A little container of seemingly innocent candy has changed a family's entire life. In December 2022, Amelie Paredes Sotelo, a toddler who lives in California, ate some Candy Land Gummy Dot candies, and one ended up lodged in her throat. The time it took to get it out led to the young girl becoming a quadriplegic, according to a lawsuit filed by the girl's family.
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The family is suing the makers of the candy
The candy was manufactured by Hasbro, who are also the makers of the board game Candy Land, which inspired the candy. The family filed their lawsuit on December 28, 2023, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. The lawsuit alleges that the candy does not have warnings about the potential choking hazard.
The candy was incredibly hard to dislodge from the young girl's throat
The candy became stuck in the back of Amelie's throat, and her parents were unable to remove it, so they rushed her to the hospital. Once there, doctors tried to suction the candy out, but they also had difficulty. The candy "was extremely difficult [to remove] due to excessive stickiness of the product and its extraordinary lack of pliability," according to the lawsuit.
Because of the amount of time it took to remove the candy, the girl went a long period of time without oxygen. As a result, she suffered permanent brain damage with spastic quadriplegia, and requires total care for the rest of her life.
"It is shocking that this level of brain damage caused by just one single piece of this dangerous gel candy," the family's lawyer, Thomas Bosworth, said in a statement.
The family's lawyer called the candy a "ticking time bomb"
"These candies were a ticking time bomb. We will pursue justice for this innocent little girl who was once a vibrant and thriving child, but is now permanently disabled, unable to speak, unable to swallow, and unable to move, for the rest of her life," Bosworth said in the release.
"We will not stop until these candies are either removed from shelves or changed to contain a clear, thorough, and accurate warning about all of the true dangers of the product, including its choking hazard and a safe age range for consumption," he also said.
Her family will never be the same
"I would not want this to happen to anyone. It's a very scary situation and it's very painful," Amelie's mother, Maria Aylin Sotelo Camacho, said in an interview with news station KSEQ. "I still get a lot of anxiety just thinking about it. My kids still talk about it a lot. Obviously Amelie, her life changed."
The family has two older children who were in the home when Amelie choked.
"I would love to get those gummies removed, or if that's not possible, at least get a warning and a warning that's big enough for parents to see because the packaging can be very deceiving," Sotelo Camacho said.
