StraightfromtheSource:
AnAnalysisofReportsonChildren’sProductsat
SaferProducts.gov
ByAvitalDatskovsky
KidsInDanger
September2011
116W.Illinois,Suite5E
Chicago,IL60654
www.KidsInDanger.org
312.595.0649
StraightfromtheSource,September2011
1
StraightfromtheSource
ExecutiveSummary
Sinceourfoundingin1998,KIDhasbeenfrustratedwiththesecrecyattheUS
ConsumerProductSafetyCommission(CPSC).Consumerreportsofproductrelatedincidents
orinjurieswerekeptsecretuntilandunlesstherewasarecall.Bythattime,toomanyother
consumersareusingtheproductandmayhavebeeninjured.AspartoftheConsumerProduct
SafetyImprovementActof2008(CPSIA)passedin2008,CongressmandatedthatCPSCsetupa
publicdatabaseallowingconsumerstoreportincidentsandtoreviewreportsfromothers.
CPSCworkedhardtosetupasystemthatprovidedinformation
inatimelymanner,while
maintainingtheveracityofthereports.Thissummer,KIDlookedatthefirstfourmonthsof
datafromthesysteminStraightfromtheSource:Ananalysisofthereportsonchildren’s
productsatSaferproducts.gov.Ourfindingsinclude:

About20%ofthereportsto
CPSCduringtheperiodinvolvechildren’sproductsor
injuriestochildren.
Injurieswerereportedin44%oftheincidentsinvolvingchildren.Thirtypercentof
thosereportsinvolvedinjuriesrequiringmedicaltreatmentand2%involvedadeath(7).
Onemightexpectreportsofinjuriesfromhigherriskproductssuchastrampolinesand
pogosticksandthereweremany.But,theinjuriesreportedwereforproductfailures,
notjustfromuseormisuseoftheproduct.Consumersareusingthedatabaseforits
intendedpurposetoalertCPSCandotherstoproductdefectsorhazards.
Mostalarmingly,manyofthereportsandinjuriesinvolvedproductsthathadbeen
recalled.Oneinsevenreportsinvolvedarecalledproduct,withmostoftheincidents
happeningaftertheproductwasrecalled.
KIDhaslongmaintainedthatanineffectiverecallsystemleavesdangerousproductsin
consumers’hands.ThedatainSaferProducts.govbearsthat
out.Withnewstandards,testing
requirementsandattentiontosafetyreducingthenumberofrecallsneeded,CPSCand
advocatescanturntheirattentiontomakingthosethatdohappenmoreeffective.
StraightfromtheSource,September2011
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StraightfromtheSource:Ananalysisofthereportsonchildren’sproductsat
Saferproducts.gov
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Report .............................................................................................................................................. 3
Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 3
Category Definitions ................................................................................................................... 3
Initial Findings ............................................................................................................................ 4
Table A: Reports by Category ................................................................................................ 4
Ages affected .............................................................................................................................. 4
Table B: Reports by Age ......................................................................................................... 5
Injuries and Deaths ..................................................................................................................... 5
Table C: Injuries by Child’s Age ............................................................................................ 5
Table D: Incidents Per Category; Including Injuries and Deaths ........................................... 6
Table E: Incidents per Hazard Type; Including Injuries and Death ....................................... 6
Apparent vs. Unexpected Risks .................................................................................................. 7
Recalled Products ........................................................................................................................ 7
Table F: Incidents of Recalled Products Per Category; Including Injuries and Deaths .......... 7
Repeat Offenders ........................................................................................................................ 8
Table G. Multiple Product Reports; includes Number of Injuries and Deaths ....................... 8
Table H. Incidents of Several Models by the Same Company; Includes Number of Total
Incidents Reported and Number Recalled .............................................................................. 9
Manufacturer Response .............................................................................................................. 9
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 10
StraightfromtheSource,September2011
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Introduction
SaferProducts.gov is the publically available consumer product safety information database of
the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC. Launched in March 2011, the site
allows consumers to report hazard complaints with products as well as review other product
safety reports before purchasing an item. SaferProducts.gov was mandated under the Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) passed in 2008 after flaws in the product safety
system came to light through a series of recalls and news reports. Consumers and others with
knowledge of an incident can submit reports, which include information on the product and the
manufacturer, as well as a description of the incident. Manufacturers then have ten days to
respond to the complaint before the report is made public. Since its launch, SaferProducts.gov
has seen over 2,000 reports with over 400 of the reports referring to children’s products.
This report examines the database filings on products affecting children from April 1, 2011 to
August 4, 2011 to identify injury patterns from the data and action steps needed.
Report
Methodology
KID downloaded the 2,432 reports released between April 1, 2011 and August 4, 2011 and then
went through each report, carefully separating the reports on children’s products or products that
were hazardous for children from all other reports. KID then checked the CPSC website for each
children’s product mentioned to see if that product had been recalled. KID also looked for
multiple reports on the same model (since the model number is not always included in the report)
and noted any repeat offenders.
