Feldman Shepherd Represents Family of 10-month-old Esther Jo Bethard, for Whom the Bill Was Named. Esther Died After Swallowing a Single Water Bead.
Philadelphia personal injury law firm Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock Dodig LLP is pleased to announce that U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) have introduced “Esther’s Law,” bipartisan legislation to ban the sale of water beads designed, intended, or marketed as a toy, educational material, art material or sensory tool for children. The bill is named after 10-month-old Esther Jo Bethard of North Prairie, Wisconsin who lost her life after she swallowed a stray water bead that an older sibling had played with months earlier.
Feldman Shepherd attorneys Alan M. Feldman, Daniel J. Mann and Edward S. Goldis represent Esther’s family in a wrongful death product liability claim.
Water beads are made of super-absorbent polymer crystals which retain hundreds of times their weight in water. The beads start small (often the size of a sprinkle) and can increase their size by 150-1500 times after soaking in water. The beads are bright and colorful and have a candy-like appearance. Because they are so small, it is easy for water beads to get lost in carpets, furniture, toys and other places where young children may eventually find them and put them in their mouths.
If swallowed, water beads are extremely dangerous because they do not simply get digested and pass through a child’s body. Instead, they absorb fluids and expand, and can cause life-threatening intestinal and bowel obstructions and other serious injuries. Water beads also expand when placed by curious children in their nose or ears and can cause nasal cavity injuries and hearing loss.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that nearly 7,000 water bead-related ingestion injuries were treated in emergency departments in the U.S. from 2018 through 2022.
Esther’s Law will protect children and pets by limiting children’s access to water beads. Specifically, it would:
- Direct the CPSC to establish a ban on water beads products marketed to children as toys, educational materials, sensory tools, or art materials;
- Direct the CPSC to consider regulations on the colors of other water beads that pose an ingestion hazard to limit their attractiveness to children; and
- Direct the CPSC to require warning labels on packages of water beads that are used for other purposes.
Esther’s Law is supported by parent advocates through That Water Bead Lady; Amazon; American Academy of Pediatrics; American Association of People with Disabilities; Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN); Autism Society of America; Autism Speaks; Center for Pet Safety; Children’s Hospital Association; Consumer Federation of America; Consumer Reports; Early Care & Education Consortium; Etsy; Kids in Danger (KID); Michaels; National Center for Health Research; National Health Law Project; National Retail Federation; North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN); Public Citizen; Public Interest Research Group (PIRG); Reese’s Purpose; Safe Infant Sleep; Safe Kids Worldwide; Target; and Walmart.
“No family should have to figure out how to explain the death of a child to their siblings, or how to have holidays and birthdays without them. Ever. But especially not because of a toy. Esther’s Law will help ensure that other families do not have to endure the same senseless tragedy,” said Taylor Bethard, Esther’s mom. “Rather than holding Esther each day, I’m left holding onto her tiny shoes, a ring with her perfect curls, while fighting to give her a voice. A voice that shouts our children deserve better. Families deserve better. Thank you for hearing Esther’s voice.”
Mann added, “We are so proud of Taylor Bethard and the mothers of all of the children who have been hurt by these products, who were the driving force behind Esther’s Law. Their tireless advocacy resulted in attention to this critical safety issue, and we look forward to Congress quickly passing this bipartisan piece of important legislation.”