Defective Children's Products

Common defective children’s products include:

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• Strollers. Some strollers pose an unforeseen risk of “folding up” on children as the result of mechanical locking failures.  Strollers can also pose a risk of “pinching” and other injuries.

• Cribs. Cribs can pose many risk to infants; particularly the risks that an infant may get his or her head stuck in the vertical slats. Although “drop side” cribs were banned by the CPSC in 2011, many such cribs are still sold in secondhand stores and garage sales.

• Crib bedding. Crib bedding may allow infants to get their head stuck between the edges of the bedding and the side of the crib.

• Child car seats. Child car seats may fail to do their primary job – reasonably protect infants in the event of a vehicle crash. Those that are also used in strollers may also have some the same defects as the strollers themselves; notably, that they can come loose or otherwise injure a child.

• Small Toys. One of the significant ways that small toys can be defective is by presenting an unreasonable risk of choking.  Toys that consist of small magnets have also been a high risk to children.

• Playground equipment, including trampolines. Playground equipment can pose  a number of dangers, including those associated with falls. Additionally, equipment that moves or spins can cause other injury; in particular, injuries that result when fingers, hands, or other body parts are caught in spinning or rotating parts. Trampolines have long been the cause of many injuries, and today, even those that have protective netting around the sides to stop users from falling off are not entirely safe.

• High Chairs. Highchairs should contain five–point harnesses, which help protect children from wiggling out of the harness and falling.

• Sports equipment, including bicycle helmets. Bicycle helmets and other sporting equipment designed to protect participants can be defective if they fail to do so.

• Children’s Metal Jewelry. Older children’s jewelry often contained lead or cadmium, both of which are harmful if swallowed or ingested.

• Dressers and Bookshelves. Dressers and bookshelves can pose a significant risk to children from falling on them, especially if climbed on. Large objects sitting on top of dressers and bookshelves can also fall on children, even if the dresser or bookshelf itself does not fall.[2]