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50 Million Shades Recalled

By Beth Janicek

Yesterday morning the Today show reported on a recall of 50 million shades due to a strangulation risk for small children. On Tuesday the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that about 50 million window coverings need to be repaired to make them safe for kids. This announcement resulted in government safety regulators and the window-covering industry to recall all Roman shades and roll-up blinds in homes with small children.

In Roman shades strangulation can occur when a child places his neck between the exposed inner cord and the fabric on the backside of the blind or when the child wraps the cord around his neck. Roll-up blinds can cause strangulation if a child's neck becomes entangled in the lifting loop. Since 2001, eight children have died and 16 were nearly strangled in window-covering cords. There have been so many recalls for different types of Roman shades and blinds the CPSC is considering new mandatory design standards in order to keep children safe.

These blinds are commonly sold at some of the country's biggest retailers including Wal-Mart, Pottery Barn, IKEA, and Target. If you have Roman or roll-up shades in your house you should contact the Window Covering Safety Council immediately or call (800) 506-4636 to receive a free repair kit to make the window coverings safe for children. The CPSC is also urging anyone with young children to remove any blinds or shades that have cords attached, and to not place cribs, beds, or other furniture close to windows to prevent children from climbing up to reach the cords.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Beth Janicek

Full post as published by San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyer on December 16, 2009 (boomark / email).