Mattel recall suits a risk: experts

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mattel Inc. MAT.N, the largest U.S. toy company, not only has a huge image problem but could face a series of lawsuits after two major recalls in a month, legal and public relations experts said on Tuesday.

Mattel recalled 18.2 million magnetic toys globally, including 9.5 million in the United States, and about 253,000 Pixar Sarge die-cast toy cars with lead paint.

The company, best known for its Barbie toys, also said it may recall more products as it steps up testing for lead paint and quality control on thousands of toys.

The news followed a recall of about 1.5 million preschool toys earlier this month by the company's Fisher-Price unit because the paint on the toys might have contained excessive amounts of lead.

"Mattel has a spectacular reputation that they risk now in a very dramatic way," said Howard Rubenstein, founder of Rubenstein Associates, Inc., a public relations firm specializing in crisis communications. "It is a mighty blow."

"They have got to be prepared for a lengthy series of court battles," he said.

Lead has been linked to health problems in children, including brain damage.

"If there are potentially kids who are harmed out there ... then there are going to be big lawsuits," said Ted Tanenbaum, an attorney with the law firm Meyer, Suozzi, English and Klein. "Their quality control people should have known about this."

Tanenbaum usually represents injured people in product liability lawsuits.

Mattel already faces one lawsuit stemming from the recall earlier this month. Farrah Shoukry, a Florida parent, sued it in U.S. District Court in Manhattan last week, seeking a refund for toys, money for diagnostic tests for lead poisoning and damages. Shoukry is pushing to have the case certified as a class action.

LEAD IN TOYS

The U.S. recall includes 7.3 million Polly Pocket dolls and accessories with magnets, 1 million Doggie Day Care magnetic toys, 683,000 Barbie and Tanner magnetic toys, and 345,000 Batman and One Piece play sets.

"Many parents are going to be very concerned if they find out that their child was playing with leaded paint," said Lewis Nelson, a toxicologist at New York University Medical Center.

Nelson, however, said the bigger concern about children's health is going to be about the ingestion of lead rather than the handling of it.

"Unless there is really a reason to believe that the paint got on their hands and they were licking their hands, I think it is an incredibly small risk," he said.

Children aged 2-1/2 to 3 put everything in their mouths, said Muriel Wolf, a pediatrician at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

Wolf said that if her kids were given a toy made in China, "I probably wouldn't use it."

A lawyer who usually represents companies in product liability cases said although he expected lawsuits to be filed, they were unlikely to lead to much.

"Unless someone can say that a specific child suffered lead poisoning and they can trace it to that particular toy, it is going to be hard really to bring a claim," said Creighton Magid of the law firm Dorsey & Whitney.

The recall over the magnetic parts was not likely to have broader implications, he said.

"Toy recalls for small parts are fairly common," Magid said.

Even so, Mattel needs to take "dramatic steps" to contain the damage, said Rubenstein, adding that the company should "form a swat team" of outside experts to analyze its toys not affected by the recalls to make sure they are safe.

The company should also consider paying for medical exams for children who might have ingested lead from the toys, he said.

POSITIVE PUBLICITY

Mattel has already launched a national advertising campaign, assuring consumers it is on top of product safety. The full-page ad, which appeared in the Tuesday editions of the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today, includes a letter from Mattel Chief Executive Bob Eckert set above three children playing.

Eckert tells "fellow parents" that "nothing is more important than the safety of our children."

"Our long record of safety at Mattel is why we're one of the most trusted names with parents," Eckert wrote. "And I am confident that the actions we are taking now will maintain that trust."

Another attorney who usually represents companies in product liability cases said Mattel's latest campaign was "smart behavior on their part."

"There are recalls all the time," said James Etscorn, a partner at law firm Baker Hostetler. "But the vast majority of the American public don't know about them."

"Here they have done at least a pretty good job of getting out the word and letting the public know what the problem is," Etscorn said. "That's what you want to happen."

(With reporting by Martha Graybow and Diane Bartz)