The Window Covering Manufacturers Association has submitted a proposal that allows manufacturers to still use cords that children can wrap around their necks leading government regulators and safety advocates to say standards are not strict enough and could cause more children to die. The proposal follows last summer’s request from safety regulators in the U.S., Canada and Europe for the window covering industry to enact safety standards that would eliminate strangulation hazards, including the elimination of exposed cords on window blinds and shades.
Consumer Product Safety Commission chairwoman, Inez Tenenbaum, says although it is rare for government regulators to step in and require mandatory standards, she would consider it in this case. In a letter to the window-blind trade association, she urged them to address the “longstanding problem once and for all.”
Federal law reduces regulators to bit players in the process of writing voluntary product standards. Amendments passed during the Reagan administration bar the Consumer Product Safety Commission from issuing mandatory safety requirements unless regulators can prove that the voluntary ones won't cut the risk of injury or that most manufacturers aren't following them.
According to U.S. government regulators, approximately one child per month dies as a result of strangulation due to window blinds. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the annual rate of death has remained steady, killing more than 200 U.S. children over the last two decades.
The attorneys at Messa & Associates have pursued many cases involving injuries and death to children as a result of products with manufacturing and design defects. We combine our years of experience, thorough research, and the knowledge of highly regarded experts to prepare these cases. If your child has been seriously injured as a result of a window blind cord, please contact us at 1-877-MessaLaw.
No comments:
Post a Comment