Be careful in choosing swimming pool toys

 As people begin preparing their pools for the summer swimming season, they should take care in selecting toys for their children. Some are dangerous. Take, for instance, the Toypedo, a hard plastic missile whose design enables it to be thrown 30 feet underwater. The Toypedo has resulted serious eye injuries. Kline & Specter attorneys have filed lawsuits in three such cases which have resulted in settlements totaling $7.25 million.
 The latest case, litigated by attorney Michael A. Trunk, produced a $2 million settlement for a 17-year-old high school student who lost his right eye when playing with his younger brother with a Toypedo in West Palm Beach, Florida. The toy was tossed into a swimming pool and traveled underwater but then shot through the surface, striking Justin Shinkevich in the eye. He lost his eye and now wears a prosthetic eye. In another case, Kline & Specter last year obtained a $1.5 million settlement for a suburban Milwaukee man who lost the sight in one eye after he was struck by a Toypedo. And a $3.75 million settlement was achieved several years ago by Trunk and Tom Kline against Toypedo manufacturer SwimWays and others for a 10-year-old girl who also was blinded in one eye by a Toypedo. SwimWays has since strengthened its warning label and its ads now picture children wearing goggles as they play with the toy. Yet Toypedo remains on store shelves. "These innocuous-looking toys are actually quite dangerous," said Trunk."Despite several successful lawsuits, the Toypedo is still being sold at stores such as WalMart and Target all over the country and parents should be aware of just how dangerous they are."