A tragic accident occurred in a day care center when a 5 year old child fell face down with a plastic toy asparagus spear in his mouth, puncturing the soft palate and dissecting the internal carotid artery. Approaches utilized in the risk analysis include: literature review, safety standards research, accident statistics survey, biomechanical testing, and evaluation of alternative toy asparagus designs. The goal of this investigation is to make toy designers and users more aware of the puncture/impaling hazard and to identify design alternatives to prevent similar injuries from occurring.
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