The stuffed animal company Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. has been ordered to hand over a total of $600,000 in fines after it was found that a number of its toy bear beach chairs were defective and could be dangerous to children.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Overland-based company was fined for knowing about the defects in the chairs, but failing to report them soon enough.
The chairs, sold for around $8 each, were found to have sharp edges on their folding frames, which could injure users by pinching or even amputating their fingertips. There have already been 10 reports of injuries to children due the defects in the chairs, which were reported between July 2007 and January 2009. However, Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. did not report these incidents until much later, when the chairs were recalled in May 2009.
According to federal law, defects in products must be reported to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission within 24 hours of problems being discovered.
Although it denies breaking the law, Build-A-Bear will pay the $600,000 fine. The company is likely to use its product liability insurance in order to do so.