Englander v. Rapid Care, Inc.

Whistleblower Peter Englander and settling party Rapid Care, Inc. (“Rapid Care”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on June 28, 2013, which resolved Englander’s allegations that Rapid Care sold adhesive bandages containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, Rapid Care agreed not to sell any adhesive bandages in California after December 1, 2013, unless the bandages contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Additionally, Rapid Care agreed to provide the reformulation standards to its vendors by July 31, 2013, and instruct the vendors to provide bandages that comply with the standards expeditiously.  Should Rapid Care provide written certification that by December 1, 2013, and continuing into the future, all adhesive bandages sold in California qualify as reformulated, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $44,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Englander and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.