HP Orders Laptop Battery Recall Due to Burn and Fire Hazard
HP Development Company, manufacturers of HP and Compaq computers, has issued a very serious voluntary laptop battery recall for over 140,000 lithium-ion batteries that power some of its laptop computers because of the “fire and burn hazards” they may pose.
This is actually the second such recall for this issue. Back in June 2015, HP issued a recall for 41,000 lithium-ion batteries in the United States for the same reason. This recall and the previous one were issued because the batteries can possibly overheat to the point of becoming dangerous. This recall was triggered by at least one report of a laptop battery overheating and causing a fire that resulted in more than $1,000 damage.
The batteries being recalled came with a number of laptops sold under the HP and Compaq brands between March 2013 and October 2016. The potentially faulty batteries came with a variety of laptop families, including some HP ProBook, HP ENVY, HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario. To find out if your battery is included, check the bar code on the battery. The affected bar codes start with 6BZLU, 6CGFK, 6CGFQ, 6CZMB, 6DEMA, 6DEMH, 6DGAL, and 6EBVA. To access the bar code, consumers will have to remove the battery from the laptop and check the label printed on the back of the battery.
HP stresses that the laptops themselves are safe; it is only the batteries that are under recall. The company promises to provide a free replacement battery in each verified, eligible case. The company has also set up a process for customers with 10 or more potentially affected batteries, to streamline the process of replacing the batteries. Owners of the computers with these batteries are being advised by HP to stop using the battery immediately and run the laptop using onlyAC power.
With this large recall following so close on the heels of Samsung’s massive recall of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones with exploding batteries, regulators are taking a closer look at lithium-ion batteries and whether they can be made safer. This is good. These types of overheating battery issues should raise a red flag among regulators and they should work to enhance battery safety before products hit the market and not wait until consumers become injured and/or suffer property damage due to an issue that could be prevented.
If you or someone you love have been injured or suffered significant property damage caused by a defective laptop battery or any other consumer product, please contact the Defective Consumer Product Injury Lawyer atThe Hill Law Firm as soon as you can. We can investigate the situation and make the company take responsibility if they have been negligent in any way. Let us protect your rights under the law.