About 320,000 Jardine Cribs sold at Babies R Us have been recalled according to an announcement by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. According to the press release, the cribs' slats and spindles can break causing a gap which may lead to entrapment or strangulation of babies.There are several models included. The press release can be read here.
Chicco, USA has recalled the bases to approximately 18,000 of their infant rear-facing car seats.
Here are the details found on the Office of Defects Investigations website:
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The CPSC announced June 5,2008 that Simmons Kids was recalling about 20,000 crib mattresses due to an entrapment hazard.
Description: The recalled mattresses involve open coil crib mattresses manufactured between July 1, 2006 and March 23, 2008 with a color label attached to the top or side of the mattress that has the following model names:
Pottery Barn Kids by Simmons Kids LullabySimmons Kids Slumber Time Evening Star Luxury Firm
Simmons Kids Baby Mattress Series 400
Simmons Kids Baby Mattress 234 Coil Count
The crib mattresses also have a law tag that is sewn into the edge of the mattress. The law tag has the date of manufacture and in most cases will contain one of the following model numbers: H59044.15.0014, M59082.15.0002, M59027.15.0002 or M59065.15.0006. Pocketed Coils® and Simmons Kids or Simmons Juvenile Products crib mattresses manufactured before July 1, 2006 or after March 23, 2008 are not included in the recall.
Read the notice here.
CPSC announced that Kids Station Toys has recalled about 1 million chit and chat toy cell phones. The toy can break apart causing a serious choking hazard for children. It should be noted that the phones with a visible screw on the hinge are not included. Read the notice here.
If you or your family have been negatively affected by a defective product and would like to discuss your matter please contact us at 1-877-829-7211.
Seat belts can save your life if they work. 90,000 2008 Toyota Highlanders and Toyota Highlander hybrids are being recalled due to the fact that the seat belts' locking mechanisms failing.
The locking mechanism on the seat belts apparently cannot secure properly when certain rear-facing child safety seats are used, which could cause the child seats to move, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported on Friday. Read More
If you have been affected by a seat belt failure or any other mechanism defect, please report it the NHTSA. If our law firm can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to contact us.
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Baby carriers are a wonderful thing for parents most of the time. However, Beco Baby Butterfly has recalled some oft heir baby carriers due to a failure of the buckles.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.Name of Product: Beco Baby Butterfly Carriers
Units: About 2,000
Manufacturer: Beco Baby Carrier Inc., of Newport Beach, Calif.
Hazard: The buckles on the carrier shoulder straps can unexpectedly release tension, causing the strap to slip through, posing a fall hazard to the baby.
Incidents/Injuries: Beco has received eight reports of the carrier straps slipping through the shoulder buckles. No injuries have been reported.
Description: The recalled infant carriers were sold under brand name “Beco Baby Carrier Butterfly.” The carriers have a black label with a green “b” logo on the left side and a butterfly on the right side. The label is sewn on the outside of the carrier. The following carrier styles are included in the recall: Mia, Pony Express, Carnival, Addison, Ethan, Sophia, Cameron, Ava and Joshua.
Sold at: Specialty retail stores nationwide and internet sites from January 2008 through February 2008 for about $140.
Manufactured in: USA and Dominican Republic
Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the carriers and contact Beco Baby Carrier to receive instructions for returning the carriers for repair.
Consumer Contact: Consumers should contact Beco Baby Carrier Inc. toll-free at (888) 943-8232/9-GET-BECO between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.becobabycarrier.com
Our children and their safety is something about which we care deeply. That is why our law firm involves itself in various types of litigation involving child safety. Awhile back we were touched by a video we saw on youtube about a young boy, Kyle David Miller (see here). He unfortunately was killed in a car crash. He was not in a five point harness, but rather a booster seat which utilized the car's seat belt. When we personally saw the video, our family was driven to find a booster seat for our children that had a five point harness. We realized that the booster seat we were using, which used our car's seat belt, was not securing our children the way they needed. We have since learned that there has been a foundation set up in memory of Kyle which collects money in order to buy 5 point harness seats for children up to 80 lbs. who otherwise would not have access to them. Check out the video and website to learn more about the foundation.
Evenflo has announced a recall of over 1 million car seats. Please ensure your child's car seat is not affected.
