The September 2009 Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC’s) recall list contained a wide variety of hazardous products. It also referenced several companies that must pay civil penalties due to the way they created or marketed their products.

These monthly government lists alert the public to potentially hazardous products they may already own or plan to buy. Our law firm recommends that you regularly review these lists before ever making a major new purchase.

Part Two of our September 2009 review looks at products posing fire, burn and shock risks. This second article also notes the imposition of civil penalties against several companies and other general CPSC news.

Part One of our review of the September 2009 recall list looked mainly at products posing fall, laceration, choking and strangulation risks. It also described an item that may expose consumers to an unacceptable level of lead.

(To read or review Part One, please visit: http://www.injury-prevention-blog.com/2009/12/september-2009-product-recalls-and-related-news-part-one/)

Products Posing Fire, Shock and Burn Hazards

• Northwest Manufacturing Inc., of Red Lake Falls, Minnesota has agreed to recall close to 600 WoodMaster AFS 900 Outdoor Furnaces. Since this product’s temperature gauge can malfunction, consumers may be subjected to a fire in the fuel storage hopper that may cause burn injuries.
• Grizzly Industrial of Bellingham, Washington, is voluntarily recalling close to 500 Bandsaws. A number of these saws were built without installing a grounding wire, putting consumers at risk of suffering an electric shock.
• Walmart Stores Inc., of Bentonville, Arkansas, is once again recalling a specific brand of DVD players. (In the past, 1.5 million of these players were recalled.) At present, 4.2 million Durabrand DVD Players are being pulled from store shelves. If this product’s circuit board overheats, a consumer can suffer fire and burn injuries.

General CPSC News

I. Civil Penalties Imposed

a) Kohl’s Department Stores Inc., of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, has agreed to pay $425,000 in civil penalties (the CPSC has provisionally accepted this amount). This fine was imposed because Kohl’s knowingly violated a federal law by not reporting to the CPSC that it was selling children’s hooded sweatshirts with neck drawstrings.

b) Three other companies, Hill Sportswear Inc., of Paramount, California, Maran Inc., of North Bergen, N.J. and K. S. Trading Corporation of Moonachie, New Jersey have also agreed to pay civil penalties due to their knowing violation of the federal law requiring each of them to tell the CPSC if they were selling hooded sweatshirts with neck drawstrings.

(Hill has agreed to pay $100,000 in penalties and Maran Inc. and K.S. Trading Company have agreed to pay a combined penalty fee of $85,000. Both of these civil penalty amounts have been provisionally accepted by the CPSC.

II. The Consumer Product Safety Commission Joins President Obama’s Back-to-School Campaign

Inez Tenenbaum, the new chairman of the CPSC, has announced that her agency is supporting the president’s campaign that seeks to keep children enrolled in school so they can discover their potential and realize their dreams. Ms. Tenenbaum recently spoke to the students and faculty at Rosewood Elementary School in Columbia, South Carolina.

We hope the warnings in our two-part review of the September 2009 CPSC product recall list will help you avoid using or purchasing a number of potentially dangerous products. Should you or a family member ever be harmed by a product (regardless of whether it was named in one of these lists), our law firm stands ready to evaluate your claim and help you pursue every legal remedy and full compensation for your injuries.

(Readers interested in reviewing the complete September 2009 CPSC list can visit the following link: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerelsep09.html )