Defective Children’s Product Lawyers in Georgia & South Carolina
Children are the most vulnerable consumers — they cannot evaluate product safety, they use products in unpredictable ways, and their smaller bodies are more susceptible to injury. When manufacturers of toys, cribs, car seats, strollers, high chairs, and other children’s products fail to meet safety standards, the consequences can be devastating. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that toy-related injuries alone send approximately 200,000 children to emergency rooms annually.
At Roden Law, our defective children’s product lawyers represent families throughout Georgia and South Carolina whose children have been injured by dangerous products. We hold manufacturers, importers, and retailers accountable under strict federal safety standards and state product liability law.
Common Defective Children’s Products
Children’s product recalls and injury reports reveal persistent safety failures:
- Cribs and sleep products: Drop-side cribs (now banned), inclined sleepers (Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play recall), soft bedding, and crib bumpers that pose suffocation and strangulation risks
- Car seats: Harness defects, latch failures, inadequate side-impact protection, and flammable materials
- Toys: Choking hazards (small parts), toxic paint and materials (lead, phthalates), sharp edges, projectile toys, and strangulation hazards from cords
- Strollers: Collapse mechanisms that amputate fingers, hinge pinch points, inadequate braking on inclines, and tip-over hazards
- High chairs: Harness failures allowing children to fall, structural collapse, and entrapment between the seat and tray
- Button batteries: Small lithium button batteries that can be swallowed, causing severe internal chemical burns and death within hours
- Playground equipment: Defective swings, slides, and climbing structures installed in parks, schools, and homes
- Children’s clothing: Drawstrings that cause strangulation and flammable fabrics
Federal Safety Standards for Children’s Products
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 imposed strict federal requirements on children’s products:
- Mandatory third-party testing: Children’s products must be tested by CPSC-accepted laboratories before sale
- Lead limits: Strict limits on lead content in children’s products (100 ppm for substrate, 90 ppm for surface coatings)
- Phthalate restrictions: Bans on certain phthalates in toys and childcare articles
- Mandatory toy standards: ASTM F963 establishes safety requirements for toys including mechanical hazards, flammability, and chemical safety
- Crib standards: Federal mandatory crib standards (16 CFR 1219/1220) prohibiting drop-side cribs and setting strict structural requirements
- Product registration: Manufacturers must provide product registration cards to facilitate recall notification
Violations of these federal standards are powerful evidence of a defective product under Georgia (O.C.G.A. § 51-1-11) and South Carolina product liability law.
Legal Claims for Children’s Product Injuries
Claims for injuries from defective children’s products may be brought under:
- Strict liability: The product was defective and unreasonably dangerous, regardless of the manufacturer’s level of care
- Negligence: The manufacturer failed to exercise reasonable care in designing, testing, or marketing the product
- Breach of warranty: The product failed to meet express or implied warranties of safety
- Negligent supervision claims: In some cases, claims against retailers, daycare providers, or schools that provided or allowed use of a known dangerous product
Georgia’s comparative fault rule (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33) applies, though a child’s own comparative fault is evaluated under a different standard — young children are generally presumed incapable of contributory negligence.
Wrongful Death of a Child
When a defective children’s product causes a child’s death, Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 51-4-1 et seq.) allows parents to bring a wrongful death claim for the full value of the child’s life. South Carolina’s wrongful death statute (S.C. Code § 15-51-10 et seq.) similarly allows recovery by the estate for the benefit of surviving family members.
Filing Deadlines
Georgia allows 2 years from the date of injury (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33). South Carolina allows 3 years (S.C. Code § 15-3-530). For minor children, tolling rules may extend the filing deadline — but parents should not wait to take action. Preserve the product and all packaging as evidence.
