Pennsylvania Injury Lawyer Blog

Larry E. Coben, an attorney at the personal injury law firm Anapol Schwartz, was on KYW 1060 to discuss toy safety, an important topic during the holiday season. Toys are a major part of holiday gift-giving, but it isn’t always fun and games with toys if parents aren’t careful and aware of the dangers toys can pose to their children.

You can listen to the clip that aired here or read excerpts from the radio show on CBS Philly.

Mr. Coben’s rule of thumb regarding toy safety is that parents should always assume that the toys they purchase for their children will be used in the most dangerous way possible. This includes, but isn’t limited to, a child swallowing the toy or parts of the toy. Also, parents should always expect the worse with a toy, which can help them decide what toy is and what toy isn’t appropriate for their child to play with.

Mr. Coben also recommends that parents check the website of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) before doing any shopping for children to see if any toys or other child products have recently been recalled. When shopping, he cautions parents to read the age-range label that is listed on all toys, but warns parents that it’s just a guess by the manufacturer, not a standard in place by the government on what is truly appropriate for a child. Parents should also be aware that while they may purchase one toy for a certain child, children share. It is very likely the toy will be used by many children, even if the toy is not appropriate for them.

Regarding dolls and clothes, Mr. Coben reminds parents that with the return of cold weather comes space heaters. Children who come in close contact with a space heater while wearing or holding something that is very flammable are at a great risk of catching fire and suffering burn injuries.

Parents of children who have been injured by an unsafe toy have a legal right to seek compensation from a negligent manufacturer. At Anapol Schwartz, our Pennsylvania defective toy injury lawyers have many years of experience successfully representing children who have been injured by a dangerous toy. We will work hard to make sure your family is compensated adequately. Call our law office today at 1-866-735-2792 and we can help you understand your legal options in pursuing an unsafe toy lawsuit.

A new report recently released by the American Association for Justice (AAJ) entitled, “Playing with Safety: Dangerous Toys and the Role of America’s Civil Justice System,” highlights some dangers that are hidden in popular toys today that consumers may not be aware of. Despite rigorous safety standards, which were recently improved, there are still unforeseen toy hazards. The AAJ makes the case that these hazards show there is a strong necessity for a civil justice system to protect children and hold negligent toy manufacturers liable.

The full report can be viewed at www.justice.org/toys.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there have been over 850 toy product recalls since 1974. Many of these recalls were due to the presence of lead, magnets, and other hazards that were hidden in children’s toys. Toy-related injuries rose by 12 percent between 2004 and 2008. Alarmingly, these injuries have risen by a shocking 54 percent over the past 10 years.

These injuries are directly related to the under-resourced CPSC, which is flooded with new products that enter the United States marketplace. Many consumers may not be aware that the U.S. imports over 30,000 tons of toys from foreign markets annually, which accounts for approximately 95 percent of toys that are sold in the county. There were only 15 inspectors to monitor U.S. ports for all products until 2007. Only one of these inspectors was allotted to conduct toy safety tests. One repercussion of the CPSC’s regulatory powerlessness is that dangerous products may be on store shelves for years before the public is aware of their dangers. An analysis by Public Citizen of consumer recalls discovered that manufacturers waited an average of 993 days before informing the CPSC of defects. The agency then waited an extra 209 days before alerting the public.

Additionally, other nations do not have regulations that are as strict as America’s. For instance, dangerous levels of cadmium were discovered to be present in jewelry for children earlier this year. Cadmium is a metal that toxic and cancer-causing. It was ranked number seven on the federal government’s list of substances known to be most hazardous. The resulting investigation discovered the metal’s origin was China, where the use of the toxic metal was prompted by their recent lead prohibition.

All consumers need to be aware of the hazards that toys can pose to their children, even if the product is used properly. There may be inherent dangers that are present in the toy, or defects that even the manufacturer isn’t yet aware of. When holiday shopping this year, parents should pay great attention to toy product safety.

The unsafe toy lawyers at Anapol Schwartz have handled many cases involving child injury and a defective toy. Call us today at 866-735-2792 to speak with one of our attorneys who can help you determine whether you have a substantial case against a toy manufacturer. We offer free consultations.

