My Child Was Injured by a Defective Toy. What Are My Legal Options?

 Posted on November 25, 2020 in Defective Products

As a parent, you probably spend a considerable amount of time worrying about your child’s safety. You have probably reminded your child to look both ways before crossing the street, buckle up in the car, or wear his or her bike helmet more times than you can even count. Unfortunately, sometimes, the greatest safety issue in a child’s life is within their own home. Defective toys cause thousands of injuries and deaths each year in the United States. If your child was injured because of a faulty or malfunctioning toy, you may have a valid product liability claim.

Liability for Unsafe Toys

The companies that design and manufacture children’s products are held to high standards when it comes to safety. Nevertheless, U.S. emergency rooms treated approximately 226,1000 toy-related injuries in 2018 alone. Tragically, some of these toy-related injuries were fatal. Some of the most common injuries caused by toys include:

• Airway obstruction
• Suffocation
• Fractures
• Burns
• Puncture wounds
• Contusions and lacerations
• Poisoning
• Drowning
• Battery ingestion
• Electrocution

Nonmotorized scooters, balls, balloons, toy vehicles, toy weapons, building sets, dolls, and many other types of toys have been associated with child injuries.

When is a Company Liable for a Child’s Injuries?

The party liable for your child’s injuries may be the product designer, product manufacturer, or another party. Typically, product liability claims fall into three main categories:

• Defective design: The toy’s design was inherently unsafe, to begin with.
• Defective manufacture: The toy would have been safe if it was manufactured correctly, but mistakes made during the manufacturing process resulted in dangerous defects.
• Defective marketing: The toy contained insufficient instructions or inadequate safety warnings.

There are four main points that you and your attorney will need to demonstrate to win your claim. First, you will need to show that the toy was defective. Second, you must demonstrate that the defect was caused by the defendant’s negligence. Third, you will need to show that your child’s injuries were a result of the toy’s defect. Lastly, you and your attorney will need to show that you and your child suffered damages. Damages in a toy-related injury claim may include medical expenses, lost wages, your child’s pain and suffering, and more.

Contact a Lake County Dangerous Toy Lawyer

If your child was harmed because of the negligent actions of a toy manufacturer or other party, a product liability claim may allow you to hold them responsible for the injury and collect financial compensation for damages. Contact Salvi & Maher, L.L.C. today to discuss your case with one of our highly experienced Waukegan product liability attorneys. Call us at 847-662-3303 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.

Source:

https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Toy_Related_Deaths_and_Injuries_Calendar_Year_2018.pdf?WM0sDY9UaFK2MpzOxpBoqmqPvoUdbzDN