2.1 Million Drop Side Cribs Recalled After Four Infant Deaths

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of 2.1 million cribs made by a Canadian manufacturer, after four infants died from suffocation. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, parents and caregivers must stop using the cribs made by Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc of Canada.

According to the CPSC, the defective crib's drop side can detach unexpectedly, creating a space between the crib wall and the mattress. Infants can easily can become trapped in this space, and either fall to the floor or suffocate. The company has documented 110 incidents of such drop side detachment. Of these, 67 incidents occurred in the United States, and 43 occurred in Canada. Among these incidents, four incidents resulted in suffocation, and 20 incidents resulted in falls that caused a range of injuries, from concussions to bumps and bruises.

Stork Craft cribs have been sold since 1993 by Wal-Mart and other retailers, and are also available online at Babiesrus website. The cribs were made in China, Indonesia, and Canada. Of the recalled cribs, 1.2 million were distributed in the US and 968,000 cribs were distributed in Canada. About 147,000 cribs were sold under the Fisher Price brand.

It was the second time this year that these cribs have been recalled. In January this year, more than 500,000 cribs made by Stork Craft had to be recalled after fears of entrapments and suffocations. That recall was spurred by 10 reports the CPSC received involving falls and suffocation incidents. In one of these incidents, a toddler fell and suffers injuries on his forehead, while in the other, a child became entrapped in the gap, but did not suffer injuries. This recall is the largest crib recall announced by the CPSC.

More than 5 million cribs, bassinets and play yards have been recalled over the past two years, because of hazards to children like suffocating risks. Drop side cribs in particular, have been in focus of several recalls because of their suffocation and entrapment hazards. Several deaths have been reported from infants becoming stuck in these cribs, when a gap is created between the crib wall and the mattress.

In July this year, 400,000 Simplicity drop side cribs were recalled after reports of infant fatalities.
In October, 600,000 Delta Enterprise drop side cribs were recalled because of entrapment hazards.
This latest recall of yet more drop side cribs has led to calls from safety advocates to toughen existing safety standards for these cribs. Some safety experts are even calling for an outright ban on drop side cribs, because of the increasing number of injuries and deaths linked to these.

Retailers have been paying attention. Toys R Us says it may stop ordering drop side cribs, and may not carry them after the end of 2009.

When the same product seems to be the focus of frequent recalls for similar defects, it's clear that it's not an isolated incident, but a design flaw that needs to be fixed. Failure of crib manufacturers companies to do so will only help keep California product liability lawyers very busy indeed.