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Shop Display Hooks: An Unnecessary Threat to Children


It has likely never occurred to you that the hooks used to display merchandise in stores across the country are dangerous. The truth is that they pose a significant safety hazard - particularly to children. After all, what we're talking about essentially amounts to a wall of spikes often ending in unguarded blunt-cut ends. This means that if someone was to fall against a hook, or turn into one without realizing it's there, there is a high potential for impalement, a cut or snagging injury to occur.

As a Dallas-Fort Worth child injury lawyer, I know that children are particularly at risk from suffering serious injuries due to display hooks. Many such hooks are located at a child's eye level, which presents a significant risk of a child suffering an eye injury as a result of a collision with a display hook. The National Safety Council has cautioned retailers that "unprotected display hooks at eye level or below can be extremely dangerous" since 1974, yet many shops continue to use the dangerous devices and place them inappropriately.

Consider that the average height of a 5-year-old child is 43 inches tall, and the vast majority of retail displays include hooks from between 12 inches and 48 inches off the ground. Added to that, children younger than 6-year-old do not have the same standard of peripheral vision that adults do, meaning they cannot effectively detect hooks which pose an immediate hazard. At such a young age, children are also considered incapable of properly assimilating potential danger, so it is not reasonable for retailers to expect children to avoid such obstacles. It is the store's duty to ensure the safety of all their customers, and this includes very young kids.

Given all this information, it is extremely likely for children to suffer extremely serious injuries if they impact a dangerous display hook. Piercings, impalements, cuts and scratches are all commonly associated with display hooks injuries, but by far the most commonly reported are injuries to the eye. Such injuries put the victim at high risk of permanent vision loss. In the absolutely worst-case scenarios, the sharp hook could pass through the child's eye socket and - since there is no bone protection behind the eye - puncture the brain causing potentially life-threatening brain damage.

Thorough expert medical attention is essential. It is also wise to consult with an experienced Texas child injury attorney who will be able to assess your personal situation and explain your legal rights and responsibilities to you. I have been fighting for the rights of injured children since 1991 and I offer completely free, no obligation consultations to parents of injured children so give me a call today. Call me toll free at 800-354-6275 or call locally in Fort Worth at 817-294-1900 or in Dallas at 214-327-8000.


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The Anderson Law Firm offers free no obligation consultations to people injured in accidents or who have suffered physical harm as a result of someone else's actions. We do not charge you to initially discuss your situation and establish whether you have a claim to pursue. You can call us and discuss your case over the phone, we can set up an appointment for you to come into our office, or we can visit you in your home anywhere in the metroplex.

If after meeting with us you decide that we are the best personal injury lawyer for you, then we will enter into a contingent fee agreement. This means that we only get paid when we win a settlement or jury verdict in your favor. You don't pay us anything up front. We will cover all expenses spent working on your case. Only when we win for you will you need to pay us. If we don't win, then you owe us nothing.

Contact us online now or call us 24 hours a day toll free on 1-800-354-MARK (1-800-345-6-275). You can also call us locally in Fort Worth on 817-294-1900 or in Dallas on 214-327-8000.


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