North Carolina Product Liability Blog : North Carolina Product Liability Lawyer & Attorney : D. Hardison Wood : Toy Safety, Child Restraint, Car Seats

Now that spring has sprung and we find ourselves outdoors more, one very popular activity is "jumping on a trampoline". While it is fun, it can be very dangerous.

In 2009, an estimated 98,000 people were treated in emergency rooms for trampoline-related injuries. Eight-two percent of the injured were children under age 15.

"I call them quad machines," trampoline safety expert Marc Rabinoff said of trampolines. "It can turn you into a quadriplegic in four seconds."

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that a Missouri-based manufacturer of trampolines has agreed to pay the government a $105,000 civil penalty. The penalty settles allegations that Stamina Products, of Springfield, Mo., failed to report in a timely manner injuries from defective mini-trampolines. In April 2006, CPSC and Stamina Products announced the recall of about 668,000 mini-trampolines.

Between April 2002 and June 2005, Stamina Products received eight reports from consumers who alleged that the trampoline sprang back during the folding/unfolding process causing facial lacerations that required stitches, broken teeth, bruises, headaches, neck pain, broken facial bones, loss of mouth sensation, and blurred vision. Stamina Products failed to report these incidents to the CPSC in a timely manner. CPSC was finally informed of the incidents in July 2005.

Federal law requires firms to report to CPSC within 24 hours after obtaining information that a product contains a defect which could create a substantial product hazard, or creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death.

In agreeing to settle the matter, Stamina Products denies that it violated federal law.

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