The Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) has agreed to a settlement of $425,000 after failing to report defective battery packs sold with their laptops.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), HP allegedly knew that it failed to immediately report that some of the lithium–ion battery packs used in their new HP Notebook computers were defective and created an unreasonable risk of death or serious injury due to the risk of overheating, creating a fire, and/or burning consumers.
The CPSC also claims that the company conducted a study between March and April 2007, from which it acquired additional informational about the battery packs that was also not reported to the commission.
By July 2008, 31 incidents had occurred involving the lithium-ion battery packs that HP never told the CPSC about.
Federal law requires distributors, manufacturers and retailers to notify the CPSC within 24 hours after acquiring data supporting that a product has a defect that could seriously harm or cause death to consumers, or does not comply with safety guidelines enforced by the commission.
If you or a loved one has been harmed by an unsafe computer product, contact Sokolove Law product liability lawyers to find out if they may be able to help you and represent your case.