Suit against Mattel toy company over lead paint

A lawsuit was filed on Monday against Mattel — America’s largest toy company — because several of the company’s products were found to contain excessive amounts of lead.

A little over a week ago, Mattel recalled hundreds of thousands of die-cast toy cars because the paint used on the toys contained unsafe levels of lead. (The cars portrayed the character of “Sarge” from the 2006 Pixar film Cars.)

Several weeks before that, nearly 1 million toys were recalled by a subsidiary of Mattel for the same reason. (These toys included ones that portrayed characters from both Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer.)

All of the products in question had actually been manufactured in China.

The suit, filed by attorney Jeffrey Killino in California, aims to “compel the toy giant to set up a fund to test kids who may have been exposed to the recalled products for lead poisoning” according to CNN. Killino said he will consider expanding the suit into a class action if many children are found to have been poisoned by the metal.

A similar (but separate) suit filed earlier this month in Florida is also aiming for class action status.

Lead is particularly toxic to the bodies and brains of young children. It can cause learning disabilities, blood disorders, brain disorders, and damage the nervous system.

Mattel is the parent company of Fisher-Price, American Girl, and Radica USA. If you think you own a toy that was affected by one of the recalls (complete list can be found here) contact Mattel directly.