On March 19, 2020, Grizzly Industrial issued a recall for their Children’s Tool Kits. According to the recall, recall number 20-098, the tool belt, hammer, and suspenders contain elevated levels of lead. This violates the federal lead content standard. Additionally, the toy goggles and the hardhats fail to meet safety requirements. According to the recall, approximately 20,645 units have been affected.
The recall includes two models of the Children’s Tool Kits. The included models are H3044 and H5855. Model H3044 consists of 12 pieces, which include a helmet, goggles, tool belt, tape measure, hammer, ruler, carpenter’s square, level, a pair of leather gloves, a bottle of chalk, and suspenders. Model H5855 consists of 11 pieces, which include goggles, tape measure, hammer, ruler, carpenter’s square, level, screwdriver, pliers, an adjustable wrench, and a wooden tool caddy. The model numbers can be found printed on the front upper right corner of the packaging. Many items included in the tool kit are printed with “Grizzly Industrial.”
The defective children’s tool kits were sold at Grizzly Industrial showrooms around the country; the tool kits were also available online via www.grizzly.com and www.Amazon.com. The defective tool kits were available from September 2002 through November 2019 – for approximately $20 each.
According to the recall, no incidents or injuries have been reported. The company is urging consumers to immediately stop using the recalled products; consumers are also advised to take the toys away from children. The company is asking affected consumers to contact the company for further instructions on returning the products for a free return (including shipping). All known purchasers are being contacted directly by Grizzly Industrial.
Should you follow the suggestions made by Grizzly Industrial? If your child suffered any type of harm associated by the defective product, you should not follow the suggestions made by the company – you should not even consider doing so. Instead, you should seek legal assistance as you might have grounds to pursue a product liability claim.
Would you like to explore the possibility of filing a claim for the harm that your child suffered due to a defective product? If so, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with our experts at your earliest convenience. The defective product lawyers at Normandie Law Firm are ready to provide you with the guidance that you need to pursue your claim against Grizzly Industrial (or any other company that negligently contributed to the harm caused by a defective product. The defective product attorneys at our firm are ready to evaluate your claim and provide you with all the information that you need to pursue your claim. Do not hesitate to contact our law firm today.
The Risks Associated with the Defective Toy
As previously mentioned, the recalled children’s toy violated both the federal content standard as well as toy safety requirements – both which are designed to limit the harm that children suffer related to hazardous toys. Because the toys contain high levels of lead, children run the risk of lead poisoning. Lead poisoning is often undetected until it is too late. Children can suffer a number of symptoms which can be confused for other ailments; some of these symptoms include irritability, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain, and seizures, for example. Lead poisoning can cause developmental delays and learning difficulties as well. In some cases, lead poisoning can be fatal.
Understanding Product Liability
Depending on the details surrounding the harm that your child suffered, you might have grounds to file a product liability claim. Your right to pursue a claim for the harm suffered because of a defective product is based on the concept of product liability. Based on product liability, all companies owe their consumers a duty of care. That is, they have the duty to ensure that their products are completely safe to use. Because of this duty of care owed to consumers, companies have to test and inspect their products thoroughly to be able to identify and address and hazards present in their products. Specifically, products must be free of defects present in design, labeling, and manufacturing.
If companies fail to ensure that their products are safe for consumer use, they are breaching their duty of care. By making defective products available to consumers, they are negligently putting their consumers at risk of injury. These defective products can cause incidents which can directly harm consumers. Whenever the harm that a consumer suffer can be correlated with a defect present in the product, the company could be held accountable for all the harm suffered. This means that affected consumers could sue.
If you would like to learn more about your right to sue and your right to recover monetary compensation for the harm that your child suffered, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with our experts at your earliest convenience.
