black…MYstory

Let me just get my cynical take out of the way — I believe this suit won’t go far. Sadly, under the guise of “tort reform”, Republicans have chipped away at the rights of people to sue companies who put their customers at undue risk.

Nonetheless, I believe this lawsuit against Mattel has a lot of merit.

I and a co-worker often talk about the tainted goods from China that are being sold to us. We both find ourself asking, at what point does a company realize that the “savings” they get from using cheap goods and services from other countries may not be a savings if a real lawsuit comes along. Could this be one such case?

I, like most parents, am worried about how safe a toy is. However, I would have never thought that my concerns would have to include lead paint. Twice in the last month, Mattel has had to recall toys for, among other things, concerns about lead paint being used on them(If you don’t know about the risks associated with children accidentally ingesting lead paint, I suggest your read up).

This has prompted one attorney, Jeffrey Killino, of the Philadelphia firm of Woloshin & Killino, to seek a lawsuit compelling Mattel to provide a fund to test kids who may have been exposed to lead paint from playing with the recalled products. According to Killino, each test is about $50. Considering Mattel recalled 1,000,000 die-cast cars in the last few days alone, the cost of testing could be staggering.

So, at what point is it cheaper to get a good safe product instead of the most inexpensive? Mattel may be able to tell us soon.

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