January 12, 2004 - WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is announcing today that Imperial Toy Corp., of Los Angeles, Calif., has agreed to pay a $200,000 civil penalty for importing and selling children's toys that violated federal safety standards. To protect young children from choking, aspiration, or ingestion hazards, federal law prohibits toys intended for children under three from having small parts.
The civil penalty levied against Imperial is the largest ever imposed against a toy company penalized or sued for the first time for violating CPSC's small parts regulations.
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California also enjoined Imperial from violating CPSC's toy regulations in the future and the court is requiring that Imperial's toys be independently tested for safety and proper age-grading prior to importation and distribution.
The lawsuit against Imperial, which was filed in May 2003, alleged that between 1998 and 2001 the company imported two models of toys (totaling about 10,000 units) which had small parts in violation of CPSC regulations. The toys were candy-filled plastic trucks and dolls' feeding sets. The trucks were recalled in 1998 and the dolls' feeding sets were recalled in 2001. Through the inspection and detective work of CPSC and the U.S. Customs Service, many of these toys were seized at the Port of Long Beach before they could reach store shelves. No incidents or injuries have been reported with those toys that made their way into children's hands.
In 2003, CPSC recalled 80 toys and children's products that posed a risk of injury. In 2002, the latest year for which CPSC has data, there were an estimated 212,000 children (under 15 years old) treated in hospital emergency rooms due to toy-related incidents. There were 13 deaths associated with toys.
The Department of Justice's Office of Consumer Litigation handled this case on CPSC's behalf.
Imperial denies that its toys violated CPSC regulations.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.
