Child Infected after Swallowing Magnets

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OriginHacker21

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CNN Article

I dunno, but this article really made me think. The child put the magnets in her mouth and accidentally swallowed them. How is that the fault of Mattel? The child is clearly at fault. The child was the one that swallowed them so ... ?

I think I'll go buy some nails at Home Depot and "accidentally swallow" them and sue for millions of dollars (sue Home Depot and nail maker). Why the heck do I need to work?
 
"Girl, 7, got serious infection after swallowing Mattel magnets in 2005"

Guess that infection just kept hanging in there.

"May said the experience has moved her to alter her toy-buying habits. "I inspect things more, and there's certain things now I won't allow them to play with no more -- nothing with magnets, nothing that I think is going to fall apart."

Will she keep yapping on the cell phone while driving?
 
Perhaps Mattel shouldn't be producing toys that have small, swallowable parts...but...My mother 1) may never have bought it and 2) would have inspected it before giving it to me if I was too young to know any better. Do parents have absolutely NO responsibility for what happens to their kids any more?
 
I mean think about it. I could work 20+ years to give my kid a good life/education. Or, I could give him/her a toy that has hazards - have the kid be hurt physically by those hazards and sue for $50,000,000 (emotional stress, medical bills, etc...).

I mean, who needs to work ?
smile.gif
 
yeah... my mother told me from the start that I should not put anything in my mouth exept food. I think even this little girl knew that she wasnt putting food into her mouth.

I doubt if she had swallowed the entire little piece, it would be any different, there still would be a lawsuit ecause the piece was too small or something.

I really dont know what people expect, when they want the lowest possible price at wal-mart, a booming economy with plenty of jobs available, high levels of human rights in third world countries and absolute responsibility from everyone but themselves to ensure all of this and more.

I can understand things falling apart, and being upset about the quality of the item. I can understand if the item is something like a bicycle or a scooter that has dngerous repercussions from an inferior quality item failing. I can also understand an issue of something designed for very young children, who absolutely will put things into their mouths to teeth on, and how failure of any of these types of items would be grounds for a lawsuit, provided poor quality of the item could be proven.

However, something made and marked for older children, is simply a poor argument for lawsuit basis on the drounds that the item fell apart in their mouth. It should not have been in their mouth in the first place, they should have known that, and thus it should have fallen apart onto the floor, where it could then be picked up and returned to the store for a refund.

As much as we like to pass blame away from kids under 18, there is still an inherent level of maturity and fault that should be put onto them, even at these younger points. They learn real quick not to touch a hot stove.. should we sue the stove company? I think not. Parental responsibility and teaching should have kids at a pretty decent point by the time they are 7, which is about time to go to 1st grade and really start interfacing with your peers. on their own, in public, and a multitude of additional dangers and new things to know come up.

Im not saying to destroy the joys and care-free life of a child. I am saying that as joyfula nd care free as it may be, there still is a good deal of learnng and life reality that must come along too.

JMH
 
Quote:

CNN Article

I dunno, but this article really made me think. The child put the magnets in her mouth and accidentally swallowed them. How is that the fault of Mattel? The child is clearly at fault. The child was the one that swallowed them so ... ?

I think I'll go buy some nails at Home Depot and "accidentally swallow" them and sue for millions of dollars (sue Home Depot and nail maker). Why the heck do I need to work?

Click to expand...


You're comparing apples to oranges. You know better. The child didn't. There should be a higher standard when it comes to making sure toys are safe. With kids, you can tell them a hundred times not to do something, but they'll still do it. EVERY time you give my son a crayon, he goes to eat it. EVERY time my wife and I correct him. EVERY time he still does it. You HAVE to be able to rely to a certain extent on the stuff he's sticking in his mouth being safe. Period.
 
Simple solution. No more toys for kids. Helmets at all times. Never ever left unattendent. Not allowed outside at all. Straight from the home to destination, but only allowed destinations: school, doctor visits, etc. Only transportation method is certified armored vehicle never exceeding 10 mph and with suitable escort.

Hey, IT'S FOR THE CHILDREN so no expense or inconvenience is too much.

/scarcasm mode off
 
Quote:

how old is your son???

Click to expand...


20 months.

That being said, the issue of lawsuits is a whole 'nother debate. As for toy safety, though, we have to hold manufacturers accountable for what they put on the shelves. If we don't, the upstanding ones will still produce good products, but we'll also get a lot of dangerous junk that unnecessarily puts kids at risk.

As for the case we're discussing here, a 7 year old would not have known that swallowing magnets can be dangerous. If you're going to produce a toy for a 7 year old with magnets, you'd better make sure that a 7 year old can't separate them from the toy under normal circumstances. It's all about taking responsibility for what you produce. This is no different than the idea that individuals should take responsibility for their own behavior. The only difference is we're talking about a company, not an individual.

