Hennepin County, Minnesota — A Wisconsin family has filed a lawsuit against Target, alleging the retailer failed to warn consumers about the dangers of a children’s water bead product after their 10-month-old daughter died from swallowing one of the tiny expanding beads.
Taylor and Tyler Bethard filed the lawsuit this week in Hennepin County, claiming their daughter, Esther “Jo” Bethard, died in 2023 after ingesting a water bead from a product previously sold exclusively at Target.
The lawsuit also names Buffalo Games LLC, the manufacturer of the Chuckle & Roar water bead activity kit.
Lawsuit Claims Product Was Dangerous for Young Children
According to the complaint, the Bethards purchased the Chuckle & Roar Ultimate Water Beads Activity Kit in the spring of 2022 for their older children and never intended for their infant daughter to play with it…