Product Liability Law Blog

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced today that it is recalling approximately 213,000 play yards with bassinets because of concern that the infant product posses a suffocation risk. The recall includes Eddie Bauer Complete Care Play Yards and Safety 1st Disney Care Center™ Play Yard.

There are no reports of any related injuries to date. Hover, the metal bars that support the sleeper’s floorboard can come out through the fabric sleeves. If this happens, the sleeping surface of the bassinet may become uneven. This can cause an infant to suffer from positional asphyxiation or suffocate.

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Dorel Juvenile Group will provide consumers with a free repair kit. Consumers should stop using the bassinet portion that attaches to the play yard until the fix can be made.

Just last week, the CPSC and IKEA Home Furnishings recalled approximately 600 LEOPARD Highchairs because they pose a potential fall hazard or suffocation danger. If the snap locks that secure the seat breaks, the child and the seat can fall through the highchair’s frame. There is also concern that a young child might choke on detached snap locks. To date, there is one report of a baby sustaining leg bruises after falling. Another child reportedly was able to chew off one of the locks.

In the wake of ongoing recalls involving child and infant products, federal regulators have approved a new rule mandating that manufacturers keep a list of customers so that it is easier to let parents know if a product is considered dangerous or defective.

The companies that make high chairs, cribs, strollers, gates, toddler beds, bath seats, booster chairs, play yards, hook-on chairs, infant carriers, children’s folding tables, bed rails, activity centers, walkers, bassinets, changing tables, cradles, bathtubs, slings, and bouncers will have to include a registration card with each product so that they can put together their consumer lists.

While quick notification will hopefully prevent more child injuries caused by defective infant products from happening, there are still children and babies who may be hurt before (and even after) a recall is issued.

Dorel Juvenile Group Voluntarily Recalls Bassinets on Select Play Yards, Offering Parents Free Bassinet Repair Kit, PR Newswire, December 30, 2009

CPSC approves final rule on registration card program for infant, toddler products, Kids Today, December 29, 2009

Recall: IKEA highchair, Chicago Tribune, December 22, 2009

Related Web Resources:
US Consumer Product Safety Commission

Nursery Product-Related Injuries and Deaths, CPSC, November 2009 (PDF)

Continue reading " 213,000 Dorel Juvenile Play Yards and 600 IKEA LEOPARD Highchairs are Among Latest Children’s Furniture Product Recalls by CPSC " »

Posted by Gilbert, Ollanik, & Komyatte, P.C. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Cribs and Infant Sleepers , Furniture and Accessories , Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products , Strollers

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The Consumer Product Safety Commission is once again warning parents and guardians about the dangers associated with Simplicity drop-side cribs. The CPSC began recalling these child sleepers, made by SFCA Inc. and Simplicity Inc., in December 2005. Over 2 million Simplicity drop-side cribs have been recalled because of the hazard they pose to children. CPSC’s other Simplicity recalls were announced on June and September 2007, September 2008, and July 2009. The agency says that at this point, all Simplicity drop-side cribs are recalled.

Defects with the crib’s plastic material can lead to deformity or breakage, which can cause the drop side of the crib to become detached. This can create a gap between the mattress and the drop side that babies can fall into, and they may suffocate while entrapped.

Last week, the CPSC announced that 11 babies have now died because of this crib defect. The latest child death was in September when a 7-month-old died from a Kentucky entrapment accident. The victim of another recent Simplicity crib death was an 8-month old baby in Texas. The CPSC says it also knows of about 25 other incidents involving Simplicity drop sides detaching.

Suffocation accidents involving defectively designed cribs continue to be a problem that doesn’t seem to be going away. Tragically, it is the babies and their families that suffer.

Earlier this month, our child injury lawyers posted a blog entry about the recall of 24,000 Amboy Baby Motion Beds and Hammocks. The CPSC announced the recall after two child suffocation deaths. Last month, the dangers involving drop-side cribs made the headlines once again when the CPSC recalled 2.1 million Stork Craft Drop-Side cribs following a series of entrapment, suffocation, and fall accidents, and at least four child deaths.

Crib manufacturers have no excuse for making sleepers that can cause suffocation, entrapment, or falls. They can be held liable for products liability if a child injury or infant fatality results.

CPSC sounds the alarm after another Simplicity crib death, Consumer Reports, December 18, 2009

CPSC Launches New Effort to Find Recalled Simplicity Cribs (PDF)

Related Web Resources:
Simplicity for Children

CPSC

Continue reading " 7-Month-Old Baby is 11th Child Fatality Involving Simplicity Drop-Side Cribs " »

Posted by Gilbert, Ollanik, & Komyatte, P.C. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Cribs and Infant Sleepers , Furniture and Accessories , Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products

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To prevent infant and toddler strangulation injuries and death, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling all Roman and roll-up blinds. More than 50 million blinds (27 million roll-up blinds and 25 million Roman shades) are affected by the recall, which is one of the largest in the agency’s history. The Window Covering Safety Council is joining the CPSC’s efforts to get repair kits to consumers.

