Toys

Birmingham, Alabama

Defective Toys
Each year, thousands of children wind up in the emergency room as a result of defective and dangerous toys. It is a parent's responsibility to carefully inspect toys for choking hazards, and make sure all objects are appropriate for that child's age level before purchasing them. Parents often become overconfident and buy toys that are too advanced for their child's age group. This leads to misuse, and increases the likelihood of injury. Even toys that function perfectly can become hazardous if they are used improperly.

In past three decades, federals laws have been enacted to prevent dangerous toys from falling into the hands of innocent children. Enforced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the first law was passed in 1979: a ban on the manufacture's use of small parts to protect youngsters from choking. Then in 1994, Congress passed the Child Safety Protection Act (CSPA), requiring choking hazard warning labels on potentially dangerous toys.

Defective Toys Still Line Shelves
But despite these laws and the preventive measures parents and toy manufacturers are taking, families continue being impacted by toy-related injuries each year. And defective toys continue to find their way onto the shelves to toy stores across America.

Toy Hospitalizations
In 2002, about 72,000 children younger than 5-years-old were admitted to the emergency room and treated for toy-related injuries.

Lead paint in children's toys is also an issue that catching the attention of Congress. Lawmakers called the summer of 2007 the "summer of recalls" in the toy industry as millions of Chinese-made toys were recalled for dangerous levels of lead paint. These toys ranged from Thomas the Tank Engine toys to Mattel magnets to Disney's Baby Einstein blocks. Even small traces of lead can cause brain damage and other serious health problems when ingested by a young child. Click here to see which toys ranked the 10 worst in 2006.

The most common injuries from children's toys include:

• Choking on small toy parts and balloons
• Eye injuries from projectile toys
• Burns and/or electrocution from electric toys that are misused or defective
• Strangulation from toys with long chords or string
• Hearing damage from toys that exceed decibel level limits
• Exposure to toxic metals or chemicals
• Entanglement in toys or equipment netting

If your child has been injured by a dangerous or defective toy, contact the Birmingham personal injury lawyers at Burke, Harvey & Frankowski. You may be able to recover damages from the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer of a hazardous toy. Call or e-mail us today for a free consultation.

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