Fiskars Brands Inc. of Madison, WI has agreed to pay a $2.6 million civil penalty and abide by a consent decree to settle a federal lawsuit alleging it knowingly failed to report dangerous defects in an axe made by Gerber Legendary Blades to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

In a complaint filed on behalf of the CPSC by the Department of Justice in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, the government charged that Fiskars knowingly failed to report to CPSC immediately, as required by federal law, a defect and an unreasonable risk of serious injury involving the Gerber Gator Combo Axe.

The complaint charges that the knife in the Gator Combo Axe handle, which is shown to the left, could and did dislodge from the handle when the axe is used for chopping or hammering, posing a serious laceration hazard to consumers. Beginning in 2005, Fiskars began receiving reports of laceration injuries caused by the Gator Combo Axe, including serious injuries requiring surgery. Fiskars and CPSC jointly announced the recall of the Gator Combo Axe in 2011.   

The agreement to pay the fine is part of a consent decree that requires Fiskars implement and maintain a compliance program that, among other things, includes written standards and policies, assigns compliance and accountability for violations to a senior manager and enables employees to report compliance concerns to a compliance officer or a senior manager.

Fiskars, which is a branded consumer products company based in Finland, derived €245.1 million, or 30.7 percent of its revenue in 2013 from the Americas, where it also sells Fiskars scissors and gardening tools.