The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has filed a complaint against New York based Maxfield & Oberton Holdings LLC over their Buckyballs and Buckycube desk toys subsequent to a 3-1 Commission vote approving the filing of complaint.
The complaint seeks an order on the firm to prohibit sale of Buckyballs and Buckycubes, to inform the public about the defect and also refund the consumers in full for purchases made. The complaint comes in the wake of many injuries inflicted on young children and teenagers after they accidentally swallowed multiple magnets used in high powered magnetic products. Up to 216 potent rare earth magnets are present in Buckyballs and Buckycubes sets. Some of the injuries resulted in surgery as a result of the magnets connecting within the gastrointestinal tracts. More serious repercussions could be intestinal blockage, blood poisoning, holes in stomach and intestines and even death.
Despite cooperative efforts by CPSC and Maxfield & Oberton to educate buyers that the products are meant for adults, reports of swallowing incidents and injuries kept coming in. After the initial recall of 175,000 Buckyball sets, Maxfield and Oberton failed to agree to further voluntary product recall, forcing CPSC to file its second complaint in the last 11 years. Several retailers have already agreed to stop the sale of Buckyballs, Buckycubes and similar products from other companies on request from the CPSC. Online marketplace, eBay has also agreed to take necessary steps to remove listings for sale of these items.
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