According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 10 reports of injuries to children, six of which required medical attention, prompted Fisher-Price to initiate a massive product recall. Due to product liability concerns, the toymaker is recalling more than 11 million tricycles, high chairs and toys.
Most of the children’s products and toys being recalled were sold in the United States, but around 400,000 were sold in Canada.
Although CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum praised Fisher-Price, a unit of Mattel, Inc., for “taking the right steps by agreeing to these recalls and offering consumers free repairs or replacement,” she said that manufacturers need to do more to prevent safety issues before products ever reach store shelves and product liability concerns arise.
Protruding Ignition Key on Tricycles Could Cause Injuries
The CPSC says that the tricycles and high chairs were the products that had reportedly caused injuries. About 7 million Fisher-Price Trikes and Tough Trikes toddler tricycles are being recalled. Some feature popular characters including Dora the Explorer and Barbie.
The affected trikes have a plastic ignition key near the seat that protrudes, which children could strike, sit on or fall on, causing injury. The CPSC specified that the injuries could include genital bleeding.
Storage Pegs on High Chairs Could Cause Serious Cuts
The high chairs being recalled include more than 1 million high chairs under the brands Healthy Care, Easy Clean and Close to Me. There have been 14 reports of problems, although not all resulted in injuries.
These high chairs have pegs on the back that can be used for storage. However, children may fall against the pegs and cut or injure themselves. Seven children were hurt by falling on the pegs and required stitches.
Other Fisher-Price Baby and Children’s Toys Recalled for Posing Choking Hazard
Although no injuries have yet been reported to the CPSC, Fisher-Price has also issued a product liability recall on other products after receiving reports of small parts coming off the toys, which poses a choking hazard.
Fisher-Price is recalling more than 2.8 million of the following toys because they contain an inflatable ball. The CPSC has received more than 50 reports of the valve of the ball coming loose, posing a choking hazard to small children:
• Baby Playzone Crawl & Cruise Playground
• Baby Playzone Crawl & Slide Arcade
• Baby Gymtastics Play Wall
• Ocean Wonders Kick & Crawl Aquarium
• 1-2-3 Tetherball
• Bat & Score Goal toys
Around 100,000 toys with cars are being recalled because the wheels on the purple and green cars can come off and pose a choking hazard:
• Fisher-Price Little People Wheelies Stand ‘n Play Rampway toys
For specific information about dates of sale and model numbers for the recalled products, please visit the product recall page of Fisher-Price’s website.
Source:
“Fisher-Price recalls more than 11M kid products” (Associated Press, September 30, 2010)