UPDATE: Buckyballs and Buckycubes Recall

Early in February of this year, Swartz & Swartz blogged about the ingestion dangers of small magnetic balls sold as toys for children. Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), along with six retailers, announced the recall of all Buckyballs and Buckycubes high-powered magnet sets.

The participating retailers are:

• Barnes & Noble, toll-free at (855) 592-2993

• Bed Bath & Beyond, toll-free at (800) 462-3966

• Brookstone, toll-free at (866) 576-7337 or

• Participating Hallmark retailers, toll-free at (800) 425-5627

• Marbles the Brain Store, toll-free at (877) 527-2460

• ThinkGeek, toll-free at (888) 433-5788

The hazards associated with small magnets are well known to the toy and children’s product industries. When two or more magnets are swallowed, they can link together inside a child’s intestines and clamp onto body tissues, with the potential to cause intestinal obstructions, perforations, sepsis and death. Internal injuries due to ingestion of small, high-powered magnets can pose serious lifelong health effects. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has received at least 80 reports of incidents involving ingestion of other high powered magnets, resulting in 79 individuals seeking medical intervention. In recent years, there have been other recalls of toys that incorporate such magnets due to the significant risk of injuries.
If you or a family member have suffered significant personal injuries  as the result of a defective product, contact the law office of Swartz & Swartz, P.C. Call (617) 742-1900 in the Boston area, or for clients in greater Massachusetts, New England, or other states across the U.S., call toll-free at 1-800-545-3732.