Drop Side Cribs Recalled

The CPSC issued three separate announcements regarding drop side crib recalls. Those that have been recalled include approximately 3,250 Ethan Allen cribs, 3,400 Angel Line cribs, and 34,000 Victory Land cribs sold exclusively at Kmart. They have been recalled due to strangulation and entrapment worries.


The notice for the Ethan Allen cribs said the following:

Hazard: The crib’s drop-side rail hardware can malfunction, detach or otherwise fail, causing part of the drop side rail to detach from the crib. When the drop-side rail partially detaches, it creates a space between the drop side and the crib mattress. An infant or toddler’s body can become entrapped in the space, which can lead to strangulation and/or suffocation. A child can also fall out of the crib. Drop-side incidents can also occur due to incorrect assembly and with age-related wear and tear.

Incidents/Injuries: Ethan Allen has received five reports of incidents involving the crib’s drop-side detaching, resulting in bumps and bruises to three children. One child became entrapped and two children fell out of the crib after the drop side detached, one child received a pinched hand and one child received an unspecified injury.

 

The notice for the Angel Line products reported:

Hazard: The crib’s drop-side rail hardware can malfunction, detach or otherwise fail, causing part of the drop-side rail to detach from the crib. When the drop-side rail partially detaches, it creates a space between the drop side and the crib mattress. An infant or toddler’s body can become entrapped in the space, which can lead to strangulation and/or suffocation. A child can also fall out of the crib. Drop-side incidents also can occur due to age-related wear and tear.

Incidents/Injuries: CPSC is aware of one incident in which the crib’s drop side detached. No injuries have been reported.

The notice about the Kmart exclusive drop side cribs states:

Hazard: The crib’s drop-side rail can malfunction, detach or otherwise fail, causing part of the drop-side to detach from the crib. When the drop-side rail partially detaches, it creates a space between the drop side and the crib mattress. An infant or toddler’s body can become entrapped in the space, which can lead to strangulation and/or suffocation. A child can also fall out of the crib. Drop-side incidents can also occur due to age-related wear and tear.

Incidents/Injuries: CPSC and Victory Land Group have received 17 reports of incidents involving drop-side rail detachments from the cribs. Three infants received bruises and abrasions to the neck, back and legs after becoming entrapped when the drop-side detached.

The notices for all three recalls may be found on the CPSC website.

If your child has suffered an injury from a product defect, car accident, day care related injury or any other personal injury, contact the Law Office of D. Hardison Wood at 919-233-0520.
 

Higher Vehicle Standards

The NHTSA announced tougher standards for passenger vehicles in side impact crashes. The new standard requires auto manufacturers to provide head protection in side impact crashes.  This only  seems to make  common sense.  When someone is involved in a side impact crash, the person's head is extremely vulnerable to traumatic injury.  As a matter of fact, even in  a frontal  collision, there is  a great likelihood that the person's head, will fall to the  side and is vulnerable to sustaining injury  from the side as well.  At least these higher standards are a step in the right direction.  Read the new standards here.

BMW Sedan - Side Impact Rating

By now you may have heard about the "worst performing" BMW 5 series sedan in side impact testing performed by IIHS.  It should send shockwaves, we hope, through BMW.  From the article:
The air bags in the BMW 5 Series protected the head, but separate air bags designed to protect the chest and abdomen performed poorly, the institute said.
BMW's are expensive, high-performing automobiles and there is simply no excuse for them to offer their passengers sub-standard safety in deadly side impact collisions.  The tests that the BMW failed were tests of what, at least in America, are becoming very common side-impact tragedies:
The tests were designed to show what would happen if a truck or sport utility vehicle hit the side of the sedan at 31 mph, the speed of a serious crash. Side-impact crashes are the most common type of fatal crash after a frontal crash, killing around 9,000 people in 2005, the institute said.
But there is a silver-lining to this latest round of crash 'em up.  The $25K sedan made by KIA ended up with the highest safety rating available from the IIHS.  Putting it in the same league as the vaunted VOLVO S-80.  Which of course should make you wonder, what's all that extra money doing for you in a BMW?