The hits keep on coming for Graco in 2010. After a massive Graco highchair recall last month and a equally gargantuan Graco stroller recall it seems that they can’t get a break, but then again, neither can parents who own their defective products.
Now from strollers to highchairs, Graco is getting kids where they sleep. The Consumer Product Safety Commission and LaJobi Inc. recalled 217,000 Graco-brand drop-side cribs after reports of 99 accidents involving hardware that failed on the cribs, according to a statement. Graco Children’s Products Inc. is owned by Newell Rubbermaid Inc. LaJobi manufactures the cribs for Graco and is based in Cranbury, New Jersey.
The CPSC is sort of at their last rope with Graco and is now stepping up efforts to speed the recall of products for children including Graco cribs and toys. As we mentioned before, the commission announced a recall on March 18 of 1.2 million Graco high chairs after 24 injuries were reported because of falls.
These recalls are for cribs of two companies, Graco and a company called Simplicity Inc. that is no longer in business.
The Graco Drop-Side Crib Recall
The major problem with both types of cribs stems from hardware failures. Two cases in particular were cited involving children being trapped between the mattress and the crib’s side before being freed. Below are the cribs being recalled:
As you can see, in the case of the Graco-branded wood cribs, the side that moves up and down (the drop-side) can break or detach, creating a dangerous gap between the crib mattress and dropped side. A baby can become trapped and suffocate or strangle.
Simplicity Drop-Side Crib Recall
The Simplicity recall is for all full-sized cribs with tubular metal mattress-support frames. Those frames can bend or detach, causing the mattress to collapse and creating a space that a baby can roll into, become trapped in and suffocate.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement that a one-year-old in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, suffocated in April 2008 after being trapped between a Simplicity frame and the mattress, according to the statement. The agency has 13 reports of the cribs collapsing.
Notice from the pictures below that the product failures are serious and potentially fatal. Just a small break can make a baby roll into a compromising position. 13 children have died as a result of Simplicity Crib defects so far.
The commission had previously recalled all Simplicity dropside cribs. With the latest recall, nearly all Simplicity cribs have now been recalled, possibly hundreds of thousands of cribs.
“CPSC urges all parents and caregivers to not attempt to resell any Simplicity crib to a thrift store, at a yard sale or online,” said agency spokesman Scott Wolfson. “These recalled cribs have killed far too many babies and need to be kept out of homes and daycare centers.”
Big Box Stores
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Babies R Us have taken cribs off of their shelves with tubular metal mattress- support frames in reaction to these recalls because they can suffocate or strangle infants, U.S. safety regulators said.
The cribs recalled by Wal-Mart, Target and other retailers are sold under the Aspen, Chelsea Deluxe, Graco, Graco Aspen and Simplicity brands, the CPSC said. The agency said it had limited information about the number of cribs sold because Simplicity and its successor, SFCA Inc., because they are no longer in business, but the 217,000 Graco Drop-Side Crib recalls are accurate.
These stores are not liable for the defects, but they are the largest retailers of the products and many of the products were bought from these three giant retailers. If you bought your crib from one of these retailers you may want to check the brand and serial number one more time to make sure it is not part of this particular recall.
Protect Your Family
The safety testing phase of the any manufacture of product is very important to assure that the consumer who purchases it can use it for its intended purpose and feel safe doing it. This is particularly true with baby products. Parents should be able to rely upon a product that their infant sleeps in and be assured that the infant will be alive when the parent wakes up.
Even if a child doesn’t die, suffocation for only a minute can deprive the infant’s brain of oxygen, causing a severe brain injury, leading to a myriad of cognitive problems later in life from learning disabilities to serious mental defects. These kinds of flaws and defects not only take lives, but destroy families.
If you or someone you know has had a child that has been injured in a Graco Drop-Side Crib then it is important that you find experienced representation that can seek the compensation you deserve. Call the defective product lawyers at Phillips Webster for a free consultation.
Learn More About:
- Manufacturer Defect Lawsuits and Liability
- The Drop-Side Crib Recall
- Defective Design
