spinderella1

Christmas Warning From Moms Who Care
STOP HURTING OUR KIDS -- www.shokbikes.org

We are the parents of children who have been injured on bikes purchased at Wal-Mart and/or made by Dynacraft. Our sons and daughters have suffered permanent scarring, disfigurement, major bone and dental trauma, severe scraping and bruising, brain injury and ruptured internal organs. We have:

* Evidence of over 100 accidents
* Evidence of brain damage to children
* Evidence that accident reports were “thrown away” by Wal-Mart claims people

Some of us are currently involved in a group lawsuit against Wal-Mart and their distributor Dynacraft, and we intend to prove in court that:

• WAL-MART KNEW these bicycles were causing serious injuries and refused to act
• WAL-MART CONSPIRED with its importer Dynacraft to cover up these incidents & keep the problem hidden

In order to protect all children nationwide and to make a statement against corporate greed and public victimization, we are asking all parents and families: Don’t buy bikes from Wal-Mart.

As the world’s largest seller of children’s bicycles, Wal-Mart should ensure the safety of bikes they sell. Until Wal-Mart accepts full responsibility for the multiple accidents on their bikes, and ensures the public that they’ve stopped selling defective bikes, consumers should purchase their bikes elsewhere, preferably a local bike shop that can offer expert advice and personalized service. Bikes are not toys!

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Please pass this on to every parent you know. According to the National Retail Federation, bicycles are one of the Top 10 Gifts for Boys during the holiday season. Let’s save children from needless injury and hit Wal-Mart where it hurts until they Stop Hurting Our Kids!

CONCERNED FAMILIES
Cindy Mary-Carman — San Jose, CA
Roxanne Berry — South Charleston, WV
Brian & Stacy Anglen — Chiecotah, OK
Cheryl & Kim Abplanalp — Vernal, UT
Carla Baird — Chuluoata, FL
Connie Gowawn — Slidell, LA
Cathy Belyeu — Dallas, TX
Sandy Huber — West Chicago, IL

ad6mj

Considering how many bikes WalMart sells, that's not very many. Did these accidents happen on the first ride? Kids have been known to mess around with bikes even when they don't know what they're doing. It is the owners/riders responsibility to perform a safety check prior to riding. That said, I would get my kid a decent bike and check it out myself before letting them ride it. I guess I'm funny that way, but I believe in personal responsibility.

MisterJ

Just looking for deep pockets.

genec

Couple interesting messages in that OP message:



Just those two things alone are a great message.

karmical

why not just stop shopping at walmart altogether?

scarry

Don't buy ANYTHING at Wal-Mart.

https://walmartwatch.com/
https://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html
https://www.walmartmovie.com/

chicharron

I think that I would agree with you. And besides that, I wouldnt buy a cheap Walmart bike, boycott or not. If you cannot afford a new bike at a LBS, go to garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets, want adds in the paper, E-Bay, ect. I would buy toothpaste, or socks and underware at Walmart, but I would never buy anything like a bicylce. I bought three air matteress's at Walmart to go camping with, and all three leaked the first time out.

chicharron

question, would you sue McDonalds for serving hot coffee?

vegcrow

+1 You can't buy anything from WalMart and then pretend to have any moral high ground. Plus, does anybody really think they are keeping prices low by selling quality products? You get what you pay for.

patc

Did these bikes get a proper fitting?
Did these bikes get regular maintenance, including checking quick-release tension?
Did these bikes get daily inspection to make sure they worked?

Keith99

Learn at least a few details before throwing this out again. McDondalds brewed their coffee about 10 degrees hotter than anyone else to get more cups out of each pound of coffee. They were well aware that this was apt to cause injury and then were stupid enough to have an internal study that decided that they would profit by doing this and settling any lawsuits.

Perfect foundation for a suit with punative damages.

AND a case where the system worked correctly.

jfmckenna

I am not surprised. I stopped buying things from Wal Mart because almost everything I buy there breaks in a few months time.

