A recent report about a child who suffered serious burns after heating a squishy toy has raised hard questions about product safety. The girl reportedly put the gel-filled toy in a microwave to make it softer. When she squeezed it, the outer shell burst and hot material struck her face.
Her injury was not the first linked to heated squishy toys. Other children have reportedly suffered burns after similar toys were microwaved, left in hot cars or heated after being frozen.
The reports do not, by themselves, prove that a manufacturer or seller broke the law. The facts of each incident may differ. Some toys may be authentic products while others may be copies. Packaging, warnings and instructions may also vary.
Still, these injuries bring an important question into focus: When a product can seriously hurt a child, how clear does its warning need to be?
What Happened With the Microwaved Squishy Toy?
The BBC reported on the child’s burn injury after a squishy toy was placed in a microwave. Reports about the incident said the child wanted to make the toy softer. After heating it, she squeezed it and the toy burst, sending hot gel-like material onto her face.
Heating a sealed, gel-filled toy can create pressure inside it. If the shell breaks, the hot filling may escape quickly. Because the material may be thick and sticky, it can stay against the skin rather than flowing away like water.
Other children have reportedly suffered burns to the face, hands and body in similar incidents. Some cases required care from burn specialists. Reports have also connected the practice to videos and tips shared online, though children may hear about it from friends without seeing the original posts.
The manufacturer of the branded toy commonly discussed in these reports has said its products should not be heated, frozen or microwaved. It has also warned that copycat products may not meet the same standards or carry the same warnings.
Are Toy Companies Required to Warn About Every Possible Danger?
There is no simple rule saying that every toy package must list every action a child could possibly take.
Product warnings generally focus on dangers that are known or reasonably predictable. The required warning may depend on several issues, including:
- How serious the danger is
- Whether the danger is obvious
- Who is likely to use the product
- Whether the company knew or had reason to know about similar incidents
- Whether clearer instructions could reduce the risk
Federal rules also place specific safety and labeling duties on companies that make or import children’s products. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission provides detailed toy safety guidance for manufacturers and importers.
Those federal standards do not answer every question in a civil product liability case. A lawsuit may require a close review of the product, package, instructions, advertising and history of reported problems.
Our product liability lawyers examine whether a product was designed, made or sold in a way that exposed users to an unreasonable danger. In some cases, the issue is not the physical design of the product. The issue is what the company failed to tell the customer.
Is “Do Not Eat” Enough?
Warnings such as “do not eat” or “not for children under three” address specific hazards. They may not tell a parent or child that a sealed toy can burst and release dangerously hot material after being heated.
A warning that only says “do not eat” would not appear to explain a heating hazard. Whether the law required a separate “do not heat” warning would depend on the facts.
A product warning may need to describe both the unsafe action and the possible result. For example, “Do not microwave” gives a direct instruction. “Do not microwave. Product may burst and cause burns” also tells the reader why the warning matters.
The location and size of a warning may matter too. A warning can be technically present but still easy to miss. Questions may include whether it appeared on the front or back of the box, whether it was hidden in small print and whether it remained with the toy after the package was thrown away.
Warnings for children’s products present another challenge. The buyer may be an adult, but the person using the toy may be a young child who cannot fully understand a label. Product makers may need to consider how parents and children actually use and store the item.
When Does a Failure to Warn Become a Product Liability Issue?
A failure-to-warn claim may arise when a company knows or may reasonably be expected to know about a product hazard but does not provide an adequate warning or instruction.
That does not mean every injury creates a valid claim. A product liability investigation may ask:
- Was the danger known before the injury?
- Had other users reported similar incidents?
- Did the company test the product under expected conditions?
- Was heating or microwaving the toy reasonably predictable?
- Did the package clearly warn against heating?
- Was the injured child using a genuine product or a copy?
- Did the missing or unclear warning contribute to the injury?
Social media can make these cases even more complex. A product maker may not create an unsafe online trend. However, repeated videos showing children altering a product may give a company notice of how the product is being used.
Once a company learns about a serious danger, it may need to consider stronger labels, updated online instructions, retailer notices, design changes or a recall. Federal law also requires manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers to report certain possible product hazards to the CPSC. The agency explains those obligations in its product hazard reporting guidance.
Why Burn Injuries Can Affect a Child for Years
A serious burn is not limited to the first hospital visit. A child may face wound care, pain, surgery, scarring or changes in movement. Burns to the face or hands can be especially difficult because those areas affect expression, touch and daily tasks.
Families may also face fear, missed work, travel for medical care and stress about how the injury will affect the child’s future. Our burn injury attorneys understand that these injuries can reach far beyond the skin.
Some burn injuries may be considered catastrophic injuries when they cause lasting limits, major disfigurement or a need for long-term care. When a toy suddenly bursts under pressure, an investigation may also involve issues similar to other explosion injury cases.
The American Burn Association offers general burn first-aid information. Serious burns, burns involving a child’s face or airway and burns with heavy blistering may require emergency medical attention. Families should rely on qualified medical providers for guidance about a specific injury.
What Can Families Do After a Possible Product Injury?
The moments after a child is hurt can be frightening. Medical care comes first. Once the immediate crisis is under control, records and physical evidence may help explain what happened.
Useful evidence may include the toy, its packaging, receipts, photographs, medical records and any online listing used to buy it. The microwave or other device involved may also contain important information. Throwing the toy away could make it harder to identify the maker, test its contents or read its warnings.
Consumers can search federal recalls and report unsafe products through SaferProducts.gov, which is operated by the CPSC.
A report does not prove that a product was defective. It can, however, help safety officials identify patterns involving similar products or injuries.
Recent litigation involving other children’s products has shown how a missing safety feature or inadequate warning can have serious results. A jury recently considered these questions in a defective bike helmet lawsuit. Every case is different, but the same basic concern remains: Companies that sell products for children must take known safety risks seriously.
Clear Warnings Can Help Prevent Life-Changing Injuries
Children are curious. They squeeze, stretch, freeze, heat and test the objects around them. A company cannot predict every possible action, but it may have a duty to warn about serious dangers that are known or reasonably foreseeable.
Whether the squishy toy involved in this reported incident had an adequate warning cannot be decided from news coverage alone. The answer may depend on the exact product, packaging, warning language and information available to the company before the injury.
What is clear is that a vague warning may not be enough when a specific use can cause a toy to burst and cover a child in burning material.
Families dealing with a serious injury deserve direct answers. Breit Biniazan may be able to investigate whether a product’s design, manufacture or warnings played a role. To discuss a possible product injury claim, contact our team or call (855) 659-4457.