Recall Number: 08C002000 Summary: EVENFLO IS RECALLING 1,000,000 MODELS 390, 391, 534, AND 552 DISCOVERY CAR SEATS OR ASSOCIATED TRAVEL SYSTEMS MANUFACTURED FROM APRIL 2005 THROUGH JANUARY 2008. IN RECENT LABORATORY TESTS CONDUCTED BY EVENFLO AND NHTSA TO EVALUATE THE PERFORMANCE OF THESE SEATS IN HIGH IMPACT SIDE COLLISIONS, IT WAS REVEALED THAT THE CAR SEAT COULD POTENTIALLY BECOME SEPARATED FROM ITS BASE UNDER THESE CONDITIONS. Consequence: SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH COULD RESULT IF THE CAR SEAT BECAME SEPARATED FROM ITS BASE. Remedy: EVENFLO WILL NOTIFY REGISTERED OWNERS AND PROVIDE A FREE SUPPLEMENTAL DUAL-HOOK FASTENER TO ENSURE THAT THE CAR SEAT REMAINS ATTACHED TO ITS BASE IN A HIGH IMPACT SIDE COLLISION SIMILAR TO THOSE IN THE RECENT TESTS. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING FEBRUARY 2008. TO OBTAIN THE FREE FASTENER, OWNERS SHOULD CALL EVENFLO AT 1-800-356-2229 BETWEEN 8 AM AND 5 PM EST OR ORDER ONLINE AT THEIR WEBSITE AT WWW.EVENFLO.COM/DISCOVERY. Notes: EVENFLO HAS NOT MADE A DECISION THAT THESE UNITS CONTAIN A SAFETY RELATED DEFECT, HOWEVER EVENFLO WILL PROVIDE A FREE SUPPLEMENTAL DUAL-HOOK FASTENER. CUSTOMERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV.
Read about Kids and Cars Safety Act of 2007 here.
For additional information you can also visit the kids and cars website.
Safety bills like this may start the process of saving children from becoming victims of mistaken backovers and other car related fatalities.
Where do you store all those toys? Many of families, including ours, have invested in storage bins in an on-going effort to keep the childrens' toys somewhat organized. Well it appears some of those storage racks have been recalled.
Continue Reading...WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Jetmax International Ltd., of Irving, Texas is voluntarily recalling about 36,000 boy’s and girl’s storage racks with canvas totes.
The storage rack can tip over, posing an entrapment and suffocation hazard to young children.
This week seemed no different from the past several weeks...many toy recalls due to lead paint. There was however, one recall that was astonishing. Aqua Dots were recalled. This recall was extremely bothersome as a parent. These beads apparently contain a substance found in a date rape drug. When swallowed by children, this chemical can and has caused children to fall into a coma.
CPSC has received two reports over the past several days of children swallowing Aqua Dots. A 20-month-old child swallowed several dozen beads. He became dizzy and vomited several times before slipping into a comatose state for a period of time, was hospitalized, and has since fully recovered. A second child also vomited and slipped into a comatose state and was hospitalized for five days.Continue Reading...
I came across a new site that discusses common mistakes made with car seats...With such an important child safety issue, we felt it important to post some of the information here.
Most parents understand the importance of putting their children in car seats, especially their younger kids, but reports still show that 80% of kids aren't secured correctly in a car seat.
Among the easiest mistakes to avoid is to just make sure that your child is in the correct car seat for his age and that he is facing the right direction.
- Infants should be in a rear facing infant only seat or convertible seat until they are 1 year old AND twenty pounds. Children who reach twenty pounds before their first birthday still need to face backwards and can be moved into a rear facing convertible seat. Smaller infants who don't reach 20 pounds until after their first birthday should also continue to face backwards. This is more a minimum though. Many people advocate continuing to sit toddlers rear facing in a convertible seat until they outgrow it for added safety.
- After they are twenty pounds and have passed their first birthday, toddlers can use a forward facing car seat (either a convertible, combination or forward facing seat) until they are about 40 pounds.
- Children over forty pounds should be placed into a belt positioning booster seat (either a combination seat or booster seat) and they will usually stay in it until they are at least 8 years old.
- You should not use your car's regular seat belts until they fit correctly when your child is about 80 pounds and is 4ft 9 inches tall. Remember that your child will not be ready to use regular seat belts until the shoulder strap fits across his shoulder and not his neck, and the lap belt fits across his hips and not his stomach.
- All children under 12 years of age should be placed in the back seat of the car, especially if you have passenger side air bags.
Read the entire article here.
Continue Reading...Recently, I overheard a conversation which reminded me about the importance of this question of car seat versus a booster seat. As I waited for my daughter during one of her after school activities I heard a group of mothers and fathers discussing the fact that they were switching their children to the booster seats that use the car's seat belt rather than a five point harness. They were discussing that this was a change they needed to make because when they pick their children up from school through the car pool lane, it is too difficult to find a place to park the car, get out and buckle their children into their five point harnessed car seats.