Bianchiriderlon

Personal responsibility is one thing, but retail negligence is another. The retailler has a duty of care to the consumer to do whatever a reasonable person would do to ensure that what is sold is safe. If the retailler is not meeting an adequate standard (which would have to be proven in court) then they deserve to face a financial penalty. I would not impute a wrongful motive regarding parents whose children have suffered as a result of alleged shabby retail standards. They have every right to sue to ascertain negligence on the part of the retailler and to ensure that the company does not cause further harm. I don't shop at WalMart for a variety of reasons. If they are found negligent, that would be another good reason not to shop there.

Keith99

Sorry I disagree. One reasonable expects a childs bike to not requite constant care. The two questions I would ask are:

Did the bike come assembled?
If not were the instructions adequate?

If assembled one reasonably expects it to be safe to ride. While it is reasonable to expect most of the people on this site to know how a quick release works it is not reasonable to expect the man off the street to know.

I would think the first is where Walmart may be in trouble is on the first. If they did the assembly and then it released unexpectedly the suit will likely win. If people assemble their own the raw numbers pretty much point to the instructions being reasonable and those filing suit being unable to read.

vegcrow

I agree that WalMart needs to be held liable for their actions, but a person simply cannot be a customer of that store without commiting their own ethical crimes, just like a person cannot purchase Nazi postage stamps and then sue the government for putting their grandma in the gas chamber.

Now for a bit of fun (just received this in my email):


Petition. -- The website has an option for "Don't by me Walmart for Festivus"

Dear friend/family member,

I am writing to ask you not to buy me presents at Wal-Mart this holiday season. Wal-Mart engages in some of the worst labor practices in the country: paying its employees substandard wages, forcing unpaid overtime on its workers and refusing to provide affordable health insurance.

Until Wal-Mart changes its ways, I won't shop at Wal-Mart and I hope you won't either. Please join me in telling Wal-Mart we won't shop at its stores until it treats its employees better.

It only took me a few seconds to sign the Wal-Mart Pledge and I'm hoping you'll sign it, too. Click here to sign the pledge:

https://www.workingforchange.com/acti...m?itemid=19943

ad6mj

Did the accident happen on the first ride? Was the front wheel ever removed or was the quick release ever loosened? In all likelyhood if the QR was loose when sold the wheel would have fallen off when they loaded/unloaded it in their car to take it home. Bicycles do require maintenance and a pre-ride check should always be performed. Parents have a responsibility to cover bicycle safety with their kids.

FLBandit

While I think getting a bike at an LBS is a much better option, I must admit to owning 4 Wal-Mart Bikes currently. One, an old MTB, I've had for 13 years. The others are a cruiser for my wife and two kids bikes. Do they work flawlessly like my Lemond? NO! However, are they dangerous? No they're not. I think the main thing is to check out the bike before use. It seems to me 100 problems out of the amount of bikes Wal-Mart sells is a pretty low number.

Bianchiriderlon

Well, again, the allegation has to be proven in court. I have no facts of the case other than what is published here. Neither am I a lawyer. I am a psychologist and in my experience, most people don't run off to court without cause. The cost and time involved in going to court should be sufficient reason to not go if a good case cannot be made.

ad6mj

You must not be from the U.S. There is a whole industry centered around frivolous lawsuits.

Treespeed

It sounds to me like these people expect some company to do their parenting for them. Maybe they should have invested a little time to make sure their kids bikes were safely assembled and in sound mechanical condition before letting their kids loose on them. At least that's what my Dad and Stepfather always did, and what I plan on doing with my daughter. Do these people see who works at their local Wal Mart? Do they imagine that the Discovery team mechanic is in the back room assembling bikes? There is nothing wrong with people trying to get the best deal possible, but as stated before, you get what you pay for. I would be willing to bet that there were warning stickers, as well as instructions on how to safely operate the QR mechanism. Why should Wal Mart, a very evil company to be sure, be punished because these parents can't be bothered to parent their own children.

alanbikehouston

This thread is an advertisement for attorney Mark Webb of San Francisco. Attorney Webb has a jury trial underway in California concerning these so-called "concerned parents". The jury has been sent home for the Holidays until January 4th. Mark Webb's publicists have planted stories on national TV networks, local TV stations (especially in towns the jury lives in) that will be broadcast this week, in an effort to influence the jury.

