Generac to pay $15.8M penalty for failure to report injury hazards

Generac injury penalty overview: 

• Who: Generac agreed to pay a $15.8 million civil penalty.
• Why: The settlement resolves claims the company didn’t immediately report a generator defect that resulted in multiple consumers’ fingers being crushed or partially amputated.
• Where: The Generac injury penalty settlement is active in the United States.
• What are my options: Shop Ace Hardware for generators. 

Generac agreed to pay a $15.8 million civil penalty to resolve claims the company didn’t immediately report a generator defect that resulted in multiple consumers’ fingers being crushed or partially amputated.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced the civil penalty May 5.  

The settlement resolves CPSC’s charges that Generac failed to immediately report that 32 models of its Generac and DR 6500 Watt and 8000 Watt portable generators contained a defect that created an “unreasonable risk of serious injury to consumers,” the CPSC says.

According to the Generac penalty notice, beginning in Oct. 2018 and continuing into 2020, Generac received reports of incidents from consumers whose fingers were partially amputated or crushed by the unlocked handle of the portable generator. 

“Despite possessing this information, Generac did not immediately report to the Commission,” the CPSC says. “By the time Generac filed a report with the commission, there were five reports of consumers suffering finger amputations while attempting to transport the portable generators, which required hospitalization, surgery and/or sutures and resulted in permanent disfigurement.”

Generac issued recall in 2021, penalty notice says

Generac and the commission jointly announced a recall of the portable generators on July 29, 2021.

In November, Generac reannounced its recall of more than 325,000 portable generators after receiving more injury and amputation reports.

The settlement agreement requires Generac to implement and maintain a compliance program and system of internal controls and procedures designed to ensure compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Act. 

Generac also agreed to file annual reports regarding its compliance program, system of internal controls and internal audits of the effectiveness of the new compliance program and internal controls for three years.

By a 4-0 vote, the commission provisionally accepted the settlement agreement, subject to public comment. 

What do you think of this Generac penalty? Let us know in the comments! 

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