HP Penalty for Not Reporting Accidents

Hewlett-Packard (HP) has agreed to pay a $425,000 civil penalty for failing to immediately report to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that their lithium-ion battery packs posed a fire and burn hazard to consumers.Federal law requires that all manufacturers, distributors and retailers report to the CPSC within 24 hours after obtaining information about products that are defective or hazardous to the consumer. By agreeing to the settlement, HP denies the CSPC’s allegations.

The CPSC alleges that by September 2007, Hewlett-Packard knew about 22 incidents where their battery packs had overheated; in two of these incidents consumers were injured. Even though Hewlett-Packard allegedly knew about the safety issues with their battery packs they failed to report them to the CPSC. Between March 2007 and April 2007, HP conducted a study on their battery packs. Yet, the CPSC alleges that HP did not tell them about the study or the battery packs overheating until July 2008. By that time HP allegedly knew about 31 incidents of the battery packs overheating.

HP and the CPSC recalled 32,000 lithium-ion battery packs in October 2008. The notebook computers that HP sold contained the defective battery packs. The battery packs were also sold separately at numerous stores and online retailers.

If you or a loved one has been hurt by one of HP’s lithium-ion battery packs you may be eligible for compensation. The personal injury attorneys at Phillips Law Group are experienced at handling personal injury claims. Contact us for a free and confidential case review.

Phillips Law Group – Ph: 1-800-706-3000 .