New Report on Consumer Protection Safety Commission is Published

Recently, the United States Public Interest Research Group Education Fund published a report by Teresa Murray, a consumer watchdog with the nonpartisan consumer advocacy nonprofit PIRG. The report demonstrates: (1) the CPSC isn’t financed well enough to completely protect consumers from dangerous products, (2) the CPSC isn’t authorized to immediately warn or recall items without the consent of a manufacturer, and (3) manufacturers don’t back up recalls by letting consumers know through marketing that they should stop using defective items.

Murray analyzed recalls involving 292 products that were recalled last year and the 3600 complaints about those products. She learned that the products remained on the market for months, even as more and more consumers were injured by them. Consumers would file numerous complaints prior to recalls. The companies would sometimes delay in providing notice to CPSC of the dangers. Nothing was done for months or even years.

While the CPSC website tells consumers to make sure the products they buy are safe before purchasing, it doesn’t contain the full spectrum of reports that consumers make to manufacturers. This omission can make you, as a consumer, feel more secure than you are. For instance, though Horizon had received 874 reports that its treadmill unexpectedly changed speeds or halted and more than 70 people got hurt in those incidents, there were only 8 reports of malfunction that were made public. Similarly, 429 different products were linked to 62 deaths, almost 1600 injuries and over 23,000 non-injury producing defects. But of note, and by way of comparison, the CPSC public data collection reported only 13 deaths, 135 injuries and 96 breakdowns in those products.

While the CPSC, founded in 1972, was supposed to oversee over 15,000 products, Congress restricted its authority because manufacturers were nervous that warnings that later proved inaccurate would damage their reputations. Ever since, the agency has been hamstrung by a gag rule, a requirement that it get permission from the manufacturer to tell the public about problems with the products.

In spite of the gag order, CPSC commissioners have issued bold warnings about particular products over the past year, as in the case of Onewheel skateboards, which the manufacturer refused to recall even though it was tied to at least 4 deaths, along with additional catastrophic injuries to riders.

One consumer’s two-year-old became entrapped in an IKEA dresser and the company and CPSC issued a joint warning to stop tipovers by anchoring these dressers to the wall. Yet, IKEA wouldn’t recall the dressers until a third child died.

Congress has refused to act to give CPSC the authority to completely protect consumers. As one person commented, until the law changes and companies are required to do more for those injured by their products, people will continue to be hurt.

If you were harmed by a dangerous product, you should give the trustworthy Chicago-based product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group a call to find out what your legal options are. We can be reached at 312.462.1700 or via our online form if you suspect you may have a claim.