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CPSC Report Outlines Toy-Related Child Injuries in 2008

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has released a report on toy-related deaths and injuries of children for the year 2008. The report will be of interest to California product liability lawyers, parents and caregivers. The CPSC analysis of toy related injuries in 2008 throws up some interesting facts.

• Last year, 19 deaths occurred because of toy related accidents in children below the age of 15.
• Most deaths were linked to the use of riding toys. Four deaths occurred by the use of tricycles and four others were associated with the use of non motorized riding toys.
• There were also deaths from drowning, choking from a small toy or from a small part of the toy.
• Besides tricycles, rubble balls posed a choking hazard and were responsible for one fatality in 2008. Balloons and non motorized scooters accounted for one death each last year, while other kinds of balls accounted for two fatalities last year.
• In 2008, approximately 235,300 toy-related injuries had to be treated in emergency rooms.
• Between 2006 and 2008, there was an average of 229,600 toy related injuries.
• 47 percent of toy-related injuries that had to be treated in an emergency room comprised abrasions, lacerations and contusions. Out of these, 45 percent of injuries were sustained to the head and face.
• Out of all these toy related injuries that had to be treated in an emergency room, 73 percent involved kids below the age of below 16. 35 percent involved children below the age of 5.
• Among children below the age of 15, 25 percent were injured by the use of non motorized scooters.

The CPSC report includes other ways that children had been killed in accidents involving toys.

• In one such incident, a 12-month-old child drowned when he was in the bathtub. The drain plug has been pulled, but a bath toy blocked the drain, preventing the water from draining and leading to the boy’s death.
• A 2-year-old boy drowned when he was trying to retrieve a playing disk from a pool.
• A 21-month old boy died when he became entrapped between the lid and box of a toy box.
• A 3-year-old boy died when he was trying to retry a foam block from a pool, and fell in…..

Other injuries that had to be treated in an emergency room comprised fractures which accounted for 35 percent of injuries, and strains and sprains which accounted for 12 percent. Other injuries included internal injuries, punctures, body penetration, dislocation, concussions and ingestion.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has been making efforts to enforce stricter safety standards protecting children from injuries and health issues. The agency’s most notable achievements have been made in the field of lead content standards. Last year, Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The Act sets stricter standards for the maximum allowed lead content in toys, as well as the concentration of phthalates that have been found to have serious effects on children’s reproductive health..

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of product liability. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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