It may be difficult to imagine, but defectively manufactured clothing can cause serious injury, and even death, to children.

Most defective clothing cases are connected with one of two problems— either the clothing is manufactured in a way that can cause injury by itself, or it is made of materials that can catch fire and burn.

The Consumer Products Safety Council (CPSC) and other governmental and non- governmental child safety groups are well aware of the hazards of defective clothing. Even so, there are many injuries each year caused by both of these problems, and a manufacturer may be liable for damages from injuries caused by defective children’s clothing.

Burning Clothing

Under the Flammable Fabrics Act, which is administered by the CPSC, mandatory standards have been established for the flammability of clothing textiles, vinyl plastic film (used in clothing), carpets and rugs, children's sleepwear, and mattresses and mattress pads.

Even so, it is virtually impossible for every article of clothing sold in this country to be inspected, even though there have been many instances of clothing being recalled by the government because it does not meet these minimal standards.

The problem stretches beyond just injury from clothing catching on fire. Burns from a car or house fire can be more severe if a person’s clothing catches on fire, including deep muscle burns and other extreme bodily damage. The medical issues can be very complex and expensive. Only an attorney with experience in working with catastrophic burn victims can properly evaluate this type of case.

Strangulation from Clothing

Many kids these days love to wear hooded sweatshirts (hoodies). But recently, a child was strangled to death when the drawstring from his hoodie got caught at the top of a playground slide.

As a result, 300,000 units of that product, manufactured by Hill Sportswear, Inc., were recalled. However, many retail outlets failed to report sales of these products, including T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. After their omission was discovered, they were made to pay a severe civil fine for failing to do so.

These defects are no surprise to either manufacturers or retail stores, but the defective products still seem to be for sale.

If you or someone you know has been injured because of defective clothing or any other kind of defective product, contact the experienced team of Gilbert, Ollanik & Komyatte, P.C.