After Recall, Parents File Lawsuits Against Water Beads Manufacturers Citing Serious Injury And One Death

Several parents are in the early stages of filing a class-action lawsuit against the manufacturers of the popular children’s toy, water beads, after the children swallowed the toy. Water beads are small super-absorbent toys that inflate and expand once they are exposed to water. They represent a serious risk to children who swallow them. They are about the size of ice cream cone sprinkles and can expand to 200 times their original size once they are ingested. Water beads were responsible for 7,800 emergency room visits between 2016 and 2022. They caused the death of at least one child.

The human body cannot digest water beads. Instead, the water beads absorb bodily fluids and expand inside the stomach or intestine. The ingestion of water beads led to airway blockages causing lung collapse, intestinal blockage, and even death.

As of this moment, no federal multidistrict litigation exists. However, the massive number of injuries caused by water beads suggests that the individual claims may be consolidated in the future.

Class-action filed against one water beads manufacturer 

Aside from numerous individual lawsuits filed by the parents of children who ended up in the ER because of water beads, one law firm in California has filed a class action against the makers of Orbeez. The class action lawsuit accuses the company of false advertising, fraudulent conduct, and failure to warn parents about the potential ingestion hazard. The lawsuit claims that Orbeez made “material omissions” in the packaging and used marketing that deceived customers.

The product liability lawsuit is seeking significant changes in marketing, a halt in sales, and compensation for consumers who were unaware of the dangers posed by water beads. The lawsuit claims that the company put profits over people by failing to place the proper warnings about the risk of intestinal obstruction or X-ray detection.

Treating water bead ingestion can be difficult 

It can be quite difficult to treat a child who has ingested water beads. The toys have a tendency to not show up clearly on X-rays. Removing a water bead often requires invasive surgery and other medical procedures.

In one case, a 19-year-old ingested 50 to 70 water beads. The teen suffered nausea, vomiting, and severe abdominal pain. Doctors had to use an endoscope to snake down the teen’s throat, through his stomach, and into the upper portion of his small intestine to remove them. Left untreated, water beads can cause constipation, intestinal obstruction, perforation of the intestine, and peritonitis.

Talk to a Florida Product Liability Lawyer Today 

If your child has been injured by a dangerous or defective toy, one of the only tools at your disposal is to file a lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit holds the company accountable for failing to warn consumers about known risks related to the product. Call the Florida personal injury lawyers at Halpern, Santos & Pinkert today to schedule an appointment, and learn more about how we can recover damages related to medical expenses and pain and suffering.

Source:

drugwatch.com/news/2024/02/05/water-bead-lawsuits-target-dangerous-toy/