Continue Reading...As we know sports injuries are all too common in high schools across the nation. The injuries are not exclusive to the sport, they happen in everything, football, soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey and more. It is a promising idea to us that there are studies such as the this one where there are monitors placed inside the helmets of football players. These monitors register to a laptop on the sidelines indicating what type of blow to the head the player just received.
The purpose of the high-tech headgear, which uses six strategically placed, spring-loaded accelerometers to wirelessly beam information to a Web-based system on a laptop computer on the sidelines, is to more effectively – and more immediately – detect when blows to players’ heads may result in concussions or more severe brain injuries.
Car seat installation can seem daunting. If you are unsure about the installation of your child's car seat, please have it inspected...better safe than sorry. Click here for a link to find an inspection station near you.
With 70,000 students riding school buses on 2,100 routes in Wake County, there are bound to be mishaps.But the parents of one local kindergartener said even one accident was too many when their son’s first bus ride landed him in the emergency room. Read More
First off, it is extremely unnerving that this child's stop was missed not once but twice in the same day, even after his parents brought it to the attention of the school. But moreover, it makes one wonder about the safety of the students on the bus. As we here at the firm, are constantly evaluating car seats, safety belts, crashworthiness of automobiles, and more, a story like this makes us wonder about the safety of the children on those buses. It appears this little boy stood up when he noticed the driver missing his stop, and therefore fell, causing an injury to his head. As we have learned through many cases, what may appear as a slight contusion to the head at first sometimes is just the beginning. Should there be seat belts or something on the buses to help keep children from standing and consequently falling while on the bus? Something to think about....
Here is yet another child seat recall report. What is most disturbing is that Britax has in the past seemed to have a better reputation for their car seats.
On August 30, 2007 some Dorel Juvenile Group (DJG) issued a recall which may affect a potential
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I recently read an article by Mike Hendricks in The Kansas City Star. As a parent, reading this article made my stomach churn. These stories are gut wrenching to read...thinking about those poor children who are forgotten or left in cars with windows rolled up who essentially boil to death...or the stories of a parent or a grandparent who run their (grand)child over simply because they didn't see the child while backing up. Mr. Hendricks introduces Jannette Fennell, founder of Kids and Cars (www.kidsandcars.org).
Mattel issued yet another round of recalls. This recall involved toys that may contain lead paint as well as toys that have magnets that cause serious digestive problems if children swallow them. The recall includes the popular "Cars" characters, Polly Pockets and more. Please view the latest recall notices for more information, and please be extremely cautious. If you think your child may have been exposed to lead paint please consult with your child's doctor. We will be one of the millions of families combing through our toys determining whether or not what we have was affected by the massive recalls.
For further information visit the Consumer Protection Safety Commission.
The Office of Defects Investigation at the NHTSA opened an investigation on July 17, 2007 involving Evenflo / Triumph car seats. Apparently there have been 12 complaints since 2003 of a choking hazard involving child seats from this manufacturer. The complaint alleges children are able to gain access to the styrofoam from underneath the seat padding/ cover and break it into pieces. In 10 of the 12 cases, it was stated that the child placed these pieces into their mouths. 3 of those children were reported to choke and 1 reportedly gagged. We'll be watching to see what happens with this investigation.
A press release from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission was just released. About 967,000 units have been recalled due to a possible lead poisoning hazard. Please read the entire release here.
Ever wondered if you have installed your child's car seat correctly? This site provides many details and graphics that may be useful when installing a car seat. It also has many safety tips, general usage information, and things to remember. A couple of important notes, make sure that the seat belt is securely around your child, not twisted, or loose, or too high and certainly not under his or her arm. In addition, if your car seat is involved in a car accident, you should not reuse it.
This young lady from Michigan was set to enter seventh grade this fall. Apparently she a missed a ground ball during softball practice, the ball hit her head. She never regained consciousness. The story can be found here.
Booster seat versus car seat...what a dilemma. I had bought a booster seat for our daughter...one of the seats that utilizes the car's seat buckle. We figured she is five years old, most of the children in her class were using booster seats, and she meets the height and weight requirements for the seat. But every time I would look in my rear view mirror, and the car was making even the slightest of turns...there she was moving around...the seat essentially not doing anything to protect her. Then I saw this video, and realized that my worries were not unfounded.
As a parent, this video makes me think twice before turning our daughter to a forward facing seat.
Baseball is a great sport. My son plays baseball, and I'll admit that one of the reasons I don't worry so much about it is because at least he isn't playing football, or some other full contact sport.
Yet according to the blog Transducer Reviews, baseball is the sport with the highest fatality rate for kids from 5-14 years of age. The post is here, and I'll go into more detail about how these statistics can play out in the legal world on the flip.
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