Ski Binding Recall

On December 23, 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in “cooperation” with Atomic Ski USA, announced the recall of alpine ski bindings manufactured in Austria between 1998 and 2002. The explanation given for the recall is that the plastic heel housing of the recalled bindings can crack, causing the bindings to release unexpectedly.
On its face, this recall might be considered a good thing. But is it really? What good does it do to recall six to ten year old ski bindings? Aren’t most of these bindings past their useful life anyway? How long has this problem been known to industry insiders? Is it significant that the recall comes at a time when the statute of limitations has expired on most injury claims that might be related to the failed plastic parts? How many people complained, between 1998 and 2008, that their equipment had failed them, and what response did they get? Who would guess that a client’s report that he was injured because his binding cracked unexpectedly would be any more than a freak incident? Or that there might be enough of these incidents to generate a recall of the bindings?
These questions remind us that manufacturers always have more information about their products than plaintiffs’ lawyers do, and that we must listen carefully to clients and dig deep for information about what really underlies a product failure.