Despite Decrease in Number of Recalled Children’s Products, Effectiveness of Recalls Remains Subpar

 Posted on April 27, 2016 in Product Liability

Children are meant to be protected – parents and caregivers do their best, but are often unaware of the risks/damages which manufacturers are keenly aware of. More should be done to protect children, particularly when it comes to the manufacturing industry. In fact, there was a time when more than 600,000 children visited the emergency room because of injuries caused by dangerous products (the year 2000). Since that time, laws have been passed, tracking and monitoring have taken place, and improvements have been made. But, according to recent data from Kids in Danger (KID), there is still much work to be done.

Injuries and Number of Recalls Decreased

Of the 225 products recalled in 2001, more than half were children’s products (118). On average, that was about two new recalls per week. Linked to 672 child injuries and two deaths that year, toys accounted for 41 percent, 23 percent were nursery items, 14 percent were clothing items, and sports equipment accounted for 23 percent of child product recalls. Totals from 2014 show the industry has made massive improvements, with a 95 percent decrease in injuries since the passing of Danny’s Law in 2008 (36 in 2014). The number of products recalls has also decreased, and only 24 percent of the recalls in 2014 were of products made for children (68 recalls in total) – the lowest since KID began tracking recalls.

Effectiveness of Recalls Still Lacking

Although social media has given manufacturers a way to reach more people in less time, the effectiveness of recalls is still severely lacking. In fact, although 44 percent of companies now have a Facebook page to post about their recalls, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shows that just over one percent of all recalled children’s products from 2014 were fixed or returned, with on average of only eight percent for each recalled product. If, however, the products were still with the manufacturer, retailers, or somewhere in between, the percentage of products fixed, retrieved, or destroyed increased to 14 percent. Unfortunately, this minimal increase is still placing numerous children at risk.

Children Should Not Have to Pay the Price of Poor Design, Instructions, or Warnings

Parents have plenty of things to worry about. Figuring out whether or not the toys, clothing, or nursery items are safe necessarily depends on the good faith effort of the manufacturers to design, instruct, and warn with safety in mind. When an injury or death does happen, those parents need to know where to turn and whom they can trust. Tomasik Kotin Kasserman offers skilled experience and attorneys committed to fighting to protect children from dangerous products and holding manufacturers responsible when their products injure or kill. We provide the kind of aggressive, compassionate, and comprehensive representation parents need. To find out how we can help with your case, call 312-605-8800 and schedule your free initial consultation with a Chicago product liability attorney today.

Sources:

http://www.kidsindanger.org/docs/reports/2001_clear_present_danger.pdf

http://www.kidsindanger.org