Wrongful Death and Defective Children’s Products
When we buy products in Champaign for our infants’ nurseries or purchase car seats to keep our children safe from harm, we should be able to expect that our kids will not sustain injuries due to product defects. Yet defective children’s products (and other consumer items in our homes and cars) can result in a fatal child injury. In addition to filing a product liability lawsuit in Illinois, you may be able to seek compensation by filing a wrongful death claim. Although wrongful death lawsuits connected to child injuries do not typically lead to common damages in these cases such as lost wages or loss of income (as with an adult who suffers deadly injuries), a wrongful death lawsuit nonetheless can help to make clear the severity of a defective product and its lasting harms.
Malfunctioning Children’s Products and Fatal Injuries
What are some of the most commonly manufactured products for children that do not work as they should? While we do not like to think about it, products such as car seats, cribs, and high chairs—items we normally purchase in order to prevent other harms from happening to our kids—often are involved in significant product recalls. For instance, just recently, a report from CNBC indicated that more than 50,000 Evenflo car seats were being recalled because of a problem with the harness. And less than one year ago, a report from Consumer Affairs identified a crib defect that resulted in a recall of nearly 12,000 DaVinci cribs in the United States and Canada. Specifically, the mattress support brackets reportedly could detach, leading a baby to “become trapped in the crib, fall, or suffer lacerations from the broken metal bracket.”
Even household furniture that is not designed solely for the use of young kids can result in severe and fatal child injuries. For example, a report from ABC Newsdiscussed the danger of certain IKEA furniture, including dressers that could tip over without warning. IKEA recalled its dresser model after learning that the piece of furniture had tipped over and killed at least one two-year-old boy.
Facts and Figures About Child Injuries and Fatalities from Nursery Products
What do you need to know about fatal injuries from defective children’s products? An annual report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) identified the following facts and figures for defective products and child injuries:
- About 66 percent of all child injuries are linked to cribs, mattresses, infant carriers, strollers, and high chairs.
- Approximately 86 percent of child fatalities from defective products result from dangerous cribs, mattresses, bassinets, cradles, playpens, infant carriers, and baby baths or seats.
- Between 2010-2012, the CPSC linked 311 deaths (around 104 per year, on average), to children’s products designed for kids under the age of 5.
Contact an Urbana Wrongful Death Attorney
Losing a child to injuries resulting from a defective product can be one of the most difficult experiences that any parent faces. No child should be subject to harmful products, and no infant should sustain fatal injuries because of a design or manufacturing defect. If you recently lost a loved one due to product liability injuries, an aggressive Urbana wrongful death attorney can assist you with your case. Contact Woodruff Johnson & Evans Law Offices today to learn more about filing a wrongful death lawsuit.