Drop Side Baby Cribs Recalled by Federal Safety Regulators
Over 2 million drop side baby cribs have been recalled by federal safety regulators. The baby cribs were manufactured by a Canadian manufacturer, Stork Craft Manufacturing. The Commission Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) fears the recall may not have been activated soon enough. To date, 4 deaths have been reported to the CPSC in addition to hundreds of non-fatal incidents.
The cribs’ drop side plastic hardware can break, deform, or parts can become missing. Additionally, 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. Infants’ and toddlers’ bodies can become trapped in the space which can cause suffocation and death. If the drop sides completely detach from the crib, babies and toddlers can fall from the crib and suffer serious injury.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Stork Craft are aware of at least 110 incidents of drop side detachment, including 67 incidents in the US and 43 in Canada. The dangerous incidents include: 15 entrapment incidents, 12 in the US and 3 in Canada. At least four of the entrapment incidents resulted in death by suffocation, including a 7 month old baby in Gouverneur, New York, a 7 month old baby in New Iberia, LA, a 6 month old baby in Summerville, W. VA and a 9 month old in Bronx, NY.
Other reported incidents include 20 falls from the cribs in the US and 8 such falls in Canada. The injuries suffered by the babies and toddlers in these incidents ranged from concussions to bumps and bruises. All of the cribs involved in these incidents had plastic drop side hardware that was broken, missing or deformed claws, connectors, tracks, or flexible tab stops; loose or missing metal spring clips; stripped screws; and/or drop sides installed upside down.
The massive recall includes Stork Craft drop side cribs and Stork Craft drop side cribs bearing the Fisher Price logo. The cribs recalled include cribs with a manufacturing date between January 1993 and October 2009 and Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher Price logo with manufacturing dates between October 1997 and December 2004. The Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher Price logo were first sold in the US in July 1998 and in Canada in September 1998. This CPSC recall is restricted to cribs with drop sides ONLY.
The cribs, sold in various models, may include the Fisher Price logo on the teething rail, manufacturer’s instructions, assembly sheet attached to the support board, and on the end of panels of the Twinkle Twinkle and Crystal crib models.
The recalled cribs were sold in major retailers, such as BJ’s Wholesale Club, JC Penney, Kmart, Meijer, Sears, USA Baby, Walmart, Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, Costco.com, Target.com and Walmart.com from January 1993 through October 2009 and retailed between $100 and $400.
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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.
CPSC, Health Canada, and Stork Craft are aware 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: a 7-month-old in Gouverneur, N.Y.; a 7-month-old in New Iberia, La.; a 6-month-old in Summersville, W.Va.; and a 9-month-old in Bronx, N.Y. Included in these incidents are 20 falls from cribs; 12 in the U.S. and eight in Canada. Fall injuries ranged from concussion to bumps and bruises. The cribs involved in these incidents had plastic drop-side hardware that had broken, missing, or deformed claws, connectors, tracks, or flexible tab stops; loose or missing metal spring clips; stripped screws; and/or drop-sides installed upside-down.
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.