Will It Be “Secrecy First” At Consumer Product Safety Commission?

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) may become the Consumer Product Secrecy Commission.

Proposed Rule Change by CPSC Puts Consumers in Danger

Weakened Standards Let Manufacturers Off Hook For Defective Products

Quote of the Week

“[The proposal] is a sop to the industry and a weakening of the current hazard-reporting system.”
– Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Thomas Moore, one of the three members of the commission, and the only member to oppose the proposed rule.

The article from ATLA details how the proposed rule and its secrecy would adversely impact consumers and benefit manufacturers.

Kids in Danger: Hazards of Bunk Beds

19-month old Logan Fidurski was killed by a defective bed; New rule would have made it more difficult for his parents to hold manufacturer accountable

When parents Glenda and Alec Fidurski put their 19-month old son Logan to bed one night in December 2001 they had no idea that there was a fundamental design flaw in his bunk bed that allowed the mattress to slide back and forth and trap an infant between the mattress and the ladder.

Because of the defect, Logan was caught in between the bunk bed ladder and mattress and died of asphyxiation. The Fidurski family filed a lawsuit and held the manufacturer of the dangerous bunk bed accountable in the civil justice system.

But under a proposed rule from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Logan’s family would not have had sufficient evidence to bring a successful court case and may not have been able to hold the parties responsible for the hazardous product accountable.

On May 26, 2006, the Consumer Product Safety Commission proposed revisions to its rules advising manufacturers, distributors and retailers of consumer products when to report product hazards. The proposed revisions would increase the likelihood that defects in products would not be disclosed to the CPSC or the public. Furthermore, consumers would have increased difficulty bringing lawsuits regarding defective products because they would be unable to augment their cases with strong evidence based on the CPSC’s product hazard reports.

“If the proposed rule change would have been in effect, we would not have been able to produce cause and would have been unable to use our arguments that won the case,” said Brad Parker, the Fidurski family’s attorney.