This news update regarding the largest CPSC civil penalty to date is brought to you by The National Law Review.
On October 28, 2014, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that Baja Inc., and its corporate affiliate, One World Technologies Inc., of Anderson, S.C., agreed to pay a $4.3 million civil penalty to resolve charges that it knowingly failed to immediately report certain defects and an unreasonable risk of serious injury involving some of the company’s mini-bikes and go-carts. To our knowledge, this is the largest civil penalty ever agreed to be paid by a company entering into a settlement agreement with the CPSC.
In this case, CPSC staff alleged that Baja failed to report immediately to the Commission that it had information which reasonably supported that certain of its mini-bikes and go-carts were equipped with: (1) gas caps which could leak or detach from the fuel tank, posing fire and burn hazards to consumers, and (2) a throttle that could stick due to an improperly positioned fuel line and throttle cable, posing a sudden acceleration hazard. CPSC staff also alleged that by the time Baja reported to the Commission, the firm had received four reports of fires from leaking gas caps and burn injuries to consumers, including a serious burn injury to a child, and two dozen reports of stuck throttles.
Along with paying the largest CPSC civil penalty to date, Baja has agreed to incorporate the following new elements into its existing product safety compliance programs to ensure the company complies with product safety standards and regulations enforced by the Commission.
For more information on the largest CPSC civil penalty to date, please visit The National Law Review link above. Please contact Nexreg for MSDS services.
