It was tragedy enough when a young mother of two was killed in front of one of her children by a poorly designed recreational product. The tragedy was compounded when the dangerously flawed product remained in widespread use by children and adults around the world after her death.
The family's lawyer came to newsPRos for help in publicizing the dangers the product posed and creating a climate in which the family's hope that some good could come from their loss would be realized. The bereft husband and the two children wanted the flaws in the product's design to be recognized and remedied, before other senseless deaths occurred.
newsPRos crafted a background document describing the terrible accident and its causes and highlighting the safety issue, to bring editors and reporters up to speed on the case and the continuing nature of the danger. newsPRos pitched the story to the sports, industry sector and general media, generating, among other significant coverage, a full-page article on the front page of the New York Times national section.
The New York Times coverage prompted an immediate response from the product manufacturer, who previously had been unresponsive to calls for discussion or change. After some negotiation, an agreement was reached to create a program to have the products retrofitted and to create a safer version. A public notice campaign was launched to inform product buyers and users of the potential dangers in the existing version of the product, and instruct users not to manipulate the product in a common manner, which is what created the danger. When the manufacturer agreed to these changes and to the public notification program, it was a resounding victory for our law firm client, for the grieving family, and for product users worldwide who are no longer at risk.