Personal Injury Law

Excessive Lead in Imported Toys Costs Matell 2.3 Million in Fines

A recent $2.3 million civil penalty was agreed to by Matell, Inc. and Fisher-Price Toys  for importing and selling toys with excessive levels of lead.  According to the news release issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the penalty was part of a settlement for knowingly violating a 30-year-old federal ban on lead paint in toys. 

"These highly publicized toy recalls helped spur congressional action last year to strengthen CPSC and make even stricter the ban on lead paint on toys," said the commission's acting chairman Thomas Moore. "This penalty should serve notice to toy makers that CPSC is committed to the safety of children."

"Today's settlement announcement by the U.S. CPSC resolves Mattel's outstanding issues with the agency related to certain matters that arose in 2007," Mattel said. "Mattel promptly took a series of steps after discovering compliance issues with some of our toys at that time.

"We were able to effectively minimize any potential concerns by launching a fast-track recall of the affected product in conjunction with the CPSC and other global regulatory agencies, and by taking several steps to enhance our product compliance protocols and procedures to confirm that every Mattel toy is safe for children to enjoy," Mattel said. Fisher-Price referred calls to Mattel.

Full post as published by DC Metro Area Personal Injury Law Blog on June 12, 2009 (boomark / email).