This is the second federal lawsuit filed this summer involving a child wearing Crocs injured on escalators at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The latest lawsuit filed Aug. 26 by Clark Meyer, who is the father of a 4-year-old boy identified as “A.M.,” seeks $2 million in damages.

The family’s attorney said that the boy was riding an escalator at the airport July 15 when the machinery mangled his Crocs and “severely and permanently damaged” his right foot.

Crocs spokeswoman Tia Mattson declined to comment.

New York-based attorney Andrew Laskin, who is leading the case, also is handling the case of a 3-year-old girl from Louisville, Ky., injured when an escalator ripped skin from her foot and broke three toes in June.

Laskin is also suing Crocs over a child who was hurt at a Los Angeles mall. He has settled two other cases with the footwear company, but declined to comment on them.

“This is happening everywhere and Crocs is basically saying it’s the fault of the escalators — or the parents are not watching their children,” Laskin said. “But that would be the case only if it kept happening on the same escalator over and over again.”

In April, Japanese and Filipino authorities asked the Niwot, Colo.-based company to consider changing the footwear’s design because of similar escalator accidents in their countries.

The shoe company has promised to insert safety tags into its packaging by next year.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has documented 77 soft shoe entrapments on escalators since January 2006 and issued a warning in May.

At least three children were injured in the last three months when Atlanta airport escalators gobbled up their flip flops or Crocs.

The airport began posting signs and airing public service announcements in August warning travelers of the dangers of “shoe entrapment” on escalators. Georgia Department of Labor workers examined the escalators and deemed them safe.

My son has never had a pair of crocs. They are not safe for younger kids to wear because of the way they walk. They don’t pick their feet up like adults do, they slide them along causing these shoes to fall off.

My girlfriend has this exact thing happened to her when she was in recently in NYC. We thought it was a one off, but I guess it has something to do with the design.

SOURCE

While no state has a perfect track record, Parents’ investigation turned up a top 10 ranking of those that are at least trying hard.

With the exception of California and Oregon, it appears that the North East seems to be the place to live.

1. Connecticut
2. Rhode Island
3. New Jersey
4. New York
5. California
6. Maine
7. Pennsylvania
8. Mass.
9. Maryland
10. Oregon

One of the major deciding factors in this survey was safety. The magazine points out the inequality in standards across the country, noting those who are outstanding and others who lag behind.

Kids are six times more likely to die from a violence-related injury in Alaska than they are in Massachusetts. In California, public playgrounds must meet all federal government safety recommendations, but 34 states offer no standards for where your kids climb, jump and swing. Connecticut and 20 other states have made big improvements in school-bus crossings, while 13, including Nebraska and Arizona, are way behind.

How they came to these numbers:

From October 2007 to January 2008, Parents analyzed state-level data on more than 30 criteria that impact a child’s safety. The data was supplied by leading organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Safe Kids Worldwide.

It is worth mentioning that with the exception of Oregon, the remaining 9 states listed in this survey are among the top 20 highest taxed states. It is possible that these states are safer because they have more money to spend on improving regulations and implementing them.

Parents.com has the rundown on what makes your state safe.