Posted in News on March 5, 2013

It is likely one of a parent’s worst nightmares: a child’s beloved toy becomes dangerous, leading to possible injury or even death. This may sound farfetched, but the truth is that any dangerous product, whether a faulty appliance or an unsafe toy, can have disastrous results. In the case of children’s playthings, parents especially will want to be on the lookout for potential hazards and understand their legal rights should an injury occur.

To illustrate this point, a popular brand of motor scooter built for children was recently recalled due to a safety hazard. Apparently, a problem causes the scooter to accelerate unexpectedly, which can lead to a fall or other unanticipated consequences. Over 10,000 scooters are part of the recall effort, including a brand of Monster High scooter sold at Wal-Mart and the Hello Kitty scooters sold at Toys ‘R Us.

In total, nine incidents have been reported with three leading to injury. Luckily, none of the injuries noted in the report were especially serious. However, unsafe products like these scooters have the potential to create hazardous situations with unfortunate results.

When a child is injured due to a defective product, aside from recall action, the child’s parent or legal guardian may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of the child to recover compensation related to the injury. The claim, which would be brought under product liability, can be brought against various parties depending on the defect. For example, if the issue is in the design itself, the manufacturer would likely be the target. However, in some cases, other parties involved such as the distributors or retailers may carry liability.

Due to the sometimes difficult nature of product liability claims, it can be helpful to work with an experienced personal injury attorney. For the parents of children injured by a dangerous product, filing a lawsuit can be the first step towards financial recovery.

Source: KAIT8.com, “Thousands of kids’ scooters being recalled,” Feb. 27, 2013