With the arrival of beautiful fall colors and cool crisp autumn evenings,
reminders abound that we are again approaching a favorite time of year
for children around the country -- Halloween. With brand new costumes,
Halloween parties and the thought of trick-or-treating, this truly is
an exciting time for our kids. As parents, we are all very well aware
of the precautions we must take at Halloween: checking candy before consuming
it; making sure the children wear bright clothing while trick-or-treating
and always watching for traffic. Unfortunately, we learned this week that
there is yet another potential danger we must be aware of -- hazardous costumes.
Federal agents recently seized $10,000 worth of children's pirate costumes
because of concerns that the costumes contained an unsafe level of lead.
In fact, investigators said that the Chinese-made costumes contained 11
times the legal limit of lead. Specifically, the Consumer Product Safety
Administration explained that buttons on the costumes were 1,109 parts
per million of lead. In all, 1,371 costumes were seized while en route
to a Seattle area distributor. In addition to the lead hazard, investigators
said that a plastic earpiece on the costume presented a possible choking hazard.
This is a very serious violation, and it is fortunate that government officials
acted quickly to remove these dangerous costumes from the street well
in advance of Halloween. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, one
of the greatest environmentally induced illnesses for children is lead
poisoning. This is especially true for children younger than 6 as they
are experiencing rapid neurological and physical development.
While these costumes no longer present a hazard, many hazardous products
remain on the market and all too often cause injury to unsuspecting consumers.
If you or a loved one has been injured by any type of product, you may
be entitled to compensation for your injuries. However, it is important
to consult with an experienced
products liability attorney to determine your rights. Please contact the Chicago personal
injury attorneys at
Pavich Law Group, P.C., for a free consultation with one of our experienced lawyers.
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