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Parents, Read This Article and Look at Your Children’s Toys. The Consumer Product Safety Commission Shut Down Toy Inspections for Months

By Brown Moore

February 24, 2021

Home News & Resources Parents, Read This Article and Look at Your Children’s Toys. The Consumer Product Safety Commission Shut Down Toy Inspections for Months

The experiences with Covid-19 over the last year have drastically changed many of our home lives. We have worked from home more than any other year. We have spent more time with family, tried our hand at homeschooling, and looked for ways to entertain our kids in a socially distant time. Many of us have spent more than usual on toys to make up for these strange times. So, how safe are those toys?

Ordinarily, there’s a system and checks and inspections. With most of our toys being made overseas, the checks are usually done at ports. However, the pandemic has affected this system, and many unsafe toys may have slipped through the cracks.

At Brown Moore & Associates, PLLC, our dedicated team of lawyers has extensive experience with negligent toys. Errors in manufacturing, failure to provide sufficient warnings about potential danger, and falls from spinning or scooter-type toys can have a devastating impact on a family. If a toy has injured your child, you need a product liability attorney in Charlotte, North Carolina. Call Brown Moore & Associates, PLLC today.

Parents Are Warned

Our government sent home the nation’s toy police for six months, critically, during the biggest toy rushes of the year. There is no way to know if the playhouses, bicycles, baby dolls, or building blocks we have given our kids are truly safe. We rely on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to make sure our toys aren’t painted with lead paint, or the stickers on a baby toy can’t be peeled off and created a choking hazard.

There was no warning to the public. The federal agency shut down their inspections from mid-march until September, the busiest time of year. When they did start to return, the reports of chemical phthalates, choking hazards, and toxic lead levels (one of the most frequent violations) were dramatically lower than in previous years.

Parents, be warned, inspecting toys are up to you. Inspect the toys, research where they’re made. If you are looking for a deal on a toy, make sure you aren’t ordering a knockoff toy from a subpar manufacturer. If you have little ones, do the paper roll test. If a toy part can fit, it is a choking hazard. Keep an eye out for toys where a small part or screw can break off, as well. Toddlers like to throw and bang on things. Go ahead and let them go at it under your supervision. See if a screw comes out of their new toy power drill or a piece of wood goes flying off that toy hammer.

Toy Injuries in the US

Even with a fully working Consumer Product Safety Commission, toy-related injuries account for a third of child injuries. The top categories associated with emergency room injuries are:

  • 14.8% standup scooter
  • 6.1% balls
  • 4% toy vehicles, riding toys
  • 3.5% building sets
  • 29.2% Skateboard

Every year, over 1 million children are injured by their toys. With the lack of inspections, we must do everything we can as parents to keep them safer.

How We Can Help

When your child is hurt, nothing compares. Please, help prevent another child from being injured. Call a product liability attorney in Charlotte, North Carolina, today and shine a light on this problem. The dedicated team at Brown, Moore & Associates, PLLC will secure the compensation your family deserves. Contact us for a free consultation of your case by clicking here or calling us at 800-948-0577.