Personal Injury Law

Toy Recalls Drop 46 Percent

Toy recalls are down 46 percent from last year, when manufacturers and retailers were forced to clear shelves of toys containing lead paint and dangerous magnets. There was even a case were a chemical left children temporarily comatose. Federal safety regulators said that parents should still be on the lookout for toys with small parts that could pose a choking hazard for children such as uninflated or broken balloons. The advice parents to supervise children around scooters, ride-on toys, and battery chargers and adapters that come with electronic toys. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the number of toy recalls had dropped from 138 in 2007 to 74 in 2008. The Chairwoman of the CPSC attributed the drop in recalls to increased surveillance by the agency, including stepped up inspections at nine ports, stronger voluntary safety standards and efforts by toy manufactures to keep dangerous toys from reaching the market. This is the first holiday shopping season before tough new safety standards for toys. The new requirements include mandatory testing and certification by independent labs. Because of the economy, consumers may turn to thrift stores, online auctions and certain websites. CPSC advisors state that one should check the web site to determine whether or not the product they bought has been recalled. To read the full story, click here.

Full post as published by Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog on November 13, 2008 (boomark / email).