Florida Child Injury Law Blog

Posts Tagged ‘infant death’

 Babies less than 12 months of age may be at risk of suffocation in a crib decked out with the typical baby shower gifts young parents receive – puffy bumpers, pillows, blankets, low hanging mobiles and stuffed animals. As far as infant safety goes, a new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CPSC say “less is better.”

 Babies under 1 year-old are safest when placed on their backs in empty cribs that meet the latest safety standards set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. About 2500 infants die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) each year. The AAP and the CPSC have urged parents not to use the kind of bumpers that a baby could sink into. Experts and manufacturers agree all those items that make the crib seem cuddly and cozy can block a baby’s nose and mouth and some sleeping babies may not wake up sufficiently to fight for air when this happens, leading to SIDS.

 Another reminder: This June it will be illegal to make, sell or resell any crib in the U.S. that doesn’t meet tough new federal standards. Drop-down sides which have been linked to 32 infant deaths since 2000, will be prohibited. New rules also require stronger slats, mattress supports and hardware to withstand active toddlers.

 Tags with the code 16 CFR 1219 for full size cribs and 16 CFR 1220 for compact cribs indicate the cribs meet the new standards. Hotels, day care centers, churches and other public accommodations have until December 2012 to make sure their cribs meet new safety standards.

Last month, we reported over 2 million drop side cribs manufactured by Stork Craft had been recalled due to the danger of child entrapment and  strangulation.  Just this week, another manufacturer of drop side cribs, Dorel Industries, is being forced to recall 635,000 cribs due to hazards of infant and toddler strangulation, suffocation and even infant death.

 An online report was published this week suggesting that Dorel Industries may have been persuaded with the recall by actions the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission planned to take.  The report quotes a spokesman with CPSC as saying the commission would take unilateral action to recall 20 various models of Dorel cribs due to hardware issues in drop-side cribs as well as for slats that break.

The report continues to say that because of the potential embarrassment of not issuing a recall in the aftermath of dozens of incidents and the fatality of a baby — Dorel announced the recall with the traditional language of  “in cooperation with” the CPSC.

 In a written statement, Dorel said, “The recall is motivated by isolated reports of broken crib slats and drop-side hardware. In total, 67 incidents were reported and 10 children were bruised or scratched.”  The statement described the circumstances surrounding the infant’s death as highly unusual. 

For more details,  please visit CPSC or call Dorel Asia toll-free at  (866) 762-2304