Little hands, fingers and mouths are particularly vulnerable when mishaps occur at home, and two of this week’s recalled products had flaws that injured children.
The most serious involved two cases of fingers being crushed or amputated and other injuries occurring when kid seats that can be clipped onto tabletops detached. A plastic riding toy with a tendency to tip over also resulted in a half-dozen injuries.
Air pistols, hiking boots and cast-iron casseroles also were recalled this week due to various problems.
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CLIP-ON CHAIRS
DETAILS: The “metoo” clip-on chair, manufactured in China for phil&teds USA Inc. of Fort Collins, Colo., and sold at a variety of retailers and online sites from May 2006 to May 2011.
WHY: Missing or worn clamp pads allow the chairs to detach from the table surface and children’s fingers can be caught between the bar and clamping mechanism when that happens, posing an amputation hazard.
INCIDENTS: The company and the Consumer Products Safety Commission have received 19 reports of the chairs falling, five involving injuries. In two of them, children’s fingers were severely pinched, lacerated, crushed or amputated.
HOW MANY: 54,000.
FOR MORE: Call 855-652-9019; visit www.philandteds.com/support .
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CHILDREN’S RIDING TOYS
DETAILS: Scoot ‘n Zoom children’s four-wheel plastic riding toy, distributed by Radio Flyer of Chicago; sold at retailers nationwide and online at Amazon.com and Target.com from August 2010 through August 2011. The toys were manufactured in the United States.
WHY: The riding toys can tip over, allowing a child to fall forward while riding and posing a fall hazard to young children.
INCIDENTS: The firm received reports of 10 incidents with six injuries, including three where teeth were loosened or removed and three with chin cuts requiring stitches.
HOW MANY: About 165,000.
FOR MORE: Call 800-621-7613; visit www.radioflyer.com .
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AIR PISTOLS
DETAILS: Browning 800 Mag Air Pistols imported by Umarex USA Inc. of Fort Smith, Ark.; sold at sporting goods stores and gun shops nationwide from July 2006 through February 2008. The air pistols were manufactured in Turkey.
WHY: Under a variety of circumstances, the safety will not prevent the gun from firing, posing a risk of serious injury to the user or bystanders.
INCIDENTS: The firm has received one report of the pistol discharging while the safety was engaged. No injuries were reported.
HOW MANY: About 9,500.
FOR MORE: Call 866-503-3389; visit www.umarexusa.com .
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HIKING BOOTS
DETAILS: Itasca Fusion Hiker black boots distributed by C. O. Lynch Enterprises, Inc. of Roseville, Minn.; sold at Big 5 Sporting Goods Stores between March 2011 and June 2011. The boots were manufactured in China.
WHY: The boots could fail to provide the intended protection against compression and impact, posing the risk of a foot injury to consumers.
INCIDENTS: None reported.
HOW MANY: About 5,200 pairs.
FOR MORE: Call 800-225-2565; email itascacol(at)aol.com.
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CAST IRON CASSEROLES
DETAILS: Martha Stewart Collection enamel cast iron casseroles imported by Macy’s Merchandising Group of New York; sold at Macy’s stores, AAFES, MCX and NEX locations nationwide, and on Macys.com between June 2007 and June 2011. The enamel cast iron casseroles were manufactured in China.
WHY: The enamel coating can crack or break during use. This can cause the enamel to crack and fly off as a projectile, posing a risk of a cut or burn hazard to the user or bystanders.
INCIDENTS: Macy’s has received two reports of the enamel cracking and flying off of the casseroles during use. No injuries have been reported.
HOW MANY: About 960,000.
FOR MORE: Call 888-257-5949 or www.macys.com .
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DESK CHAIRS
DETAILS: Realspace PRO 3000 Series Desk Chairs imported by Office Depot Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla. and manufactured by Huichang Furniture Co. Ltd. of China; sold exclusively at Office Depot retail stores nationwide and online at OfficeDepot.com from May 2009 through June 2011.
WHY: Fingers can get caught in an opening in the chair’s tilt mechanism, posing a pinch hazard.
INCIDENTS: Office Depot has received one report of an injury from the chair’s tilt mechanism.
HOW MANY: About 34,000 in the U.S. and 425 in Canada.
FOR MORE: Visit www.officedepot.com/customerservice/errata.do .
