Jogging strollers are popular among parents who want to pursue a healthy lifestyle and are the ideal accessory for runners and walkers alike. However, one brand of jogging stroller is seeing a rise in injury reports from families, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has taken notice. In fact, recently the agency decided to file a lawsuit against the company behind the faulty strollers, Britax Child Safety, Inc., and has requested the company to stop “selling its jogging strollers that are being blamed for at least 97 injuries.”
Jogging strollers are popular among parents who want to pursue a healthy lifestyle and are the ideal accessory for runners and walkers alike. However, one brand of jogging stroller is seeing a rise in injury reports from families, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has taken notice. In fact, recently the agency decided to file a lawsuit against the company behind the faulty strollers, Britax Child Safety, Inc., and has requested the company to stop “selling its jogging strollers that are being blamed for at least 97 injuries.”
It’s important to note, however, that filing a lawsuit against Britax wasn’t the agency’s first plan. Rather, the decision to sue came only after the company disregarded administrative complaints from the CPSC and requests to recall the jogging stroller “whose design poses hazards to both children and adults.”
But what kind of complaints has the CPSC received? What’s wrong with the strollers and what Britax jogging strollers are affected? Well, according to the CPSC, “consumers have filed at least 200 complaints since January 2012 citing wheel detachments in certain models of B.O.B. jogging strollers.” Additionally, the CPSC claims the “design of the strollers make it possible for them to be rolled regardless if the front wheel is not properly secured.” When this happens, the agency said the strollers can possibly tip over and injure “the children who are in the device and the adult operator.”
In a statement issued last week, the CPSC said that “children who were injured from the use of the strollers suffered from concussions, dental injuries, contusions, abrasions, and injuries to the head and face that require stitches, while adults have so far suffered torn ligaments, abrasions, and bone fractures.” So far 50 adults and 47 children have been injured by the jogging strollers.
So far Britax has pushed back against the suggestions that it’s jogging stroller in question isn’t safe, and said the “strollers are safe when these are used as instructed.” The company added:
“The front wheel detachments are not a defect in the design of the product…Because the front wheel can be removed when necessary, it folds up easily and compactly for transport and storage. CPSC wants to eliminate this functionality…At Britax, our commitment to improving child safety through research, testing, design, and community advocacy is unparalleled. We engineer our products to exceed the safety standards set by the federal government.”
Sarah Tilton, the Consumer Advocacy director at Britax also spoke up in defense of the company, saying “all BOB jogging strollers were rigorously tested and these often go above and beyond performance requirements.”
It will be interesting to see how this lawsuit plays out, and whether or not it will result in a total recall of the strollers that were sold in retail stores nationwide.
Sources:
Consumer Product Safety Commission Sues Britax Over Jogging Stroller Injuries
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