Mr. Webb's publicity campaign has two goals: 1. to influence the jury that is currenty hearing the case of the "concerned parents" mentioned in Spinderella's post. 2. to recruit new clients for Mr. Webb's next lawsuit. By, the way, in the PR business, "Spin" means to twist the facts to sell a product. "Spinderalla" has chosen an appropriate name for his efforts to abuse "BikeForums" to promote Mark Webb's law firm.

I have no regard for Wal-Mart, and the corporate greed that compels Wal-Mart to sell shoddy bikes made by unskilled, unpaid communist slave labor. And, there is no doubt that the combination of junk bikes, incompetent assembly by Wal-Mart employees, and uncaring parents (duh...they gave their kid a bike from Wal-Mart) causes many children to be injured each year.

But, now we have "Spinderella" promoting attorney Mark Webb, and using BikeForums to solicite clients by pretending to be a group of "concerned parents". Hard to know who to root against in this dispute...the greedy, slimy corporation, or the greedy, slimy lawyer.

For reponsible parents, there is an easy solution: Buy your kid a bike from a good LBS. If you are buying a bike for a nine year old, buy a tough, reliable, SIMPLE bike. Read the owner's manual. Read it again. Learn how to check over the bike carefully and make those checkups on a regular basis. Take the bike to the LBS for regular check-ups and service. Teach your kid how to ride safely. Ride with your kid to make sure they are practicing the safe riding skills they have been taught.

patc

I expect any bike - for that matter any device, even a toy - to require some sort of constant care, even if only basic inspections. Bikes, skis, skateboards, even video games. Yup, I think parents should check power cords from time to time on video games, to see if junior or a pet has pulled it, chewed it, etc. Swing sets and outdoor play structures also pose many hazards and should be checked at least every season. Pacifiers for babies can be damaged, the rubber age and crack, and become a chocking hazard. Etc.

A parent who lets a kid ride a bike without checking it first (when new) and doing routine maintenance on it is being negligent.

There have been some legitimate questions about the assembly of these Walmart bikes, and the component quality, so I won't say that the lawsuit is completely frivolous. On the other hand we get comments like this:
The parents admit to knowing something was wrong with the bike, did not have a mechanic look at it, and still let the kid ride it. I'd say the insurance adjuster called that one right. That's not to say that Walmart may not have some responsibility here, but the fault for the actual accident is the parents'. Seriously, how stupid are people today? Here's a clue: your kid will climb something, and ride that something, and may fall off. Maybe, just maybe, you as a parent should educate yourself as to the proper use and maintenance of that something.

Unfortunately no particular skill is needed to procreate, and all too often it is the result of irresponsibility in the first place.

roccobike

The parents who bought these bikes are generally, not part of forums like this. They don't understand that this is a vehicle, not a toy and they buy bikes that have QR, dual suspension, and 21 gears because that's what their kids want. Wal-Mart, K-Mart and Target all sell bikes with fewer speeds, no suspension, and no QRs for less $$ than the bikes mentioned in the suit. But the kids want the bikes that look like the ones at the LBS and parents, not understanding the risks, buy them.
There is a very good article in Bicycling, I think it was the October 05 issue, where they discuss this same subject. They asked, why don't the box retailers sell bikes that have better components/construction and fewer frills. The answer was simple, they don't sell.

genec

I wonder how many of those parents even know how tight a QR should be, or would know if the bike is built right in the first place.

Quite easily those parents that are buying their kids X-mart bikes are not likely cyclists themselves.

I know that I, as a cyclist, took my son to the local LBS for his bikes.

Bianchiriderlon

I'm a Canuck. Sad but true. I was making a general point. Up here frivolous lawsuits get tossed.