Chicago Injury Attorney Blog

An Illinois-based toymaker has consented to pay a civil penalty of $1.25 million for importing and selling toys containing excessive levels of lead. The Consumer Product Safety Commission had accused RC2 Corp. and its Learning Curve Brand Inc. unit of knowingly bringing into the country and selling a number of Thomas and Friends railway products that had too much lead in their paints or other surface coatings.

RC2 denies knowing it was violating the US’s lead paint ban and says all toys involved in the civil settlement were recalled in 2007. The toy manufacturer maintains that toy safety is its leading priority.

Since 1978, kids products were not allowed to contain over 600 parts per million of lead by weight in coatings or paints. However the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 reduced that limit even further to 90 parts per million in the wake of the millions of toys, many of them made in China, that have been recalled over the past few years due to too much lead.

Exposure to excessive levels of lead is dangerous for kids and can cause permanent personal injuries, including brain damage, organ damage, learning disabilities, decreased IQ, behavioral issues, and death. A toy manufacturer or distributor can be held liable for Illinois products liability if a child were to suffer from lead poisoning because a toy, a crib, a nursery product, or some other type of consumer good contained too much lead.

RC2 isn’t the only toy company that has had to pay fines for importing and distributing toys with excessive levels of led. Earlier this year, Mattel Inc. and Fisher-Price were fined $2.3 million for similar violations.

Oak Brook toymaker RC2 Corp. to pay $1.25 million fine over lead in paint, Chicago Tribune, December 29, 2009

RC2 Corp. to Pay $1.25 Million Civil Penalty, Wall Street Journal, December 29, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008

RC2 Corp.

Lead Poisoning, Mayo Clinic