Every year, tens of thousands of children are injured or killed in accidents involving toys. In many cases, the toys contain defects that make them dangerous for children’s use. In others, properly made toys cause injury or death to children who are too young to play with them. The negligence of someone who has been entrusted with a child’s care in the absence of the child’s parents can also contribute to such injuries or deaths.
If your child has been injured or killed in a toy-related accident and you suspect that your child’s injury or death was caused by a defect in the toy or someone’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for the damages your child has suffered. Child injury attorney Jeff Killino has extensive experience with child injury and defective children’s products cases, including those arising out of accidents involving toys. Contact attorney Killino at 877-875-2927 for a free evaluation of your case and more information about your legal rights and options.
Legal Liability for Children’s Toy Accident Injuries and Deaths
Toy-related injuries and deaths may be caused by defects in toys or by the negligence of children’s caregivers who have allowed children to play with toys that are unsuitable and dangerous for the particular children. Liability for such injuries and deaths may depend on the negligence and product liability laws of the states in which such legal actions are filed.
Liability for Injuries and Deaths Caused by Defective Toys
Toys that cause injury or death to children may be defective for many reasons. A toy painted with paint that contains lead in excess of that allowed by federal regulations may seriously injure or kill a child who puts such a toy in his or her mouth. Toys with small parts may cause choking or strangulation injuries to very young children. Yet, millions of inadequately labeled and otherwise dangerous and defective toys manage to reach the market and get into the hands of children who are injured or killed as a result. The law of product liability provides a remedy for such injuries and deaths, however, and allows the families of these children to hold the companies responsible for their children’s injuries and deaths accountable.
Product liability law varies somewhat from state to state, but most states’ product liability laws allow for the bringing of strict liability, breach of warranty, or negligence claims against the manufacturers of defective toys as well as others in the chain of the toys’ distribution. When a product liability action is brought to recover damages for a child’s personal injury or death (as opposed to an action to recover the cost of a toy that is defective), the strict liability form of product liability action is usually preferred. This allows the plaintiff to establish the defendants’ liability without having to show that any of the defendants were negligent in creating the defective toy and allowing it to reach consumers.
Defendants who may be subject to such strict liability include the designer, manufacturer, assembler, supplier, distributor, and retailer of a defective toy. Toys may be found defective under product liability law for defects that occur at the design or manufacturing stage or as a result of a failure to warn of certain dangers associated with the toy’s use. Thus, a manufacturer’s failure to include a warning label about the dangers of a particular toy for children under the age of three may result in the liability of the manufacturer and other defendants for the injury or death of a child whose parents were not alerted to the dangers of the toy.
In some cases, toys may meet current federal regulations and industry standards, yet nevertheless be found defective in a product liability action. In addition, the manufacturer’s recall of a defective toy will not generally relieve the manufacturer and other defendants of strict liability for injuries or deaths caused by the toy’s defect.
Liability for Toy Injuries and Deaths Caused by Child Caregiver Negligence
In some cases, a child’s toy-related injury or death may result from the negligence of someone who has been entrusted with a child’s care. If, for example, a caregiver provides a child with a toy or allows a child to gain access to a toy that is unsuitable and dangerous for the particular child, the caregiver may be found liable in a negligence action for the child’s resulting injury or death. Such an accident might occur if a babysitter allowed a two-year-old child to play with a toy unsuitable for children under three, particularly if the toy contained a label clearly warning of the dangers posed by the toy to children under three.
Contact Us
Child accident lawyer and toy injury attorney Jeff Killino is dedicated to achieving justice for children who have been killed or injured by defective toys or caregiver negligence. If your child has been injured by a defective toy, or as a result of someone’s negligence in a toy-related accident, attorney Killino can help you obtain the compensation you deserve from the individuals and entities responsible for your child’s injury or death. Contact The Killino Firm at 877-875-2927 for expert and experienced assistance with your case.
