Residents of Texas have the right to expect any products they purchase to be free from safety risks or at least to come with reasonable warnings of any hazards. Far more important, perhaps, is ensuring that items manufactured specifically for use by children and easily available for purchase at the retail giant Target pose no danger. One would expect any defective products -- especially those that endanger children -- would be immediately pulled from store shelves.
Yet, in another state, Target appears to have done nothing to recall an apparently dangerous children's product, despite numerous complaints. The most recent -- and, to date, most severe -- case of injury has prompted a family to file a lawsuit against the store after a product allegedly mutilated their toddler. According to the complaint, the potty training device nearly tore off a little boy's genitals.
Per reports, the 3-year-old boy was attempting to use the potty trainer when the surface of the device -- made of a squishy polypropylene substance -- lacerated the boy's genitals, cutting his penis all the way around. His family rushed him to the emergency room, where attending physicians were unable to use stitches to reattach his male organ due to the extreme sensitivity of the area. Instead, glue had to be used, and the boy's long-term prognosis is uncertain.
Frighteningly, this is not the first incident of its kind involving this seemingly hazardous children's product. Other parents have complained of their children developing skin rashes with use, and another little boy even endured a similar incident involving genital laceration. Despite the numerous complaints, however, the product remains for sale on Target's shelves, and the injured child's parents want that issue addressed as well; along with the unspecific damages for which they are suing, the lawsuit requests that the potty training device either be fixed by Target or the manufacturer, Prince Lionheart, or that they issue a warning of the dangers. Anyone in Texas who has suffered injuries or whose children or loved ones have suffered due to this or any other defective products may wish to consult with an experienced product liability lawyer in the San Antonio area.
Source: miamiherald.com, "Toddler's penis 'nearly dismembered' by potty trainer from Target, lawsuit says", Jared Gilmour, Dec. 13, 2017