Al, if you're seriously suggesting that I would have a 12 year old that still eats crayons, we're going to have to take this outside.
 
But your claim that your son put everything in his mouth, when he is 20 months old is more than understandable.

However, dont you think you might have a bit more expectations of him when he is 84 months old??? That is a long way off.

As I stated, if the toy is a teething ring, or similar type of thing that is designed to be put into the mouth, that is one thing. Generally toys made for different age groups have different sizes and complexity, for a reason.

At some point the age suggestions on the toy boxes, and the warnings that the toyontains small parts which should not be put into any orifices must suffice. And Im not a fan of protecting the companies. Poor quality has no real excuse, except that poor quality should be reflected in sales, not in making one point user rich because they happened to mix their stupidity into the equation.

So, just like you would be offended at the suggestion that you have a 12 year old that eats crayons, it is highly ridicuous that a 7 year old would put small complex parts of a toy in their mouth. The fact that it fella apart is nearly irrleevant, as had it fallen apart on the floor, the simple solution would have been to return it to the store, without lawsuit, because there is no grounds. I however maintain that had the magnet not fallen off, and the toy had been swollowed, the suit would have been put out on the grounds that the parts are too small. The issue is that small parts were in the hands of a 7 year old who put them into their mouth. That is it. and small parts come with the territory of a toy that is designed to fit into ones' pocket. So guess what, if the kid isnt smart enough to keep toys out of their mouth at 7 years old, then the parent must face the facts, or only allow this child to play with fischer price little people toys. Even at seven, some level of responsibility is inherently expected, and should be provided. Society shouldnt have to pay for their inabilities for a mistake that was their own. Alas, it is too easy to make money that way, apparently.

JMH
 
I see your point, JMH, and I largely agree. I wouldn't put it past a 7 year old to put stuff into his/her mouth, though. I'm thinking back on the kind of 7 year old I used to be and I can easily see it. I once swallowed a penny just because. Sure it's dumb, but it happens. Kids can be hyper little sugar fueled monsters sometimes and they can't be counted on to always think like adults. Knowing that, reasonable measures need to be taken to prevent the inevitable stupid mistakes from causing injury and death.

I also don't believe a company should be able to hide behind a warning printed on a box. Kids don't read or understand warnings. Only parents do that and you can't be around 100% of the time to make sure the kid adheres to all the warnings on the dozens of toys they typically have. Like I said, at a certain point, you have to be able to trust product safety.

If I was that girl's parents and had incurred $40k in medical bills due to a faulty toy, you bet I'd be doing what it takes to get that money back. I wouldn't milk it for anything more than the costs I incurred, but can anyone honestly tell me that, under that situation, you'd feel absolutely no desire to have the company that produced the product that injured your child and resulted in surgery and $40k in bills make things right?
 
Quote:

A Polly Pocket recall in November, however, was prompted by reports of injuries from magnets used in various toys. One child has died, and 19 others have needed surgery since 2003 as a result of swallowing magnets used in toys, the government said.

Click to expand...

USA Today

JHZR2,

I think you're letting the manufacture off the hook way too easy. These manufactures need to share a certain amount of responsibility for product safety. Sadly, product safety is usually fuelled by the fear of lawsuits. It would be nice if companies would engineer their products with built in safety features because they actually care about the safety and well being of the end user, but so often that's not the case; they rather make their products safe for fear of getting sued and losing their bottom line profits.

The magnet on the toy in question was not supposed to fall off and become a hazard to the child playing with it. Mattel is taking a big hit financially and publicly because of their decision to use foreign labour to build their toys. Made in China for Mattel means a much wider profit margin. No doubt some of their profits will now be eaten away by lawsuits.

On the flip side, parents should share some responsibility also, but I don't believe they should have to share the majority of the burden for product safety. Hopefully the word will get out to some of these parents that Made in China means a possible risk to their child's well being.
wink.gif
 
When my little boy was 18-20 months, everything went in his mouth.

We had a close call, when my nephews left an Easter egg wrapper (foil) on the floor, which he put in his mouth and nearly choked (was pretty close).

That's our fault, no two ways about it.

Manufacturers who make toys expect them (well ought to expect them, because they are the toy manufacturers) into children's mouths. Watch a bunch of children, and see what makes it into their mouth. Watch an office full of adults, and see how many times a pen ends up in someone's mouths.

Toy manufacturers have a responsibility to protect children from unsafe toys. Parents also have a responsibility to educate their children, and keep an eye on the manufacture and condition of the toys (even the best of them will become dangerous at some time), and decide which will teach lessons (pinch points etc), and which could cause harm, and bin those that are beyond safe limits.
 
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