Dangerous toys with small or detachable parts can cause serious injury to young children.
Dangerous Toys Lawyer: What to Do If Your Child is Injured
Children love to play with toys, but sometimes those toys can be dangerous. If your child has been injured by a dangerous toy, you may be entitled to compensation from the toy manufacturer or retailer. A dangerous toys lawyer can help you understand your legal rights and options and fight for the full and fair compensation your child deserves.
What are Dangerous Toys?
A dangerous toy is any toy that is defective or unsafe and that can cause injury to a child. Some common examples of dangerous toys include:
- Toys with small parts that can be a choking hazard
- Toys with sharp edges or points that can cause cuts or puncture wounds
- Toys with toxic chemicals or materials that can cause poisoning
- Toys that are poorly designed or manufactured and that can break or malfunction, causing injuries:
Magnetic toys can be dangerous for children, especially young children under the age of 6. This is because young children are more likely to put toys in their mouths and swallow them. If a child swallows two or more magnets, the magnets can attract each other in the child’s stomach or intestines and cause serious injuries, such as:
- Intestinal perforation: This is a hole in the lining of the intestines. It can cause severe pain, bleeding, and infection.
- Intestinal blockage: This is when the magnets block the intestines and prevent food from passing through. It can cause severe pain, vomiting, and constipation.
- Death: In rare cases, swallowing magnets can lead to death.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has banned the sale of high-powered magnets that are small enough to be swallowed by children. However, there are still some magnetic toys on the market that pose a danger to children. If your child has been injured by a magnetic toy, contact the child injury lawyers at DRS Law today.
How Can I Tell If a Toy is Dangerous?
There are a few things you can look for to determine if a toy is dangerous:
- The age range on the toy’s packaging. Toys that are not age-appropriate can be dangerous for young children.
- The size of the toy’s parts. Toys with small parts should be kept away from young children who could choke on them.
- The toy’s design and construction. Toys that are poorly designed or manufactured can break or malfunction, causing injuries.
- The toy’s label. Toys should have clear and concise safety warnings.
If you have any concerns about the safety of a toy, it is best to err on the side of caution and keep it away from your child.
What Should I Do If My Child is Injured by a Dangerous Toy?
If your child is injured by a dangerous toy, the first thing you should do is seek medical attention. Once your child is safe and stable, you should contact a dangerous toys lawyer. A lawyer can help you:
- Determine if your child’s injury was caused by a dangerous toy
- Investigate the toy’s manufacturer or retailer
- File a product liability lawsuit
- Obtain compensation for your child’s medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages
Contact a Dangerous Toys Lawyer Today
If your child has been injured by a dangerous toy, you need to act fast. The statute of limitations for product liability lawsuits in most states is two years, so you only have a limited amount of time to file a claim. Contact a dangerous toys lawyer today to discuss your child’s case and protect your legal rights.
Here are some resources that you may find helpful:
- Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC): https://www.cpsc.gov/
- National Safety Council (NSC): https://www.nsc.org/
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): https://www.aap.org/
Injuries from Dangerous Toys
In 2018 alone, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported over 225,000 toy-related injuries in the United States. Over a third of these cases involved children younger than five. In the same year, the CPSC reported 17 toy-related deaths in children under age 15.
According to the CPSC, common toy-related injuries included abrasions, cuts, and fractures. For children under age 5, ingestions and internal injuries were common as well. Some of these injuries can occur when children misuse toys. Other injuries, however, result from toys with dangerous flaws or inadequate parent safety warnings.
Recalls and Dangerous Toy Lists
In response to the high rates of toy-related injuries, some organizations are taking action to warn the public of dangerous toys. One organization, known as WATCH (“World Against Toys Causing Harm”) publishes an annual list of the “10 Worst Toys” for child safety. 2019’s list included stuffed animals with removable fur, a powerful dart gun, and slime sets that contained toxic chemicals. Most of the toys on the WATCH toy list look harmless; many parents would not suspect the dangers they could pose to young children.
In addition to dangerous toy lists, recalls are another way to alert the public to dangerous toys. Recalls occur when a manufacturer or government agency discovers that a toy is too dangerous to be sold to consumers. A list of current toy recalls for 2020 is available here. Unfortunately, recalls usually occur only after children have suffered injury from dangerous toys.
When a child suffers toy-related injuries, the child’s family may seek reparations from the toy’s manufacturer. To hold the manufacturer responsible for such injuries, plaintiffs may bring a product liability claim.
Child injury lawyers are experienced attorneys who specialize in representing children who have been injured in accidents. They have the knowledge and skills necessary to help families navigate the legal system and obtain the compensation they deserve.
If your child has been injured in an accident, it is important to contact the Nashville child injury lawyers at DRS Law as soon as possible. We can help you understand your legal rights, gather evidence, and file a lawsuit if necessary. They can also advocate for your child’s best interests throughout the legal process.
Child injury lawyers can help families recover compensation for a variety of damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. They can also help families secure benefits from insurance companies and government agencies.
If you are concerned about your child’s safety, or if your child has been injured in an accident, contact a child injury lawyer today. They can help you get the justice and compensation you deserve.
Product Liability Claims for Toys
Like other product liability claims, there are three main types of actions for toy-related injuries:
Manufacturing Flaws
Manufacturing flaws occur unintentionally during the production process. To catch such flaws, toy manufacturers should use quality control procedures to ensure each toy is produced safely. If a toy is accidentally produced with loose parts, faulty batteries, or other dangerous flaws, families who are harmed by flawed toys may bring an action under a manufacturing flaw theory.
Design Flaws
Design flaws occur when a manufacturer designs a product in a way that later turns out to be unsafe. Unlike manufacturing flaws, which occur unintentionally during the production process, design flaws are inherent in the toy itself. Toy manufacturers are responsible for testing new toys to ensure that their designs are safe before they’re released to consumers. If a manufacturer does not adequately test a new toy design, it may be liable for resulting injuries.
Failure to Warn
“Failure to warn” lawsuits argue that a toy manufacturer did not provide adequate warning of a toy’s hazards. A toy’s packaging should clearly note elements like small parts and potentially toxic materials. If a toy manufacturer fails to warn parents of a toy’s dangers, and injury occurs, the toy manufacturer may be liable.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a dangerous toy, contact the product liability toy injury lawyers at DRS Law Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation. Our Tennessee product liability attorneys are ready to guide you on the next steps for your dangerous toy injury case.