Wal Mart Cleared by Jury

SAN FRANCISCO, US (Feb 15) - A civil jury has rejected claims that US retail-giant Wal-Mart knowingly sold shoddy Chinese-built bicycles involved in crashes that injured children. The panel ended its third day of deliberation in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, with a ruling in favor of the nation's largest retailer and the California-based bicycle importer Dynacraft BSC Inc. The parents of 10 US children had filed suit accusing Wal-Mart and Dynacraft of fraud and negligence for supplying children with 'dangerous bicycles.' Wal-Mart and Dynacraft have vouched for the quality of the bicycles and countered the reason front wheels popped off, sending children face-first over handlebars, was 'rider error.' The children or whoever was watching over them didn't set the quick-release mechanisms for the front wheels correctly, according to the companies. Parents contended the releases on the Chinese-built bicycles were faulty and that they weren't properly warned about the importance of securing front wheels in place. An eight-week-long trial ended with jurors siding with Wal-Mart and Dynacraft. 'While I am disappointed by the verdict, my team and I feel strongly that we brought an important safety issue to light with this case,' said plaintiff's attorney Mark Webb. For the industry, this outcome has stopped a witchhunt, as we experienced in the 90’s, resulting in the wheel retention hooks on front forks, nicknamed ‘lawyers’ lips’.