Before yelling Banzai, you’d better read this

Beware the Banzai Falls blue-and-yellow in-ground pool water slide this Memorial Day weekend. Chinese company Manley Toys, Ltd. recently recalled 21,000 slides sold at Wal-Mart and Toys R Us because they can deflate unexpectedly.

A jury recently awarded $20.6 million to the family of a 29-year-old mother who died after breaking her neck while sliding headfirst down a partially deflated slide at a pool party. A woman elsewhere likewise fractured her neck, and a 24-year-old man suffered a spinal cord injury that caused him to become quadriplegic.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urged the public to return the 6-foot-tall vinyl slide as soon as possible. Spokesman Alex Filip told the media that people shouldn’t be “lulled into a false sense of security” because their slide hasn’t deflated yet.

“You could play on it all day Saturday and then the kids go out on Sunday and get hurt,” he said. “People sometimes attribute failures to poor maintenance or something they did wrong and if they’re not hurt, they may not report it. … You need to do what’s best for your family. Just bring it back and you’ll get your money back.”

Both Wal-Mart and Toys-R-Us sold the slide for around $250 and have agreed to issue full refunds with a cut-out of the two safety warnings on the slide.

Additionally, the CPSC would like consumers to contact them via SaferProducts.gov or 800-638-2772 if they were injured. And it’s always a good idea to consult a personal injury litigation firm to discuss your case with an experienced trial attorney. Many, like Spangenberg Shibley & Liber, offer a free consultation.