Toy Company Fined $1.1 Million For Not Reporting Deadly Toy Mega Brands, the company that made Magnetix building sets, has agreed to pay a $1.1 million civil penalty to settle claims that the company failed to give the government timely information about the dangers of the magnets in the building sets.[Consumer Reports]
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The toy (which my daughter once owned) had pieces that snapped together using small (but very powerful) magnets. The problem was that the magnets did not stay in the large plastic housing - they pulled out of the plastic and became free. I saw this happen with my daughter's set. I found several of the magnets stuck to my dog's collar. I can see how this could be a problem in a home with very small children. The older ones play on the rug with their Magnetix, clean them up when they are done, but don't realize that the teeny tiny magnets are left behind. Then the baby gets put down on the floor to play and grabs tiny magnets and swallows them. Thankfully, we had no young children who were interested in eating small objects at the time. I went to the Magnetix website and filled out all of the necessary information to get a replacement toy. Never did get one. Ended up tossing it in the trash when we moved because we had children of magnet-eating age (apparently).
@changed my name: Okay, true. Though some off brand sets also have magnetic spheres; in one lawsuit the girl I remember ingested magnetic balls or discs, but more than 10 was kind of insane. It did not mention that she was mentally disabled or anything that might answer as to why she would do that.
@redlikerubies: i seem to remember this, or it was just an episode of [insert medical drama here]
child ate magnetic marbles, they made holes in her organs when they decided to "get closer together"
I'm all for magnets in toys, but is it too much to ask for regulations that require that the magnet be completely encased, not just glued in?
Rule of thumb: If the magnet is not visible, the part that encases it cannot be swallowed, and the part cannot be pryed apart with your bare hands, it's safe.
Agreed.
As a parent I have known since my son came home that Magnets = bad.
But that said if the toys shed magnets as described above, and the company didn't notify the people/government then the fine is valid.
A suggestion: look over the book Toy Monster by Jerry Oppenheimer. In the final chapters, he tells the story of Mattel's "Polly Pocket" toy line and their uber-dangerously powerful magnets. They had a tendency to dislodge and be accidentally swallowed by kids who just casually touched them (apparently a combo of the weak glue, weak plastic and strong-ass magnets).
Mattel was lucky to dodge a massive class-action lawsuit on that. They did redesign the nasty things so they wouldn't come out (which means negligent design).
Mega Brands was also mentioned in the book because of their Magnetix toys and their magnets' tendency to dislodge at the most inopportune times. Mega should also be blessing their lucky stars they're getting off with a $1.1M fine...
@Irashtar: While this certainly makes for safer products, it does not fully solve the problem. The issue that really caught everyone by surprise was what happened if a child swallowed 2 complete bars (and the magnets remained attached). Even if the bars themselves fully complied with all of the applicable standards (i.e. the magnets do not seperate from the toys), no one saw the hazard when magnet #1 would be in the intestinal tract, and bond with a second magnet either in the stomach or the intestines and stick together. Standards writers and regulators are trying to create a safe toy( that is fun and educational too), while still allowing the use of the toys.
@PencilSharp: Does Monster Cable(TM) know about this book? When I clicked on the link, I was expecting to see High quality audio/video cables intended for use by children!
(Sorry, it was just too easy)
rediculous
This is so stupid; one lawsuit was about (I am remembering fuzzily) an 8 year old girl who ate more than a dozen of the magnetic marbles. Um, if your kid, who is old enough to let herself in after school with a key, cannot stop snacking on metal spheres, you may not sue some company. A two year old eating 1, I can understand. This is as dumb as a recent Portland court ruling that the landlord was at fault after a tenant's kid fell out the second story window. Apparently, the landlord should have included a mandatory gravity warning on the lease agreement.