After several reports of malfunctions, accidents and injuries, Fisher-Price has recalled over 11 million defective products. The toys recalled include tricycles, high chairs, inflatable balls, and toy cars for babies and small children.
The majority of the products recalled were toddler tricycles after 10 reports of injuries to children, six of which required medical attention. Seven million Fisher-Price Trikes and Tough Trikes were recalled largely due to a protruding plastic ignition near the seat. The injuries reportedly occurred as a result of children striking, sitting on or falling on the key, and ranged from cuts and bruises to genital bleeding.
In addition, one million high chairs were recalled after 14 injuries caused by defective products were reported. The backs of Healthy Care, Easy Clean, and Close to Me chairs have pegs designed to store the high chair tray. However, children reportedly fell on the pegs, resulting in seven children requiring stitches.
Other products recalled include a line of toys containing inflatable balls. Almost three million Baby Playzone Crawl and Cruise Playground toys and Crawl and Slide Arcade toys, Baby Gymtastics Play Wall toys, Ocean Wonders Kick and Crawl Aquarium toys, 1-2-3 Tetherball toys, and Bat and Score Goal toys were recalled. Over 50 reports were made of the valve of the inflatable balls falling off the toys, creating a serious choking hazard.
In addition, about 100,000 Little People Wheelies Stand ‘n Play Rampway toys were recalled after it was found that the wheels of the cars were easily removable, creating a choking hazard. The majority of the products were recalled in the United States, with about 400,000 in Canada.
According to Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum, manufacturers of toys and similar products need to take additional steps to ensure their products are safe before they are made available to children. However, Tenenbaum praised Fisher-Price for “taking the right steps by agreeing to these recalls and offering consumers free repairs or replacement.”
Source: Yahoo! News, “Fisher-Price recalls more than 11M kid products”, Jennifer C. Kerr, 30 September 2010
