Hewlett-Packard (HP) has agreed to pay a $425,000 civil penalty for failing to immediately report to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that their lithium-ion battery packs posed a fire and burn hazard to consumers.
The CPSC alleges that by September 2007, Hewlett-Packard knew about 22 incidents where their battery packs had overheated; in two of these incidents consumers were injured. Even though Hewlett-Packard allegedly knew about the safety issues with their battery packs they failed to report them to the CPSC. Between March 2007 and April 2007, HP conducted a study on their battery packs. Yet, the CPSC alleges that HP failed to notify them about the study or the battery packs overheating until July 2008. By then HP allegedly knew about 31 incidents of the battery packs overheating.
Federal law requires that all manufacturers, distributors and retailers report to the CPSC within 24 hours after obtaining information about products that are defective or hazardous to the consumer. By agreeing to the settlement, HP denies the CPSC's allegations.
HP and the CPSC announced a recall of 32,000 lithium-ion battery packs in October 2008. The notebook computers that HP sold contained the defective battery packs. The battery packs were also sold separately at numerous stores and online retailers.
If you or a loved one has been inured by one of HP's lithium-ion battery packs you may be entitled to compensation for your medical expenses and losses. The Knoxville personal injury attorneys at Greg Coleman Law are experienced at handling these types of claims. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.
