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DALLAS - The parents of a 12-year-old girl from Arlington, Texas, are pursuing a federal lawsuit against the makers of a popular retractable dog leash after their daughter suffered severe injuries and multiple surgeries when the defective device broke and struck her in the eye.

Attorney Stephen Drinnon from Dallas' The Drinnon Law Firm represents Dereka Williams, a minor, and her parents in their claims against San Rafael, Calif.-based Worldwise Inc., manufacturer of the SlyDog leash. The popular leashes were sold in Dollar General Stores across the United States from September 2007 to August 2008 before being removed from shelves in a nationwide recall reported by the Consumer Product Safety Commission last September. Dollar General's parent company, Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based DolGenCorp of Texas Inc., also is named as a defendant.

"Worldwise Inc. produced a dangerous product that we know has injured many people, including innocent children," says Mr. Drinnon, lead counsel for the Williams family. "It took a nationwide recall to protect the public, but by then it was too late for my client."

The lawsuit charges that the SlyDog leash is a poorly designed, dangerous product, and that Worldwise and Dollar General neglected to properly warn pet owners of the hazards associated with its use. The complaint filed Wednesday in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Fort Worth is one of the first lawsuits targeting the SlyDog leash since last year's recall.

Ms. Williams was injured in April 2008 while walking her puppy when the clasp on the end of the retractable leash broke, causing the line to recoil rapidly and strike her eye. Ms. Williams suffered a laceration to her cornea that required emergency surgery. Because of her injuries, she also developed a cataract in her eye that required surgery. In the past 10 months, Ms. Williams has undergone three operations to help minimize the damage to her eye and continues to suffer vision problems in both eyes.

Ms. Williams' story is similar to many others that resulted in the nationwide recall of 223,264 SlyDog leashes, which are responsible for eye injuries, broken teeth, bruises, cuts and other injuries, according to the CPSC.

For more information about this case or to speak with Mr. Drinnon, please call Robert Tharp at 800-559-4534 or Robert@androvett.com.