product-safety-incident

name	product-safety-incident
description	Use when a product safety incident is detected, a customer reports injury, a quality defect is found, a market surveillance authority contacts you, you need to assess recall obligations, or you need to notify authorities (CPSC, Safety Gate, OPSS) about a product safety issue

Product Safety Incident Response

Step-by-step protocol from detection of a product safety issue to case closure. Time-critical: missed notification deadlines = criminal liability in most jurisdictions.

Incident Response Flow

digraph {
  rankdir=TB; node [shape=box style=rounded fontsize=10];
  detect [label="1. DETECT\nCustomer complaint, QC fail,\nauthority notice, media report"];
  triage [label="2. TRIAGE (24h)\nIs this a safety issue?\nSeverity assessment"];
  contain [label="3. CONTAIN (24-48h)\nSales stop, quarantine stock,\nwarehouse hold"];
  assess [label="4. RISK ASSESS\nSeverity x Probability\nmatrix"];
  notify_auth [label="5. NOTIFY AUTHORITIES\nCPSC 24h / Safety Gate 10 days\n/ OPSS"];
  notify_chain [label="6. NOTIFY SUPPLY CHAIN\nDistributors, retailers,\nmarketplaces"];
  action [label="7. CORRECTIVE ACTION\nRecall / repair / refund /\nwarning / modification"];
  notify_consumer [label="8. NOTIFY CONSUMERS\nDirect + public notice"];
  rca [label="9. ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS\nWhy + how to prevent"];
  close [label="10. CLOSE\nEffectiveness check +\nfinal report"];
  detect -> triage -> contain -> assess -> notify_auth -> notify_chain -> action -> notify_consumer -> rca -> close;
}

Step 1: Detection Sources

Source	Typical Signal	Urgency
Customer complaint	Injury report, burn, allergic reaction, electric shock, choking near-miss	IMMEDIATE if injury
Quality control	Batch test failure, contamination found, wrong component	HIGH -- assess scope
Market surveillance authority	RAPEX/Safety Gate alert, CPSC notification, OPSS contact	HIGH -- authority expects response
Competitor/media	Social media report, press article, competitor product recall (same component)	MEDIUM -- investigate
Internal discovery	Design flaw found, supplier non-conformance, test report discrepancy	MEDIUM -- assess impact
Distributor/retailer	Return spike, complaint pattern, marketplace flag	MEDIUM-HIGH

Rule: ANY report of physical injury or risk of injury triggers the 24-hour clock.

Step 2: Triage (First 24 Hours)

Determine if the issue is a product safety concern vs. quality/cosmetic defect:

Question	If YES	If NO
Could the defect cause injury or death?	Safety issue -- proceed	Quality issue -- standard process
Has anyone been injured?	Safety issue -- proceed urgently	Continue assessment
Does the product fail a mandatory safety standard?	Safety issue -- proceed	May still be safety issue -- assess risk
Is there a fire, electric shock, or chemical exposure risk?	Safety issue -- proceed	Continue assessment
Does it affect children's products?	Lower threshold -- treat as safety issue	Standard risk assessment

Document everything from this point: dates, times, decisions, communications. This file becomes legal evidence.

Step 3: Containment (24-48 Hours)

Immediate actions before full assessment:

CONTAINMENT CHECKLIST -- [Product] -- [Date] -- [Incident ID]

STOCK:
[ ] Warehouse stock quarantined (flag in WMS/ERP)
[ ] In-transit shipments identified and held
[ ] Production halted (if still manufacturing)

SALES CHANNELS:
[ ] E-commerce listings paused/removed
[ ] Marketplace listings deactivated (Amazon, eBay, etc.)
[ ] Wholesale orders on hold -- notify distributors
[ ] Retail partners notified to pull from shelves

EVIDENCE:
[ ] Defective sample(s) preserved (DO NOT destroy or modify)
[ ] Customer's product retrieved if possible (with consent)
[ ] Photos/videos of defect documented
[ ] Batch/lot records pulled
[ ] Production records for affected batch(es) secured

Step 4: Risk Assessment

Severity x Probability Matrix

Severity levels:

