Toy Safety Study by American Association for Justice (AAJ)
All parents strive to keep their children safe – but there is danger in toys that have had seen increased risk. According to the American Association of Justice (AAJ) article on the subject, “between 2004 and 2008, toy-related injuries increased 12 percent, and over the last 10 years, toy-related injuries have increased 54 percent.” These staggering figures prove the need for someone to protect children and keep large corporations accountable.
Many of the recent injuries are related to choking and falls, especially from the popular 1950’s style scooters that became popular in 1999. According to the AAJ research, “the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued more than 850 recalls for toy products” since 1974. Many of these recalls are for issues with lead, cadmium, asbestos, and other carcinogens, or small magnets.
Examined in the AAJ article is the under-funded CPSC who has the difficult task of coping with the thousands of new products on the market each year. The result is corporate negligence due to the powerlessness of the regulatory bodies.
The AAJ article discusses that due to these factors, many “rely on parents consumer groups and the civil justice system to serve both as an early warning system and an enforcement mechanism against negligent corporations and their dangerous toys.”