Recently, one of the attorneys at Anapol Schwartz was featured on Philadelphia Fox 29 to discuss the importance of toy safety and holiday shopping for parents. Now, new research released today shows the importance of keeping child safety in mind when purchasing toys for your child and monitoring their use of the product to prevent child injuries from occurring.

On November 18, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released a new report showing that there has been a significant decline in toy recalls since 2008. In the 2010 fiscal year, there were 44 toy recalls, which is down from 50 toy recalls in 2009 and 172 toy recalls in 2008.

The data in the CPSC report also shows that toy-related fatalities also decreased in 2009. The CPSC received reports of 12 children deaths (children under the age of 15) that year, which is down from 24 toy-related deaths in both 2007 and 2008. Most of these fatalities were from motor vehicle accidents, drowning, or airway obstruction from a small toy or a small part of a toy.

The CPSC attributes these declines to new toy safeguards that have been put into place, including: establishing low lead content and lead paint limits that are the lowest in the world; limiting the use of certain phthalates; creating a mandatory toy standard from a voluntary toy standard; and collaborating with the Customs and Border Protection systems to track product shipments in transit from around the world and thereby increasing the effectiveness in finding hazardous toy products imported into the U.S.

However, new statistics in the CPSC report show that injuries that are toy-related are increasing. In 2009, there were approximately 186,000 children treated in emergency rooms for injuries associated with toys, which is an increase from 152,000 such injuries in 2005.

To reduce child injuries this holiday season, the CPSC is encouraging parents to adopt what they are calling a “three-pronged safety approach.” First, they recommend parents chose age-appropriate toys for their children when purchasing holiday gifts. Second, they suggest parents purchase safety gear when shopping for sports-related items or toys such as bicycles or skates. Third, they advise parents to always be aware of their child and the surrounding environment when they are playing with toys, and avoid playing in or near hazardous areas such as roads, pools, and kitchens.

Parents of children injured by unsafe toys have a right to seek compensation for their child’s injuries and hold negligent toy manufacturers accountable for injuries their product caused. The Philadelphia unsafe toy attorneys at Anapol Schwartz have represented many children and their families in lawsuits involving toy manufacturers and will work hard to ensure their clients are adequately compensated. Call us today at 1-866-735-2792 if you believe you have an unsafe toy case. We can help you understand your legal options.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there was a 21 percent increase in injuries caused by high chairs, strollers, cribs, and other nursery products in 2009 compared to 2008, as reported by online news outlet Bloomberg. There was an estimated 77,300 visits to the emergency room related to injuries from products marketed for children aged five and younger. In 2008, there were 63,700 such hospital visits.

Recently, attorney Larry Coben from the personal injury law firm of Anapol Schwartz was featured on Philadelphia Fox 29 to discuss toy safety when shopping during this holiday season. Mr. Coben has practiced law for over 30 years and has extensive experience representing children injured by toys.

When asked what he hears parents say they wish they had done differently to potentially prevent their child from suffering injury, Mr. Coben said parents regret not knowing how their child was going to use the toy that caused the injury. Parents need to think about how children could possibly misuse a toy by reading all the fine print in the instructions that accompanies a child product. Parents also need to make sure a toy is age appropriate for their child, and not buy a toy their child shouldn’t yet be playing with.

Mr. Coben notes that it takes manufacturers anywhere from six months to a year to realize a product needs to be recalled if injuries are reported, so there could potentially be toys on store shelves right now that are dangerous for children to use. Ultimately, the burden rests with the parents to pay attention when shopping for toys for their children to prevent injuries from occurring.

When purchasing a toy for a child under the age of four, Mr. Coben recommends taking the tube from a roll of toilet paper and seeing whether the product can pass through the tube. If it can, the toy could pose a choking danger to a child, and shouldn’t be given to them because it can potentially lead to death.

To view the news clip, click here.

If your child has been injured by a toy, consulting with an experienced personal injury attorney can help you determine whether you have a substantial child injury case. An attorney can also help you understand your legal rights and options.