When Christmas Gifts Attack

Over 3 billion children's toys are produced each year, and some of these can pose serious health and safety risks to children. Even with close supervision, dangerous or defective toys can cause lacerations, burns, hearing loss, and many other forms of injury including loss of life. These risks are anything but child's play.

Toy Risks

Suffocation

Products such as plush pillows or heavy bedding can suffocate small children. Many of these products are not marked as creating a risk of suffocation. Rather, they are marketed as being safe for children of certain ages. The same is true for other toys such as play sets that contain small figurines children can ingest and choke on.

Vision Loss

Projectile-throwing toys such as slingshots and NERF guns can easily cause loss of vision if the projectile strikes a child's eye. The risk is greater for high-powered toys that are designed to fling projectiles over great distances.

Burns

Toys such as those that operate using Lithium Ion batteries can catch fire and explode without warning. Many toys such as Hoverboards have been recalled due to the extreme risk of personal injury and property damage that they pose.

Hearing Loss

Any noise exposure over 90 dB can cause hearing loss. This hearing loss may not become apparent for many years after the child is exposed to the noise.

Toxic Exposure

Many toys are manufactured abroad using chemicals and materials that are not approved for sale in the United States. Lead paints and other chemicals can leech through children's skin or become ingested. This can poison the child, and in the most egregious circumstances, could lead to cancer.

Resource for Parents

An individual's personal injury lawyer in Algonquin can file both personal injury and product liability claims against toy manufacturers, distributors, and retailers who sell dangerous or defective toys. In Illinois, the statute of limitations for both personal injury and product liability claims is 2 years, while the statute of limitations for property damage claims is 5 years.

If a child is injured by a defective or dangerous toy, parents should thoroughly document the injury. This includes taking photographs of the injury and property damage, maintaining records of medical treatment and repair bills, and any correspondence from the company. This information can help show the extent of the injuries and the impact the injuries have had on the child's life.