Report reveals 8-year high injuries from home products as recalls face lengthy delays
WASHINGTON (7News) — A new warning about how easy it is for dangerous products to hide in your home – even products that have been recalled.
A new report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) shows a nearly decade-high number of injuries linked to everything from baby swings to bed rails. And as more people buy online, the risk of being blind to these dangers increases.
“One of the things that seems to drive the injury count up, unfortunately, is people didn't hear about a product that was defective, or once regulators know that there's a problem, it takes months and sometimes years for that product to be recalled. So, in those time gaps, people get hurt and sometimes people die,” said Teresa Murray.
Murray is the Consumer Watchdog for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the author of a new report tracking injuries from hazardous products.
She said dangerous items often remain on the market longer than they should because the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the agency charged with protecting you, does not have the authority to remove hazardous items from shelves.
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“Basically, the CPSC cannot order a recall of a product. It has to be in a negotiation with the company, and a lot of times things just get drawn out in court,” said Murray. “Meanwhile, you might have tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of these products that are out there.”
The report reveals a surge in CPSC warnings to companies. There were 63 last year. That’s more than the previous nine years combined. An indicator, Murray said, that companies are refusing to cooperate and voluntarily issue recalls, often with devastating consequences.
“There was one particular recall that I found the most troubling, frankly, gut-wrenching, the infant swing that was linked to the deaths of five babies,” said Murray. “I don't even have words for that."
We looked at Notices of Violations, posted monthly by the CPSC. We found hundreds of companies and thousands of products that could target everything from lead in children’s items to dangerous chemicals and fire hazards.
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While you may assume that dangerous products are eventually pulled from store shelves, the online marketplace has fewer guardrails, with popular shopping sites flooded with unregulated and potentially dangerous items from overseas.
“There are all kinds of safety standards that we have in this country and it’s for a reason,” said Murray. And a lot of times the international manufacturers don’t comply and the online platforms don’t seem to care.”
In fact, some online retailers are fighting against efforts to increase consumer awareness. Days ago, Amazon filed suit against the CPSC, arguing it should not be held responsible for notifying consumers about dangerous products sold on its platform.
In a final order, issued last year by the CPSC, the agency determined that Amazon is responsible for the recall of hundreds of thousands of dangerous products it distributed on its site, as well as refunds. The CPSC’s ruling covered more than 400,000 recalled products including everything from children’s sleepwear and faulty hairdryers to carbon monoxide detectors that didn’t work properly.
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The CPSC also said that Amazon must keep the agency’s public notices about recalls on their “Recalls and Product Safety Alerts” webpage for at least five years. Unfortunately, the page only contains public alerts starting in 2024, but does provide links to government sites with additional information that may be helpful to consumers.
“Online platforms absolutely have a much bigger responsibility than what they are currently complying with,” said Murray. It's like the wild west out there.”
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF:
- Murray says only buy from reputable sellers, which means price cannot always be driving buying decisions. She says it’s not a guarantee but consumers will have a higher level of safety and more recourse, should something fail.
- Check the CPSC’s recall website weekly. Every Thursday the agency posts new recalls. It can be scanned in seconds to see if any of those products are in your home.
- Regularly look at another site the CPSC operates called SaferProducts.gov. There, you can see complaints and incident reports filed by doctors, hospitals, and coroners and they do cite products by name. It’s an excellent way to see items that are problematic, but not necessarily recalled.
If you've been injured by a product, you can report the incident on the CPSC's SaferProducts.gov website or call their hotline: 800-638-2772.