The information in this report was culled from primary source consumer reports submitted to
SaferProducts.gov. It does not include subsequent information CPSC may find in an
investigation. To avoid using words such as ‘reported’ and ‘alleged’ repeatedly, this caveat
applies to the full report.
CategoryDefinitions
In reviewing the data, KID used the following categories:
General Products
Art & School Supplies
Clothing
Diapers
Furniture
Jewelry
Nursery
Outdoor & Sports
Toys
Other
StraightfromtheSource,September2011
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General Products refer to products for the general public that were reported for potential harm
to children, such as a detergent without a child safety cap. Diapers were separated because of a
large number of reports from a specific brand. Nursery refers to products used in the care of
infants and toddlers such as strollers, cribs, baby jumpers, baby exercisers, high chairs, and
pacifiers. Other refers to products that did not fit in any other category—such as outlet covers to
prevent a shock hazard.
InitialFindings
Approximately 20% of the reports during the period studied referred to children’s products or
products that were harmful to children. Forty-three percent of these reports involved nursery
products and 25% named toys. The chart below shows the additional categories as well.
TableA:ReportsbyCategory
Agesaffected
Of the reports involving children or children’s products, 22% did not list an age of the child. The
reports were broken up into age categories representing infants and toddlers (0-2), preschoolers
(3-5), school-age children (6-12), teens (13-19) and adults (20+). Only 15% of the reports were
for ages six and up. Fifty percent of the reports were for incidents involving children under 3.
The chart below shows the age breakdown of the reports.
Art&School
Supplies
Jewelry
Other
Nursery
Toys
Clothing
AdultProducts
Furniture
Diapers
Outdoor&
Sports
ReportsbyCategory
StraightfromtheSource,September2011
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TableB:ReportsbyAge
InjuriesandDeaths
Forty-four percent of the incidents included a reported injury or a death. Sixty-eight percent of
the injuries were minor, 30% required treatment and 2% resulted in death. See table below for
injury breakdown by age.
TableC:InjuriesbyChild’sAge
0‐2
50%
3‐5
13%
6‐12
9%
Teens
1%
Adults
5%
noinfo
22%
ReportsbyAge
0‐2
60%
3‐5
20%
6‐12
13%
12andover
7%
InjuriesbyAge
StraightfromtheSource,September2011
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Sixty percent of incidents resulting in an injury or a death affected children under 3. Twenty
percent of the incidents affected 3-5 year olds, 13% school age children and 7% over 12.
Below is a listing of the number of reports in each category (both recalled and not) and the
number of people they have injured.
TableD:IncidentsperCategory;IncludingInjuriesandDeaths
Category # Incidents
Reported
# Injuries # Deaths
Nursery
204 75 4
Toys 118 51 0
Outdoor & Sports 48 27 1
Diapers 33 30 0
Furniture 28 6 1
Clothing 23 7 0
General Products 6 3 1
Art & School Supplies 4 3 0
Other 4 0 0
Jewelry 1 1 0
TableE:IncidentsperHazardType;IncludingInjuriesandDeath
Hazard Type # Incidents Reported # Injuries # Deaths
Bodily Injury (Impact) 128 56 2
Bodily Injury (Other)* 79 52 0
Burn** 26 6 0
Choking 85 11 0
Drowning 5 0 0
Entrapment 82 38 2
Ingestion 10 2 0
Other 1 0 0
Poisoning 9 2 1
Rash 35 32 0
Strangulation 7 1 1
Suffocation 7 2 1
*includes laceration, bruises, splinters etc.
**including electric burns
StraightfromtheSource,September2011
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Apparentvs.UnexpectedRisks
While it is quite common for children to get hurt when playing with toys such as pogo sticks,
trampolines, and swing sets, the products reported on SaferProducts.gov caused children injury
because of product failure. Take, for example, the recalled Bravo Rocket Pogo Stick, reported 11
times. The reports described screws falling out, the bottom of the stick falling off, and the top
part of the stick breaking off. These incidents caused lacerations and bruises. Stretched out
springs on the recalled Bravo Variflex trampoline caused a child to hit his head when jumping on
the trampoline. Two recalled swing sets were unstable and unsafe for children to play on. While
some people might be prone to dismiss some of the injuries children incurred to inherent risk of
the product, the fact of the matter is that many of these products had design or manufacturing
flaws that added dangers that could not be anticipated.
RecalledProducts
Fourteen percent of the reports involved recalled products. Most (57%) of incidents that occurred
with recalled products occurred after the product had been recalled; in at least one case, eight
years after the recall was announced.
Only one report states that the consumer was knowingly using a recalled product. In many of the
cases, consumers only learned that their item had been recalled after an incident. It is quite
possible that many of the consumers may still not know of the recall – certainly consumers
reading the reports cannot always easily identify already recalled products. Companies may
neglect to mention the recall in their response or do not respond. Take for example three reports
on Dream on Me cribs #625 and #621 in which the recall is not mentioned in the company’s
response.
