Gizmodo has an interesting compilation of 10 incredibly dangerous and ill-advised toys that have since been banned. Our firm successfully represented many of the people (most of them children) harmed by these defective products including Aqua Dots, Wego Kite Tubes and Buckyballs.
The article notes, “In the notorious examples listed here, throwing a tantrum to get a toy can quickly turn into convulsing from its unintended effects. Some of these banned toys were the result of oversights. Others are so glaringly dangerous that it’s a wonder they were ever put into children’s hands in the first place.”
“Whether oversights or glaringly dangerous, these defects and many others like them result from a basic failure to follow best practices in safe product design. In just about every product defect case in which our firm is involved – from toys, food products to medical devices – manufacturers are either oblivious to or willfully chose to ignore standard protocols for the safe design of products.” — Attorney Fred Pritzker
5 Toys Recalled after Serious Injury or Death
Our list of incredibly dangerous toys is a bit different from the Gizmodo list because the toys listed below were recalled after reports of serious injuries and deaths. Many of the toys on Gizmodo’s list had no reports of injury.
#1 – Magnetix Magnetic Building Sets
High-powered magnets are fun to play with but dangerous if ingested. We have had clients as old as 13 who swallowed two or more little high-powered magnets and needed surgery to repair or remove part of their small intestine. What happens is two or more of the tiny magnets stick together inside a child’s intestinal tract and tear the child’s intestines. The treatment is always surgery.
The first recall of these dangerous magnets was the Magnetix Magnetic Building Set. The recall was issued in 2006 after a 20-month-old boy died. He and swallowed magnets that twisted in his small intestine and created a blockage. Surgery could not save him. The company had also received numerous reports of serious injuries from the magnets prior to the recall.
The recalled Magnetix building sets include the X-treme Combo, Micro, and Extreme sets. The sets contain 20 to 200 plastic building pieces and 20 to 100 1/2-inch diameter steel balls. The building pieces are red, yellow, blue and green, and are shaped in 1 1/2-inch squares, 1-inch triangles and cylinder rods. Some plastic building pieces have “Magnetix” imprinted on them. The products were sold at Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, Fred Meyer, Design Science Toys Ltd., A.C. Moore, and other toy and arts and crafts stores nationwide from September 2003 through March 2006.
#2 – Buckyballs and Buckycubes
Over a period of years, retailers recalled Buckyballs and Buckycubes sold at their stores and online. The manufacturer did not issue a recall until this year (May of 2014).
Prior to this recall there were numerous reports of injuries from ingesting the products, many of which required surgery, dating back to 2009. The recall was part of a settlement of a case filed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in July 2012, which sought a mandatory recall of Buckyballs and Buckycubes. The settlement calls for Craig Zucker, of Brooklyn, N.Y. to fund a Recall Trust for refunds. You should click here now to contact Fred if you want to file a personal injury lawsuit against the company and get compensation for medical expenses, pain, emotional distress, parents lost income and other expenses and losses.
#3 – Aqua Dots by Spin Master
Aqua Dots were recalled by Spin Master after 2 reports of children slipping into comas after ingesting two or more of the beads. What happened is the coating on the beads that causes the beads to stick to each other when they get wet contains a chemical that can turn toxic when a lot of the beads are ingested. Children who swallow the beads can become comatose, develop respiratory depression, or have seizures.
A 20-month-old child swallowed several dozen beads. He became dizzy and vomited several times before slipping into a comatose state for a period of time, was hospitalized, and has since fully recovered. A second child also vomited and slipped into a comatose state and was hospitalized for five days.
#4 – Auto Fire Toy Dart Gun
The wrongful deaths of 2 children prompted the recall of 1.8 million “Auto Fire” toy dart gun sets sold for $1.50 at Family Dollar. The 2 asphyxiation deaths involved a 9-year-old boy in Chicago, Ill. and a 10-year-old boy in Milwaukee, Wis.
What happened is the children put the soft, pliable plastic toy dart in their mouths and inhaled. The darts went into the boys’ throats and prevented them from breathing.
The “Auto Fire” toy target set was from September 2005 through January 2009 with either an orange and yellow toy gun (item #P238) or a blue and yellow toy gun (item #9328). The sets had eight orange darts and a small target with numbers from 1 to 20. The gun’s item number is located on one side of the handle in raised lettering. The soft plastic darts measure just over one inch in length and have a small suction cup at one end with a diameter of about ½ inch. The target board is black, yellow, red and green, and measures five inches in diameter. “Gordy Toy” for “Ages 8+” is printed on the packaging.
#5 – Wego Kite Tubes
Sportstuff, Inc. (now out of business) recalled Wego Kite Tubes after reports of 2 deaths and 29 injuries, including a broken neck, punctured lung, chest and back injuries and facial injuries.
The Sportsstuff Wego Kite Tube is a 10-foot-wide, circular inflatable watercraft that was made to be towed behind a power boat. It was designed to become airborne when the rider pulled on handles attached to the floor of the tube. The problem is that it could go over 20 feet in the air and then crash down–hence the injuries and 2 deaths.
Attorney Fred Pritzker represented people injured by the Wego Kite Tubes.