Petzl America Recalls Scorpio and Absorbica Safety Lanyards due to Fall Hazard

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #11276) was formally reported on July 12, 2011. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. The recalling firm is not specified in the federal record. Federal records indicate About 375,000 units worldwide units are affected, a scale large enough to require multi-state distribution tracking.

The documented reason for this recall is: Some lanyards are missing a safety stitch on the attachment loop, which can cause the lanyard to disconnect from the climbing harness, posing a fall hazard to consumers. Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: Consumers should immediately stop using the lanyards and contact Petzl America Inc. for a free inspection and replacement of any non-conforming products. — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 6 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 15 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.