US pushchair manufacturer Maclaren has agreed to pay compensation to the families of children injured in the mechanism of their folding buggies.

BBC News reports that more than 40 children who lost fingers or fingertips in the pushchair mechanism will be compensated. A total of 12 children in the US suffered ‘finger lacerations’ in the buggies' folding mechanisms – one million buggies in the US were recalled after reports of injuries to children emerged.

Maclaren has stated, however, that the agreement to pay compensation was not ‘an admission of liability’ – but added that the company took the safety of children ‘very seriously’.

‘We are committed to fully recompense any child who's been genuinely injured by finger entrapment in one of our products,’ said a spokesman for the company. ‘We take the safety of children very seriously.

‘We have sold more than a million buggies in the past decade in the UK and have only had around 100 complaints – we feel this issue affects the whole industry and not just Maclaren,’ the spokesman added.

In the UK, hundreds of parents contacted the BBC reporting injury to their children’s fingers as a result of them becoming trapped in the mechanism of folding buggies. A month after the reports emerged, Maclaren issued protective covers for the hinge mechanism free of charge.

Lawyers for the families met with representatives of the company on Thursday (06/05/10) to discuss how compensation will be apportioned. Some of the cases in the UK are thought to date back 15 years, according to one lawyer representing the families. It is estimated children will receive between £2,500 and £10,000 according to the severity of their injury.

Sophie Hutchings – the mother of a two-year-old who had to undergo reconstructive surgery after losing the tip of her finger in the mechanism – told the BBC:

‘This is not just about money – and it really doesn't matter how much we will get. I now feel relieved more than anything else because I blamed myself, but I now I know it's not my fault.’

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