WASHINGTON, Apr. 4, 2000 -- Cosco Corp. and Safety 1st Inc. have agreed to pay a total of $1.75 million for failing to report product defects that caused serious injuries and deaths to children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
announced. Both companies are subsidiaries of Dorel U.S.A. Inc., of Columbus, Ind.
Under federal law, companies are required to file a report with the CPSC if they learn that one of their products presents a substantial risk of injury to consumers.
Cosco has agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle CPSC charges that
it knowingly withheld information about defects with its cribs,
strollers, car seat carriers and high chairs. In each case, Cosco made
design or label changes to the products after receiving injury and
incident reports from consumers, but failed to inform CPSC about the
hazards presented by those products in homes or on store shelves. Two
babies died and more than 300 children were injured while using the
products. Cosco is the largest manufacturer of strollers and car seats
in the United States.
Safety 1st has agreed to pay $450,000 to settle CPSC charges that
it knowingly withheld information about defects with its walkers and
wipe warmers that caused six injuries to children. After receiving
reports from consumers about problems with the products, Safety 1st made
design changes, but failed to inform CPSC about the risks of those
products in homes and on store shelves.
In the past 10 years Cosco has had 12 recalls of children's
products and Safety 1st has had five recalls. Both companies have been
penalized in the past for failure to comply with reporting
requirements. In 1996, Cosco paid a $725,000 civil penalty. In 1998,
Safety 1st paid a $175,000 civil penalty.
Among the CPSC's latest charges:
Cosco knew of 24 non-fatal incidents of children becoming entrapped in its full-sized metal cribs over a 2-year period before an 8-month-old child in White Lake, Mich., died of asphyxiation in one of the cribs on June 24, 1997. During that period, Cosco initiated a number of warning
label and assembly instruction changes but did not inform the CPSC.
Cosco knew about 10 incidents of the mattress sold with its cribs
compressing allowing infants to become entrapped in the mattress
platform. An 11-month-old in Joliet, Ill., died when he fell feet first
through the slats of the mattress platform and became entrapped at the
neck. Cosco knew about incidents occurring with the crib at the same
time it was in talks with the CPSC to settle allegations from an earlier
civil penalty case. Cosco paid a $725,000 fine in 1996 for not
reporting incidents associated with its toddler beds.
Cosco learned of children being injured in its Two Ways Tandem
Strollers, but did not report this information to CPSC. In one case, the
stroller with two children inside collapsed in the path of an oncoming
car and was nearly hit. After a complaint from a retailer, Cosco added
a secondary locking mechanism to all strollers in its inventory. Cosco
also offered consumers, "upon request," a fix consisting of a secondary
locking mechanism. When asked by the CPSC, Cosco reported it had
received 3,000 complaints of locks failing, including 250 reports of
strollers collapsing.
Safety 1st discovered that children's teeth could get caught on the
steering wheel of its Mobile 4 Wheelin' Walkers, but did not inform the
CPSC until it had received reports of six incidents, including five
where children had their teeth pulled out by the walker.
"This is the largest fine against a manufacturer of children's products
in CPSC's history," said CPSC Chairman Ann Brown. "The law is there to
help catch problems quickly so products can be recalled before a child
is injured or, as in this case, killed. I want this fine to send the
message that we won't tolerate companies that hide safety information
from the public."
Although the companies agreed to pay the civil penalties, Cosco
and Safety 1st deny the charges. Dorel, the parent company of Cosco and
Safety 1st, has pledged to CPSC that it is making reforms to eliminate
any future reporting problems and to continue to improve the quality of
its products.
"I personally met with the Chief Operating Officer of Dorel who
pledged to make safety improvements," said Brown. "I welcome this
commitment."
For detailed information about these recalled products, consumers
should contact CPSC at (800) 638-2772 or www.cpsc.gov. Consumers can participate in the recalls by calling Cosco at (800) 221-6736 or Safety
1st at (800) 964-8489.
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