Los Angeles Times, "Delays in product recalls tempt tragedy"
Regulators may know about safety issues, but getting the information out of them is difficult Canada's Mega Brands Inc., maker of Mega Blox and other popular playthings, agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1.1 million last week in connection with a defective toy that caused the death of a toddler in November 2005 and intestinal injuries in 25 others. Mega Brands didn't actually own the company that made the toy until after the toddler was killed, yet it was legally on the hook for some of the problems. The case highlights the difficulty that companies and consumers face in obtaining accurate and up-to-date safety data from federal regulators. Simply put, it's too hard to find out in a timely manner whether a product poses a danger to users. And, shamefully, it's often not until someone dies before steps are taken to remove that product from store shelves -- a process that can take months. Read the full article on the LA Times website.