Before buying baby products and gear for their children, most parents conduct extensive research to find the safest, most durable products. Everything from cribs to car seats, from pajamas to pacifiers is subject to federal regulations designed to protect the safety of babies and children. Pajamas must be flame retardant. Drop side cribs are banned. Car seats must meet crash-testing criteria and should not be used after five years.
or defective product, the agency investigates and often supports manufacturers in issuing a voluntary recall. If the company does not voluntarily recall dangerous products, the CPSC steps in with a lawsuit and an involuntary recall.
. Consumers can also sign up for email and text alerts from the CPSC to find out which products have been recalled. Users may opt to receive all product recalls or specific types of recalls, including child products or sports equipment recalls.
The most common hazards leading to recall include serious and often fatal injuries:
Strollers with moving parts can pinch, cut, and sever tiny fingers and toes. Without proper harnesses in strollers and infant seats, children can fall or become entangled. Any improperly designed sleeping surface, such as a crib or a sleep positioner, can cause entrapment and suffocation. Clothing and pajamas that do not meet federal flammability standards--including being snug and flame retardant--can quickly become a serious fire and burn hazard.
Even the most vigilant parents can inadvertently buy a dangerous or defective product. In order to protect your babies and children, it is important to maintain an awareness of product recall news. If your child is injured due to a product's poor design, careless manufacturing, or false marketing, you have the right to pursue financial compensation for your child's medical care and associated costs.
is caused by a negligent manufacturer or retailer, some measure of justice is obtained by holding them accountable. Child injury lawsuits lead to product reform, making all children safer.
Parents who are vigilant about their children's safety take all precautions to ensure that play time is not only fun, but free from dangers and hazards. Safety precautions include inspecting toys for choking hazards, sharp or jagged pieces, or flimsy construction; monitoring play time; making sure toys are developmentally appropriate for their child's age; and requiring children to wear protective gear such as bicycle helmets. However, all the caution in the world can't prevent injuries from occurring due to the defective design or manufacture of children's toys. If your child is injured while playing with a defective toy, a child injury lawyer can aggressively litigate your civil case to hold the negligent manufacturer responsible for the injuries caused by the defective product.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission is continually on the alert for defective toys and infant products and lists recalled products on their website. They also caution against the purchase and use of dangerous toys that have not yet been recalled. While Federal guidelines are in place for the safe manufacture of toys and children's products, some companies ignore the guidelines or are negligent in taking due caution in manufacturing children's products. Such companies and manufacturers should be held accountable for defective products that cause child injury or death. A personal injury lawyer can help parents bring a civil case against careless or negligent manufacturers, suppliers, and retailers.
In 2009, nearly 200,000 emergency room visits were for child injuries caused by toys. Over half of these injuries, including Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), were from ride-on toys such as bicycles, roller blades, skates, and scooters. A bicycle accident or other serious fall can result in traumatic brain injury if safety gear, including bicycle helmets, is defective. Other hazards of defective toys include choking, strangulation, laceration, amputation, burns, and exposure to lead or other dangerous chemicals. For children injured by defective toys, recovery can be long and painful. With the help of an experienced child injury lawyer, Oklahoma's most defenseless victims can receive compensation for their injuries.
Oklahoma parents envision a bright future for their children and most would do anything to protect their children at all costs. Conducting comprehensive research of baby products, purchasing and using the latest in child safety products, and extensively interviewing child care providers are but a few of the ways parents strive to protect the safety of their children. Unfortunately, accidents do happen despite the vigilance of concerned parents. While an accidental injury to a child is tragic enough in its own right, the heartbreak is compounded when the accident was preventable and should have been avoided. When a child is injured through another person's negligence, recklessness, or carelessness, his or her parents have every right to file a child injury lawsuit to hold that person financially accountable for the child's injury or death. An Oklahoma personal injury lawyer with expertise in child injury cases can help the child's parents seek restitution on behalf of the injured victim.
In addition to injuries sustained by a defective baby product or a dangerous toy, children are often at risk of injury from other situations unrelated to consumer product defect:
A serious child injury can create a significant financial and emotional burden as parents deal with extensive medical costs, hospital bills, rehabilitation, physical and occupational therapy, and more. Parents whose children suffer permanent disability as a result of the injury suffer not only the loss of hopes and dreams for their children's future, but also serve as lifetime caregivers, which can be emotionally and physically exhausting. A child injury lawyer can help families recoup the financial expenses as well as obtain compensatory damages for pain, suffering, and emotional distress caused by the injury.
The most tragic of child injury cases result in the death of the child. While no amount of financial restitution can adequately compensate for the pain of losing a child, a wrongful death settlement or judgment can not only ease the economic burden of medical bills and funeral expenses, but can help some parents feel a sense of justice, knowing that the person responsible for their child's death was held accountable for his or her actions or negligence.
Seeing your child suffer is difficult for any parent. As mothers and fathers, we wish we could bear that pain for our children. While financial compensation for the injury cannot remove the pain or erase any long term effects of a permanently disabling or disfiguring injury, it can provide the best medical care, rehabilitative services, and adaptive therapies to ensure the highest quality of life for a child after a serious accident. To learn more about how we may be able to help your child, call the the Law Firm of Oklahoma at (405) 608-4990.
