Every single day in the United States we see cases of defective products that have posed life-threatening dangers to adults and children alike. Unfortunately, defective product cases are among the most common. When you buy a product, whether for yourself or your child, you expect that it is safe and will function as advertised. As a consumer, you have certain rights when you buy a product of any kind. One of these rights is that you will be safe while using this item. Regardless of the size of company that manufactures the product, they are obligated to design, manufacture, and produce safe items. When they fail to do so and you, your child, or another loved one is injured as a result, they may be held liable. As experienced product liability lawyers, we will fight for your rights as a consumer and make sure that the party responsible for the defective product is prosecuted.

Some of the most dangerous and challenging product liability cases are those involving children’s toys. More and more these days we are seeing toy companies and local officials banning toys, recalling toys or specific components, or making provisions to safety regulations that are already in place. This is alarming, as it highlights how dangerous children’s toys can be and what a hazard they can pose to our little ones. The number of banned toys out there today are yet another indication of how serious this problem of cheap and swift manufacturing has gotten.

Here is a look at the most dangerous and banned children’s toys in the United States throughout history, some of which may surprise you:

• Candy Cigarettes – Even though you can still find candy cigarettes at many novelty shops in the U.S., they are extremely dangerous, for societal and physical reasons. In fact, North Dakota even banned them from 1953 to 1967.

• Snap Bracelets – If you were raised in the 90s chances are you remember these colorful novelty items. The spring-loaded metal bands were all the rage for children growing up in the 90s, however, the cheaper knockoffs of the toy were quite dangerous. Some reports indicate that they would slice into children’s wrists, causing many schools to ban them.

• Cabbage Patch Snacktime Kids Doll – This popular cabbage patch doll featured a motorized mouth mechanism that allowed the doll to ‘eat’ plastic foods, making it a big hit amongst youngsters. As you can imagine, kids were inclined to stick their fingers into the moving mouth, just to see what would happen. With no on/off switch, this became quite the hazard.

• Easy-Bake Oven – Another throwback toy, the Easy-Bake Oven was one of the most popular toys to ever grace our nation. Voted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2006, a design flaw which allowed the oven to trap and burner children’s fingers was discovered in 2007, causing the manufacturer to recall more than one million models.

These are just a few of the most widely known and dangerous children’s toys that we have seen on the market over the years. Even though all these products are widely known, they did not come without their dangers. Product liability is no joke and continues to be a growing problem that plagues many design companies and manufacturers today. To learn more about your rights regarding product liability in Oklahoma, please contact us today.