Near-fatal aspiration of a child's dummy: design fault or deliberate injury?

A case is described of near fatal aspiration of a child's dummy. This caused extensive injuries to the mouth and pharynx and acute respiratory embarrassment necessitating admission to a paediatric intensive care unit, and multi-disciplinary assessment. A design fault in the dummy is discussed, and it is recommended that the British Standards specification for dummies be changed. Finally, the issue of non-accidental injury is discussed, with the suggestion that injuries to the soft tissues of the mouth and pharynx be treated with the same degree of suspicion as any other childhood injury.