Product Liability Law Blog

The deaths of three infants has prompted the CPSC to recall all “ChildESIGNS” and Generation 2 Worldwide drop-side cribs. About 500,000 cribs are affected. Unlike other drop-side crib recalls, no repair kit will be issued.

It is imperative that kids are immediately removed from these cribs. Trying to fix the furniture defect will not make the cribs safer.

The three babies that died suffocated when they became entrapped between the mattress and a broken drop side. The incidents involve the 2007 Ohio suffocation accident of an infant, 8 mos., a 2003 Indiana crib suffocation accident involving another child, also 8 mo., and a fatal 2002 Virginia crib entrapment accident that happened when the drop side detached because the track was missing two of its screws.

The potential hazard can occur if the drop side’s plastic hardware breaks, leading the drop side to come off in at least one corner. This small space is large enough for a toddler or baby to move into and get caught in, posing a strangulation or suffocation risk. Entrapment and suffocation can also happen in the event that the mattress becomes separated from its support, creating the open space that toddlers can get trapped in.

The CPSC says consumers have filed an additional 20 drop-side accidents, which include two suffocation incidents and five fall accidents from the cribs, as well as a number of incidents involving the crib’s mattress.

Generation 2 is no longer in operation. Crib owners can contact the retailer that sold them the crib and ask for a replacement crib, a refund, or a store credit.

With the number of infant furniture recalls that the CPSC has announced in the last few years as a result of so many child injuries and deaths, there is no question that there are child furniture manufacturers out there who are failing to fulfill their responsibility to make products that are safe for use. The drop-side crib appears to be one product (for the most part) that is designed in such a way that makes it dangerous for kids. It is a tragedy to put your child to bed and later find that he or she sustained a traumatic brain injury or died because of a crib entrapment accident.

Generation 2 Worldwide and “ChildESIGNS” Drop Side Crib Brands Recalled; Three Infant Deaths Reported, Consumer Product Safety Commission, February 9, 2010

Generation 2 Worldwide Cribs Recalled, CBS News, February 9, 2010

Related Web Resources:
If your child was involved in a crib accident involving a drop-side crib, file a CPSC report today.

Crib Safety, Baby-Place

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Posted In: Cribs and Infant Sleepers , Infant Products , Injuries to Children & Minors , Ohio , Virginia

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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)

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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

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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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