Skip Hop Elmo Teether Choking Injury & Death Lawsuit Lawyers

Baby Sesame Street Elmo Silicone Teethers Recalled After Reports That the Eyes Can Detach, Creating a Serious Injury or Death Risk.

What Parker Waichman LLP Found

• The recall covers approximately 22,660 Baby Sesame Street Elmo Silicone Teethers sold in the United States, plus approximately 3,177 sold in Canada.
• The black eyes can detach when the teether is frozen, potentially creating a choking hazard capable of causing serious injury or death.
• Skip Hop had received four reports of the eyes detaching when the September 3, 2026 recall was announced, although no injuries had been reported.
• Families should stop using the recalled teether immediately and keep the product and relevant purchase information if an injury occurred until they have considered whether that evidence may be important to a potential claim.
• A child who suffered an injury involving the recalled teether may potentially have a product liability claim depending on the facts and the law of the state where the injury occurred.

Parents and caregivers across the United States are being warned to immediately stop using certain Skip Hop Baby Sesame Street Elmo Silicone Teethers after a potentially dangerous problem was identified with the children’s product. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced the recall on September 3, 2026, after reports that the black eyes on the Elmo-shaped teether can detach when the product is frozen. A detached piece can become a choking hazard for an infant or young child. Approximately 22,660 teethers were sold in the United States, and about 3,177 were sold in Canada.

The recall is particularly concerning because teethers are specifically designed to be placed inside a baby’s mouth. Parents ordinarily buy these products for teething relief and may reasonably expect components to remain securely attached during anticipated use. A small component separating from a product intended for oral use can create an immediate emergency because babies and toddlers may be unable to recognize the danger or remove an object that becomes lodged in their airway.

The CPSC states that Skip Hop Inc. has received four consumer reports involving the eyes detaching from the recalled teethers. As of the recall announcement, no injuries had been reported to the company. The absence of reported injuries, however, does not eliminate the potential hazard identified by the recall. The CPSC specifically describes the defect as presenting a risk of serious injury or death from choking.

Families whose children suffered choking, breathing difficulties, emergency medical treatment, hospitalization, or another injury potentially associated with a recalled teether may have questions about whether they have a product liability claim. The answer will depend on the circumstances of the incident, applicable state law, medical evidence, the condition of the product, and other evidence establishing how the injury occurred.

Which Skip Hop Elmo Teethers Are Included in the Recall?

The recall applies to the Skip Hop Baby Sesame Street Elmo Silicone Teether, model number 9R263210. According to the CPSC, the product resembles Elmo’s face and incorporates red, orange, white, and black coloring. It also has a textured blue key and a fabric crayon box incorporating beige, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. A red tag attached to the side of the crayon box contains the Skip Hop name and the teether’s model number.

These identifying details matter because families may own several teethers or Sesame Street products. Parents should not assume that every Elmo toy or Skip Hop teether is covered by this particular recall. Checking the model number provides a more reliable way to determine whether a product matches the recalled model.

The recalled teethers were sold at Carter’s retail stores nationwide and online through Carter’s and Skip Hop from January 2025 through March 2026 for approximately $12. The CPSC identifies Skip Hop Inc. of New York as the distributor and The William Carter Company of Atlanta, Georgia as the importer. The products were manufactured in China. The CPSC assigned the action recall number 26-739.

Because the teethers were sold nationwide for more than a year, affected products may remain in homes, diaper bags, toy boxes, grandparents’ homes, daycare supplies, or stored with baby items intended for another child. Families should check any Elmo teethers they still possess rather than assuming an older purchase is unaffected.

Why Is the Recalled Elmo Teether a Choking Hazard?

The safety issue involves the black eyes attached to the Elmo teether. According to the CPSC, these eyes can detach when the teether is frozen. Once detached, the component can present a choking hazard to a child.

That risk deserves particular attention because of the way teethers are used. Unlike an ordinary toy that a child might occasionally handle, a teether is intended for direct oral contact. Babies may repeatedly bite, suck, chew, twist, or pull on the product. Parents may also cool or freeze teething products in an effort to soothe sore gums, depending on product directions and their normal caregiving practices.

A component failure under these circumstances can put the detached material directly inside or near a baby’s mouth. If a small component enters the throat, the child may be unable to cough it out. Complete airway obstruction can rapidly become life-threatening.

A choking incident does not necessarily have to result in death to cause substantial harm. A child may require emergency airway intervention, ambulance transportation, emergency department treatment, diagnostic testing, observation, hospitalization, or treatment for complications resulting from oxygen deprivation or aspiration. The severity of any injury depends on how long the airway was compromised and what occurred during the incident.

Four Detachment Reports Were Received Before the Recall Announcement

The CPSC reported that Skip Hop received four consumer reports involving the eyes detaching from the teether. No injuries had been reported as of the September 3 recall announcement.

