The Consumer Product Safety Commission
The CPSC collects reports of product defects from consumers, health care providers, death certificates and media accounts. Most of those accounts are shielded from public view. However product liability advocates know this database could be a useful source for lawyers,injured persons and the public across the board. Historically the Commission has been a bit of a political football.
A complaint filed will be posted within 15 days. The CPSC has five days to then give notice of the complaint to the maker of the product. The party receiving notice has 10 days to respond. They can challenge the complaint as false or argue that it will breach a trade secret. In addition they can submit a response to the complaint. The response will be posted with the complaint in the database.
The Database Has Rules
If the party receiving the complaint says the complaint is false or would disclose trade secrets then the CPSC will have to decide whether to withhold or publish the complaint.
In addition the database will not include complaints about product quality or whether the product can be relied on. Only data about defects that cause or can cause injury or death will be reported.
The industry is trying to get the CPSC to withhold the database. Call, or contact us for a free consult.
Furthermore groups who represent manufacturers claim that the database would be filled with false info. This would place burdens on U.S. business and make it easier for product liability lawyers to sue them.
The database was created at a cost of nearly $3 million dollars. Consumer advocates maintain it would change for the better the way that people decide what to buy. It would give them access to safety complaints about products that are overseen by CPSC.
Consumer Product Safety Commission Database-Some Data Is Shielded
Due to business lobbying at present most of the info on product complaints maintained by the CPSC is shielded from public view. It can only be seen after making a formal request which then can be opposed by the manufacturer. If CPSC thinks that a product should be pulled from the market, it must deal with the manufacturer about any recall. While that process used to take years now it has been sped up so that it may only take weeks or months.
In addition the CPSC maintains that they have built in safeguards to prevent any abuse from false complaints. They have attempted to balance the interest of the public with the interest of business.
The site is found at SaferProducts.gov. Product defect lawyers have been pushing for the this site to become more open for some time. Call, or contact us for a free consult.
Also a similar site exists for cars operated by the Department of Transporation at SaferCar.gov. For more information on product liability see the pages on this site.