Injuries From Recalled Products Hit Highest Level in 8 Years

Sourcing from China was a key reason that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been issuing significantly more product warnings, an agency official said.

Recalled Charmast power banks, model W1056. CPSC

The number of injuries resulting from recalled products surged last year in the United States, hitting a multi-year high, according to a recent report from consumer advocacy Public Interest Research Group (PIRG).

“A total of 869 injuries were connected to products recalled during the year [2024],” PIRG, is a research and consumer advocacy organization, said in the March 24 report. “That total is up dramatically from the 549 injuries reported in 2023 and is more than double the number of injuries reported five years ago.”

Last year’s injury numbers are the highest since the 570 injuries reported in 2017.

“In addition to the injuries, 15 people died in cases that were linked to recalled products,” the report said. “Besides those 15 deaths, 10 other people died in cases linked to products where the companies wouldn’t agree to a recall.”

When the CPSC determines a product poses a risk to customers, a recall may be issued in cooperation with the relevant companies.

Last year, “there were 305 recall announcements for items ranging from tools to toys to treadmills after the products were determined to be hazardous,” according to the report.

In addition, the agency issued 63 product warnings. The warnings pertained to manufacturers that did not respond to the regulator or refused to cooperate with a recall. This is a massive jump from the 38 warnings CSPC issued in 2023.

Peter Feldman, acting chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), attributed the surge in product warnings primarily to Chinese manufacturers.

“The United States is facing a flood of Chinese consumer products that violate U.S. safety laws,” he said. “When CPSC identifies illegal Chinese goods, the manufacturer is, more often than not, unreachable, unfindable, or uncooperative.”

Out of the 63 product warnings issued last year, 42 were linked to a manufacturer, exporter, or a responsible party from China.

CPSC Commissioner Rich Trumka said that sometimes warnings act as an “important tool” to pressure companies when businesses don’t cooperate with the agency in issuing a recall.

For instance, the agency issued a warning about battery chargers manufactured by China-based Shenzhen Haitan Technology in July 2024. CPSC received 32 reports of fires and similar incidents, some involving injury and property damage.

Initially, the company was unresponsive to agency requests for a recall. Five months after the warning was issued, the company agreed to recall 34,600 units of the products and refund customers.

Injury Data, Legislation

According to the PIRG report, 92 products were responsible for injuries and deaths in 2024.

Sixteen items were associated with 10 or more injuries. This included products such as platform beds, mugs, fire pits, wall beds, lawnmowers, and oven gloves.

Eight products were linked to deaths, including infant swings, bookcases, adult bed rails, and portable power stations.

“The types of injuries ranged from cuts and burns that didn’t require medical attention, to partial finger amputations, to injuries from a utility tractor brake failure that led to hospitalization,” the report said.

Many of the products caused fires, with 41 items linked to over 500 such fires. Out of the 41 items, 15 carried lithium-ion batteries.

In December 2024, two recalls for lithium batteries were made. One recall was for around 488,000 units of power banks from Shenzhen Charmast Technology after the company received 44 reports of items “expanding, igniting, melting, overheating or smoking.” There were four incidents in which customers suffered burns or blisters.

Another recall was made by Chervon North America for roughly 63,000 units of its lithium-ion batteries used in lawnmowers and other tools. The company received more than 100 reports of thermal incidents, with 49 reports of property damage and eight incidents of smoke inhalation or minor burns.

Both items were manufactured in China.

Over the past year, lawmakers have taken action to counter the threat of dangerous products.

In May, a group of senators introduced a bipartisan law seeking to ban deadly water beads. The bill was named “Esther’s Law” in memory of a 10-month-old infant from Wisconsin who died after swallowing a water bead.

In July, lawmakers asked the CPSC to work with the nonprofit American Society of Testing and Materials International to evaluate and finalize “safety standards to address hazards posed by detached and flyaway beach umbrellas.”

PIRG recommended, in its latest report, that Congress pass the Consumer Advocacy and Protection (CAP) Act.

Introduced last year, the legislation ensures that the CPSC is empowered to hold companies accountable for safety violations related to consumer products, according to a January 2024 statement from the office of Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), one of the lawmakers who introduced the bill. The legislation seeks to boost CPSC’s penalty authority for such violations.

“Integrity and transparency are crucial to ensuring consumer protection, but massive companies continue to undermine federal safety standards by relying on their wealth to evade responsibility,” Welch said.

“The CAP Act will help ensure corporations are held accountable when they violate consumer safety protections. This bill strengthens the incentives to prioritize product safety and helps the Consumer Product Safety Commission do their critical work.”