Florida Child Product Recall Attorneys

Child Safety

No healthy, bouncing new baby would be complete without a myriad of products given as gifts to the new parents including, car seats, diapers, clothing, walkers, cribs, and carriers, among other things.

It's a lucrative marketplace. Billions are spent welcoming a little one into the world, but unfortunately not all of the products are safe, in fact some are defective products that have been the subject of recalls after causing injuries and wrongful deaths.

Cribs - Over the last decade the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found at least 32 children died when the hardware on drop-side cribs failed and the infants were entrapped between the crib frame and the mattress. Another 14 deaths may also be due to the dangerous cribs. Millions have been recalled from various manufacturers and the CPSC finds they all are defectively designed and inherently dangerous. Drop-side cribs are targeted for a phase-out, an immense job considering the millions still in circulation.

Sling carriers were all the rage for many years. Reminiscent of an earlier time, the sling allowed even a newborn to be carried in a comfortable reclined position close to the parent's body. But a recent investigation by the CPSC finds that newborns who have no neck strength suffocate when their head bends forward in the sling. The sling is defectively designed for use by a young infant.

Car Seats - Motor vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death and injuries of children. Traumatic brain injury hospitalizes more than 47,000 young patients a year and a common cause of TBI are car accidents.

Florida law requires children under age 5 to be protected with an approved and properly used child restraint device. For four years beginning in 1998, four major manufacturers were forced to recall nearly 10 million child car seats for defects and safety issues. Recalls were issued for weak construction, and defective handles that unexpectedly released.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has rated the booster seats noting that the nine belt positioning boosters are the Best Bets.

Seat Belts - Most seat belts do not fit properly on children who have outgrown an infant seat. A four to eight year old is not big enough to fit into seat belts, yet most states do not require the use of booster seats. There have been many cases of seat belt syndrome or traumatic injury to young children by ill fitting seat belts. Spinal cord injuries, neck and head injuries, organs crushed, and death are all part of seat belt syndrome.

Pools - Every year more than 830 children age 14 and younger die from unintentional drowning. Pools with four-sided fencing could prevent half to 90 percent of all drowning finds the group Safe Child. Pool alarms, door alarms and pool covers could all save lives. Drowning is a leading cause of death of children under the age of 5 and the CPSC has recalled an inflatable baby float because the support straps failed.

Toys - While lead was the metal in Christmas toys over the last couple of years, cadmium now seems to have replaced lead in toys. It is a carcinogen and can cause kidney damage and slow development in small children. Choking hazards from removable parts on defective toys is a leading cause of injury in young children.

Furniture - The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Target recalled a woven storage trunk after the lid fell on an 18-month old and she sustained traumatic brain injury. Her parents have filed a product liability lawsuit against Target. According to the CPSC, at least 45 children have died because the lids of containers used to store toys fell on their necks or heads.

Almost a half million children under the age of 14 suffer traumatic brain injury every year, and many occur when a child is hit in the head by a defect product made by a negligent manufacturer.

Baby Walkers have been recalled for their poor design that allowed the walkers to fit through a standard doorway and plunge down a staircase without the proper safeguards. A recent recall of a High Chair, which is linked to 24 injuries, was initiated because screws and brackets came loose and allowed the child and chair to fall.

It is unbelievable that children's safety is put on the backseat to a manufacturer's poor design or shoddy materials. Recalls are one step toward preventing future injuries, but product liability lawsuits should deter the maker from producing dangerous children's products.

If your child's injury was due to a careless party or a defective product, you may be entitled to recover the cost of their ongoing medical care. Call Farah & Farah for a free evaluation of your Florida product liability case.

Please visit our Florida Defective Product Website for more info.