Baby Safety Month

Almost everyone loves babies. There were 56,543 little bundles of joy delivered in South Carolina in 2013, presumably quite a few of them in September since nationally the months of August, September and October have the highest birth rates. Maybe that’s one reason the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) chose September as Baby Safety Month back in 1991.

JPMA is a national trade organization of more than 250 companies in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Their goal is to protect children in the preschool years, in part through product performance evaluation and certification. And there are a lot of products on the market for kids: Manufacturers of juvenile products had approximately $2.97 billion in sales in the U.S. in 2012.

In addition to manufacturer advocacy groups, several government organizations exist to protect consumers from poorly designed, defective or dangerous products for children. We have written about recalls of child safety seats, which are under the oversight of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Another agency, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recalled of all sorts of consumer goods, from air rifles to zippers, and you can use their website (SaferProducts.gov) to research a category you’re interested in.

In observation of Baby Safety Month, we are listing below the infant products recalled by the CPSC during the past 12 months.

If you have children in your home or family, we suggest you read through this list to make sure you aren’t unknowingly exposing them to the risk of injury from these products.

1. Angelcare Movement and Sound Baby Monitors – The cord attached to the baby monitor’s sensor pad is placed under the crib mattress, which poses a strangulation risk if the child pulls the cord into the crib and it becomes wrapped around the neck.
2. Tommee Tippee® Monitor with Movement Sensor Pad – Child can pull sensor pad cord into crib and wrap around the neck, posing a strangulation hazard.
3. BebeLove™ Baby Walkers – The walkers failed to meet federal safety standards. Specifically, style number 358 can fit through a standard doorway and is not designed to stop at the edge of a step as required by the federal safety standard. In addition, style number 368 contains leg openings that allow the child to slip down until the child’s head can become entrapped at the neck. Babies using these walkers can be seriously injured or killed.
4. J. Crew Baby Coveralls – Snaps on the coveralls can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.
5. Franklin & Ben Mason 4-in-1 Convertible Cribs – The crib front can separate from the side panels and create a hazardous gap that can allow a child to fall out or become entrapped between the front and side panels.
6. Oeuf Sparrow Cribs – The slats/spindles and top rail can detach from the cribs and pose an entrapment hazard to a child.
7. Joovy Zoom Car Seat Adapter – Adapter clips can loosen on the stroller frame, posing a fall hazard.
8. Playtex Hip Hammock infant carriers – The buckles on the waist and shoulder straps can crack or break, posing a fall hazard to the child.
9. Fred & Friends Chill Baby Artiste, Volume and Panic pacifiers – The pacifiers fail to meet federal safety standards. The beard on the Artiste and the knob on the Volume pacifiers can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children. In addition, the ventilation holes on the Volume and Panic pacifier guards are too small.
10. Playtex pacifier holder clips – The pacifier holder clips can crack and a small part can break off which poses a choking hazard to small children.
11. Vera Bradley Bear Ring Rattles and Bunny Stuffed Toys – The pom-pom tail can detach from the body of the bear rattle and the bunny, posing a choking hazard to young children.
12. Midwest- CBK baby rattles – The head on the rattle can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.
13. Manhattan Toy® Quixel™ baby rattles – The colored arches can break, creating a small part which poses a choking hazard to small children.
14. phil&teds Travel System 26 infant car seat adaptors for strollers – The plastic adaptors used to connect an infant car seat to a stroller can crack, become unstable and break during use, posing a fall hazard to infants.
15. Britax B-Agile, B-Agile Double and BOB Motion strollers – The hinge on the stroller’s folding mechanism can partially amputate consumers’ fingertips, break their fingers or cause severe lacerations, among other injuries, when they press the release button while pulling on the release strap.
16. Dream on Me Lullaby Cradle Glider – The mattress support board can fall out or slide out of the bottom of the cradle glider posing a risk that babies can fall out and suffer injuries.
17. Infantino Go Gaga Squeeze & Teethe Coco the Monkey – The tail of the monkey can pose a choking hazard to young children.

If you believe you have been injured by a recalled product, you may be able to file a lawsuit to recover damages. Contact our attorneys for a free consultation on your case.