16 near strangulations and five fatalities involving Roman shades have been reported since 2006. A child can get hurt by either wrapping the shade’s cord around the neck or putting her/his neck between the back of the blind and the exposed inner cord.

The roll-up blinds have been cited as a cause of three deaths in the past eight years. Strangulation can occur if a child inserts her/his neck between the roll-up material and the lifting loop or if the neck gets caught on the free standing loop.

These latest fatalities and injuries occurred after the CPSC recalled 85 million window blinds in 2000. Most of the blinds were vertical and Venetian blinds and that is when more roll-up and Roman window coverings became more popular. Roll-up and window blinds are also cheaper and considered more attractive.

The CPSC says that vertical and Venetian blind makers improved their standards following the 2000 recall, but manufacturers did not act quickly enough to create better standards for roll-up blinds and Roman shades.

Strangulation injuries and deaths by window blinds and shades are not new occurrences and over the years the CPSC has recalled batches of these products. Why then are manufacturers not doing more to make sure these tragic accidents don’t happen? Our furniture products liability lawyers and our child injury attorneys represent families whose children were injured or killed because of defective or dangerous furniture.

Window Covering Safety Council is offering a number of safety guidelines for protecting kids from the hazards presented by window blinds and shades:

• Use cordless window coverings.
• Replace draperies, shades with cords, and blinds made before 2001.
• Keep window cords away from children’s reach.
• Ensure that cords within their reach are properly secured and cannot be easily freed.
• Keep beds, cribs, sofas, tables, and toys away from windows that have blinds or shades that come with cords.

Window Covering Safety Council Recalls to Repair All Roman and Roll-Up Blinds Due to Risk of Strangulation, CPSC, December 15, 2009

Window Covering Safety Council

Related Web Resources:
Children continue dying as window coverings causing strangulation stay up, KATU.com, August 26, 2009

Strangulation & Suffocation, Parents.com

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Posted In: Furniture and Accessories

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At least two baby deaths have been linked to the Amby Baby Motion Beds and Hammocks, which is why Amby Baby USA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are recalling about 24,000 of these child sleepers. One of the victims was a 4-month old Georgia baby who died in an Amby baby hammock in June. Another infant, a 5-month-old Oregon boy, died from suffocation last August.

If the baby gets wedged against or rolled into the fabric or stuck in the gap next to the mattress pad as the hammock tilts or shifts side-to-side, the child might suffocate to death. Consumers are asked to stop using this product immediately until they receive their free repair kit.

This latest child sleeper recall is the second one announced in December. Last week, the CPSC and LaJobi Inc. recalled about 400 “Betsy” and “Molly” cribs because of concerns that a child’s head might get caught in the crib’s end panel cut-outs, which are a potential strangulation hazard. One 1-year-old girl died this way in 2003.

Of course, there was the CPSC's largest recall in US history last month when it singled out 2.1 million drop-side cribs by Stork Craft following reports of infant suffocation, entrapment, and fall accidents. Our furniture product liability law firm reported on this recall in an earlier blog post.

Crib Injuries and Deaths
One of the few times that babies and toddlers are left unsupervised is when they are sleeping. This means that in the event of strangulation, suffocation, or entrapment, a parent, guardian, caregiver, or another adult may not be immediately available to rescue the child or call for help.

Crib makers and infant sleeper manufacturers are aware of this. Yet, every year there are toddlers and babies who sustain crib injuries and are hospitalized because of crib defects. Some of these children are not lucky enough to survive.

Infant Suffocation Deaths Prompt Recall of Amby Baby Motion Beds/Hammocks, CPSC, December 8, 2009

CPSC, LaJobi Reannounce 2001 Recall of Cribs Due to Entrapment and Strangulation Hazards, CPSC, December 2, 2009

Related Web Resources:
KidsHealth.org

KidsinDanger.org

Continue reading " 24,000 Amboy Baby Motion Beds and Hammocks Recalled Following Two Infant Suffocation Deaths " »

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Posted In: Furniture and Accessories , Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Nursery Products

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In the years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, thousands of their victims who received shelter in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers have sued the trailer manufacturers for auto products liability because of illnesses they sustained from exposure to high levels of formaldehyde in the mobile homes.

Some 143,000 trailers were used as emergency housing units following the two storms. Later, federal tests on hundreds of FEMA mobile homes in Mississippi and Louisiana determined that the levels of formaldehyde (a carcinogen linked to breathing problems) found in the trailers was about five times greater than what can be found in modern homes.

FEMA trailer lawyers representing clients have accused the trailer manufacturers of using poor methods and materials in an attempt to quickly construct the mobile homes to meet FEMA’s demand for temporary residences on the Gulf Coast following both hurricanes.

