A family in California has filed a lawsuit against Amazon after a toy bought through the platform left their young son with catastrophic injuries. Lawyers for the family announced the case at a press conference, describing it as a warning to other parents about products sold online.
According to the lawyers, the toy was a ball marketed as safe for toddlers the age of the boy, Markel, with the listing even claiming it was anti-choking, although the word was misspelled. Within minutes of the children playing with it, they said, the ball became lodged in Markel's throat and cut off his airway.
The 19-month-old went into cardiac arrest and, in the words of his lawyers, went from a normal toddler to a catastrophically injured little boy. They said his heart stopped not once but twice during the emergency.
His mother, Cassidy Shells, a special education teacher, said that before the incident Markel was full of joy, loved playing the drums and catching his football, and would wake her with a kiss. Today, she said, he can no longer walk or talk and has to receive his food through a tube, with doctors telling the family his brain injuries are permanent.
The circumstances made the moment even harder. Cassidy was nine months pregnant when it happened, performed CPR on her son while first responders were called, and her three-year-old daughter opened the door for them. She said that if she had not known CPR, she does not know whether he would still be alive.
According to the account, Cassidy had warned other parents by posting a review on Amazon about the way the toy was represented. She said she was contacted through the site and offered a refund, which she did not accept, but her card was credited, the warning review was removed, and the product continued to be sold.
The lawyers said they had offered Amazon an opportunity under California's Consumer Legal Remedies Act to address what they called false advertising and wrong safety instructions, and that the company refused, leading them to file suit against Amazon and those who delivered the product.
They noted that California law had been changed so that Amazon can no longer avoid responsibility by pointing to overseas manufacturers, allowing families to hold the company accountable when it is in the chain of custody. The mother said she was speaking out so that no other family would have to go through the same ordeal.