Those numbers need to be interpreted carefully. A report to a manufacturer or regulator is not the same as a confirmed injury claim, and a recall announcement does not by itself establish civil liability in an individual lawsuit. At the same time, multiple reports of the same component separating can become important evidence when investigating how a product performed and when the potential problem became known.

In an injury case, attorneys may examine considerably more than the public recall announcement. Relevant evidence can include consumer complaints, testing records, product specifications, manufacturing documents, quality-control procedures, internal communications, design changes, incident reports, warnings, instructions, distribution information, and communications concerning the decision to recall the product.

One potentially important question is when the companies involved first learned, or reasonably should have learned, that the eye components could separate. Another is whether reasonable testing should have detected the problem before the teethers reached consumers.

What Should Parents Do With a Recalled Skip Hop Elmo Teether?

The CPSC directs consumers to stop using the recalled teether immediately, remove it from children, and contact Skip Hop for a refund and disposal instructions. The announced remedy provides the refund through a gift card that can be used at The William Carter Company brand stores, including Carter’s, Skip Hop, OshKosh B’gosh, and Little Planet.

Parents whose child was not injured should follow the official recall instructions.

The situation may be different when a child has already suffered an injury. The teether itself may become significant physical evidence in a product liability investigation. Its condition may help determine whether a component separated, where the failure occurred, and whether the product matches the recalled model.

Before disposing of an allegedly injury-causing product, families considering a legal claim may want to speak with an attorney about preserving evidence. Photographs of the product, detached pieces, packaging, model tags, purchase records, online order histories, recall communications, medical records, and photographs taken around the time of an incident can potentially become relevant.

Families should also document the circumstances while memories remain fresh, including approximately when the incident occurred, who witnessed it, what happened immediately beforehand, whether the teether had been chilled or frozen, what emergency measures were required, and where the child received medical treatment.

Can Parents File a Skip Hop Elmo Teether Lawsuit If Their Child Was Injured?

Potentially. Product liability laws vary from state to state, and the viability of a claim depends on the evidence and circumstances surrounding the injury.

A product liability investigation may consider whether the teether contained a design defect, manufacturing defect, inadequate warning, or another legally actionable safety problem. Depending upon applicable law, potential defendants can include entities involved in designing, manufacturing, importing, distributing, or selling the product.

A recalled product does not automatically mean every purchaser has a viable personal injury lawsuit. Ordinarily, an injury claim requires actual legally compensable harm and evidence connecting that harm to the product. Conversely, the fact that the CPSC reported no injuries at the time of the recall does not prevent someone who actually experienced an incident from investigating a claim.

An attorney investigating a choking case would typically examine the recalled product, medical records, circumstances of use, available witness testimony, recall information, and other evidence. Engineering or product-safety analysis may also be appropriate when determining why a component separated.

Potential Product Liability Claims Following a Teether Injury

Several legal theories may potentially arise when a children’s product fails and causes an injury. The specific causes of action available depend upon the jurisdiction.

A design defect claim may focus on whether the product was designed in a manner that created an unreasonable risk of components separating during reasonably anticipated use. This could involve examining how the eyes were attached, what materials were selected, and how the assembly responded to temperature changes, biting, pulling, or repeated use.

A manufacturing defect claim may arise when an individual product or production run differs from its intended design because of an error during manufacturing or assembly. Investigators may examine whether materials, adhesives, attachment methods, production tolerances, or quality-control failures contributed to a component becoming detached.

A failure-to-warn claim may examine whether consumers received adequate instructions or warnings regarding foreseeable risks associated with the product’s use. Because the announced hazard specifically involves detachment when the product is frozen, instructions concerning temperature and cooling may be relevant to an individual investigation.

Negligence and warranty claims may also be available depending upon the state and facts involved.

Who Could Potentially Be Responsible for an Injury?

The CPSC identifies Skip Hop Inc. as the distributor and The William Carter Company as the importer of the recalled product. The teethers were manufactured in China and sold through Carter’s stores nationwide and online through Carter’s and Skip Hop.

Product liability cases frequently require attorneys to reconstruct the product’s supply chain. Depending upon applicable state law and the facts, responsibility may extend to one or more businesses participating in the design, manufacture, importation, distribution, or sale of an allegedly defective product.

Determining the appropriate defendants can be particularly important when a product was manufactured outside the United States. Attorneys may investigate which domestic entities imported the product, controlled its specifications, conducted or commissioned safety testing, distributed it, placed their branding on it, or sold it to consumers.

This investigation can also help determine which company possessed information concerning prior incidents and what actions were taken after safety concerns became known.

What Compensation Could Be Available in an Elmo Teether Injury Lawsuit?

Compensation depends on the child’s injuries, medical needs, applicable state law, available evidence, and other case-specific circumstances. No particular recovery can be guaranteed.

When a child experiences a serious choking incident, potential damages may include emergency medical expenses, ambulance expenses, hospitalization, diagnostic testing, physician treatment, follow-up care, rehabilitation, and anticipated future medical expenses attributable to the injury.