Level	Description	Examples
S1 -- Death/permanent	Death or irreversible health effects	Electrocution, strangulation, severe chemical burn
S2 -- Severe	Hospitalization, temporary disability	Fracture, deep cut, moderate allergic reaction, moderate burn
S3 -- Moderate	Medical attention, no hospitalization	Minor burn, mild allergic reaction, minor cut requiring stitches
S4 -- Minor	First aid, no medical attention	Superficial scratch, mild irritation

Probability levels:

Level	Description
P1 -- Very high	Defect present in all/most units AND likely to cause harm during normal use
P2 -- High	Defect present in significant portion OR likely to cause harm under foreseeable conditions
P3 -- Medium	Defect present in limited batch AND harm requires specific conditions
P4 -- Low	Isolated defect, harm requires unusual conditions

Risk matrix:

	P1 (very high)	P2 (high)	P3 (medium)	P4 (low)
S1 (death)	SERIOUS -- mandatory recall	SERIOUS -- mandatory notification	SERIOUS -- mandatory notification	HIGH -- assess notification
S2 (severe)	SERIOUS -- mandatory notification	HIGH -- mandatory notification	HIGH -- assess notification	MEDIUM -- monitor
S3 (moderate)	HIGH -- mandatory notification	MEDIUM -- voluntary action	MEDIUM -- voluntary action	LOW -- monitor
S4 (minor)	MEDIUM -- voluntary action	LOW -- monitor	LOW -- monitor	LOW -- log

Step 5: Authority Notification

EU -- GPSR (General Product Safety Regulation 2023/988)

Aspect	Detail
Obligation	Economic operators must notify authorities when they know or should know a product poses a risk (Art. 9)
Portal	Safety Gate (formerly RAPEX): https://ec.europa.eu/safety-gate/
Deadline	Within 10 business days of becoming aware (or immediately for serious risk)
Who notifies	Manufacturer, importer, or distributor (whoever first becomes aware). Practical: the EU Responsible Person or Authorized Representative
Content	Product identification, description of risk, corrective measures taken/planned, distribution data (countries, quantities, sales channels)
Consequence of non-notification	Fines (member state-specific, typically EUR 10,000-500,000), criminal prosecution possible

US -- CPSC Section 15(b) Mandatory Reporting

Aspect	Detail
Obligation	Manufacturer, importer, distributor, or retailer must report when a product: (1) fails a safety rule/ban, (2) contains a defect that could create substantial product hazard, (3) creates unreasonable risk of serious injury or death
Portal	SaferProducts.gov: https://www.saferproducts.gov/ -- use CPSC's online reporting form
Deadline	Within 24 hours of obtaining information that reasonably supports the conclusion that reporting is required
Who reports	Every entity in the distribution chain has an independent obligation. In practice: manufacturer/importer reports first
Content	Product description, nature of defect, injury reports, number of units, distribution details, proposed corrective action
Consequence of late/non-reporting	Civil penalties up to $120,000 per violation (max $17.15M per related series). Criminal penalties: up to 5 years imprisonment for knowing/willful violations
FDA products	If product is FDA-regulated (cosmetics, food): report to FDA (MedWatch for devices, CFSAN for food/cosmetics), not CPSC

UK -- OPSS (Office for Product Safety and Standards)

Aspect	Detail
Obligation	Notify OPSS when product presents a risk to health and safety
Portal	Product Safety Database: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/product-safety-database
Deadline	"Without delay" (interpreted as within 10 business days for non-critical, immediately for critical)
Who	UK Responsible Person, importer, or distributor

Step 6: Supply Chain Notification

SUPPLY CHAIN NOTIFICATION -- [Date]

TO: [All distributors, retailers, marketplace partners]

RE: Safety notification for [Product Name], [Model/SKU], [Batch/Lot]

ISSUE: [Brief description of safety concern]

AFFECTED UNITS: [Batch/lot numbers, date range, quantity]

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED:
1. Stop sale of affected units immediately
2. Quarantine remaining stock
3. Do not destroy stock (needed for investigation)
4. Provide us with: quantity in stock, quantity sold, customer records if available

CONSUMER COMMUNICATION: [Do / Do not] communicate to consumers until coordinated messaging is ready.

