Skechers Light-up Shoes Lawsuit Alleges Ni-Cad Batteries are Dangerous

At least one Skechers light-up shoes lawsuit alleges several styles of battery-operated children’s shoes are dangerous.

The shoes in question contain Ni-Cad batteries that can allegedly explode, potentially causing chemical burns on the feet of the child wearing them.

One New York mother has filed a class action lawsuit alleging her 9-year-old son came home from school one day with red feet and that his shoes would no longer light up. She allegedly took her son to see a podiatrist the next day, who diagnosed the boy as having second-degree chemical burns on his feet.

The mother alleges the burns came from the exploding batteries in her son’s Skechers, and she also claims the company was aware of the battery issue for nearly a year prior to her son’s incident.

According to the Skechers light-up shoes lawsuit, the company allegedly stopped making certain styles that were deemed “problematic” and “quietly” replaced the light-up shoes of other customers who complained about the potential dangers of the purportedly defective line.

The Skechers lawsuit alleges that the defective shoes are still reaching consumers because of third-party sales. The mom who filed the lawsuit says that’s the avenue she used to purchase her son’s light-up Skechers last March.

Skechers Light-up Shoes Lawsuit Alleges Dangers

The Skechers Kids footwear currently under investigation includes those with a Ni-Cad battery that were purchased from 2015 to present. Among the lines under scrutiny are the S-Lights, the Shopkins and the Twinkle Toes. They reportedly sell at retail prices ranging from $39.99 to $77 per pair and are available in styles for boys and girls.

The light-up shoe craze began in the early 1990s when kids sneakers started to include lights in the heels of the shoes that would blink on when the heel touched the ground. Those shoes contained batteries that were found to contain dangerous levels of mercury. Once that revelation came to light, many parents stopped buying them. Plus, the batteries didn’t last very long, which led to the lights failing often before the child outgrew the shoes.

Skechers has promoted at least 42 different styles of light-up shoes for kids over the past three years.

The Ni-Cad batteries are rechargeable. They are smaller and lighter than lead-acid batteries, but also are extremely toxic, say consumers who allege they should have been told the shoes included an encased, rechargeable Ni-Cad battery.

The Ni-Cad battery is encased within the shoes, generally in the heel or mid-sole of the light-up Skechers. The battery is so well-sealed that it allegedly can cause gas to build up, resulting in a potential explosion.

According to the Skechers website, the light-up shoes should not be machine-washed, and should only be cleaned with mild soap and water with a soft cloth. Instructions indicate a USB cable is supplied to charge the shoes’ lights, which should run for five or six hours on a full charge.

The USB port is generally located under a flap behind the tongue of each shoe. The instructions warn not to leave the shoes charging overnight or longer than the lights indicate a full charge has been reached, which is usually around two hours. Users are warned not to leave the shoes unattended and are advised to unplug the shoes immediately once they’re fully charged

Join a Free Skechers Light Up Sneakers Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you purchased shoes from any Skechers light-up lines since 2015 and the battery caused a burn or another injury, you may be eligible for an exploding light-up Skechers class action lawsuit investigation.

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