I suppose we are now, commercially, in the run up to Christmas! I’ve seen the decorations start to come out in the malls and shop windows, and I’m seeing the cards and gift-wrap consumables prop up in every card shop and supermarket around. Personally, I don’t like to think that the run up to Christmas starts until December 1st! But my view is somewhat outdated; even my own girlfriend has started buying presents…
But it got me thinking about something. Toys – we all had them as kids. The sight of an action man or a beautifully constructed lego set has the power to regress most of us in to a moment of childhood memoir; but as the market for toys increases over the coming months, and as competition remains high to produce the biggest and best toys, is our children’s health and safety even considered during the process of design and manufacturing?
All products, particularly those designed for children, must undergo rigorous testing and quality control to ensure that they not only meet our standards pleasure-wise, but to ensure no single child or person using a toy is ever hurt through its use. You’ve probably seen the labels for age guidance and warnings about small parts on most toys nowadays. These aren’t just there for show – we all know kids will be kids, so we all have a duty to look after them as well.
But still, your child could end up injured because the design of the toy was dangerous, or perhaps not suitable, or through the toy being defective itself. God forbid if there were any accidental sharp parts on a Barbie doll, or if the latest toy had the unfortunate side effect of trapping a child’s finger between parts, or something similar. Toys within their age ratings must be suitable and safe for the intended users; otherwise, you may well have a claim for compensation for your child.
Child Injured – What to Do!
If your child has been injured whilst using a toy, the first thing you need to do of course is seek appropriate medical help. It’s easy to panic when a child has been injured; try not to (although that’s easier said than done) and do all that is necessary to make sure your child will be OK.
Next: speak to us about making a claim.
Your child should not have been injured by a defective or poorly designed toy. Something may have been missed in the quality control or testing process, and you need to not only raise it with the sellers and manufacturers, but you need to consider compensating your child for their injuries.
You can contact the seller and manufacturer to report the problem, but do not send the toy back to them, and do not accept any compensatory settlements from them either. If the seller tries to bounce you of on the manufacturer, don’t be afraid to be persistent with them; under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, the seller is bound to compensate you for injuries sustained by a product supplied from them to you. Even if it’s not “technically” their fault, they are still liable.
You should seek advice from an independent firm of specialist personal injury lawyers such as our team here at The Injury Lawyers. We will tell you in minutes whether we think you have a valid claim, and we can assist you on our Genuine No Win, No Fee agreement.
If it was your child that was injured, you will need to represent them as the point of contact, known as a “Litigation Friend”, through the process of the claim. This responsibility can be held by any responsible adult, but is usually a parent or guardian.
Under our agreement, your child’s compensation money is completely protected. We will seek recovery of our legal fees directly from the other side, and will always limit them to whatever is recovered from the other side; so, there are no percentages taken away, and no deductions incurred.
For most claims, the money is held in a court trust fund with a considerably healthy interest rate on it, and is available for your child to have the use of when they reach the age of 18. I’m sure it’s something that will come in a great deal of use as they head in to further education or as they prepare to head in to the big wide world of work.
If you need to know whether your child has a claim for compensation after being injured by a toy, give us a call for a friendly and free, no obligation, chat.