Almost half the incidences involving recalled products reported some kind of injury. Three
resulted in a death.
Below is a chart listing the number of products incidents in each category and the number of
people they’ve injured:
TableF:IncidentsofRecalledProductsperCategory;IncludingInjuriesandDeaths
Category # Incidents
Reported
# Injuries # Deaths
Nursery 35 13 2
Toys 15 9 0
Outdoor & Sports 9 4 1
Furniture 3 0 0
Clothing 1 0 0
Jewelry 1 1 0
StraightfromtheSource,September2011
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RepeatOffenders
As KID examined the reports on children products at SaferProducts.gov, patterns began to
emerge. There are repeat product offenders; certain toys, diapers, and pacifiers come up in
multiple reports. There are also repeat companies, companies that have had many different
products recalled. Below are a few lists of repeat offenders: products and companies.
TableG.MultipleProductReports;includesNumberofInjuriesandDeaths
Product Manufacturer Problem # Incidents # Injuries # Deaths
Pampers
Diapers
The Procter &
Gamble Co
Rash 33 32 0
Nuby Sippy
Cup
Luv N’ Care Ltd Choking Hazard 5 0 0
Baby Einstein
Jumper
Baby Einstein Choking and fall
hazard
4 1 0
Pillow Pets Ontel Products
Corporation
Needle; choking
hazard
4 1 0
Baby Trend
Stroller
Baby Trend Laceration hazard 3 3 0
Ja-Ru Splat Ball Ja-Ru Inc Ball with liquid
inside exploded
3 2 0
Huffy Disney
Princess Bike
Huffy
Corporation
Fall and
Entrapment hazard
2 1 0
Infant to
Toddler Rocker
Fisher-Price
Brands
Suffocation and
Fall Hazard
2 0 1
Pure Fun
Trampoline
JamzProducts Fall hazard—
bungee cords snap
2 0 0
Nuby Pacifiers Luv N’ Care Ltd Choking hazard;
grows mold
2 0 0
Eddie Bauer
High Chair
Dorel Juvenile Fall hazard 2 0 0
Aventi Pacifier
Philips Avent Choking hazard 2 1 0
Parkside
Trampolines
TSA Stores Inc Legs come out of
frame socket
2 1 0
Razor Quad Dirt
Four Wheeler
Razor USA LLC Started by itself;
laceration hazard
2 2 0
Skywalker
Trampoline
Skywalker
Holdings, LLC
Netting rips,
causing fall hazard
2 0 0
Thomas And
Friends Toy
Kiddieland Toys
Limited
Entrapment 2 1 0
StraightfromtheSource,September2011
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TableH.IncidentsofSeveralModelsbytheSameCompany;IncludesNumberofTotal
IncidentsReportedandNumberRecalled
Company Name # of Models Reported # of Total Incidents
Reported
# of Models
Recalled
Amertac Company 3 5 2
Baby Trend 5 6 0
Battat Incorporated 4 5 1
Bravo Sports 6 13 6
Delta Enterprise Corp 7 8 2
Dorel Asia 6 8 2
Dorel Juvenile 3 5 1
Evenflo Company Inc. 8 8 3
Fisher-Price Brands 14 15 1
Jardine Enterprises 5 5 2
Kids II Inc 11 12 0
LaJobi Inc 5 7 0
Luv N’ Care 4 6 0
Million Dollar Baby 5 5 2
Munchkin Inc. 5 5 1
Newell Rubbermaid 6 6 2
Safety 1st 5 5 1
Simplicity 6 6 6
Stork Craft Manu Inc 5 5 2
Summer Infant 8 10 1
Procter & Gamble Co 6 33 0
Toys R’ Us 8 8 0
Companies listed above have five or more models reported. There are other companies in the
database who have more than one model reported, but less than five.
ManufacturerResponse
Forty-eight percent of the reports received a company comment. Some use it to provide useful
information, such as that the product was recalled or how to contact customer service. Others
seem to have a standard response – at least it lets consumers know they looked at the report.
And not a few use it to chastise the reporter for misuse of the product.
StraightfromtheSource,September2011
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0
Conclusion
This report provides just a glimpse at the rich data contained within this new safety resource.
The database will be even more useful in identifying hazard patterns when there are years,
instead of just months, of reports. Based on the information and analysis, Kids In Danger
recommends:
CPSC work to integrate other information from their site into the database. Any report
on a recalled product should have an immediate link to the recall notice. This will not
only help the original reporter, but give anyone looking at the report the information they
need to avoid injury.
CPSC, manufacturers, retailers and consumer organizations work together to improve
recall effectiveness. With one out of seven reports involving a recalled product, the
database clearly shows the need to do a better job reaching consumers.
Continued work to publicize SaferProducts.gov to consumers and businesses is needed to
increase its effectiveness.
At the one year mark, CPSC should solicit input from those who have used it – to report a
problem, as a manufacturer, or for research – to look for ways to improve its usefulness.
The GAO report due to Congress next month should also provide insight.