CPSC Fines Cosco/Safety 1st $1.75 Million for Failing to Report Product Defects

NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2001
Release # 01-119 		CPSC Consumer Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: Ken Giles, (301) 504-7052

CPSC Fines Cosco/Safety 1st $1.75 Million for Failing to Report Product Defects

Largest fine against children's product manufacturer in CPSC's history

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that Cosco Inc., of Columbus, Ind., and Safety 1st Inc., of Canton, Mass., have agreed to pay a total of $1.75 million in civil penalties to settle CPSC charges that they failed to report product defects that caused serious injuries and deaths to children. Under federal law, companies are required to report to CPSC if they obtain information that reasonably suggests that one of their products could present a substantial risk of injury to consumers, or creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death. Both companies are subsidiaries of Dorel U.S.A. Inc., of Columbus, Ind.

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. Among the CPSC's charges:

"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."

Product ProblemReports to CompanyInjuries
390,000 Cosco cribs
7/9/97 recall		Mattress platform used as side rail could entrap baby471 death, 24 non-fatal entrapments
62,000 Cosco crib mattresses
2/17/99 recall		 Mattress could compress and entrap baby11 1 death, 10 non-fatal entrapments
57,000 Cosco tandem strollers
2/17/99 recall		 Stroller locks could break causing stroller to collapse 3,000 reports of locks failing; 250 collapsed strollers 200 injuries
670,000 Cosco car seats/carriers
7/8/99 recall		 Carrier handles release causing seat to flip forward 5323 injuries
1 million Cosco high chairs
11/27/00 recall		 Seat separates from frame, slips from set height, restraint slips from seat9337 injuries
170,000 Safety 1st walkers
8/8/00 recall		 Child's teeth get caught in steering wheel, phone buttons break off, antennas poke children339 injuries
101,00 Safety 1st wipe warmers
3/29/01 recall		Potential electric shock from cracked unit17No injuries


movie iconConsumers can also view a partial video clip about this fine (transcript). This is in "streaming video" format.

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.

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.