Personal Injury Law

Jaloma Pacifiers Sold in New York and New Jersey Recalled Due to Choking Hazard; One Million Play Yards Recalled Nationwide Due to Fall Hazard

It?s been a tough couple of days for the safety of infants and toddlers. On July 7, 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (?CPSC?), in cooperation with Gromex Inc., of Passaic, N.J., announced a voluntary recall of about 700 Jaloma Pacifiers.  The next day the CPSC, in cooperation with Kolcraft Enterprises Inc. of Chicago, Ill., announced a voluntary recall of about 1 million Kolcraft, Carter?s, Sesame Street, Jeep, Contours, Care Bear and Eric Carle Play Yards.

The recalled pacifier has a ring-shaped handle and a round-shaped mouth guard with two ventilation holes. ?Jaloma? is printed on the handle side of the mouth guard and the nipple has a gel-like liquid inside. The problem is that the pacifier mouth guard and the ventilation holes are too small and fail to meet federal safety standards. The pacifier could pose a choking and aspiration hazard to young children. No incidents or injuries have been reported to the CPSC.

This is not the first recall of Jaloma pacifiers.  In September of 2004, about 9,400 Jaloma pacifiers were recalled. The pacifiers were banned under federal law. They failed federal safety tests, come apart, and can pose a choking hazard to infants and small children.

The product was sold at retail stores in New Jersey and New York from February 2008 through March 2009 for about $1. It was manufactured in Mexico.

The hazard involved in the July 8 play yard recall is that the play yard?s side rail can fail to latch properly and when a child pushes against the rail it can unlatch unexpectedly, posing a fall hazard to children.

The firm has received 347 reports of sides of the play yard collapsing unexpectedly, resulting in 21 injuries to young children, including bumps, scrapes, bruises and one concussion.

Some of the units have a bassinet and/or changing table. Some models have a mobile, vibrating unit or a parent organizer. Model numbers are printed on a white sticker on one of the feet of the play yard. Product names include Kolcraft Travelin? Tot Series, Contours 3-in-1 Play Yards, ?Sesame Beginnings? Carter?s Lennon Travelin? Tot and Jeep Sahara Series.

A list of model names and numbers is on the CPSC website.

The play yards were sold at Babies R Us, Walmart, Kmart, Sears, Target and other stores nationwide and Internet retailers from January 2000 through January 2009 for between $50 and $160. They were manufactured in China, Spain, and Italy.

As with the Jaloma pacifier, this is not the first recall of some of these play yards. Some of the models of the play yards involved in this recall were recalled in September 2007 due to a strangulation hazard posed by the changing table, which resulted in the death of a 10-month child.

Consumers are instructed to stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. Consumers should immediately take the recalled pacifiers away from children and contact Gromex collect at (973) 458-9399 Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET. for a refund or exchange. Or contact Kolcraft toll-free at (866) 594-4208 anytime or visit the firm?s Web site at www.kolcraft.com.  CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772; CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908.

The lawyers at Levine & Slavit have decades of experience handling personal injury claims including those involving dangerous and defective products . For 50 years spanning 3 generations, we have obtained results for satisfied clients. We have offices in Manhattan and Long Island, handling cases in New York City, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and surrounding areas.

If you or someone close to you has been injured by a product that was not properly manufactured, designed or labeled, contact the personal injury lawyers at Levine & Slavit for their help.

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Full post as published by Legal Blog on July 10, 2009 (boomark / email).