What Lawyers Do

Every so often I get an email update from AAJ (American Association for Justice) about recent legal developments that affect the rights of individuals and consumers. Here are a couple of items that I cherry-picked from it this week that concern toy safety:

• The AP reports that federal safety officials are worried that the economic downturn will cause parents to buy second-hand toys that may contain lead. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which has long been grossly underfunded, has recently received a financial boost from the government, and, in addition, recalls of toys because of lead have fallen sharply in recent years. Still, the CPSC needs more resources — its port inspection program, for instance, only has 9 inspectors!
•  The AP reports that 18 children died in 2007 in toy-related accidents. Further, the CPSC “estimates that 232,900 toy-related injuries were treated at hospitals in 2007.”