Personal Injury Law

Massive Crib Recall

Our Atlanta product liability attorneys have learned that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., today announced the voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs. Included in the recall are 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. The recall involves approximately 1,213,000 units distributed in the United States and 968,000 units distributed in Canada.

The CPSC is urging parents to immediately stop using the recalled cribs, wait for the free repair kit, and do not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit. Consumers are advised to contact Stork Craft to receive a free repair kit that converts the drop-side on these cribs to a fixed side.

The cribs? drop-side plastic hardware can break, deform, or parts can become missing. In addition, the drop-side can be installed upside-down, which can result in broken or disengaged plastic parts. All of these problems can cause the drop-side to detach in one or more corners. When the drop-side detaches, it creates space between the drop-side and the crib mattress. The bodies of infants and toddlers can become entrapped in the space which can lead to suffocation. Complete detachment of drop-sides can lead to falls from the crib.

The company has been notified of 110 incidents of drop-side detachment; 67 incidents occurred in the United States and 43 in Canada. The incidents include 15 entrapments; 12 in the U.S. and three in Canada. Four of the entrapments resulted in suffocation:deaths.

This recall involves Stork Craft drop-side cribs and Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. This recall does not involve any cribs that do not have a drop-side. This recall does not involve any cribs with metal rod drop-side hardware. It involves only those cribs with plastic trigger and one-hand-system drop-side hardware.

This recall includes 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 cribs were sold in various styles and finishes. The manufacture date, model number, crib name, country of origin, and the firm?s name, address, and contact information are located on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board. The firm?s insignia ?storkcraft baby? or ?storkling? is inscribed on the drop-side teething rail of some cribs. In Stork Craft cribs that contain the ?Fisher-Price? logo, this logo can be found on the crib?s teething rail, in the manufacturer?s instructions, on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board, and on the end panels of the Twinkle-Twinkle and Crystal crib models.

Major retailers in the United States and Canada sold the recalled cribs including 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 from January 1993 through October 2009 for between $100 and $400.
The cribs were manufactured in Canada, China and Indonesia.

Full post as published by Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog on November 23, 2009 (boomark / email).