CPSC Approves New Federal Safety Rule to Make Hand-Held Hair Dryers Less of an Electrocution Hazard

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has approved a new rule giving it more power to both stop potentially hazardous hair dryers made outside the US from being shipped into the country and issue product recalls against violative hair dryers. Current industry standards mandate that hair dryers come with a device that preempts electrocution and shock injuries from happening should the device make contact with water.
The CPSC believes hand-supported hair dryer that don’t have an immersion protection device are a safety hazard. Because hair dryers are often used in bathrooms, they are at risk of coming into close contact with water in bathtubs, sinks, and toilets. Hair dryers that lack this protection can be an electrocution hazard because their energized wires are not properly insulated.
Although hair dryers generally need a low voltage of electricity, serious injuries can happen if someone gets directly shocked and this occurs for a sustained length of time. For example, death can result if a plugged in hair dryer falls into a bathtub and someone is sitting in the water. In addition to electrocution injuries, hair dryers can also cause burn injuries if the temperature is set too high and someone comes into too close of physical contact with the it.
If your were hurt because a hair dryer was defective or malfunctioned, you should speak with an experienced products liability law firm about your accident. Product manufacturers must make sure that electrical products are properly insulated so that they don’t cause electrocution injuries. They can be held liable if their failure to do so caused someone to get hurt.
CPSC Approves New Federal Safety Rule for Hair Dryers, CPSC, June 9, 2011
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008