There was a ground-breaking jury verdict this month, the first criminal conviction of corporate executives for failure to report a safety incident under the Consumer Product Safety Act. Under the CPSA, manufacturers, importers, and distributors of consumer products are required to “immediately” report information that “reasonably supports the conclusion that the product contains a defect which could create a substantial product hazard” or “creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death.”
This first-of-its-kind prosecution (and guilty verdict) against corporate officers reflects the CPSC’s and DOJ’s increasingly aggressive approach to enforcing the CPSA and holding corporate executives accountable for misconduct. Companies making or selling products subject to the CPSA should be aware of the increased enforcement focus and potential for corporate and individual criminal exposure that appears poised to continue regardless of which administration is in office. Read more about this here.
Now is the time to review your company’s incident reporting process and ensure you have policies and processes to promptly capture and review these safety incidents. Comply PRO+ provides the platform for you to enter all escalated safety incidents and note that a review has occurred.
Incidents can come from many sources, and once entered, you can see incidents by Product Family and Origin. See trends and identify issues that must be immediately corrected to minimize your exposure to a possible recall.
Schedule your demo today to discuss how to Comply PRO+ can help improve your incident escalation and resolution to enhance your compliance program to reduce the possibility of not reporting a reportable incident to the CPSC.