Crib Recalls - Child Product Attorneys

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York

 Baby cribs continue to be a major problem, with the most recent news that more than 2.1 million dropside cribs made by Stork Craft Manufacturing were being recalled after four reported deaths. The crib recall was the largest in U.S history.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said roughly half the cribs were in the United States and half in Canada, where Stork Craft is based. About 150,000 bear the Fisher-Price logo. The CPSC said it knew of four deaths of young children who suffocated in the cribs, which have a drop side to make it easier for parents to lift children in and out. (Read story)

 Earlier this year, the government announced the recall of 400,000 cribs made by Simplicity Inc. following the death of an eight-month-old baby who suffocated when the drop side part of the crib detached. The CPSC announced in July 2009 that the Reading, Pa., firm voluntarily recalled the cribs. Parents were urged to immediately stop using the cribs because its hardware could break or deform, causing the drop side to detach and thus creating a space between the side and the mattress where a child could be entrapped and suffocate. (Read the CPSC news release)

In October 2008, the CPSC announced a similar recall of 985,000 drop-side cribs made by Delta Enterprise Corp. which had a similar problem. Saftey pegs had not been installed in those cribs, also causing the drop side to detach. The agency said it also had a report of the death of an eight-month-old infant involving a Delta Enterprise crib.

If your child or the child of a loved one was seriously injured because of defective crib, you may want to contact a crib attorney about a possible crib lawsuit.

Earlier in 2008, the CPSC also sought the recall of another Simplicity product, some 900,000 bassinets, following the deaths of two infants.

The bassinet safety alert issued by the CPSC involved 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible "close-sleeper/bedside sleeper" bassinets. The agency said that if a Velcro strap was not properly secured when the bassinets were converted to sleepers, a baby could slip through an opening in the bassinet's metal bars and suffocate. It said the unit's metal bars were spaced farther apart than the specified federal crib safety standards. (Read more)

Earlier, in an action announced in 2007, one million baby cribs bearing the Simplicity or Graco Children's Products brand name were recalled following three suffocation deaths.

The CPSC said at the time that the drop side of that crib could become separated from the frame, leaving a dangerous gap. The agency received reports of three deaths, seven infant entrapments and 55 other incidents involving those cribs.

Simplicity and Graco products have been problematic in the past. Simplicity in June 2007 recalled 40,000 Nursery in a Box cribs, and in December 2005 it recalled 104,000 Aspen 3-in-1 cribs bearing the Graco logo. (Simplicity made products for Graco until a licensing agreement expired Dec. 31, 2005 .)

Hundreds of injuries occurred involving infant swings, high chairs, strollers and other products sold by Graco from 1991 through 2002, according to the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The CPSC announced on March 22, 2005 that it was fining Graco $4 million – by far the largest fine ever imposed by the commission – over Graco’s failure to promptly report the injuries, including a number of deaths. The fine was part of a settlement between the commission and Graco.

Involved were 16 different products of which more than 12 million were sold by Graco and under the Century brand name, which was acquired by Graco in 1998.

Six deaths were reported resulting from Graco Infant Swings, which the CPSC said had restraint and tray lock failures that resulted in babies falling to the ground or becoming trapped in the seat’s leg openings. Injuries ranged from contusions and fractures to strangulation.

Contact us if your child suffered a severe injury or death as a result of a defective Graco children's product.

The CPSC said in a news release that Graco and Century “failed to report defects in juvenile products that the commission said could create substantial product hazards or unreasonable risks of injuries ...” Companies are required under federal law to promptly inform the CPSC of product defects that pose the risk of injury.

Seven different Graco products have been recalled since 1997, including the latest – 1.2 million toddler beds sold between 1994 and 2001 – with the announcement of the fine. The largest previous CPSC fine was $1.75 million, also against a baby products manufacturer.

On Feb. 8, 2006 , the CPSC reissued a recall for baby cribs sold under the Graco name and manufactured by Simplicity. The action was taken a month after a 19-month-old Oregon child died in one of the Aspen 3-in-1 cribs.

The mishap occurred when two of the mattress support slats dislodged in the crib and the baby suffocated after being entrapped between the mattress and the footboard.

Simplicity is Based in Reading, Pa. Graco is based in Exton, Pa., and is owned by Newell Rubbermaid Inc.

Kline & Specter, P.C., a law firm based in Philadelphia with some 30 attorneys, several of whom are also highly skilled doctors, has had success litigating product liability lawsuits in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and nationwide. Contact a baby crib injury lawyer today.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Record Civil Penalty Levied Against Graco Children's Products Inc.