On Friday, August 14, 2009, new requirements went into effect for the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). These new requirements are important not only for makers and sellers of products, especially paint and children’s toys, but also for parents, product liability lawyers and the general public. For a free consultation with a top Chicago product liability lawyer and personal injury attorney, call Passen & Powell at (312) 527-4500.
The Chicago Tribune, as well as other news organizations, recently reported product recalls of the Simplicity, Inc. bassinets, which were linked to several strangulation deaths of young children. Parents and other consumers were urged to immediately stop using the convertible “close-sleeper/bedside sleeper” bassinets due to the serious safety risk.
If you or a loved one has lost a child due to a defective product meant for children, such as toys or baby cribs or bassinets, contact an experienced product liability attorney today. Since products such as unsafe toys and defective cribs fall under product liability law, there is a statute of limitations, or a specific time frame for bringing a case. Baby clothes, toys and cribs are staple garage sale items, and can be exchanged between friends with neither knowing about a product recall.
One of the new CPSIA requirements is designed to assist in the tracking of products once they leave the maker or manufacturer. Specifically, manufacturers who make any product for children 12 years-old or younger must place “permanent displaying marks (tracking label) [to] enable consumers to ascertain basic information, including the manufacturer or private labeler, location, the date of manufacturer and more detailed information on the manufacturing process such as a batch number.” The new requirement also specifies that the tracking label appear on the product AND the product packaging.
Such information will make it easier for parents to more easily check and see if their product is part of a recall.
Other important requirements that went into effect include:
• Limit for lead content in children’s products drops to 600 parts per million
• Limit for lead pain and similar surface coating materials for consumer use drops to 90 parts per million
• Maximum in civil penalties increases to $100,000 per violation
• Maximum for a series of violations increases to $15 million
These are important changes to CPSIA 2008 that all personal injury and product liability lawyers must be aware of when handling cases, after August 14, 2009, that involve children’s toys, lead paint and other potentially harmful products. To speak with a top Chicago product liability lawyer concerning a dangerous or defective children’s product, call Passen & Powell at 312-527-4500 for a free consultation.