LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
Record Fine
Minneapolis, MN: (Mar-17-08) A lawsuit was brought against shoe giant Reebok, after a four-year-old Minneapolis boy died of lead poisoning after swallowing part of a charm bracelet given away with a pair of athletic shoes. The death lead to a series of highly publicized toy recalls nationwide and brought charges against Reebok by US Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Jarnell Brown's death sparked a nationwide recall of the bracelets, which were tucked inside about 300,000 boxes of shoes sold between May 2004 and the spring of 2006. The suit claimed that after he swallowed the toy, he suffered vomiting, seizures and respiratory arrest before dying at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. Records state that apart from Jarnell, no other children were hurt by the bracelets, which Reebok recalled voluntarily.
As part of a settlement reached, company sources stated that Reebok has agreed to pay the government $1 million to settle allegations that it violated the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. Government officials claimed that the fine is the largest of its kind levied against a company since the US Consumer Product Safety Commission was established in 1972. Commission spokespersons said that the fine sends a strong message to companies that the safety commission will not tolerate children's toys and products that contain dangerous amounts of lead. Prior to that, the biggest fine was levied against Kansas-based Winco Fireworks, who was ordered to pay $600,000 in 2005 for selling banned fireworks. [STAR TRIBUNE: REEBOK'S DEADLY LEAD CHARM DRAWS $1 MILLION FEDERAL FINE]
Published on Mar-18-08
Jarnell Brown's death sparked a nationwide recall of the bracelets, which were tucked inside about 300,000 boxes of shoes sold between May 2004 and the spring of 2006. The suit claimed that after he swallowed the toy, he suffered vomiting, seizures and respiratory arrest before dying at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. Records state that apart from Jarnell, no other children were hurt by the bracelets, which Reebok recalled voluntarily.
As part of a settlement reached, company sources stated that Reebok has agreed to pay the government $1 million to settle allegations that it violated the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. Government officials claimed that the fine is the largest of its kind levied against a company since the US Consumer Product Safety Commission was established in 1972. Commission spokespersons said that the fine sends a strong message to companies that the safety commission will not tolerate children's toys and products that contain dangerous amounts of lead. Prior to that, the biggest fine was levied against Kansas-based Winco Fireworks, who was ordered to pay $600,000 in 2005 for selling banned fireworks. [
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