The Kansas City (MO) Star reports, “To stave off regulation and lawsuits over severe burns to toddlers, manufacturers will provide protective screens as standard equipment with new gas fireplaces.” As the Star describes, “more than 2,000 children ages five and under were injured by contact with the unprotected glass in a recent 10-year period, according to a federal database, with many suffering second- and third-degree burns. That has triggered at least a dozen lawsuits and scrutiny by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which in June, 2011 sought public comments on the need for federal standards.”
From the American Association for Justice news release.
