Personal Injury Blog

Be Vigilant While Buying Toys This Holiday Shopping Season

December 2nd, 2011
holiday shopping season

Children may be at risk of injuries and fatalities from defective toys.

Over the next couple of weeks, people across the country will begin buying gifts for children during the holiday shopping season, and most indications are that toy safety concerns are much lower than they need to be.  However, there are still some groups of children who may be at a higher risk of injuries and fatalities from defective toys.

According to data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, toy recalls have been dropping substantially since 2008, when the groundbreaking new toy safety legislation was passed.  In fiscal 2011, there were 34 toy recalls.  That was a drop from 172 recalls in 2008.  However, in spite of the lower number of recalls, the fact is that some children are still at risk of injuries and fatalities.  For instance, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, toy-related deaths involving children below the age of fifteen actually increased in 2010.

Last year, 17 children died from toy -related accidents.  That was an increase from 12 in 2010.  Approximately 50% of these involved choking on balloons and balls.  In 2010, close to 252,000 children below the age of 15 were injured in accidents involving toys.  These injuries were serious enough for the children to be rushed to hospital emergency rooms.

What is disturbing to Los Angeles personal injury lawyers is that despite the fact that there has been an increased awareness about the safety of toys and other children’s products, the number of children being injured in toy-related accidents has remained more or less consistent over the years.  There hasn’t been the dramatic decline in these injuries that Los Angeles detective product lawyers were hoping for.  The toys that result in the most number of injuries every year are non-motorized scooters.

A number of recent recalls illustrate to parents and Los Angeles personal injury lawyers the safety challenges facing the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  Last week, the agency recalled tiny ball magnets from an office desk toy after these were found to pose a choking hazard to children.  According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, since 2009, at least 11 children have been hospitalized and required surgery after swallowing the tiny ball magnet.

In many cases, the Consumer Product Safety Commission finds itself powerless to regulate products.  For instance, many injuries and fatalities involving children below the age of 15 resulted from choking on balls and balloons.  These are widely used products that are very difficult for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to regulate.  Another choking hazard that has Los Angeles personal injury lawyers concerned is the risk of choking on button batteries that are used in remote controls and toys.  While toys for young children could come with button batteries that are more difficult to remove, there’s nothing that the Consumer Product Safety Commission can do to prevent the risks of choking on batteries from toys belonging to older children.

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