Product Recalls

Product recalls reached an all-time high in the U.S. in 2007, with dozens of categories of products and food items being recalled for various reasons. The majority of Americans are aware that toys from China containing lead paint were recalled; fewer people are aware of the product recalls of tires, toothpaste, peanut butter, notebooks, and cribs. Less known is the alarming extent of the recalls—hundreds of products were removed from the market because they’re dangerous to consumers.

Hundreds of Product Recalls

In fact, there were 472 product recalls in the fiscal year of 2007. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are responsible for checking on the safety of various consumer products, food, drugs, and medical devices that are in use in the U.S. However, these two agencies are woefully understaffed and underfunded. The FDA is facing severe criticism for the job it’s doing (or not doing).

Hurting Consumers

When unsafe products enter the American marketplace and are used or consumed, innocent consumers get hurt—with damages such as the following, which all involve products that were recalled in 2007:

• Food poisoning (contaminated beef, sausage, chicken, peanut butter, pasta, fruit, mineral water, apple juice, frozen pot pies) from E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Clostridium botulinum
• Other types of illnesses
• Lead poisoning (toys, address books and journals kids’ gardening tools and chairs, Cub Scouts Totem Badges; not just from China)
• Choking hazard (3.1 million boxes of Gerber organic baby cereal)
• Strangulation hazard (1 million cribs made in China, infant play yards)
• Broken bones
• Burns (recalled candles, dishwashers, heaters, one million Easy-Bake Ovens)
• Lacerations (glass fragments in trail mix)
• Ingested magnets (from toys)
• Eye damage (e.g., from tainted eye drops or contact lenses)
• Falls (e.g., from an infant carrier)

Legal Responsibility for Injuries Caused by Recalled Products

The manufacturers and designers of consumer products have the obligation to make their products safe before they’re released on the market. When this duty is not met and an innocent consumer is hurt, one or more of these parties may be held legally liable for the personal injuries (or wrongful deaths) caused by the product, even after it has been recalled.

If you’ve been hurt or affected by a dangerous product that has been recalled, contact us for more information about your legal rights.

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