Your Right to Sue and Receive Monetary Compensation
Depending on the details surrounding your claim, you might be eligible to recover monetary compensation for the harm that your child suffered. Although there is no guarantee on the amount that you could recover (since that is specifically based on the details of your claim), some of the types of compensation that might be available for recovery could include the following:
- Medical expenses – for all the expenses associated with the harm caused by the defective product, including immediate treatment, future treatment, medications, and medical procedures
- Lost earnings – for the loss of wages associated with the incident (i.e. if you had to stop working to care for your child during the time immediately after the incident)
- Pain and suffering – for the mental and emotional distress associated with the incident (including depression, anxiety, PTSD, embarrassment, etc.)
- Property damage – for any property damage associated with the defective product
- Funeral and burial costs – for the expenses resulting from the death of the victim
- Loss of consortium – for the lost ability to have a normal family relationship with the victim due to the incident
- Punitive damages – awarded as punishment towards the company that negligently released the defective product to consumers
If you would like to learn more about the type and amount of compensation that you could be eligible to recover upon reaching a successful outcome, do not hesitate to contact the experts at our firm at your earliest convenience. Our lawyers are ready to aggressively fight for your right to recover the highest amount of compensation available for your claim. Our lawyers will not rest until you recover the compensation that you deserve.
Important Steps to Follow
If you or a member of your family suffered harm associated with a defective product, there are a number of things that you should do to prepare to take legal action against the company that negligently contributed to the harm suffered. Consider the following recommended steps:
- Seek medical attention immediately
- Take photos of any physical injuries
- Take photos of the defective product
- Contact the company to report the defective product and the harm suffered
- Do not agree to a free repair
- Do not agree to a free replacement
- Do not agree to a refund
- Do not agree to return the product
- Keep the product in a safe place, out of reach of children
- Keep the product as-is, do not tamper with it in any way
- Gather all relevant medical records
- Gather any records related to the purchase of the defective product
- Seek legal assistance immediately
What happens when you follow the steps listed above? Following the recommended steps above allows you to essentially prepare to take legal action against the liable company. If you would like to learn more about the importance of the steps listed above or if you are in need of guidance at any point, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with our experts at your earliest convenience.
File Your Claim Promptly
Because claims are time-sensitive, it is important that you file your claim as soon as possible. All claims are subject to a statute of limitations, which determines the total time that claimants have to pursue their claims. If claimants do not file their claims within the time allowed by the time allowed by the statute of limitations, they will lose their right to sue. What deadline applies to your claim? In California, personal injury claims, which include product liability claims, are subject to a two-year statute of limitations – meaning that claimants only have two years to pursue their claims. However, it is important to mention that exceptions to the applicable statute of limitations could apply. These exceptions can toll the statute of limitations or extend the deadline. For example, in cases that involve children, the applicable deadline can be tolled until the child reaches an adult age (normally eighteen or whenever legally emancipated). This means that the statute of limitations can be tolled for many years, and the victim could pursue a claim once a legal age has been reached (given that the parents never pursued a claim separately). To ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the statute of limitations that applies to your claim, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm at your earliest convenience.
Contact Normandie Law Firm Today
If you are interested in learning more about your right to file a product liability claim for the harm that your child suffered due to lead poisoning associated with a defective product, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm at your earliest convenience. At Normandie Law Firm, we are dedicated to providing all affected consumers with the guidance that they need to successfully hold liable companies accountable for their negligent actions. If you would like to discuss your claim with the experts at our firm, do not hesitate to contact us at your earliest convenience.
At Normandie Law Firm, we offer free legal services, including free consultations and free second opinions. During these free legal services, our lawyers will be available to answer all your questions and address all your concerns – essentially providing you with all the information that you need to start or continue your claim. In addition to these free legal services, our firm also offers a Zero-Fee guarantee. Because of our Zero-Fee guarantee, our clients will never be required to pay any upfront legal fees for any of our legal services. Our firm is also strictly based on contingency; therefore, our clients will not be required to pay anything until after reaching a successful claim outcome. If you are ready to discuss your current situation with the experts at our firm, do not hesitate to contact our firm at your earliest convenience.
