On December 19, 2019, Toysmith issued a recall for their Light-Up Magic Wands. According to the recall (number 20-045), the battery cover on the wands can detach, exposing the button-cell batteries, and posing both a choking and ingestion hazard to young children. Approximately 58,000 magic wands have been affected by the recall.
The recall specifically involves a fuchsia-colored Light-Up Magic Wand that is topped with a star (that flashes and makes noise). The light-up wands have a manufacturing date code printed on the bottom of the wand (printed in white). The affected wands have date codes between March 2018 (3/18/373) and June 2019 (6/19/373). The products are associated with UPC code 085761220034 (which can be found on the products’ hangtag).
The defective light-up wands were sold at Carter’s locations as well as various toy, grocery, gift, and hobby retailers nationwide. The light-up wands were available from June 2018 to October 2019 for approximately $5 each.
According to the recall, there has been at least one report of a child swallowing one of the button-cell batteries; medical attention was necessary to remove the battery.
The recall is suggesting affected consumers to immediately stop using the recalled magic wands and place them out of reach of children; consumers are also urged to return the defective light-up wands to the original place of purchase for a refund.
If your child swallowed a battery and suffered any type of harm, you might have grounds to pursue a claim. Specifically, if the battery cover suddenly detached (because the product was defective), the company that made the defective product available to consumers could be at-fault for all harm suffered. Depending on the details surrounding the incident and the harm suffered, you might have grounds to take legal action.
If you would like to learn more about your right to file a defective product claim after your child was harmed by a defective product, such as the product that was recently recalled, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at Normandie Law Firm. At Normandie Law Firm, our lawyers have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims – including defective product claims. You can trust the experts at our firm to handle your claim and guide you towards the successful outcome that you deserve. For more information about the possibility of pursuing a claim, do not hesitate to contact our firm immediately.
The Dangers of the Defect
According to the recall, the battery cover on the light-up wands can detach, leaving the batteries exposed and easily accessible to children. The batteries can get stuck in the airways or esophagus of small children. This can result in severe internal burns (chemical burns) as well as suffocation. If batteries are not removed promptly (within approximately two hours, for example), there could be life-threatening complications. Typically, batteries that pass through the esophagus without a problem (do not get stuck) can be left to exit the body naturally.
Product Liability and the Right to Sue
If a member of your family was injured by a defective product, you should explore the possibility of pursuing a claim and fighting for the right to recover monetary compensation. Could you file a claim if your child was harmed by a defective product? The answer is simple – yes, you can file a claim. Your right to file a claim is based on product liability.
Based on product liability, all companies owe their consumers a duty of care. Specifically, companies have to ensure that their products are completely safe for consumers to use. When companies fail to ensure that their products are safe for consumer use, they are breaching their duty of care towards their consumers – they are also putting their consumers at risk of injury. A breach of duty can cause an incident which could lead to injuries. When a breached duty of care directly leads to harm, the company that breached their duty of care could be found liable.
What happens when a company is liable for the harm caused by a defective product? If a company negligently and recklessly contributes to the harm that innocent consumers suffer, the company could be held accountable and sued. If you would like to learn more about your right to sue based on product liability, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with our experts at your earliest convenience.
Could You Recover Compensation?
If you pursue a product liability claim (that reaches a successful outcome), you could be eligible to recover monetary compensation for the harm suffered. Depending on the details surrounding your claim, you could be compensated for all or some of the following:
- Medical costs
- Lost earnings
- Pain and suffering
- Funeral and burial costs
- Loss of consortium
- Punitive damages
If you would like to learn more about the type and amount of compensation that you might be eligible to receive if your product liability claim reaches a successful outcome, do not hesitate to contact our firm at your earliest convenience. Our product liability lawyers are ready to aggressively fight for your right to recover the compensation that you deserve. You can be certain that our attorneys will not rest until you recover the compensation that you are owed. For more information about the type and amount of compensation that you could be eligible to receive, do not hesitate to contact our firm at your earliest convenience.
What Should You Do?
Your child was harmed by a defective product; now, what? Unfortunately, many affected parties forfeit the right to pursue a claim through their actions. There are a number of things that affected parties should and should not do after being affected by a defective product.
Consider the following:
- Take photos of any visible injuries
- Take photos of the defective product
- Seek medical attention immediately
- Stop using the defective product immediately
- Keep the defective product in a safe place – away from children
- Do not tamper with the defective product in any way
- Do not attempt to repair the defective product yourself
- Contact the company to report the incident, the defective product, and the harm suffered
- Do not agree to return the defective product
- Do not agree to a free repair or replacement
- Do not agree to a refund
- Do not take the blame for the incident
- Gather purchase records
- Gather all medical records
- Seek legal assistance immediately
Following the recommended steps above can help you and your family prepare to take legal action against the company that negligently contributed to the harm that you suffered. If you are ever confused about what you should do next, you should simply seek legal assistance immediately. The expertise of a product liability attorney can help you gain a better understanding of the legal process and what you should do next. For more information, do not hesitate to contact our firm today.
How Long Do You Have to File?
Depending on the details surrounding your claim and the harm that your child suffered, you might have grounds to file a claim. However, you could actually lose your right to sue. All claims are subject to a statute of limitations; this establishes the length of time that claimants have to sue. In other words, the statute of limitations establishes a deadline to sue; if claims are not filed within the deadline, claimants will lose their right to sue.
In California, defective product claims and product liability claims are subject to a two-year statute of limitations, this means that claimants will only have two years to file their claims. Although this is a strict deadline, it is possible for exceptions to apply. This means that certain details could affect the applicable statute of limitations. For example, when the injured parties are children, the statute of limitations is tolled until the victim becomes a legal adult (only if parents chose to not take any legal action on behalf of the injured child). In this scenario, the claimant will have two years to pursue a claim after becoming a legal adult.
To ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the statute of limitations that applies to your claim, it is essential that you speak with an attorney. If you fail to take immediate action, you might be risking your right to sue.
Contact Our Firm Today
Did your child suffer harm after accidentally swallowing a battery from the recently recalled Toysmith Light-Up Magic Wands? If so, you might have grounds to take legal action against Toysmith. Before making any assumptions regarding whether you could pursue a claim, it is essential that you seek the expertise of a product liability lawyer. An experienced attorney will help you understand your right to sue and receive compensation.
If you are interested in learning more about your right to pursue a claim for the harm that your child suffered in association with a defective product, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with our experts immediately. The product liability lawyers at Normandie Law Firm have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims, including product liability claims. Our lawyers are committed to providing legal representations to all affected parties. Because of that, our firm offers free legal services. Our free legal services include both free consultations and free second opinions. During our free consultations and free second opinions, our lawyers will be available to answer all questions and address all concerns – doing everything within their reach to ensure that you have access to all the information that you need to begin or continue your claim. If you are ready to benefit from our free legal services, do not hesitate to contact our firm today.
Our free legal services are available as pat of our Zero-Fee guarantee. Our Zero-Fee guarantee ensures that our clients will never be required to pay any upfront legal fees for any of our legal services. Our law firm is also strictly based on a contingency structure; therefore, our clients will not be required to pay anything until after reaching a successful claim outcome. If you do not win, you will not be required to pay anything.
If you are ready to benefit from our free legal services, do not hesitate to contact our law firm immediately. Our product liability lawyers are ready to fight for your rights and the rights of your entire family.
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