Legal News

Approximately 2.1 million Storkcraft drop-side cribs have been recalled, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The Storkcraft crib recall involves a drop-side crib defect that causes the drop-side to detach in one or more corners, which could allow a baby to fall or suffocate.

The drop-side crib's plastic hardware can break down or deform which leads to the problem with the drop-side. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission urges parents to immediately stop using the recalled cribs and find alternative sleeping arrangements for their infants. Storkcraft is offering a free repair kit in order to fix the defect. Consumers can contact Storkcraft for the free kit.

The cribs affected by this recall are outlined by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as being: "Stork Craft cribs with manufacturing and distribution dates between January 1993 and October 2009. This recall also includes Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo that have manufacturing dates between October 1997 and December 2004. The Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo were first sold in the U.S. in July 1998 and in Canada in September 1998."

The retailers that sold these defective cribs include BJ?s Wholesale Club, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Meijer, Sears, USA Baby, and Wal-Mart stores and online at Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, Costco.com, Target.com, and Walmart.com. The price range on the cribs are from $100 to $400.

According to CNN, this is the second time that the company has had to recall cribs. They recalled over half a million cribs back in January 2009. There have been over 100 documented cases of drop-side detachment in both the United States and Canada. The injuries sustained have ranged from severe concussions to minor bumps and bruises.

CNN quoted U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesperson Scott Wolfson as saying: "CPSC is working on new federal rules to make all cribs safer." This could result in a move to actually ban drop-side cribs. CNN reports that Toys "R" Us plans to actually stop carrying drop-side cribs and jurisdictions such as Suffolk County, NY has already passed a law that banned sales of drop-side cribs.

Related Resources:

• Infant Entrapment and Suffocation Prompts Stork Craft to Recall More Than 2.1 Million Drop-Side Cribs (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
• Stork Craft Recalls More Than 500,000 Cribs; Mattress Support Bracket Failures Create Risk of Entrapment and Suffocation (Findlaw)
• CPSC chief concedes it moved slowly on crib safety (Findlaw)
• Products Liability Overview (provided by Hartley Hampton)
• Product Recall and Personal Injury News (provided by Warner Law Offices PA)