The tragic suffocation deaths of three infants have prompted the recall of all Generation 2 Worldwide and ChildESIGNS drop-side cribs. The Consumer Products Safety Commissions (CPSC) warned parents in Philadelphia and across the nation to stop using the recalled cribs immediately. Parents were also warned not to attempt home repairs of these defective product cribs but to discontinue their use immediately.
More than 20 personal injury complaints about the recalled cribs have been received by the CPSC. The most tragic problem occurs when defective plastic hardware breaks causing the drop side of the crib to detach from the corner. Infants and toddlers can roll into this space and become wedged and trapped. Unable to escape, children can suffocate against the mattress or strangle. All three reported infant deaths occurred when infants suffocated after becoming trapped between the mattress and broken drop side of one of the recalled defective crib models.
Other injuries associated with the faulty design of the recalled drop-side cribs include serious bruising when children became trapped in broken cribs, falls and broken bones from children falling out of cribs after the drop side detached, cuts and bruises when mattress supports detached suddenly, and entrapment in sagging mattresses when supports failed. In some cases, babies were able to crawl out of defective cribs when the supports that were supposed to contain and thereby protect them failed.
Recalled cribs were manufactured by a now defunct Alabama company and sold at Wal-Mart, K-Mart and other discount retailers. Philadelphia parents should check their baby's crib for a label on the head or footboard identifying the cribs as Generation 2 Worldwide. ChildESIGNS may be printed on the teething rail of some recalled cribs. Parents can contact the retailer where the crib was purchased for remedy.
Drop-side cribs have an increasing source of concern. If your child has been injured in a drop-side crib, contact a Philadelphia personal injury attorney for a free case evaluation.
