dangerous toys

Published on: December 12, 2017

Top 10 Dangerous Toys to Avoid This Holiday Season

From choking and suffocation hazards to burn risks, there are a number of ways that the toys on this year’s list of most dangerous toys of 2017 can harm your child. The consumer watchdog group World against Toys Causing Harm has made the job gift giving easier by compiling a list of the most dangerous toys this season. There have already been countless children injured in Georgia by these dangerous toys. If you’re considering buying any of the following toys as gifts, you may want to reconsider.

According to World against Toys Causing Harm, as reported by Consumer Reports, the toys on this year’s list are dangerous for a number of reasons.

The Hallmark Itty Bitty Baby Stacking Toy-These toys can pose a serious choking hazard to children. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled these toys in August 2017, but parents can still access these toys online.

Published on: July 1, 2017

CPSC Warns about Risks Involving Fidget Spinners

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Fidget spinners are all the craze. These are stress-relieving toys that are marketed as being an excellent tool to help people concentrate, maintain focus, and relieve stress and anxiety.

The public should be aware, however, that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning about swallowing risks involving fidget spinners. The agency says that it has received at least two reports of incidents involving children who swallowed parts of the popular gadget.

In one case that was reported to the CPSC, a 10-year-old girl swallowed a small piece of the toy and required surgery to have it removed from her intestine. In another case, a five-year-old boy swallowed a piece of the toy, began choking on it, and had to be rushed to the emergency department.

Published on: December 12, 2016

Avoid Dangerous Toys This Holiday Season

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Buying toys and gifts for loved ones this season? Here are some tips to keep in mind, especially if shopping for young children.

Many popular toys come with severe injury risks, specifically the risk of eye injuries. Injuries involving toys are far too common to ignore. The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that in 2014, there were approximately 251,800 injuries related to the use of toys reported to emergency rooms across the United States. That works out to approximately 500 child injuries every single day. Nearly 50% of these injuries involved children below the age of four. And a significant 44% of those injuries involved injuries to the face and head areas.

The eyes are especially vulnerable to impact from projectiles, or sharp edges on children’s toys. These injuries can be severe, and even have permanent effects on the victim. One study published recently in the JAMA Ophthalmology journal found that air guns, basketballs and baseballs cause approximately 50% of all sports-related eye injuries.

Published on: January 20, 2016

The Dangers of Hoverboards

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Everyone’s talking about the exciting new toy that has had even the Vatican horrified. Whether Santa dropped a hoverboard in your Christmas stocking, or you couldn’t resist the urge to buy one for yourself, there’s a lot to know about these very intriging, but dangerous toys.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), hoverboards have been involved in a number of fire-related hazards. The CPSC is actively investigating reported fires and will continue to do so as new reports are made.

The agency is also testing these damaged and burned hoverboards for answers to several questions:

Published on: November 25, 2013

Tips for Safe Holiday Gift Shopping for Children

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Most retailers across the country are reporting early holiday shopping this year as consumers start buying for family, co-workers, and friends.Many of those gifts will include children’s accessories, toys, and other products. This is the right time of the year to remind parents that the toys and products that they choose for their children must be safe from the risk of injuries.

Most injuries related to children’s products involve the face and head, including a large number to the eyes and forehead area. Unfortunately, there are far too many children’s toys that come with removable parts and sharp parts that pose a serious eye injury hazard.When you buy toys as gifts this holiday season, avoid toys that come with protruding parts, spikes, or sharp or pointed edges.

Avoid buying guns and shooting toys, or toys that come with parts that fly off. These can actually turn into dangerous projectiles, and can cause injuries not just to the child who is using the toy, but also other children and adults in the environment.

Published on: April 27, 2010

Choking Hazards for Children Analyzed

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Choking Is Still a Real Hazard for Children

In spite of concerted efforts by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to make children’s toys safer and choking-hazard free, thousands of children suffer a choking injury every year. Many of these choking incidents will be serious enough to require treatment in the hospital. According to a study, death is a very real possibility for those children who are admitted to a hospital for choking on a toy part or food.

The study looked at child hospital discharge data in 2003, and specifically noted 2,800 admissions for choking. Researchers found that approximately one in about every 30 kids hospitalized for choking, actually died in the hospital. The study also had one very interesting fact for Atlanta personal injury lawyers– about 25% of all choking-related hospital admissions were caused by toys or other products that were in compliance with Consumer Product Safety Commission regulations for these products.

Published on: November 30, 2009

How to Shop for Safe Toys During the Holidays

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Georgia Product Liability Lawyers Show You How to Shop for Safe Toys

The year’s biggest shopping season has begun, and millions of parents will be making the all-important decision – what to give the special little someone in your life. While choices are endless, there is always the question of safety.

For the last couple of years, there has been huge media and legislative attention on lead content in toys. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act set strict limits for lead paint on toys, and therefore, risks from lead contamination are now lower than they used to be. However, children continue to be at risk from toys with detachable parts, or sharp pointed parts that can pose penetration and choking hazards.

Published on: June 15, 2009

Mattel Settles CPSC Lead Paint Violation Allegations with $2.3 Million Fine

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Toymaker Mattel has agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle allegations that it imported and distributed toys that contained lead levels in paints that were in excess of federal standards.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the penalties, the highest ever for importation and distribution regulation violations by the agency, on its website. Mattel and its subsidiary Fisher Price, have been charged with importing toy that contained lead levels that were higher than the .06 percent by weight, mandated by federal laws. Mattel was charged with importing 900,000 toys that were non compliant with the standard, while Fisher Price, according to CPSC allegations imported more than 1.1 million toys that did not comply with those safety standards. With the fines, Mattel has put those allegations to rest.

The lead toy recall crisis of 2007 has had several positive effects – Congress moved to equip the generally-regarded-as toothless CPSC with more powers to prevent such crises. This led to the implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which sets standards for lead in children’s products including toys, among other standards.

Published on: January 24, 2009

Worst Toys of 2008 – Will 2009 Be Any Better?

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

The year 2000 was the year of several dangerous toy recalls, many of which were the focus of product liability lawsuits around the country.This list of the 10 most dangerous toys of 2008 includes toys that pose hazards of choking and aspiration, lead contaminated toys as well as those that are prone to fire and burn hazards.

It isn’t clear if the list is in any particular order of danger or number of injuries caused, but it kicks off with Air Hogs RC Helicopters that came with the danger of exploding lithium-powered batteries.Many of the toy related scares of 2008 – and there were plenty of them – were linked to children being able to remove the detachable magnets from toys, and swallow these. Several dozen children were rushed to emergency rooms with perforated intestines, after swallowing magnets that later began to stick to each other through intestinal walls. Most of these injuries required surgery.The toys that came with magnets attached included earrings that contained a small magnet inside, and these make it to the list too. Other noteworthy defective playthings include backpacks containing off-the-chart levels of lead contamination, balloon sets, Dora the Explorer Lamps (which are actually electrical items and not really play things, but try explaining that to kids who see their favorite Dora on the lamp, and want to play with her), and high decibel High School Musical Rockerz.

Also on the list are children’s toys containing phthalates, a chemical compound that is often mixed with plastic to make it softer. These have been found connected to reproductive problems in male children, including a drop in testosterone levels, as well as genital abnormalities.Linking phthalates to these disorders has been the easy part – the challenge lies in finding out what products contain these chemicals, present as they are in a variety of consumer products, from air fresheners to teething rings.Phthalates are never mentioned in the list of ingredients, which means that most of us who use these cosmetics, perfumes, cleaners, and toys risk being exposed to them every day.Expect to hear more reports of injuries and illnesses associated with phthalates use in toys in 2009.