Mega Brands fined $1.1 million for failing to report Magnetix incidents

Mega Brands, the company that made Magnetix building sets, has agreed to pay a $1.1 million civil penalty to settle claims that the company failed to give the government timely information about the dangers of the magnets in the building sets.

After the death of a 22-month-old child who had ingested Magnetix pieces in 2005, Rose Art (the forerunner of Mega Brands) filed an "initial report" with the Consumer Product Safety Commission in which it attributed the magnets falling out to unusually abusive play by the toddler's older siblings. In February 2006, the company submitted a "full report" that again lacked incident and product information, saying it did not retain such records. The following month 4 million Magnetix sets were recalled for users under age six.

The CPSC subpoenaed records from Rose Art, which by that time had been acquired and renamed Mega Brands, and learned that at the time of the initial report, the company had received more than 1,100 consumer complaints that magnets had fallen out of plastic pieces from dozens of different Magnetix models. In addition, the CPSC learned that the company had gotten at least one report of an injury due to magnet ingestion before the toddler's death in Washington state.

By the time the company agreed to the March 2006 recall it had gotten more than 1,500 complaints of magnets falling out of plastic pieces in more than 65 different models of Magnetix. In April 2007, Mega Brands expanded the recall for users of every age after more than 25 children suffered intestinal injuries that required surgery to remove the magnets.

Federal law requires firms to report to the CPSC immediately (within 24 hours) after obtaining information reasonably supporting the conclusion that a product contains a defect that could create a substantial product hazard, an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death, or violates any consumer product safety rule, or any other rule, regulation, standard, or ban enforced by CPSC.

We are glad to see the CPSC using its authority to penalize the companies that do not follow its laws. Magnets, if ingested in multiples, can cause serious internal injuries. Toys made with magnets or magnet parts that are small enough for toddlers to ingest do not meet current safety standards. 

While the fine may seem like a bureaucratic matter, parents should note that potentially millions of recalled magnetic sets remain in homes today and may be accessible to young children. The CPSC strongly encourages consumers to check to see if they have any of the recalled building sets and return them to Mega Brands for a free replacement toy.

In agreeing to settle the matter, Mega Brands America and its parent, Mega Brands Inc., of Montreal, Canada contend that the company did not know of the Magnetix defect at the time it acquired Rose Art and that Rose Art’s prior owners never advised Mega Brands of the problems associated with Magnetix.