stroller recall

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said over 14,000 strollers were unsafe after a child lost part of a finger. This stroller recall affects the popular UPPAbaby All-Terrain RIDGE Jogging Strollers. Specifically, the unsafe products have an extendable canopy with a mesh window and zipper pocket, a disc hand brake system, and an adjustable handlebar with a wrist strap. The brand UPPAbaby is on the front of the stroller, and RIDGE is on the side of the stroller frame.

Stroller recall

The strollers have a black frame and a fabric color scheme that is white (“BRYCE”), charcoal (“JAKE”), or slate blue (“REGGIE”) and have black tires. The serial numbers of the recalled products begin with “1401RDGUS” and appear on the right side of the stroller frame above the rear wheel of the stroller. The model number “1401-RDG-US” is printed on the left side of the stroller frame above the rear wheel of the stroller.

The company, Rockland, Massachusetts-based Monahan Products LLC, d/b/a UPPAbaby, caught the child’s finger in the brake mechanism. 

The CPSC Stroller Recall Process

The Food and Drug Administration doesn’t have the power to recall dangerous foods or drugs. Likewise, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) doesn’t have the ability to recall unsafe products. CPSC rules contain a little-known loophole that protects companies that sell dangerous products.

The FDA, CSPC, and other “watchdog” agencies can only pressure companies to recall dangerous products. These companies almost always give in to this pressure, but only after their products have hurt people.

The FDA’s loophole is the controversial fast-track approval process. Usually, if a drug meets an immediate need or fills an unfilled market niche, the agency approves the product in a few months, as opposed to a few years. Bureaucrats used this process to quickly approve many COVID-19 drugs. The side effects of these drugs might not become apparent for several years.

The CSPC’s loophole is the 15(b) Fast Track recall program. Generally, if a company has a recall plan in place, the agency wraps up the entire process in about twenty days. That seems good for consumers. Faster recall action is better action, right? Not necessarily. If the recall process only takes a little over two weeks, the CSPC doesn’t have the chance to ask many questions.

Recently, the CSPC tried to close this loophole. In January 2022, the agency added an additional 15(b) requirements. Companies must now submit more detailed recall plans. They must also submit them online, so the reports are easier to distribute to mass media and social media outlets.

Defective Products

Safety recalls only prevent more people from getting hurt. However, safety recalls do nothing to address the needs of injury victims. That’s a job for a New York personal injury lawyer

Failure to warn and breach of warranty are two of the most common defective product injury claims. In either one, compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages are often available in these cases as well.

All companies have a legal duty to warn all consumers about known product defects. Usually, the warning must be proportionate to the danger. If a drug could cause nausea, the warning may be part of a long list of potential side effects. If a drug could cause liver failure, the manufacturer must prominently display such a warning. 

The defect could be a design defect, like a drug that’s too strong, or in the above case, a consumer product that has too many moving parts. The defect could also be a manufacturing defect. As they’re drawn up, many products are safe. But during the manufacturing, shipping, or storage phase, they become dangerously unsafe.

Breach of warranty claims is usually based on the Uniform Commercial Code’s implied warranty requirements. According to Section 2-314, this implied warranty includes the following guarantees:

  • Consistent with the product description,
  • “Fair average quality,” an industry term that basically means consumers will buy the products,
  • Fit for the ordinary product purpose (medicines with dangerous side effects aren’t fit to be medicines),
  • Adequate packaging, container, and labeling, and
  • Conform to the promises or affirmations of fact made on the container or label, if any.

Dangerous product injury victims may be entitled to substantial compensation. If your stroller falls on the stroller recall list, please feel to contact us for a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in New York, contact Napoli Shkolnik. We handle these matters on a nationwide basis.