New York Injury Talk Blog

GOVERNOR SPITZER CALLS FOR RENEWED VIGILANCE, AND A NEWLY ENGERGIZED PRODUCT RECALL, OF UNSAFE, LEAD-BASED TOYS THAT CONTINUE TO BE ON RETAILER’S SHELVES AND ARE STILL BEING SOLD TO CONSUMERS

According to a press release issued by Governor Spitzer’s office yesterday, December 10, 2007, Governor Spitzer has called for a new state-wide recall of lead-based toys that remain on retailer’s shelves. According to the Governor, that while the state Consumer Protection Board’s (CPB) Safe Toys NY Campaign has already investigated and found increased compliance with recall requirements, that an unacceptable number of unsafe, lead-based toys not only remained on retailer’s shelves across the state, but that these toys are still being sold to consumers.

Further, Governor Spitzer is requesting that the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission act immediately to issue a national recall of those toys and other products that the New York state Consumer Protection Board found unsafe during its investigations. Additionally, the Governor has requested the New York state Consumer Protection Board act swiftly to draft new legislation that would create and improve safety standards in the toy industry as a group, and to create avenues to fully inform and protect all consumers. A previous investigation, instituted in August of this year, and handled by the state’s Consumer Protection Board, was impaneled due to mounting problems and health concerns with lead-based toys being sold in New York.

In August, three rounds of random toy collections were completed and gathered from retail outlets in Albany and in New York City. The Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center performed the testing, which included a detailed chemical analysis of the paint from each toy collected and analyzed for lead content. From the information gathered, the state Consumer Protection Board was then able to track information on the location of the distributors of the unsafe, lead-based toys and take all appropriate actions.

Three of the toys that the New York Consumer Protection Board identified as having unacceptably high levels of paint, as measured by the federal standard of lead levels allowed in paint, were found in dollar stores and manufactured in China:
• “Army Force” Car Set, which are green and black, Lot # ES35146, UPC Code 6010785146, and are imported by Encore Sales, Concord, Ontario, Canada;
• “Sprite Tractor Trailer” toys, which are green and orange and have no identifying information on the packaging; and
• “Wrestle Mania” action figures, which are multicolored and distributed by AA of America from New Jersey.
For a more exhaustive list of recalled toys nationally, please visit the US Consumer Product Safety Commission’s toy recall page

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As parents of aspiring young bakers may already know, Hasbro, Inc. is recalling its Easy-Bake Oven -- for the second time in six months -- because kids are getting their fingers caught in the door and suffering serious burns as a result. One five-year-old had to have her finger partially amputated because her burn was so serious. The first recall, announced Feb. 6, came after 29 reports of injuries from children getting their fingers caught in the toy. In that recall, parents could ask for a repair kit that was supposed to fix the problem.

But it didn’t, as the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found out. The Commission, which is the federal agency that handles recalls of unsafe products, received 249 more reports of injuries, including 77 burns and the finger amputation. This time, parents are being asked to return about a million Easy-Bake Ovens -- any ovens sold during or after May of 2006, including the ones that had been “fixed” -- in exchange for a voucher from the manufacturer. Concerned parents should read the CPSC press release hosted on Hasbro’s Web site, which gives information identifying the recalled toy and a link to the recall form. CNN reports that Hasbro has already been sued over the defective Easy-Bake Ovens; we believe that’s a righteous lawsuit. The recalled ovens are the result of a change in the design of a toy that worked well for more than 40 years. That is, the new ovens are defective by design, and the manufacturer’s first “solution” not only didn’t fix the problem, it actually resulted in eight times more reports of injuries!

Product defects are a lot more common than many Americans think; tainted food recalls alone have become a disturbing trend in the last year. Federal and state laws require manufacturers to ensure that their products are safe before they bring them to market, but thousands fail in that duty each year, and a few unlucky people pay for it with their health. Often, as in this case, the victims are kids -- vulnerable people who should be extra well-protected. The little girl who lost part of her finger will live her entire life partially disabled, and undoubtedly ensure teasing from her peers. That’s too steep a price to pay for buying the wrong toy. If you or someone you know was hurt by a defective Easy-Bake Oven, we urge you to speak to us confidentially about a products liability lawsuit.

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In May, Chrysler recalled more than 270,000 minivans in more than 20 states -- including New York -- because they contain defective air bags that might not deploy in an accident. The article from CNN says that 2005 model-year Town and Country and Dodge Caravan minivans are being recalled in states that salt their roads often, because the salt may corrode the sensors that tell the airbags when to open. And as you can imagine, when an air bag fails to open in an accident, the results can be catastrophic: serious head, neck and soft tissue injuries for drivers and passengers who thought they were doing everything they could to stay safe.

We applaud Chrysler for recalling the defective vans. Having handled many auto product defect lawsuits, we know that not all manufacturers are willing to spend money on a recall if they think they can get away with not recalling a defective product and just quietly settling the inevitable lawsuits. But we're interested in why this recall took place more than two years after the defective minivans arrived on the market. The articles on this recall don't say whether it was prompted by consumer complaints, but a search of the federal Department of Transportation's records does show nine complaints about the Caravan's airbag sensors and 21 for the Town and Country. The complaints and the time lag make us suspect that there were quite a few reports of air bags not opening during accidents in the winters since these vans started being sold. Our consumer safety systems favor manufacturers, not individual consumers, by presuming products are safe until reports of injuries and deaths start rolling in. Like most recalls, this one may be coming too late for a few unlucky families.

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