They were the decades that brought us glow sticks, boy bands, and Pac-Man, but the ’80s and ’90s were also when some of the most dangerous toys were manufactured. You should take caution before allowing your child to play with your old toys because they could cause injuries.
Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. can help if your child is hurt when playing with dangerous toys of the ’80s and ’90s. Our Chicago product liability attorneys know that playtime is over when fun and games cause pain. Contact us at (312) 236-2900 for a free consultation and let us help.
Taking a slick ride down a stretch of plastic looked like loads of fun on manufacturer Wham-O’s Slip ‘N’ Slide, but the reality is that kids hurt themselves careening down a narrow, wet tarp laid on the backyard. Hurling themselves head first onto this popular contraption led to numerous reports of spinal injury and other injuries, especially among teens and adults. This prompted the Consumer Product Safety Commission to recommend that only children use the Slip ‘N’ Slide, but it is not unfathomable that they could suffer the same bodily harm.
An attempt to be fashionably hip prompted many children to don Slap Wraps, metal strips they could slap on their wrists only to have them curve around them to create cuff-like bracelets. However, wearing the cuffs over an extended period of time led the metal to poke through the outer casting, causing bruises and cuts.
Also made of metal, playgrounds themselves were hotspots – literally – for danger during the era. Now mostly a thing of the past, metal sliding boards, jungle gyms, and teeter-totters were accidents waiting to happen. Soaring temperatures caused the metal to heat up and to scorch children playing on the equipment while jagged pieces of metal meant they frequently sustained cuts and puncture wounds.
The cherub-faced Snacktime Cabbage Patch Kids dolls ate plastic toy snacks thanks to their battery-powered mechanical jaws, but they also, unfortunately, enjoyed a good meal of human hair and fingers. Mattel recalled the dolls in 1997.
Another dangerous doll of the 90s decade was the Sky Dancer. The Barbie-like toys stood on a mechanical base with a cord that, once pulled, propelled them into the sky. However, their helicopter wings flew rapidly and unpredictably, hitting kids in the face and sometimes causing temporary blindness, cuts, broken teeth, and even a reported case of a concussion. Manufacturer Galoob recalled Sky Dancers at the start of the next decade.
You likely remember Skip-It, a toy that attached to a child’s ankle with a small, plastic hoop and spun in a full circle as the wearer skipped it. The ’90s version even featured a counter on the ball to track the number of skips. While parents thought it promoted good cardio health, Skip-It frequently resulted in bruised and swollen ankles that left kids experiencing aches, pains, and difficulty walking.
Avoid allowing your child play with these and other dangerous toys of the 80s and 90s despite the fact that many are still for sale. If you mistakenly buy one for your child and they are hurt, then let Staver Accident Injury Lawyers, P.C. help you build a case about the product’s defects, the manufacturer’s negligence in designing it, and the injuries your child sustained. You and your child deserve compensation for your pain and suffering that a toy manufacturer caused.
Call us at (312) 236-2900 to schedule an appointment and we will do our best to assist you.
When you’re fighting for maximum compensation, we know what it takes to get it.
