Parents, Beware of Dangerous Toys
If you’re like many parents, the weeks after the holiday season can be a bit of a blur – especially when it comes to finding a place for your kids’ new toys. Keeping an eye on toy recalls is important because it ensures the safety of children. In unfortunate instances where a child gets injured due to a recalled toy, seeking legal advice becomes of utmost importance to navigate the complexities of potential litigation.
Recent recalls of toys and children’s products
In this post, we’re reviewing some of the most recent recalls for toys and children’s products. For a full list of toy and product recalls, visit the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) website.
UBBCARE Play Yard Mattresses
Play mattresses are supposed to help keep your children safe while in their cribs, but the UBBCARE mattresses are in violation of federal safety guidelines, and pose a suffocation hazard. These mattresses were sold exclusively on Amazon and failed thickness and warning requirements put in place to keep children safe.
Ride Aventon Recalls Sinch.2 Folding E-Bicycles
E-bikes were a hot commodity this year, but they pose risks. The Sinch.2 e-bikes (in blue and in silver) can accelerate suddenly and without warning. These sudden accelerations pose crash and injury risks as children can lose control of the e-bike when this occurs.
Relax 5mm Science Kit
This Joybuy kit contains 216 magnetic balls, about 5mm in diameter. Per the CPSC, “the sets contain one or more magnets that fit within CPSC’s small parts cylinder, and the magnets are stronger than permitted. When high-powered magnets are swallowed, the ingested magnets can attract each other, or another metal object, and become lodged in the digestive system.” The hazard risks include “perforations, twisting and/or blockage of the intestines, infection, blood poisoning, and death.” At least seven deaths are linked to these magnetic balls creating a very serious concern for parents.
13-Piece Toy Mushroom Peg Sorters
Visually appealing to those who enjoy soft pastel colors, this toy is a simple peg-in-hole type game; however, Target’s 13-Piece Toy Mushroom Peg Sorters was recalled in November 16, 2023 due to the stems of the mushrooms being able to become detached from the larger cap of the mushroom. These detachable pegs presented a choking hazard to young children.
Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway
Thomas the Tank Engine has been around since 1945, so it’s unfortunate that the Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway makes this list of recalled items. According to the CPSC: “The small plastic piece containing a high-powered magnet that connects one train to another can detach or become loose, posing choking and magnet ingestion hazards.”
This Thomas & Friends toy was recalled October 19, 2023 due to various issues with the toy. Other than choking, swallowing magnets can be extremely dangerous, as, according to UC Davis pediatric gastroenterologist Sunpreet Kaur, “when swallowed, these magnets can attach to each other through the bowel, leading to fistulas, which are abnormal connections between two parts inside of the body, or they can create holes in the intestines.”
The FORT Children’s Play Tents
Kids love building forts with pillows, blankets, and cushions so much that companies have begun producing “prepackaged forts” for kids to assemble. The FORT Children’s Play Tent is an attractive choice for parents who don’t want their furniture stolen for the sake of playtime. Unfortunately, “the magnets used to connect the various pieces of The FORT can become dislodged from their pouches, posing choking and laceration hazards to young children.” This item was recalled on October 12, 2023, due to these issues.
Chuckle & Roar Ultimate Water Beads Activity Kits
On social media and the internet, water beads have become very popular toys. Water beads are generally sold in bulk and come in many colors. At first, they are hard and small, but once put into water they become almost gelatinous. This is an appealing play activity has gotten a lot of attention for the visual transformation of the water beads.
Unfortunately, water beads are extremely hazardous especially to young children who have a tendency to put small objects in their mouths. When water beads, such as the Chuckle & Roar Ultimate Water Beads Activity Kit are ingested, , “it expands and can pose ingestion, choking and intestinal obstruction hazards inside a child’s body, resulting in severe discomfort, vomiting, dehydration and a risk of death to a child.”
Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark
The last toy on our list made headlines this past summer for wide-reaching concerns. This is because approximately 7.5 million toys had to be recalled due to “risks of impalement, lacerations and punctures.” Zuru LLC’s Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing Swin Bath Toys and mini-size Robo Alive Junior Mini Baby Shark Swimming Bath Toys were recalled on June 22, 2023. According to CNN, “Zuru said it is aware of 12 reports of children suffering ‘impalement injuries, lacerations and puncture wounds’ after falling or sitting on the full-size version of the Baby Shark bath product, the news release said.”
If you have any of these products currently, you need to stop their usage as soon as possible. You can get refunds for many of these products by going to the manufacturer’s website (though some of the companies selling these toys have gone under and no longer exist, so a refund may not be available in those instances).
My child was hurt by a recalled product; what now?
Toys are recalled because of harm they have caused children or other consumers. If your child got hurt before the toy was recalled or before you were alerted by a notice from the company, there’s a chance you can seek compensation through a lawsuit. The restitution that you can receive from a lawsuit can cover your child’s medical bills, costs related to ongoing treatments, and their pain and suffering.
If your child was injured after the recall was issued, you may still be able to file a products liability lawsuit depending on several matters, such as whether or not proper notice was given by the company of the recall. In these cases, we recommend holding onto the defective toy and keeping it in a safe space so that it can be used in your case.
At Wilt Injury Lawyers, we take cases involving the safety of children extremely seriously. Toys are meant to bring joy, not pain and harm. If your child has been harmed from playing with a defective and/or recalled toy, call us immediately. We know how to handle product liability cases such as these, and we will make the legal process as stress-free as possible as you focus on taking care of your injured child. To schedule a free consultation, call our Kentucky lawyers at one of our offices in Lexington or Louisville, or use our contact page.