A new drop-side crib recall announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) adds some 635,000 potentially dangerous products to the cribs pulled off the market last year in the largest crib recall in U.S. history. Detached drop sides can create spaces that can trap infants with their heads pressed into crib mattresses, causing suffocation and death.
The nonprofit child safety advocacy group Kids in Danger has warned that entrapment is the leading hazard for children’s sleep environment products, with 75% of recalls due to this danger. According to the CPSC, the most recent recall followed a 6-month old Iowa child’s reported death after the infant became entrapped and strangled in a Dorel Asia crib with broken drop side hardware. The crib allegedly continued to be used after the parents tried to repair the drop side themselves.
At least thirty-one other drop side incidents have apparently involved Dorel Asia crib models. The CPSC has stated that children were entrapped between the drop side and crib mattress in six of those incidents. Three children reportedly suffered from bruises as a result of the entrapment. In addition, CPSC and Dorel Asia received reports of 36 incidents of slat breakage, including seven reports of bruises and scratches to children and two reports of entrapment that resulted in no injury.
The cribs recalled were made in China and Vietnam and sold at Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Sears stores from January 2005 through December 2009 for $120 to $700. Several models have been recalled. A complete list of the twenty Dorel Asia crib models involved in the recall at this time can be found on the CPSC website.
If a defective nursery product has caused a child’s serious personal injury or wrongful death, the Law Office of Dane E. Johnson believes that the manufacturer and retailer should be held accountable. Parents seeking a child products liability lawyer may contact Portland, Oregon personal injury attorney Dane Johnson for a legal evaluation without charge or obligation. Call us toll-free at (800) 714-3204 or contact us online.
Related Web Resources
CPSC, Press Release, Dorel Asia Recalls To Replace Cribs; Pose Strangulation and Suffocation Hazards (Jan. 19, 2010).
Kids in Danger, Unsafe While Sleeping: Children’s Sleep Environment Recalls
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