Cosco Agrees to Pay CPSC Civil Penalty

September 5, 1996
Release # 96-187

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For Immediate Release;
Contact: Eric Rubel, General Counsel
(301) 504-0980 Ext. 2299

WASHINGTON, D.C. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that it has accepted a $725,000 civil penalty from Cosco Inc. of Columbus, Ind., to settle cases involving the failure to report serious safety hazards presented by the company's toddler beds and guardrails. In two lawsuits in federal court in Indianapolis, CPSC and the U.S. Department of Justice charged the juvenile products manufacturer with failing to report dozens of incidents of children becoming trapped in the headboards or footboards of its toddler beds, or in guardrails sold with the beds and separately. These products have been recalled and redesigned to correct the safety hazards.

Under the Consumer Product Safety Act, companies are required to report to CPSC products having a defect that could create a substantial risk of injury to the public. Spaces in the headboards and footboards of the Cosco toddler beds, and spaces created by Cosco guardrails used with the beds, were large enough for part of a child's body to pass through but small enough to create a strangulation hazard for the child.

"We will go to court whenever necessary to enforce laws that keep our children safe. Companies that make children's products have a special responsibility to assure product safety," said CPSC Chairman Ann Brown.

Cosco denied that it acted improperly, but has represented that it will take steps to assure that it meets its reporting obligations in the future. Chairman Brown said "we welcome Cosco's commitment to report safety issues to CPSC."

The settlement, one of the highest in the commission's 23-year history, also resolves allegations that Cosco failed to report a safety hazard associated with one of its crib models. The CPSC was investigating a possible case involving crib slats that could disengage from the crib side rails. Missing crib slats in any crib present a serious risk to infants who could strangle in an opening that is larger than 2 and three-eights inches wide (roughly the diameter of a soda can) or fall out of the crib. The crib model involved has been recalled and redesigned to correct these safety hazards.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury and for information on CPSC's fax-on-demand service, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270. To order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's web site at http://www.cpsc.gov or via Internet gopher services at cpsc.gov. Consumers can report product hazards to info@cpsc.gov.