Amelie Parades Sotelo choked on a Candy Land Gummy Dot. (Photos from her family’s lawyer)
A toddler in California was left permanently disabled, unable to speak, swallow, or move, after choking on a Candy Land Gummy Dot, a sticky, gluelike mass that blocked her airway, a new lawsuit alleges.
Amelie Parades Sotelo choked on the pastel-colored, plug-shaped candy on Dec. 13, 2022, court documents said.
“These candies were a ticking time bomb. We will pursue justice for this innocent little girl who was once a vibrant and thriving child, but is now permanently disabled, unable to speak, unable to swallow, and unable to move, for the rest of her life,” said attorney Thomas Bosworth, who represents the girl and her family. “It is shocking that this level of brain damage is caused by just one single piece of this dangerous gel candy.”
The lawsuit accuses Frankford Candy & Chocolate Co., Inc., Frankford Candy LLC, and toy maker Hasbro, Inc. of product liability, failure to warn, negligence, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Representatives for the defendants did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Law&Crime.
The lawsuit filed in Philadelphia on Dec. 28 alleges the 3-year-old girl suffered irreversible brain damage and spastic quadriplegia after chewing on a single Frankford® Candy Land Gummy Dot that was “negligently, recklessly, and defectively designed.”
“The Frankford® Candy Land Gummy Dots product is attractively designed with colorful packaging and Candy Land (a popular children’s game) insignia, which the defendants, Frankford Candy & Chocolate Co., Inc., Frankford Candy LLC, and Hasbro, Inc., intentionally designed, advertised, and marketed for the purpose of attracting children of all ages to want to consume their Frankford® Candy Land Gummy Dots product,” court documents said.
The lawsuit alleges the product contains no safety or choking hazard warning.
It alleges they’re “unreasonably dangerous due to their extreme stickiness and inability to adequately breakdown from introduction of human saliva.”
On Dec. 13, 2022, a blue Gummy Dot lodged in her oropharynx, obstructing her airway. Her parents noticed her choking immediately and tried to help before taking her to the hospital. Once there, medical personnel tried to suction and remove the candy from her airway, but it was “extremely difficult due to the excessive stickiness of the product and its extraordinary lack of pliability,” court documents said.
She suffered profound hypoxia due to a prolonged lack of oxygen.
The lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 for a list of injuries, including spastic quadriplegia, permanent brain damage, neurogenic bladder disorder requiring daily catheterization, and neurogenic bowel requiring daily suppositories. It alleges manufacturing defect, failure to warn, breach of warranty and negligence.
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