Toys “R” Us was slapped with a $260 million lawsuit yesterday over a horrific accident in which a toddler lost an eye while playing with a toy stroller sold at the chain’s stores.
William Sanner was just 16 months old when he was pushing his older sister’s Graco-brand doll stroller in their family’s upstate home in 2008.
The stroller “rolled out away from him and tipped backward” as William tumbled forward, court papers say.
In a freak accident, William landed in such a way that “one of the hooked and rigid handles impaled and pierced [his] right eye,” the Manhattan federal court lawsuit says.
As a result of the devastating injury, William had to undergo several surgeries during which his irreparably wounded eye was removed and replaced with a prosthetic.
“It’s every mother and father’s fear,” said the boy’s lawyer, Eric Dranoff.
“Remember when we were all kids and our parents warned, ‘Be careful, you might poke your eye out’?”
Court papers say the lightweight stroller “incorporates a center of gravity, weight distribution and wheelbase that makes it easily susceptible to tipping” when less than two pounds of force is applied to the handles.
The suit also notes that Toys “R” Us claims in its mission statement that “one of the important parts of our mission as a company is to help parents keep their kids safe.”
William’s dad, an electrician also named William, is seeking damages for his son on grounds including product liability, breach of warranty and negligence.
Graco Children’s Products — which manufactures the $14.99 stroller — had previously struck a confidential settlement with William’s parents without being sued, Dranoff said.
A Toys “R” Us spokeswoman declined to comment.