Common Types of Defective Children's Products
Child product liability cases typically involve products that are designed or marketed for use by children. These cases can arise when a child is injured or harmed due to a defect in the product or due to inadequate warnings or instructions.
Common types of children's products involved in such cases include:
- Toys: This category includes a wide range of products such as dolls, action figures, stuffed animals, building blocks, electronic toys, and games. Injuries can occur if a toy breaks apart easily, has sharp edges, contains small parts that pose a choking hazard, or contains toxic materials.
- Cribs and crib accessories: Cribs and related accessories such as crib mattresses, bumpers, and mobiles are subject to safety standards to prevent injuries such as entrapment, suffocation, or strangulation. Defective designs or manufacturing errors can lead to accidents.
- Strollers and car seats: These products are essential for transporting infants and young children safely. Defective buckles, harnesses, or structural components can result in accidents causing injuries in the event of a collision or even during routine use.
- Baby carriers and slings: These products allow parents to carry their infants while keeping their hands free. However, poorly designed or defective carriers can lead to falls or suffocation if the infant's airway becomes obstructed.
- High chairs and booster seats: These products are designed to help children eat safely at the table. However, defects in the design or construction can lead to collapses or tipping over, resulting in injuries.
- Children's furniture: Items such as changing tables, dressers, and chairs are designed specifically for children's use. Tip-over accidents due to unstable furniture or entrapment hazards due to poor design can lead to injuries.
- Baby walkers and jumpers: These products are designed to entertain and help babies develop motor skills. However, they can pose risks such as falling down stairs or tipping over if not properly designed or used.
- Teething toys and pacifiers: Products intended to soothe infants during teething can pose choking hazards if they break apart easily or contain small parts. Pacifiers with design flaws can also present choking risks.
- Clothing and accessories: Defects in children's clothing, such as loose buttons, drawstrings, or flammable materials, can pose safety hazards. Additionally, accessories like hair clips or jewelry may contain small parts that can pose choking risks.
- Playground equipment: While not strictly products meant for indoor use, injuries related to defective or poorly maintained playground equipment can also lead to child product liability cases. These injuries may include falls, entrapment, or collisions with other children.
- Baby bottles and feeding accessories: Defective bottles or nipples can pose choking hazards if they break apart or if small parts detach. Similarly, poorly designed feeding accessories like bottle warmers or food processors may pose risks if not properly manufactured.
- Baby monitors and safety devices: Products designed to monitor infants or keep them safe, such as baby monitors, baby gates, and cabinet locks, can pose risks if they malfunction or if their design is inadequate.
- Bathing products: Items such as baby bathtubs, bath seats, and bath toys must be designed to prevent drowning or injuries due to slipping. Defective designs or manufacturing errors can lead to accidents during bath time.
- Diapers and diapering accessories: While seemingly innocuous, defects in diapers, diaper creams, or diaper-changing products can lead to allergic reactions, skin irritation, or other health issues for infants and young children.
- Baby care products: This category includes a wide range of items such as baby wipes, lotions, shampoos, and powders. Defective products may contain harmful chemicals or allergens that can cause adverse reactions in infants' delicate skin.
- Educational and developmental products: Toys and materials designed to stimulate children's learning and development, such as books, puzzles, and educational electronics, can pose risks if they contain small parts or if their design presents hazards.
- Sports and recreational equipment: Products designed for children's sports and recreation, such as bicycles, skateboards, helmets, and protective gear, must meet safety standards to prevent injuries. Defective designs or manufacturing errors can lead to accidents during play.
- Arts and crafts supplies: Materials used for arts and crafts, such as paints, crayons, markers, and clay, must be non-toxic and safe for children to use. Defective products may contain harmful substances or pose choking hazards.
- School supplies: Items commonly used by children in school, such as backpacks, lunch boxes, and stationery, must be designed with safety in mind to prevent injuries such as falls, cuts, or allergic reactions.
- Electronic devices and accessories: Products such as tablets, smartphones, headphones, and chargers designed for children must meet safety standards to prevent electrical hazards, choking hazards, or injuries due to device malfunction.
In each of these cases, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers may be held liable for injuries resulting from defects in the product or failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions. Child product liability cases often require thorough investigation and legal expertise to determine liability and pursue compensation for the injured child and their family.
Different Types of Negligence in Child Product Liability Cases
If your child has been harmed by a dangerous or defective product, one of the first things on your mind may be to understand exactly why your child was injured. Did you or your child misuse the product? Did the warranty expire? Was the product made with poor-quality materials? There isn't always an easy answer to this question, but our defective child product attorneys in Los Angeles are ready to use their skills and extensive resources to help you get the answers you deserve.
There are different types of negligence that can occur in a children's product liability case:
- Breach of warranty: when a product does not perform as the manufacturer directly states in the product's terms of use. An example of this could be a car seat that specifically states it will protect your child in the event of a side-impact collision but failed to do so.
- Design defects: A product that is inherently dangerous because of the way it is designed. For example, a child's toy that has unnecessarily sharp corners that cause lacerations or puncture wounds.
- Failure to warn: Manufacturers have a responsibility to warn consumers about dangers that can occur if a product is not used for its intended purpose. Failure to include proper warnings about these dangers is a form of negligence.
- Hidden defects: A defect that is not know to the manufacturer or consumer until it causes harm. The defect must be considered unreasonably dangerous, the consumer must have used the product as intended by the manufacturer, and the product must not have been altered in any way.
- Manufacturing defects: Involve parts or materials that are defective and cause serious harm, such as a car seat that doesn't latch properly.
- Marketing defects: This type of negligence involves the way a product is marketed to the consumer. If the marketing makes false claims or fails to warn users of potential dangers, the company could be held responsible.
Contact Shoop | A Professional Law Corporation today to pursue the compensation you and your child deserves. Our Los Angeles children's product liability lawyers focus entirely on defective product cases, so we know exactly how to determine the type of negligence involved in your case and hold the guilty party responsible.
Keeping Dangerous Products Out of Your Home
When products aren’t fully tested and don’t include sufficient warnings, it can be difficult for parents to see the risks they might introduce. Especially with the rise of online marketplaces, product testing can’t keep up with the millions of items that can be yours with a click.
Counterfeit products online may come with claims they are safe and even doctored images that create the impression of celebrity endorsements. Sellers also do their best to associate knock-off products will well-known brands that have been rated for safety. Parents have no way of knowing if they’re finding a good deal or buying a cheaply made product.
Tracing liability through complex and international online markets also proves a bigger challenge than identifying parties involved with products sold in brick-and-mortar stores. Small companies may come and go, and products can be produced in small batches that quickly sell out. Our attorneys are prepared to direct extensive investigations to help you find the truth and start your suit.
We have the skill, knowledge, and resources to fight for you. Call (866) 884-1717 to schedule a free consultation.