Atkinson Petruska Kozma Hart & Couture provides this list as information to parents. We base our list on the work of two national organizations that investigate toys all year: the Consumer Product Safety Commission and World Against Toys Causing Harm, Inc. Their primary sources of data are the National Electronic Information Surveillance System that records injury data from 1700 ERs across the US, and the Centers for Disease Control. Using these investigations trial lawyers have prevented terrible injuries and saved lives by taking many dangerous toys off the market, and by regulations that prevent dangerous toys from being sold, or warn parents of hazards of some toys.
The 10 most dangerous toys for 2012 as determined by W.A.T.C.H. described below. For more information, go to www.toysafety.org.
1. Magnetic Fishing Game $1.77 (based on $42.44 for case of 24) Made by Kole Imports. This “fishing game” is sold online for16-month-old children, however, the packaging contains a warning of a choking hazard for children under 3 years old. The plastic fishing pole uses common twine to attach a small, magnetic lure. The brightly-colored plastic lure, whether detached or connected to the approximately 9”-long cord, poses a serious potential choking hazard for oral-age children.
2. Bongo Ball $49.99 Made by Toys R Us, Inc. Children as young as 3 years old are encouraged to “[c]limb inside” this colorful inflatable ball, in order to “Bounce, Spin, Roll, Tumble!” The box, which portrays unsupervised children playing with the oversized inflatable ball, cautions that adult supervision is “required”. However, the toy itself indicates that adult supervision is only “recommended”.
3. Dart Zone Quick Fire 12 Dart Gun $19.32 Made by Prime Time Toys Ltd. This dart guns is made with two “revolving barrels” and encourages children to load the ammumition cartridge and fire “6 [d]arts in [s]econds!” Depsite the manufacturer’s directive that this toy not be sold for children younger than 6 years old, it was marketed online for babies as young as 7 months old. The gun can shoot the supplied darts with enough force to potentially cause eye injuries.
4. Spinner Shark 4-Wheel Kneeboard $59.97 Made by FuzionNexsport. This wooden “kneeboard”, marketed for young children, sits approximately 4 inches off the ground. Users are encouraged to “Race your friends!” by kneeling on the board and steering with the handlebars. Its low profile makes the toy potentially hazardous for outdoor use, an issue purportedly addressed with a separate, detachable “safety flag”. Additional warnings on the package insert include: “Kneeboard riding can be a hazardous activity. Kneeboards can and are intended to move, and it is therefore possible to get into dangerous situations and/or lose control and/or fall off. If such things occur, serious injury may result.”
5. Explore & Learn Helicopter $15.99 Made by V Tech. Despite the industry’s standard requiring strings on playpen and crib toys to be less than 12 inches in length, manufacturers are still permitted to market “pull toys” such as this “Vtech Baby Explore & Learn Helicopter” with a cord measuring approximately 24 inches. Sold to reward “baby’s curiosity”, the manufacturer “encourages little ones to discover and learn with a cute puppy friend!” The toy is intended for babies as young as 12 months old and thus, is a prime candidate for crib and playpen injuries.
6. N-Force Vendetta Double Sword $19.99 Made by Hasbro. Young children are encouraged to combine two swords into one “Megablade” in order to “arm yourself for the ultimate battle experience….” The “double sword” measures “over 4.5 feet long!” The blade has the potential to cause facial or other impact injuries.
7. Water Balloon Launcher $21.99 Made by Water Sports, LLC. This water balloon “launcher” is marketed with the capability to shoot water balloons “at high speeds of up to 75 mph.” Remarkably, the device, which the manufacturer admits “[c]an cause severe injury or facial damage….”, was marketed and sold by at least one online retailer for babies as young as 8 months old. Balloons are also well known by the toy industry as posing a significant risk of choking, and are, therefore, not permitted to be sold for use by oral-age children.
8. Power Rangers Super Samurai Shogun Helmet $29.99 Made by Bandai. The manufacturer encourages children to “become a Power Ranger” by donning “battle gear”, including this “shogun helmet”. The headgear includes an attachable “crown” with pointed, rigid plastic tips as long as approximately 9”, with the potential for penetrating impact and puncture wound injuries.
9. Playful Xylophone $29.99 Made by P’Kolino. This toy xylophone includes colorful blocks of various sizes, which can be “[a]rranged & [r]earrange[d]”, allowing oral-age children to “create [their] own melodies!” Babies as young as twelve months old are encouraged to use a supplied slender, wooden dowel as a drumstick to play music on the xylophone. The approximately 5” drumstick, which is not connected to the xylophone, could be mouthed and occlude a child’s airway.
10. The Avengers Gamma Green Smash Fists $16.99 Made by Hasbro. These oversized fists, resembling those of a popular Marvel comic book and movie character, are sold to enable three year olds to “be incredible like The Hulk” by “smashing everything that gets in [their] way!” No warnings or cautions are provided.
U.S. PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP
SURVEY OF MOST DANGEROUS TOYS 2012
2012 survey found two major concerns in toys: toxic levels of lead and phthalates mainly in paint, and dangerously powerful small magnets easy for children to swallow that continue to attract each other in the digestive tract causing obstruction and tearing. Choking hazards and puncture hazards are still a concern.
1. Buckyball magnetic toys and “Snake Eggs” magnetic toys sold at the Dollar Tree contain magnets that can be swallowed, are quite powerful and continue to attract and repel each other in the child’s digestive tract causing injuries.
2. “Talking Tool Bench” sold at Toys R Us and Wal-Mart contains plastic nails & pegs that can be swallows, cause fatal choking.
3. “Dragster cars” sold at Toys R Us have removable rubber traction bands on the wheels that cause choking
4. “Bowling Game” sold at Dollar Store has small parts easy to swallow cause choking
5. “Play food” sold in packages and with cooking and baking toys at Wal-Mart is NOT edible but looks like real food, can be swallowed causing choking
6. “Golfing game” sold at Dollar Store has tiny parts easily swallowed cause choking
7. “Morphobot” sold at Dollar Tree contains toxic levels of lead.
8. “Captain Cutlass Pirate Toy Guns” were on the list last year and are on it again this year with dangerously rigid and sharp parts that cause puncture wounds, eye injuries and impact injuries
9. “Dora Backpack” unfortunately this item contains toxic levels of phthalates chemicals that cause brain damage.
10. Balloons – especially those sold at Dollar Store for “Baby’s First Birthday” – Balloons remain the #1 cause of injury including fatal choking among children under 8 years before they are inflated and after they deflate. Balloons should never be given or left in range of children under 8.
www.uspirgedfund.org