One plaintiff, Elisha Dubuclet, says the high levels of formaldehyde that she and her family were exposed to while living in a FEMA trailer aggravated her daughter’s eczema and increased her chances of getting cancer. Fleetwood Enterprises Inc. made the trailer where Dubuclet's family lived. Other FEMA trailer residents have complained of breathing problems, eye, throat, and nose irritation, and nausea.

Trailer residents were not the only ones made ill from exposure to the high levels of formaldehyde. According to a CBS News report, Linda Esparza and Tommy Yager, a mother and son who worked on the construction of some of the FEMA trailers, say they experienced flu like symptoms and fatigue as a result. The two of them built the trailers for Gulf Stream Coach, an RV maker contracted to make 50,000 trailers as quickly as possible. At one point in 2006, Gulf Stream Coach was producing over 100 trailers each day—that's triple the rate of regular production.

In July 2008, officials for Gulf Stream Coach, Forest River, Keystone RV, and Pilgrim International testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. They admitted that they knew the FEMA trailers they made for the hurricane victims contained unsafe levels of formaldehyde.

Deal in works to resolve some FEMA trailer claims, AP/Google, December 2, 2009

Manufacturers say they knew of FEMA trailer health risks, Christian Science Monitor, July 11, 2008

Did Trailer Makers Know About Toxic Fumes?, CBS, July 8, 2008

Related Web Resources:
FEMA Moving 35,000 Hurricane Katrina Families Out of Toxic Trailers, Product Liability Law Blog, February 18, 2008

Federal Emergency Management Agency

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee

Continue reading " Thousands of FEMA Trailer Claims Filed by Victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita " »

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Posted In: Automotive Product Liability , FEMA Trailers , Toxic Chemicals , Toxic Injuries or Disease , Toxic Tort/Environmental Cases

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With the opening of the holiday shopping season, it is important that buyers be wary of toys that may be dangerous for kids. Unfortunately, toys that are choking hazards, poking hazards, lead hazards, eye hazards, or pose other kinds of injury hazards continue be found on toy store shelves throughout the US.

While toy manufacturers can be held liable for products liability in the event of injury or death—a matter that an experienced toy defect law firm that handles injuries to children cases can help you with—keeping kids away from certain toys that are already known safety hazards is a good way to prevent injuries.

To help identify toys that may be potentially dangerous for kids, World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) has released its 2009 Worst Toys List:

• Lots to Love Babies “Mini Nursery”: Small, Detachable parts can be choking hazard
• Disney Pixar Wall-E Foam Rocket Launcher: Fast-launching rocket poses possible eye hazard
• Just Kidz Junior Musical Instruments: Drumstick is a choking hazard if toddler puts in his or her mouth
• Moon Board Pogo Board: Can cause impact and head injuries
• CAT “Rugged Mini”: 3” inch long metal spoke can cause puncture wounds
• Curious Baby Curious George Counting – My First Book of Numbers: Metal beads are easy to swallow, causing choking and ingestion injuries
• Pucci Pups Maltese: Dog hair poses aspiration hazard
• The Dark Knight Batman Figure: Sharp, pointy parts can cause injury if toddler falls on them
• Spy Gear Viper Blast: “Darts” can pose eye injury
• X-Men Origins Slashin’ Action Wolverine: Sharp claws are an eye or impact injury hazard.

Last week, the Public Interest Research Group issued its report from its 24th annual “Trouble in Toyland” survey. They named 16 toys they consider either potentially dangerous or that violate current manufacturing standards. Toys were analyzed to determine if they posed a hearing hazard, a choking hazard, or contained toxic levels of phthalates or lead. As of October, the toys could still be found in toy stores:

Phthalates or lead hazards:
• Elmo Lunch Bag by Sassy
• Pretty Princess Puppy Purse by Claire's
• Collector's Series Painted Duck
• Alligator cell phone charm by Claire's
• Big Rex Touch and Feel Cloth Book by Priddy Book

Hearing hazards:
• Bright Lights Phone by Vtech
• Laugh & Learn Learning Phone by Fisher Price
• Kota and Pals Stompers Triceratops by Playskool
• Secret Saturdays Cryptid Claw by Mattel

Choking hazards:
• Worky Work Bench by Nemmer
• Fur Real Baby Bird by Hasbro
• Toy Story Pizza Planet Gift Pack by Mattel
• My First BABY Learn by BABY Born
• an unnamed play food tray by World Market
• Real Wood Shape Sorter Barn by P&C Enterprise
• Creative Wood Stacking Rings by Zaidy Product

New report finds dangerous toys on shelves, Sun-Sentinel, November 24, 2009

2009 "10 Worst Toys" List, WATCH

Related Web Resources:
Trouble in Toyland Survey, Public Interest Research Group

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Continue reading " WATCH and PIRG Unveil "Dangerous" Toys Lists " »

Posted by Gilbert, Ollanik, & Komyatte, P.C. | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Injuries to Children & Minors , Toys

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