Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog

Anyone worried about child safety consumer products here is a link for you. An investigative report has found that many children toy recalls have followed after children have suffered serious injuries and even death following playing with toys with magnets. The serious personal injuries suffered by children nationwide caused Chicago, Illinois reporters to look into the situation. Investigations have pushed congressional legislation to address safety in children’s toys. Additionally many children’s car seats and children’s cribs have been recall due to safety hazards. Product liability suits can result from the use of defective cribs and defective car seats which may put a child’s life in danger. To read several articles about these current news issues and to see videos discussing safety tips for consumers click here.

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Posted In: Current Issues , Dangerous toys , Injuries to Minors and Children , Products liability , Toys

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Anyone worried about child safety consumer products here is a link for you. An investigative report has found that many children toy recalls have followed after children have suffered serious injuries and even death following playing with toys with magnets. The serious personal injuries suffered by children nationwide caused Chicago, Illinois reporters to look into the situation. Investigations have pushed congressional legislation to address safety in children’s toys. Additionally many children’s car seats and children’s cribs have been recall due to safety hazards. Product liability suits can result from the use of defective cribs and defective car seats which may put a child’s life in danger. To read several articles about these current news issues and to see videos discussing safety tips for consumers click here.

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Posted In: Current Issues , Dangerous toys , Injuries to Minors and Children , Products liability , Toys

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Mattel, Inc, a toymaker, argued to lawmakers that the company should be permitted to conduct its own certification tests, meaning that their own labs will test for product defects in their toys. Independent testing of toys was supposed to be the key in Congress’ attempt to improve the U.S. product-safety system. However, House and Senate provisions have been added to a bill that originally mandated independent testing, now allowing companies to bypass independent testing if they can get federal approval of their in-house testing laboratories. To benefit the most from the provisions are large toy manufacturers, who are more likely to have the sophisticated facilities necessary to conduct tests “equal or greater” in safety protection than independent testing. However, there is an obvious conflict of interest involved in companies testing their own products, which is what opponents point out to Congress. Both the Senate and the House will meet Wednesday to discuss product-safety measures, likely including the amendment at issue here. With the recent rash of lead tainted toys, product safety has come to the forefront, to learn more about the so called "Mattel amendment", click here.

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The National Toxicology Program released a draft report in April of this year that showed that BPA, found in certain plastics, may cause injuries to children and infants, specifically it has been linked to neural and behavioral effects in children and babies. In light of this new information, parents may be concerned about buying plastic cups for their children. Gail Prins, a BPA researcher from University of Illinois at Chicago, recently answered some common questions from parents regarding BPA. First, if a plastic container has BPA in it, the triangle on the bottom should contain the number 7. There is also a possibility that freezing certain plastics release dioxin, though information linking freezing to the release of toxins is relatively new. Finally, the opacity of the plastic should not be used to determine whether it has BPA in it, again, the best way to tell is to look at the number marking. There is a potential for product liability lawsuits in the future, but since manufacturers now know about the effects of BPA on children, hopefully the chemical will stop being used for children's cups and toys.

Read more here.

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On November 21, 2007, flashing pacifiers were recalled by Sailing (U.S.) International Corp. Whenever people make jokes about lawyers, and especially plaintiff’s lawyers, I like to point out how many harmful situations and products are made safe due to the tireless work of lawyers. While I am not sure what prompted this particular recall of pacifiers, and I am not familiar with the company that recalled them, I shudder to think of the dangerous products which would never be recalled if not for the potential of personal injury lawsuits.

For details on the pacifier recall click here.

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Posted In: Current Issues , Dangerous toys , Injuries to Minors and Children , Products liability , Toys

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With the recent problems with lead present in toys and other products liability issues in addition to the upcoming holiday season, Chicago products liability lawyers Levin & Perconti is offering tips for avoiding dangerous toys in the household.

1. Always supervise children when they are charging batteries or using a toys that require something to be plugged in.
2. Read a toy’s label. Look at a toy’s age and safety recommendations.
3. Pick toys with parts firmly attached. Do not buy toys with a lot of loose parts for little children.
4. Throw out plastic wrapping after toys are opened. Plastic wrapping can also be dangerous for children in a household.

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A products liability lawsuit has been filed against toymakers who took part in distributing toys with an unlawful amount of lead present. The products liability lawsuit says that the companies knowingly exposed consumers to harmful contaminants. The lawsuit was filed under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, which places the burden for inspecting products for safety on the shoulders of manufacturers and retailers. This year, six million toys including lunch boxes, dolls, and action figures have been recalled because they contained toxic chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects.

For the full article.

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Simplicity Inc. is voluntarily recalling about one million units of their defective Simplicity Infant Crib, made in China. Three infant deaths have shown that incorrect installation of a drop side of the crib could occur easily and that a baby could fall into a gap large enough to become trapped. In an older style of the crib, 55 incidents had been reported. The new version has proven to be equally flawed, with incorrect installation also easy. It is not know where the assembly instructions were printed, but if they were made in China as well, it is likely that due to language barriers instruction booklets could be confusing. However, problems have also been reported with correctly installed cribs. It is not known whether any product liability lawsuits have been filed.

Continue reading "Recall: Simplicity Cribs have led to infant deaths" »

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Illinois is one of the states where parents of children may be allowed to sue Mattel for recalled toys even where their children have not yet shown physical harm. The Wall Street Journal reports that Illinois and California are states where plaintiffs may be able to demand that companies like Mattel pay for medical tests for children who have been exposed to these dangerous toys by setting up medical-monitoring funds.

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Posted In: Dangerous toys , Toys

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