Originally Posted by
Maelochs
My position remains this: in a society as litigious as this, with as many CF forks as have been sold in the last 35 years, if they were In Any Way a hazard
A.) They would not be on the market and
B.) We would be seeing commercials for lawyers starting class action suits for people hurt riding bikes with CF forks ("Were you or a loved one hurt or killed while riding a bicycle equipped with a fatally unsafe carbon fiber fork the bicycle industry Knew was a hazard? If so call Dewey, Cheatham and Howe to find out how you can get the compensation You Deserve!")
When a carbon-fiber fork fails, its manufacturer offers $1 million to the victim and quietly recalls all similar forks.
http://www.salient-news.com/wp-conte...rk-Failing.pdf
The guy is set to retire and sail a yacht now.
Description of Case:
Plaintiff, a 58 year old retired manager for Nestle Foods was injured when the carbon fiber forks broke on his bicycle. He was riding with a pack of 80-100 other riders when the accident happened in Simi Valley. As a result of the forks breaking, he suffered fractures to his cervical and thoracic spine. Plaintiff contended that the forks were defective in their design and manufacturing, with post crash examination giving evidence of numerous defects within the structure.
DAMAGES: Economic - $202,800 was stipulated as the reasonable and necessary past medical expenses ($75,000 is amount paid by insurance. Non-Economic (pain and suffering, etc.) - $520,000
Giant Bicycle is voluntarily recalling about 2,400 Giant bicycle forks. These carbon-fiber forks were sold on 2001-model Giant TCR Team, TCR 0, TCR 1, TCR 2 and OCR 1 bicycles and framesets (an unassembled frame and fork).
Warning: These forks can break during use causing riders to lose control, fall and get seriously injured! If you have one of these bicycles, stop riding it immediately!
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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. Name of Product: Wolf SL Carbon Fiber Bicycle Forks
Units: About 5,800
Importer: Cervélo SA, of Switzerland
Manufacturer: True Temper Composite Material Products Co. Ltd, of Guangzhou, China
Hazard: The forks steerer can break during normal use, causing the rider to lose control, fall and suffer serious injuries.
Incidents/Injuries: Cervelo has received 12 reports of forks cracking or breaking, resulting in one consumer suffering a broken wrist and another suffering minor abrasions.
Description: The recalled forks have a clear coating over black painted carbon fiber, with the words "Wolf Superlite" and related logo just below the crown on each fork leg, and the letters "SL" on each leg above the fork blade dropouts. There is a True Temper CRT™ logo on the inside of both fork legs. The recalled forks could have been included on the following bicycle models: R3, R3 SL, Soloist Carbon, Soloist Carbon SL, and certain P3 Carbon framesets and complete bicycles.
