When you purchase toys for your children, the last thing on your mind is seeing your child get seriously hurt playing with it. A defective product can pose immense danger and even cause life-threatening injuries.

According to the latest report on Toy-Related Deaths and Injuries by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there were at least 252,000 toy-related injuries and 11 deaths last year. More than 40 percent were considered lacerations, abrasions and contusions while 44 percent involved a head or face injury.

The toys which correlated with fatalities of children younger than 12 in 2014 include:

• Balloon/balloon strings
• Non-motorized riding toys
• Non-motorized scooters
• Tricycles
• Water guns

The CPSC reports 25 toy-related recalls occurred so far in 2015. Toy safety advocates at World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc. (WATCH), comprised a list of the top 10 most dangerous toys for this year.

The WATCH list includes the following toys:

• Children’s trampoline
• A realistic-looking toy gun
• A stuffed toy dog on wheels (the wheels are considered a choking hazard)
• A pull-along toy marketed to one-year-olds (the string posed as a strangulation hazard)
• A toy doctor kit with small pieces
• A toy sword with a sharp blade
• Toy dinosaur claws which are sharp, packaged without warning of possible eye and facial injuries, marketed to children four years of age.

The Birmingham product liability attorneys at Fischer & Associates, LLC recommend parents to purchase only age-appropriate toys (but take extra precaution when inspecting toys which can be a choking hazard), purchase helmets and protective gear if skateboards are gifts, and keep magnetic toys out of the reach of small children. Even though toy-related injuries are a year-round matter, many hazards may be avoided if parents can identify today which are clearly dangerous.

Contact our firm today by calling (866) 262-2232.