E&B Giftware Pays Civil Penalty for Failing to Report Defect

News agencies reported that E&B Giftware consented to pay the civil penalty of $550,000 in order resolve allegations from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that the company failed to immediately report a defect with their fitness balls.

The defective fitness balls could potentially explode if over-inflated, posing a general injury hazard to consumers. While agreeing to pay the civil penalty, E&B denies the allegations of the CPSC that the company knowingly violated the law. The CPSC staff claim that EB Brands, a E&B subsidiary, knew of the defect and subsequent 25 incidents back in 2007, but did not report this to the CPSC as per federal law. By the time EB Brands reported the defect to the CPSC in October of 2008, the company had received more than 44 reports of incidents with the defective fitness balls.

Three million of the defective fitness balls were sold between May 200 and February 2009. They were recalled in April of 2009. At the time of their recall, 47 reports of incidents where the balls burst, resulting in injury, had been received.

The CPSC stated, “Federal law requires manufacturers, distributors ad retailers to report to CPSC within 24 hours after obtaining information reasonably supporting the conclusion that product contains a defect which could create a substantial product hazard, creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death, or fails to comply with any consumer product safety rule or any other rule, regulation, standard or ban enforced by CPSC.”

As a Lewistown personal injury lawyer, I’ve witnessed similar situations of allegedly delayed recalls and know the dangers of those situations. If you’ve been injured by using a defective product that you feel should have been previously recalled, speak with a personal injury lawyer with experience in these matters.