U.S. suing 3 companies over failure to report hazards of Weed Wizard

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced that on its behalf the Department of Justice is suing three companies for failing to report serious safety hazards associated with Weed Wizard trimmer heads with metal chain links. A metal link can rapidly and unexpectedly detach during use of the Weed Wizard trimmer attachment. If the link strikes the user or a bystander, it can penetrate skin and bone, causing serious injury or even death.

The lawsuit seeks fines against U.S. Home and Garden Inc. of San Francisco; Easy Gardener Inc. of Waco, Texas; and Weed Wizard Acquisition Corp. of San Francisco for failing to inform the CPSC that the trimmer heads and replacement chain sets have a substantial product defect and present a substantial risk of injury to the public.

Under the Consumer Product Safety Act, manufacturers, distributors and retailers are required to immediately report products that have a defect that could create a substantial risk of injury to the public or that present an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death. Companies cannot withhold safety information about a defective product when consumers may be at risk of injury or death. Firms have an obligation and a responsibility to inform the CPSC. The courts have ordered that companies must report in a timely and complete manner.

Between May 1987 and April 2000, 2.7 million Weed Wizard trimmer heads with metal chains and about 857,000 trimmer replacement chain sets were designed and sold. They were designed and manufactured to be used as replacements for string trimmer heads on any gas-powered weed trimmer. The lawsuit alleges that beginning in February 1998 the three firms being sued had enough information to reasonably support the conclusion that the Weed Wizard products were defective and could injure or kill consumers, though the companies never contacted the CPSC with incident or product-related information.

U.S. Home and Garden purchased Weed Wizard Inc. in February 1998. The lawsuit alleges that at the time of the purchase, all three firms knew of one death and at least 19 incidents involving consumers struck by metal chain links. The death occurred in August 1997 when a 3-year-old Alabama girl was killed by a chain link that flew off of a Weed Wizard trimmer being used by a family member and lodged in her skull.

The three companies failed to report any incidents, injuries, or product defects to the CPSC. Instead, the CPSC had to request specifically that Weed Wizard Acquisition Corp. provide information about the safety of the Weed Wizard. Among other charges in the lawsuit are:

. The three companies failed to provide a February 1998 engineering report that was critical of the Weed Wizard trimmer heads’ safety until December 2000, 17 months after it was requested and seven months after a recall was announced. More than 590,000 Weed Wizard products were produced and distributed after USHG purchased Weed Wizard Inc. in 1998.

. The companies involved became aware that a testing laboratory, a distributor and the Australian government all identified a serious safety hazard with the Weed Wizard and either banned it or publicly warned consumers of the dangers associated with using it. Yet the companies made no report to the CPSC.

Weed Wizard Acquisition Corp. and the CPSC announced a recall on May 3, 2000, of the Weed Wizard trimmer heads with metal chains and trimmer replacement chain sets. Consumers who still have this product should stop using it immediately and contact the firm to obtain free plastic replacement blades and installation instructions. For a free replacement kit, call Weed Wizard toll-free at (888) 810-7536 anytime, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.weedwizard.com.

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