The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stopped nearly three million defective products from being imported into the United States in the third quarter of 2012, according to a recent report from the agency itself. This number reached almost three times the number of defective products stopped in the first half of the year.
The three million items stopped at the nation’s borders were parts of large lots of goods that were being imported for sale in various stores, through magazines, and online. In all, the CPSC screened over 5,700 lots of goods and identified 420 of them as failing to comply with the CPSC’s consumer product safety rules, including many that had hidden defects a buyer might not notice until the product caused serious harm to the buyer or to someone else in the household or business.
Many of the items were toys and other products intended for children. Most of those stopped for hidden defects contained unacceptably high levels of lead, a potent neurotoxin that can cause permanent learning disabilities and other brain and neurological disabilities. Many toys and other items also had small parts that posed a choking hazard for young children, despite the fact that the items were intended for toddlers or children too young to understand the risk.
If you’ve been injured by a defective product, don’t wait: contact the dedicated San Jose defective product injury attorneys at Caputo and Van Der Walde – Injury & Accident Attorneys. Our number is (800) 900-0863, and your initial consultation with our skilled injury lawyers is free and confidential.