A serious oxygen-deprivation injury can create much larger long-term consequences. If a child sustains permanent neurological damage, future damages may potentially include ongoing medical care, therapy, assistive services, special educational needs, home modifications, and other costs associated with a permanent disability.

Depending on state law, non-economic damages may also compensate for pain, suffering, physical impairment, disfigurement, or other consequences of an injury.

If a defective children’s product causes a fatal choking incident, surviving family members may have wrongful death or survival claims under the law of the applicable state. Those claims are highly state-specific, including rules governing who may file the case and which damages may be recovered.

Why Preserving the Recalled Teether Can Matter to an Injury Claim

Physical evidence can become critical in a defective-product lawsuit. The actual teether involved in an incident may permit examination of the eye attachment, surrounding silicone, fracture surfaces, adhesive, manufacturing characteristics, and other physical evidence.

For that reason, a family pursuing an injury claim generally should not intentionally alter, repair, test, or destroy an allegedly defective product without first receiving appropriate legal guidance. The same principle can apply to a detached component.

Families should consider preserving packaging, labels, receipts, electronic purchase confirmations, photographs, videos, medical documentation, and correspondence concerning the recall. If another person witnessed the choking incident, that person’s account may also become important.

Evidence preservation is particularly significant because product liability cases may not be filed until months after an accident. By then, packaging can be discarded, electronic receipts can become difficult to locate, and memories can become less precise.

A Recall and a Product Liability Lawsuit Serve Different Purposes

A product recall is primarily a consumer-safety measure designed to remove or address potentially hazardous products. A personal injury lawsuit serves a different function. It seeks compensation for legally recognized losses suffered by an individual allegedly injured by a defective or dangerous product.

Accepting a recall remedy is therefore not the same thing as receiving compensation for a physical injury. A gift card replacing the purchase price of a $12 teether does not address emergency medical expenses, hospitalization, neurological injuries, long-term treatment, pain and suffering, or other losses that could result from a serious choking incident.

Families dealing with an actual injury should consequently distinguish between the consumer recall process and their potential legal rights arising from the injury itself.

Skip Hop Elmo Teether Recall Lawsuit FAQs

Is the Skip Hop Sesame Street Elmo teether recalled?

Yes. The CPSC announced a recall on September 3, 2026 involving the Skip Hop Baby Sesame Street Elmo Silicone Teether, model number 9R263210. Approximately 22,660 units were sold in the United States, with approximately 3,177 additional units sold in Canada. The CPSC states that the black eyes can detach when the teether is frozen, creating a risk of serious injury or death from choking. Parents should immediately remove the recalled product from children and follow the recall instructions if no injury occurred.

Can I file a lawsuit if my child choked on a recalled Elmo teether?

A lawsuit may be possible if a child suffered an injury connected to the recalled product. Whether a viable claim exists depends on the facts, applicable state product liability law, medical evidence, and proof connecting the injury to the teether. Parents should preserve the product and medical documentation and consider having the circumstances evaluated by a product liability attorney.

What if my child choked but recovered?

A child does not necessarily have to suffer permanent injuries for a potential claim to exist. A choking event may result in emergency treatment, diagnostic testing, hospitalization, pain, respiratory complications, or other compensable harm. The nature and extent of the child’s injuries and treatment will be important in determining whether pursuing a claim is appropriate.

Should I throw away the recalled teether if my child was injured?

The CPSC tells consumers generally to stop using the product and obtain instructions for disposal and the recall refund. However, if a teether was involved in an injury, the product may be important evidence. A family considering litigation should obtain legal advice before disposing of or altering potential evidence.

How long do I have to file a product liability lawsuit?

Every state imposes filing deadlines, and those deadlines can vary depending on the claim, jurisdiction, age of the injured person, and other circumstances. Additional statutes of repose or procedural rules may also apply. Families should not assume that being involved in a recall preserves their legal rights. A lawyer can determine the applicable deadlines after reviewing where the injury occurred and the relevant facts.

Parker Waichman LLP Is Evaluating Skip Hop Elmo Teether Injury Claims

When a product intended to soothe a baby’s gums creates a potential choking hazard, families deserve to know what happened and whether they have legal options. A serious choking incident can lead to emergency medical care, hospitalization, neurological injury, permanent disability, or, in the most devastating circumstances, death. The consequences can extend far beyond the cost of the recalled product.

Parker Waichman LLP represents people harmed by defective and dangerous consumer products throughout the United States. Our attorneys can investigate the circumstances surrounding an incident, evaluate potential product liability claims, identify potentially responsible parties, preserve important evidence, and pursue compensation when the facts and applicable law support a claim.

If your child suffered choking, breathing difficulties, oxygen deprivation, hospitalization, or another injury that may be associated with a Skip Hop Baby Sesame Street Elmo Silicone Teether, call Parker Waichman LLP at 1-800-YOUR-LAWYER (1-800-968-7529) for a free consultation. There is no charge to learn about your potential legal rights and options. Regardless of your location or where your injury occurred, our nationwide product injury law firm is ready to assist you.