Who Is Liable if My Child Was Injured By a Defective Toy?

 Posted on June 13, 2024 in Personal Injury

In 2022, emergency rooms treated an estimated 209,500 toy-related injuries. According to a report by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 76 percent of those occurred in children aged 14 or younger. Sixty-nine percent occurred in children aged 12 or younger, and 38 percent occurred in children aged four or younger.

Injuries from defective toys range from mild to severe. Nearly half of toy-related injuries in 2022 were to the head and face. But who is liable for those injuries? Is it the children and their parents? Or is it the retailer or manufacturer’s fault?

This article will discuss the different types of defects and who you can sue for damages if your child was injured by a defective toy. Not every case is the same, so consult an Illinois product liability attorney regarding your specific injury.

What Types of Defects Are Companies Liable for?

There are three main types of defects that companies are liable for:

• Design defects: These are flaws that are in the design of the toy. A manufacturer is expected to foresee that customers will use the product in certain unsafe ways and design the product to protect against that. Therefore, a toymaker who makes a toy with small parts that break off easily can be held liable.

• Manufacturing defects: These are flaws in how the product is made in the factory. Even if the product’s design is flawless, there are still sometimes mistakes in building the product. If a toy was not designed to have small parts but pieces came off anyway, it could be an example of a manufacturing defect.

• Failure to warn: Even if the design and manufacturing are flawless, a company has a duty to warn customers if the product presents a hazard to certain people, such as small children who might get a hold of an older sibling’s toy. A children’s toy that has small parts, for example, should have a label warning consumers of a choking hazard to young children.

Who Can You Sue for Injuries From a Defective Toy?

When someone is injured by a defective product, Illinois law places liability on any party that placed the product in the “stream of commerce.” This includes manufacturers, distributors, stores, and any other party who knew or should have known that the product posed a danger to users. Therefore, when a child is injured by a defective toy, both the manufacturer and the seller may be held liable.

Contact a Bensenville, IL Product Liability Attorney

If your child was injured by a defective toy, you may be entitled to damages. Keep in mind, however, that toy manufacturers often have strong legal teams to protect them from such claims. The best way to overcome this obstacle is to hire an even stronger Elmhurst, IL product liability lawyer. At Kaiser Law, we have extensive experience in product liability cases and we have recovered over $100 million in compensation for our clients. Call 630-274-4400 today to join our list of satisfied clients with a free consultation.