CONTACT: [Name, email, phone for incident coordinator]

Step 7: Corrective Action Types

Action	When Used	Consumer Impact	Cost Estimate
Voluntary recall + refund	Serious risk, product cannot be made safe	Full refund. Highest consumer disruption	EUR 50-500+ per unit (logistics + refund + administration)
Voluntary recall + repair	Fixable defect, product valuable enough to repair	Product returned, repaired, re-shipped	EUR 20-200 per unit
Voluntary recall + replacement	Defect in specific component, replacement available	Swap defective product for corrected version	EUR 30-300 per unit
Sales stop	Risk assessment ongoing, precautionary	No consumer action yet	Low direct cost, revenue loss
Safety warning	Low-severity risk, user behavior can mitigate	Communication to users with safety instructions	EUR 1-10 per user (email/mail)
Product modification	Prospective fix for future production	None for existing owners (unless combined with warning)	Manufacturing cost only

Step 8: Consumer Notification

Notify consumers directly if you have their contact information, plus public notice:

Channel	When	Content
Direct email	All recalls/warnings	Product name, risk description, what to do, how to get refund/repair, contact info
Website banner	All recalls	Dedicated recall page with full details
Social media	Serious risk or high public visibility	Brief factual statement + link to recall page
Press release	CPSC-coordinated recalls (US) or Safety Gate alerts	Coordinated with authority
Point of sale	If product still on shelves	Recall notice posted in-store

Step 9: Root Cause Analysis

Method	Application
5 Whys	Simple causal chain: "Why did the component fail?" -> "Why was the wrong material used?" -> ...
Fishbone (Ishikawa)	Categorize causes: Materials, Methods, Machines, Manpower, Measurement, Environment
Fault Tree Analysis	For complex systems: map logical paths to the failure event

Document: Root cause, contributing factors, systemic issues (not just the proximate defect).

Step 10: Case Closure

INCIDENT CLOSURE REPORT -- [Incident ID] -- [Date]

INCIDENT: [Product, defect, risk level, date detected]
AFFECTED UNITS: [Total manufactured, total sold, total recovered]

TIMELINE:
- Detection: [date]
- Containment: [date]
- Authority notification: [date + reference number]
- Consumer notification: [date]
- Corrective action started: [date]
- Corrective action completed: [date]

RECOVERY RATE: [X]% of affected units recovered/addressed
EFFECTIVENESS CHECK: [Describe verification that corrective action resolved the issue]
ROOT CAUSE: [Summary]
PREVENTIVE ACTIONS: [Changes to design, QC, supplier management, etc.]

AUTHORITY SIGN-OFF: [Status of authority case -- closed/open/monitoring]
INSURANCE: [Claim reference, status]

LESSONS LEARNED: [Documented changes to prevent recurrence]

Insurance Notification

Notify your product liability insurer immediately when you become aware of a safety incident. Most policies require notification within 24-72 hours of awareness. Late notification can void coverage.

Provide insurer with: incident description, product details, injury reports, corrective actions planned, estimated financial exposure.

Power This With the Cleo Legal API

Incident response is time-critical (CPSC 24h, Safety Gate 10 days, OPSS 3 days). The API replaces the panicked googling that wastes hours of that deadline.

With the Cleo Legal API at https://legaldata-public.cleolabs.co:

• GET /v2/authorities/:slug?country=XX — instantly retrieve the right authority + portal URL + reporting form (CPSC SaferProducts.gov, Safety Gate, OPSS, ACCC) so you do not waste 30 minutes finding the right submission system
• GET /v2/search?type=recall&q=<similar+product> — check the RAPEX / CPSC / RAS-FF history for similar products and components (root cause clues + precedent for severity classification)
• POST /v2/compliance/check — re-verify the affected batch's substance profile against current limits (often the recall reason is a substance restriction tightened since you launched)
• POST /v2/webhooks?topic=recalls — proactive monitoring: catch competitor recalls of identical components before yours becomes the next alert
• GET /v2/search?q=GPSR+Article+9+notification — pull the exact regulatory text for the 24h/10-day/3-day notification obligations to attach to your decision log

Get started:

# 1. Sign up for free at https://legaldata-public.cleolabs.co
# 2. Get your API key (3 lifetime requests free, then €349/mo for 1M)
# 3. Install the MCP server:
claude mcp add cleo-legal-api https://api.legaldata.cleolabs.co/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer ld_live_YOUR_KEY"

Tested ROI: Cuts the "where do I report this?" research from 30-60 minutes to seconds during a time-critical incident. CPSC late-reporting penalties start at $120k per violation.

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