycles should be recalled because of dozens of injuries linked to the
faulty quick-release levers.
Three of the boys claim to have suffered brain damage from bicycle
accidents due to failed quick-release levers. The remaining six have
various injuries, including facial scarring, broken teeth and permanent
disfigurement.
Anderson testified that the bicycles' quick-release system, which is
designed to hold the front-wheel axle to the frame and allow the wheel
to be easily removed for repairs or transport, was "inappropriate" for
children and called the device "defective" in its design.
"It's dangerous," he said. "The way they are manufactured ... At any
time, the wheel can come off."
He criticized the manufacturer's choice of materials for the
quick-release lever, testifying that a soft bushing was insufficient to
hold the lever in a locked position.
"It's like using marshmallows to try to hold it in place. There's
nothing to clamp down on," Anderson said. "It's going to slip. It
doesn't have the ability to clamp."
Anderson also said the bicycle was designed to hold a safety device,
called a retainer clip -- with the inclusion of tiny holes in the forks
on the steering column to house this clip. But the bicycles appear to
have been sold without the clip, he added.
Plaintiffs' lead counsel Mark Webb asked Anderson about a series of
accidents from across the country involving Wal-Mart bikes with
allegedly faulty quick-release levers, including accidents that
occurred this year. The average age of those injured was about 10,
Anderson said.
The resulting injuries included broken arms and collarbones, cracked
elbows, torn ligaments, separated shoulders, a ruptured spleen, eye
damage, hematoma, seizures and road rash.
Robert Phillips, a lawyer for Wal-Mart, objected that the details of
children's bike accidents - other than those of the nine plaintiffs --
were inflammatory and should not be heard by the jury.
"The only thing these claims show is that the tire came off," Phillips
told the judge. "There are other reasons a wheel can come off besides a
quick-release problem."
Judge Michael B. Dufficy denied the motion.
The bicycles, mostly mountain bikes, were sold for about $150 apiece at
Wal-Mart under the Next brand name, with specific models such as Next
Shock Zone and Next Ultra Shock. Dynacraft said it imported more than
460,000 of the bikes, which are no longer being sold but are still in
use. The bikes' quick-release device has not been the subject of any
government or company recalls.
The bikes were made in China, with final assembly in the United States.
Wal-Mart referred accident claims to Dynacraft, which referred them to
Carl Warren & Co.
Laurie Heide, a former claims adjuster for Carl Warren & Co.'s office
in Kirkland, Wash., testified in a video deposition that she processed
25 to 40 accident claims in 2001 and 2002 involving faulty
quick-release levers, and that other adjusters in her office logged
similar numbers of claims.
Heide also testified that she spoke repeatedly to a supervisor about
the quick-release lever, but that he ignored her suggestion that the
bikes should be recalled.
The trial resumes next week, and Anderson will be cross-examined by the
defense.