Choking Hazard Recall: Yetonamr Pull-String Teething Toys & Product Liability Risks

Parents purchase teething toys for only one reason: to ease a child’s discomfort in a safe way. As a result, parents of toddlers become concerned when a product recall occurs on infant and child products, especially when a product can cause potentially severe consequences, such as choking. A Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) product recall of Yeonamr pull-string teething toys illustrates how quickly a seemingly cute child’s toy can become a potentially lethal product to a child and explains the reason product liability laws exist to protect consumers from preventable injuries. 

Background of the recall 

According to the CPSC, Yetonamr pull-string teething toys were recalled due to a choking hazard, which could cause serious injury or death. The CPSC said Yetonamr pull-string teething toys pose a choking hazard due to strings which can get lodged in a child’s throat, creating an extreme hazard as children, especially young children, explore objects by placing them in their mouths.

The toys were sold online and some of them were sold on Amazon. This is also a trend that we are seeing with modern recalls. Not all parents are made aware of a product’s dangers until it is announced that the product is being recalled or after reports of dangerous incidents and near-misses. 

Why this product could be dangerous 

One of the greatest hazards for young children is choking, which can happen silently and quickly. Even a brief time can mean a child loses oxygen. Teething toys, which may have strings, removable parts, or parts that can compress, stretch, or break in unexpected ways, pose a particular threat.

This is not insignificant. The concern raised by the recall is precisely the sort of danger that safety standards are intended to prevent. A piece of string that can get lodged in a child’s throat is precisely the sort of hazard that safety standards were put in place to prevent. 

This recall and product liability law 

While a recall can represent a simple safety bulletin, it can also serve as a warning sign of a potentially defective product. In many instances of product liability claims, consumers injured by a product can bring claims under any of the following theories of product defects: 

• Defect in design – The design was unsafe to begin with. For example, a toy whose design incorporates a pull-string feature and which poses a foreseeable risk of choking when a string is pulled could have an inherently defective design. 

• Manufacturing defect – There was a defect when the product was manufactured. Perhaps the string was longer than it should have been or failed under normal usage. 

• Failure to warn – Even in cases where a product could be made safer, a manufacturer has a responsibility to issue proper instructions as well as warnings regarding a product’s use, especially when dealing with children’s products, as children are vulnerable. 

Talk to a Florida Product Liability Lawyer Today 

Halpern, Santos & Pinkert represent the interests of Florida residents who have been injured by a dangerous or defective product. Call our Florida personal injury lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your case right away.