Settlement results in refunds for those who own Buckyballs

Tennessee residents who own Buckyballs or Buckycubes may want to pay attention to refund details related to the popular desk magnets. The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on July 17 that refunds are available for returned products. The entity sued the producers of the products in 2012 because of dangers posed by the unsafe toys. A recall was initiated because children ingested the powerful magnets in spite of consumer warnings. According to reports, numerous children required surgical removal of ingested magnets, and Buckyballs were involved in at least a dozen instances.

In some instances, children may have accidentally ingested the magnets without owning the pieces, resulting in significant medical repercussions that parents did not expect. One 12-year-old girl used her friend’s Buyckyballs to simulate a tongue piercing, resulting in the accidental ingestion of four pieces that led to a six-day hospitalization and two surgeries. The founder of the company that sold the toys later agreed to fund the recall and refund effort with $375,000. Although the company has been out of business in 2012, the inventor of the toys has since developed an improved version of the product that meets federal requirements for safety.

As many as 2.5 million sets of the original magnets were sold at costs ranging up to $20 or more. With the refund availability in place, those who still own the toys may want to evaluate details on the recall’s website. Those who may be dealing with medical issues resulting from a child’s ingestion of the product, however, may want to discuss the situation with a personal injury attorney.

An attorney may be able to use existing injury statistics to put together a personal injury claim. Additionally, an attorney may document medical costs and related issues while determining what damages to seek.

Source: USA Today, “CPSC Buckyballs settlement gives buyers refunds”, Jayne O’Donnell, July 17, 2014