The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is reporting that General Electric (GE) has agreed to pay a $3.5 million civil penalty as a result of their failure to report an unreasonable risk of serious injury caused by defective ranges and dishwashers. The connector in the range’s wire harness can overheat and cause a fire and risk dangers of burn injuries. In addition to the duel fuel ranges, various models of dishwashers were recalled due to similar fire hazards. It was found the dishwashers could short circuit when condensation builds up on the control board.
Standard CPSC policy is that manufacturers, distributors, and retailers report to CPSC immediately upon receiving information that would indicate there can be a reasonable conclusion that a product contains a defective part that can cause substantial product hazard, creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death, or fails to comply with any consumer product safety rules or standards. Generally, this happens within 24 hours of obtaining the information.
GE & CPSC announce the recall of 28,000 dual-fuel ranges in April of 2009. The ranges were sold across the United States from June 2002 through December 2005 with a price range of $1,300 to $2,000. By the time of recall GE had received 13 separate incidents where the harness and wiring overheated in the back of the range. Of these incidents, five resulted in fire. It was reported that General Electric was aware of this hazard dating all the way back to 2004. Like the dual-fuel ranges, GE failed to report in a timely matter the fire hazards that were found in Profile and Monogram Dishwashers that were sold between July 2003 and October 2010 with price ranging from $750 to $1,400. GE received several incident reports prior to the 2010 CPSC recall of 174,000 units, one dating back to 2007.
In addition to the payment of $3.5 million General Electric has also agreed to a compliance program as part of the settlement. The compliance program is set to insure that the Consumer Product Safety Act is being satisfied as well as a system of internal procedures and controls such as:
- Procedures for recording, processing and reporting information regarding potential safety issues
- Written standards and policies
- Confidential employee reporting of compliance concerns to a senior manager
- Senior management responsibility for, and general board oversight of compliance
- Requirements for record retention
New Jersey and Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorneys
The Philadelphia personal injury and products liability attorneys at Messa & Associates are experienced at handling cases involving defective appliances and other defective products. If you or a loved one have been the victim of any type of defective product, consider calling a personal injury attorney from Messa & Associates toll-free at 877-MessaLaw. You can also submit an inquiry online for a free case evaluation. Messa & Associates has been successful in earning clients considerable and fair compensation for injuries sustained through the negligence of others. Let the Philadelphia personal injury attorneys at Messa & Associates earn you and your loved ones the compensation you deserve.
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