A California toddler will be disabled for the rest of her life after consuming an “overly sticky” gummy candy, a lawsuit claims.
Amelie Paredes Sotelo, now three years old, consumed a Candy Land Gummy Dot last December, which ultimately sent her to the hospital.
According to Amelie's parents, who are suing Frankford Candy & Chocolate Co., the gummy candy got stuck in her throat and blocked her airways.
Even after being rushed to the emergency room, the candy was so sticky that even doctors couldn't remove it easily.
Amelie was without oxygen for so long because of the dangerous candy that she suffered extensive permanent brain damage and spastic quadriplegia — leaving her completely paralyzed, according to the lawsuit.
A California toddler will be disabled for the rest of her life after consuming an 'overly sticky' gummy candy, a lawsuit claims
Amelie Paredes Sotelo, now three years old, consumed a Candy Land Gummy Dot last December, ultimately sending her to the hospital
Her mother, Maria Aylin Sotelo Camacho, had to quit her job at an auto body shop to become the child's full-time caregiver.
“She was a thriving, beautiful child who is now incapacitated for the rest of her life,” said the family's attorney, Tom Bosworth.
When Amelie ate the candy, she had been routinely eating solid foods for some time, including similar gummy candies.
Inspired by the Hasbro board game Candy Land, the Frankford Candy Land Gummy Dots contain no choking hazard or safety warning.
They were dangerous because of their “extreme stickiness and their inability to adequately break down by the introduction of human saliva,” the lawsuit alleges.
According to the lawsuit, the candy became a “glue-like substance” that tended to adhere to the tissue of the palate.
Amelie had only consumed one piece of the candy before she began choking when it became lodged in her oropharynx.
Ringcam footage captured the traumatic moment the sweet got stuck in Amelie's throat – and captured the parents desperately trying to dislodge it as their young toddler choked.
Her five-year-old sister and eight-year-old brother witnessed the harrowing episode, the lawsuit said.
Amelie's parents rushed her to the hospital when they couldn't get the candy out.
At the hospital, doctors attempted to suck the gum from her throat, but the process was “extremely difficult due to the excessive stickiness of the product and its extraordinary lack of pliability,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit states that the candy was “negligently, recklessly and defectively designed” due to its “makeup, mixture of ingredients, excessive stickiness, size and shape.”
Inspired by the Hasbro board game Candy Land, the Frankford Candy Land Gummy Dots contain no choking hazard or safety warning
Now that Amelie is disabled, her mother, Maria Aylin Sotelo Camacho (pictured here with Amelie and her two other children), had to quit her job at an auto body shop to become the child's full-time caregiver
“A product like this should have some sort of warning on it,” Bosworth said. “When you eat a candy, you don't necessarily know what the consistency is, how sticky it is or whether it's a problem.”
“We will not stop until these sweets are removed from shelves or changed to include a clear, thorough and accurate warning about all the real dangers of the product, including the choking hazard and a safe age range for consumption,” Bosworth said. .
“I would like to see those gummies removed, or if that's not possible, at least get a warning and a warning big enough for parents to see because the packaging can be very misleading,” Amelie's mother said.
The lawsuit seeks $50,000 in damages and punitive damages. A jury trial has been requested.