New CPSC Database Will Let Consumers Know of Product Injuries Before a Recall
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is investing more than $20 million in establishing a searchable database that will make information about product injuries available to consumers before any recall is announced. It’s a development that was long overdue, and promises to offer American consumers the kind of information and knowledge they need to make safe choices for their families.
The final details of the database have not been established yet. It is likely to be available on saferproducts.gov, and is expected to be online by this time next year. Once up, the database will contain information about literally thousands of consumer products, from gifts, cribs, and strollers to power tools and electronic appliances.
The database will contain information about injury complaints filed by consumers, consumer safety groups, healthcare professionals and other interested parties to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Unlike the CPSC website, which only allows information about recalled products, the website would have details about injury complaints received from anywhere in the country. Once the database is up, all you have to do to verify the safety of your product is to look it up on the database.
Not everyone is happy with this new development, however. At least two members of the CPSC who voted against the establishment of the database are concerned about malicious information or wrong information making it to the database. Something like this, they argue, could permanently damage a brand’s or product’s reputation.
These are minor glitches however, and as Atlanta product liability attorneys, we remain confident that the CPC will iron out these problems. This much is clear- it’s finally time to put product safety power back in the hands of consumers.