The holidays are a magical time, particularly for children – music, fun, sweets, and toys, toys, toys! As parents scurry to create that magical experience for their youngsters, however, our experienced Chicago injury attorneys urge a measure of caution.
Each year, many children are hurt or killed by their holiday presents – dangerous toys which have already been recalled. These toys come into children’s hands in two ways: the toy is purchased secondhand, and thus sold despite the recall, or the toy is recalled (or the store learns of the recall) after the toy has already been purchased. In fact, many toys designed and marketed for the holidays are recalled during the holiday season itself.
For these reasons, our product injury lawyers urge parents and others who are giving toys this year to stay on top of holiday recalls. The easiest way to do that is to use the website of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Parents can consult a list of recent recalls at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/child.html. Parents can also visit the CPSC’s main page, where they can search by toy type and other categories to ensure that the items they have purchased – particularly secondhand items – are not on a recall list. Parents can also use this page to sign up for automatic email notifications when a toy or other children’s item is recalled. The CPSC main page is found at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html.
Naturally, the CPSC website does not list defective or dangerous toys which have not yet been recalled. However, armed with these tools, parents can make the holiday safer for their children by protecting them from defective and dangerous toys which have already been recalled. We urge our readers to use these tools, and wish all a safe and joyful holiday season.
For a free consultation with an experienced injury and wrongful death lawyer at Passen & Powell, call us at (312) 527-4500.
