California Attorney Tom Martin’s Law Blog

Another Mattel recall targets two categories of toys:

(1) 436,000 Chinese-made die-cast toy cars depicting the character Sarge from the animated film “Cars” because they are covered with lead paint; and

(2) 18.2 million other Chinese-made toys because their small, powerful magnets could harm children if swallowed.

About half of the toys in each recall were distributed in the United States.

In a New York Times Article, Robert A. Eckert, Mattel’s chairman and chief executive, was quoted as having said in a conference call: “No system is perfect… There’s no guarantee that we will not be here again.”

The lead-paint recall was Mattel’s second in less than a month of lead-tainted toys made in China. Together, the recalls have thrust the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars into the heart of rising concern over products made in low-cost factories in China. Last month’s recall of toys with lead paint included some based on characters from “Sesame Street” and “Dora the Explorer.”

The magnetic toys involved in the new recall included 63 products that, though produced in China, were recalled because of a design flaw on Mattel’s part, not a problem with its Chinese contractors.The magnetic toys had been produced since 2002 and sold before January 2007. They include 44 different Polly Pocket toys, 11 Doggie Day Care toys, 4 Batman toys, a One Piece toy, and 2 Barbie toys. (Source: NY Times.)

If you purchased any of the recalled toys, you may have a legal claim. For further information, feel free to contact the Law Office of Thomas Glenn Martin by clicking here.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 15th, 2007 at 12:59 pm and is filed under Toxic Injury, Consumer Protection, Environmental Enforcement, General Legal, Informational . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.