WASHINGTON (AP) — A fitness-equipment company has agreed to pay $105,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging it failed to report injuries caused by its defective trampolines.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission said Tuesday that Springfield, Mo.-based Stamina Products received eight reports from consumers who said the company's trampolines sprang back when unfolded and folded, causing broken teeth, bruises, lacerations and broken bones. The company received the complaints between 2002 and 2005, but did not recall about 668,000 mini-trampolines until April 2006.
CPSC said it didn't find out about the incidents until July 2005. Companies are required by law to report potentially dangerous product defects to the government within 24 hours.
In agreeing to settle the government lawsuit, Stamina denied that it broke the law.
Last week, Stamina Products announced, in conjunction with CPSC, that it was recalling about 2,000 Inversion Therapy Tables sold nationwide from October 2005 to October 2007. A weld in the center of the table can fail when the table is upside down, posing a fall hazard. Stamina said it had received three reports of such failures, but no injuries.
