Chicago Product Liability Lawyer - Article

Children's Toy Recall

All parents want to ensure the safety of their children, and many laws exist to safeguard against the creation and sale of hazardous toys and games. Unfortunately, many children’s products do not live up to the demands of real world use and as a result children are subject to risks beyond the scope prescribed by regulatory enforcement. Who is to blame for this?

In 2007, there was great public outcry over the discovery of unsafe levels of lead in a wide variety of toys imported from China, and more than twenty million toys were recalled. Consequently, there was a collective American antipathy toward Chinese production. It appears that the wrath of the American consumer may have been misdirected, though, according to research conducted by Hari Bapuji, of the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business.

Bapuji reviewed the complete recall records of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for the period from 1988 to August 2007, and he discovered that contrary to the thrust of mainstream media reporting, the majority of the blame for toy recalls lies not at the feet of the manufacturing facilities but instead with the tinkerers and designers at the toy companies.

Mr. Bapuji concluded that in 2007, 75% percent of recalls through the month of August were the result of design flaws, as opposed to ten percent attributable to failures of manufacturing. While it is both easy and convenient to mistrust toys produced thousands of miles away and over the world’s largest ocean, it hinders progress toward increased safety for a nation’s children. Until safety concerns are more aggressively resolved at the design stage, millions more toys are likely to wind up in the hands of unsuspecting toddlers who may be in more danger than their parents know.

Speak with a Chicago Product Liability Lawyer

If you or your child has been hurt by a dangerous or defective toy, contact Chicago product liability lawyers, Friedman & Bonebrake, P.C., at 312-466-8200 today.