Modesto Injury Lawyer Blog

Wrongful death caused by choking on small toys or parts of toys is a real concern for Modesto parents. Especially now that summer is here and children are spending most of their vacation time playing with siblings and friends, parents must take necessary steps to safeguard their children against choking hazards.

How to Prevent Choking Hazards
One of the most important things you can do is check for government or manufacturer-issued recalls. Recalls are mandatory actions that must be taken to send back products that have been identified as dangerous in some way. For a list of recalls on toys that present choking hazards, visit the website for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission or go to Recall.gov, a collaborative site that joins forces with six federal agencies to list all of the most current product recalls across the country.

Before you buy or allow your child to use toys that may contain small parts, be sure to read all packaging and examine the toys for several things:
- Recommended age for use (is the toy age appropriate?)
- Warning that small parts may present choking hazards
- Quality of the product and any interlocking parts
- Harmful chemical ingredients such as BPA or lead

If a toy, regardless of a recall, injures your child, you must contact a personal injury lawyer immediately. Toy manufacturers are responsible for ensuring the safe use of their products and they can often be held liable for injuries caused by their items.

On March 16, 2010, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) approved (by a 4-1 vote) a final rule regarding violations of CPSC laws that essentially raises the limits of recoverable damages in product defect lawsuits nationwide. The rule will affect various areas of product safety law, including the penalties outlined under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) and the Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA).

When determining product defect cases, the CPSCA and the above Acts consider several factors in each case: the severity of the risk of injury, the occurrence of absence of injury and the number of defective products or amount of substance distributed. The new rule amends these Acts to require the Commission to now also consider three additional factors: (1) the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of the violation, (2) the appropriateness of the penalty in relation to the size of the business or person charged and (3) other factors as appropriate.

Taking these additional factors into account, the CPSC has raised the ability to seek higher penalty amounts. As a result of the new rule, the maximum penalty for each violation of the above-mentioned Acts increased from $8,000 to $100,000 as of August 14, 2009. In addition, maximum penalty amounts for a related series of violations increased from $1.8 million to $15 million.

These dramatic increases have blown open the possibilities in product defect law. If you or someone you love has been injured as the result of a defective product, fabric or substance, contact a personal injury lawyer who can help you determine whether or not you have a case effected by these new rulings.