Summer is nearly here in Oregon and many young children may be looking forward to spending hours playing with friends in their backyards. But the potential for injury lurks in a number of dangerous toys that children could end up playing with this summer.
For example, some toy tents produced by Tots in Mind Inc. have been recalled because children could end up strangled in the pieces of a collapsed tent. It is unclear whether the defect lies in the tents’ design or their manufacturing process, but a number of injures–one fatal–have already occurred. Five years ago, a child was playing in a tent when it flipped. A support rod then broke and pinned him down, causing a traumatic brain injury. One year later, a young child died when he became lodged in some of the tent’s supporting rods.
Trampolines are another favorite children’s toy, but trampolines manufactured under the First Fitness Kid’s First name have been recalled because the handlebars can give way and detach from the rest of the trampoline. Although no child has yet reported an injury caused by the defective product, it is possible for children to lose their balance and fall after the handlebars snap, or for them to be cut by the jagged broken edge.
Manufacturers are under an obligation to produce products that conform to applicable safety standards. Depending on the facts of the case, a person who is injured by a product may have a product liability claim against the manufacturer.
Source: The Washington Post, “Recalls this week include a line of defective children’s trampolines and dangerous crib tents,” May 18, 2012.
