If you haven’t heard of Bucky Balls, you haven’t heard of one of the most high profile cases going on about unsafe children’s products. Currently, the manufacturer of these dangerous toys, which are powerful magnets, is being sued by the CPSC. This is over cases where children have swallowed these toys and ended up being seriously injured. The manufacturer defends themselves by saying that they are not intended for children.

There are people who dispute whether or not these products should be pulled from the market. The hazard presents itself when children accidentally swallow the toys and the powerful magnets attract one another through the internal organs. This can cause extremely serious damage to the child. The counter argument to pulling them from the market is that children were never intended to use these devices and that parents need to be more cautious. Of course, if you know a parent who is able to keep an eye on their child every single moment of the day, you probably know the only one of those parents in existence.

Are These Lawsuits Frivolous?

Death from unsafe children’s products is a very real threat. While the manufacturers of Bucky Balls claim that their product was never meant for children and, therefore, that there is really no reason to pull them from the market, other manufacturers have been guilty of producing products that were intended for children and that were inherently dangerous.

One example of this is the case where children’s toys were found to have been painted with lead paint. These came from China, which would make it seem difficult to sue the manufacturers. Fortunately, a federal and state judge have both recently ruled that Chinese firms – and foreign firms in general – can be sued in product liability claims in the US. This should give parents some satisfaction in knowing that they can go after irresponsible manufacturers if their child is harmed or killed by an unsafe children’s product.

If you have children’s products in your home and you’re not certain whether or not they are safe, it’s a good idea to look up information on them online or from other sources. You can also check the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website to look for recalls. If you don’t find anything there, go to Recalls.gov and see if your product is listed. This is one way that a parent can make certain that they are on top of any threats posed to their children.