1.8 Million Dollar Store Toy Darts Recalled after Two Choking Deaths Reported
After receiving reports of two asphyxiation deaths, yesterday the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Family Dollar Stores Inc., of Charlotte, N.C., announced the recall of 1.8 million "Auto Fire" toy dart gun sets due to a potentially deadly choking hazard. According to the CPSC, if a child places the soft, pliable plastic toy dart in his/her mouth, the toy can be inhaled into the throat and prevent the child from breathing. The two deaths reported involved a 9-year-old boy in Chicago, Illinois, and a 10-year-old boy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The "Auto Fire" toy target set is sold with either an orange and yellow toy gun (item #P238) or a blue and yellow toy gun (item #9328), eight orange darts and a small target with numbers from 1 to 20. The gun's item number is located on one side of the handle in raised lettering. The soft plastic darts measure slightly more than one inch in length and have a small suction cup at one end with a diameter of about ½ inch. The target is black, yellow, red and green, and measures five inches in diameter. "Gordy Toy" for "Ages 8+" is printed on the packaging.
The toy sets, which were made in China, were sold exclusively at Family Dollar stores nationwide from September 2005 through January 2009 for about $1.50. The CPSC advises parents that they should immediately take the toy target sets from children and discard them.
Wrongful Death Lawsuit Pending
Business Week reported yesterday that a wrongful death lawsuit was filed last year by the family of the 9-year-old Chicago boy who died as a result of chocking on the toy darts. The defective product lawsuit, against importer Henry Gordy International Inc. of Plainfield, New Jersey, and Family Dollar Stores Inc., alleged the toys were "defective and dangerous," and that that Gordy knew the Auto Fire Target Set could pose a choking hazard prior to the boy's death in 2007.
Continue reading "1.8 Million Dollar Store Toy Darts Recalled after Two Choking Deaths Reported" »
