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Fall Risk Prompts Fisher-Price "3-in-1" High Chair Recall

Fisher-Price on Tuesday announced that it is recalling a popular combination high chair/toddler booster seat, because a defect involving the booster seat's release mechanism can pose a fall hazard for infants and toddlers.

The recall includes about 24,000 Fisher-Price "3-in-1 High Chair to Booster" chairs that were sold exclusively at Target stores nationwide, from December 2008 through March 2009, for around $100. The affected product number (P5369) can be found on the side of the high chair seat, on a seat pad label, and on the packaging. Check out a step-by-step online guide from Mattel's Consumer Relations Answer Center, to find out whether a specific high chair is affected by the recall.

The "3-in-1 High Chair to Booster" can convert from a high chair to a booster seat via a few adjustments. But here is the problem that prompted the recall: "The seat can fall backwards from high chair frame if the booster seat release is unlatched while the child is in the product. Also, the seat back can detach if not fully snapped in place, posing a fall hazard and risk of serious injury to young children," according to a News Release from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Fisher-Price/Mattel has received one report of an infant skull fracture suffered in a fall that may be linked to the discovered hazard. The company is instructing parents and caregivers to stop using the recalled high chairs immediately and contact Fisher-Price for instructions and a free repair kit.

• Fisher-Price Recalls 3-in-1 High Chairs Due to Fall Hazard (CPSC.gov)
• Online Guide: Is Your High Chair Affected by the Recall? (Mattel.com)
• WebMD: Fall Risk Prompts High Chair Recall
• Defective and Dangerous Products (FindLaw)
• Legal Issues in Product Defect Cases (FindLaw)
• Personal Injuries from Dangerous or Defective Products (provided by Berger and Green, Attorneys at Law)

Full post as published by FindLaw's Common Law on March 26, 2009 (boomark / email).