Roughly three billion toys are sold each year in the United States with a significant number of those toys purchased during the holidays. According to a recent annual report on toy safety guidelines, however, not all toys on the shelves are safe for children.

Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC, a Portland-based personal injury law firm, shared highlights from the 28th annual "Trouble in Toyland" toy safety report on their personal injury blog. The blog post called “Toy Safety Tips - Avoid Hazards this Holiday Season” warned consumers about dangerous and toxic toys still sold in American stores despite recent progress to remove them. Created by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), the Trouble in Toyland report identifies hazards in toys and children's products that could cause acute injuries. The key findings of the 2013 report highlighted the following hazards:

Choking Hazards – toys such as small, powerful magnets pose choking hazards if swallowed.

Toxic Hazards from Chemicals – toys still sold contained high levels of toxic substances, including high lead, toxic metal anatomy, phthalates and cadmium.

Noisy Toys that Can Damage Hearing – some toys exceeded the 65 decibel limit for toys held close to the ear.

To avoid accidents, adults and parents should take immediate steps to inspect children's toys received over the holidays and recommend parents read and follow these four helpful toy inspection tips from Safe Kids Worldwide:

-Make sure there are no sharp edges or small removable parts on the toys that one's child could remove and swallow.
-Make sure the toys are age-appropriate for your child, read all the instructions included, and inspect all toys for safety.
-Avoid marbles or other toys with small parts that could pose a choking hazard.
-Despite taking preventive steps to help keep kids safe with toys, children can still be injured or sickened as a result of a faulty toy or play equipment. Parents of these children are encouraged to contact experienced product liability attorneys to find out if they have a product liability case related to a dangerous and defective toy.

Source: Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC

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