Our Family Has Given A Voice To The Injured For Over 50 Combined Years
Each holiday season, W.A.T.C.H. — World Against Toys Causing Harm — releases its annual list of toys that pose hidden risks to children. The 2025 report warns families about products that may appear harmless but can cause serious injuries through poor design, weak construction, or inadequate warnings. For New Jersey families, these concerns are more than cautionary; they highlight situations where manufacturers and sellers may be legally responsible for unsafe toys.
What Hazards Did W.A.T.C.H. Identify for 2025?
This year’s list includes toys with choking hazards, high-impact projectiles, breakable components, and inadequate age recommendations. Some toys encourage physical play that can result in facial injuries or falls. In many cases, W.A.T.C.H. emphasized the lack of clear warnings or misleading marketing that underestimates a toy’s safety risks.
Although these dangers are familiar, their presence in new products shows ongoing gaps in safety testing and design. Toys must account for foreseeable use — and foreseeable misuse — especially with younger children.
Why Are These Toys a Concern for Product Liability?
Kids interact with toys energetically and unpredictably. A piece that snaps under normal play or a projectile launched at close range may cause harm even when a child is using the toy as intended. When manufacturers fail to account for these possibilities, the product may be considered defective.
Common injuries include choking, eye trauma, contusions, and cuts. A toy marketed as age-appropriate but containing small or fragile parts may expose children to unnecessary risk.
How Does New Jersey Law Address Dangerous Toys?
New Jersey’s Product Liability Act allows injured consumers to bring claims when a product is defective in design, manufacture, or warnings. Plaintiffs do not need to prove negligence; instead, they must show that the toy was unreasonably dangerous when it left the seller’s control and that the defect caused the injury.
Design defects may involve unsafe shapes or materials. Manufacturing defects may involve toys that break easily. Warning defects arise when a toy lacks clear instructions or age labels needed for safe use. For children’s toys, “failure-to-warn” claims are especially significant because parents rely heavily on accurate labeling.
Who May Be Liable for an Unsafe Toy?
Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers may all share responsibility. If the manufacturer cannot be identified or lacks U.S. presence, sellers may be held liable. Retailers may also face claims if they modify packaging, remove warnings, or continue selling toys despite known safety issues.
Families should preserve the toy, packaging, and receipts to help determine the responsible parties.
Why Does the W.A.T.C.H. Report Matter?
While not a legal authority, the report highlights foreseeable dangers in widely sold products. Courts and juries often view such reports as evidence that a manufacturer should have recognized the risks. The report also helps families quickly remove potentially dangerous toys from the home.
For lawyers, the list provides insight into design flaws, inadequate warnings, and injury patterns that may support a product liability claim.
What Should Parents Do After a Toy-Related Injury?
Parents should document the scene, take photos of the toy and injury, and seek medical treatment promptly. Keeping the toy intact — even if broken — is crucial for later investigation. These early steps can help strengthen a potential claim under New Jersey law.
Safety and Accountability: A Newark Product Liability Lawyer at Goldstein & Goldstein, LLP Will Fight to Get You the Compensation You Deserve
Dangerous toys continue to reach store shelves despite repeated warnings. When a defective toy injures a child, legal action may be necessary to protect families and hold manufacturers accountable. A Newark product liability lawyer at Goldstein & Goldstein, LLP helps families pursue claims involving unsafe toys and other defective products, ensuring injured children receive the care and compensation they deserve. For a free consultation, call today at 973-675-8277 or fill out our online form. Located in East Orange, New Jersey, we proudly serve clients in the surrounding areas.
