Toy-Related Deaths and Catastrophic Toy-Related Injuries

CPSC has reports of 16 toy-related deaths involving children younger than 15 years old that occurred in 2004. In that same year, an estimated 161,100 children under 15 went to U.S. hospital emergency rooms with injuries relating to toys.

Toy-Related Deaths

Victims of the 16 fatal incidents involving toys ranged in age from 3 months to 9 years old. Ten of the victims were males. Their deaths occurred in the following ways: Choking/asphyxia, drowning, entanglement, asphyxia/smothering, or involvement with a motor vehicle.

• Choking/Asphyxia: Seven children died when they choked on or were asphyxiated by a toy.
• Motor Vehicle Involvement: Four children died while on riding toys. These incidents occurred when the child was either struck by or ran into a motor vehicle.
• Drowning: Two children drowned in incidents involving tricycles.
• Entanglement: Two children died from becoming entangled in toys.
• Asphyxia/Smothering: There was one fatality involving an infant who smothered at a childcare center when older children piled stuffed animals into his crib.

Toy-Related Injuries

In 2004, an estimated 210,300 people of all ages were treated for toy-related injuries in U.S. hospital emergency rooms. Males were involved in 58% of the toy-related injury incidents. Most victims (97%) were treated and released from the hospital. Forty-six percent of the injuries (96,800) occurred to the head and face area, which includes the head, face, eyeball, mouth, and ear. Arms, from shoulder to finger, accounted for 25% of the injuries (52,000), while the leg and foot area accounted for 18% (38,200). The individual body parts having the most injuries overall were faces (43,700), heads (24,800), and mouths (14,700). Lacerations, contusions, and abrasions were involved in over half of the total injuries (51%). In 2004, riding toys (including unpowered scooters) continued to be associated with more injuries (71,100 or 34%) than any other category of toy. Of those, 51,400 of riding toy injuries were related to unpowered scooters.