P&G Settles Pampers Suit With Token Payment to Parents

Procter & Gamble has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit over its Pampers Dry Max diapers, which parents said caused severe rashes on their children's skin. But the 59 parents who filed the suit will be getting a token payment of only $1,000 each, a payment P&G says is for their time and trouble, not compensation for any actual injuries or damage.

The company has always steadfastly maintained that the problems some parents experienced with the Dry Max diapers, saying the new, thinner diapers use materials that have been common since the 1980s.

The settlement, which would pay up to $2.7 million in legal fees, must still win court approval. It also calls for P&G to spend $400,000 on training programs about pediatric skin care.

P&G also said it will add a paragraph to the Pampers packaging that includes a reference to the Pampers website and a toll-free number that parents can call for more information.

P&G introduced the new diapers last year, adding the so-called Dry Max construction to two of its diaper varieties, Swaddlers and Cruisers, promoting them as thinner yet more absorbent than regular Pampers.

Parents soon began complaining of problems with the new formulation.

"After purchasing Pampers Cruisers Size 4 diapers with Dry Max, my daughter Isabel began to get a very severe diaper rash with open sores and burns," Kathryn, of Woodbury, Minn., told ConsumerAffairs.com in May 2010. "It caused so much discomfort that she screamed at changing time and began to hold her urine and bowel movements."

Lorea of Paso Robles, Calif., said that her six-month-old son recent developed "this burn-like rash that looks as though it is melting his skin off." Lorea said that she has "always loved Pampers Swaddlers and would recommend them to anyone" but now warns her friends against them.

Harsh reaction

P&G reacted harshly to the complaints, essentially calling the parents liars.

"For a number of weeks, Pampers has been a subject of growing but completely false rumors fueled by social media that its new Dry Max diaper causes rashes and other skin irritations," said Jodi Allen, P&G Vice President for Pampers. 

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) investigated the complaints but didn't pinpoint the cause of the complaints.

“[T]the review has not identified any specific cause linking Dry Max diapers to diaper rash," the CPSC said last September.. The agency said that from April through August 2010, it received nearly 4,700 incident reports about diaper rash. Nearly 85 percent of these complaints came in May and then dropped off significantly.

Complaints may have fallen off but they have not gone away. ConsumerAffairs.com continues to hear from parents experiencing the same problem.

“We purchased Pampers diapers for my grand-daughter born Dec 10/10. At 2 weeks old she developed a rash. At 3 weeks old she developed blisters even though her Mom changed her constantly and creams were ineffective. A change in diaper brand to Huggies and the rash and blisters cleared right up,” said Sandy of Lakefield, Ontario, earlier this year..

P&G greeted news of the tentative settlement by again blaming consumers. "This agreement allows us another opportunity to educate our consumers on important issues regarding their babies' health," said Fama Francisco, P&G North America's general manager for baby care.