Children’s Swimwear Recalled for Strangulation Hazard

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on November 23, 2011

Orlando personal injury attorney James O. Cunningham would like to alert Florida parents and grandparents about a recall that affects children’s swimwear due to a potential strangulation hazard. Build-A-Bear Workshop of St. Louis, in connection with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada, has recently announced that their Swimwear Set With Inflatable Inner Tube is being voluntarily recalled and parents who own these garments should stop using them immediately. Any retailers who have this product on their shelves are ordered by the CPSC to remove this product immediately as it is illegal to resell or attempt to resell any recalled product.

Build-A-Bear Workshop reports that it has sold nearly 20,000 units of the Swimwear Set With Inflatable Inner Tube in the U.S. and 1,100 units in Canada. The manufacturer and the CPSC report that the inner tube accessory, which was designed to be a built-in flotation device, can be pulled over a child’s head and potentially strangle him or her. Build-A-Bear has received at least one report of an incident where a three-year-old girl pulled the inner tube over her head and had a great deal of difficulty removing it before she was found by a parent.

The recalled product is part of the three-piece Fruit Tutu Bikini swimwear set for teddy bears, and the inner tube is around nine inches in diameter and mostly pink decorated with white and yellow flowers. The recalled swimwear was sold through the manufacturer’s website and national retailers for around $12.50 and is model number 017220. Parents and grandparents can locate the model number on the “Build-A-Bear” cardboard tag that came with the product. Customers are urged to stop using the product immediately and return it to any Build-A-Bear Workshop store to receive a $5 store coupon. If there isn’t a store nearby, parents can contact the company for more information at (866) 236-5683 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT Saturday, or visit the company’s website at www.buildabear.com.

Defective products that are intended to be used by children are especially frightening as it only takes a moment’s inattention by a parent or guardian for a child’s life to be imperiled. If you are the parent or guardian of a child who has been injured by a defective product, you have a right to seek damages against the manufacturer whether it has been the subject of a recall or not and should seek the counsel of an experienced Orlando personal injury lawyer. Mr. Cunningham has been helping families receive the fair and just compensation they deserve since 1977 and is quite skilled in helping clients receive damages through negotiated settlements and court awards. For more information and to schedule a free consultation, call 888-425-2004 or 407-425-2000 today.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.