Children's Product Recalls » Child Safety

Child Safety Latches and Outlet Covers Recalled by Prime-Line; Screw Breaks Can Allow Unintended Access

CP_Recalls — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 05:04:11 +0000

Name of Product: Safety Latches and Outlet Covers

Units: About 37,000

Importer: Prime-Line, of Redlands, Calif.

Hazard: The screws on the safety latches and outlet covers can loosen and/or break. When this happens, young children can gain access to electrical outlets and other potentially hazardous items.

Incidents/Injuries: Prime-Line has received four reports of screws breaking. No injuries have been reported.

Description: This recall involves Prime-Line child safety drawer and cabinet latches and outlet covers with rotating receptacle covers. These products were sold under the brand name Child Safe.

The drawer and cabinet latches were sold three per package, in model number S 4439 with SKU 049793044396, and model number S 4444 with SKU 049793044440.

The outlet covers were sold one per package, in ivory, model number S 4447 with SKU 049793044471, and white, model number S 4461 with SKU 049793044617.

The model number and SKU are printed on the back of the package.

Sold at: Drawer and cabinet latches were sold at Ace Hardware, Bostwic-Braun, Cal-Do-It Centers, Do-It-Best, Friedman Brothers, Menards, Orgill, The Andersons Inc. and True Value stores nationwide between October 2010 and June 2011 for between $2.50 and $2.70. Outlet covers were sold at Ace Hardware, Cimarron Lumber & Supply, Do-It-Best, Friedman Brothers, Handy Hardware, Menards and W.E. Aubuchon stores nationwide between October 2009 and June 2011 for about $3.50.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately contact Prime-Line to receive a free replacement kit.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Prime-Line toll-free at (855) 839-9555 anytime, or visit the firm’s website at www.prime-line-products.com

Model S 4439	Model S 4444
Cabinet and Drawer Latches

Outlet Covers

Cabinet and Drawer Latches and Outlet Covers in packaging

Safety Alert: Only New, Safer Cribs will be Available for Consumer Purchase on June 28, 2011

CP_Recalls — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 03:39:00 +0000

Now that it’s official, I am reposting this just in case you missed it the first time I posted it on 6/17/11.

CPSC votes to grant extension of time to comply with new rules to crib rental companies

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In less than two weeks, a new generation of safer cribs will be for sale in retail stores across the country. On June 28, 2011, anyone that manufactures or sells baby cribs will be required to meet new and improved crib safety standards approved by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on December 15, 2010.

Today, the Commission voted 4-0-1 to extend the length of time that short-term crib rental companies have to comply with the new mandatory standards for full-size and non-full-size baby cribs. This extension gives crib rental companies until December 28, 2012 to update their inventory with compliant cribs, which is the same deadline for the public accommodation facilities that these companies serve.

When the Commission approved the new rules in 2010, child care facilities, such as family child care homes and infant Head Start centers, and places of public accommodation, such as hotels and motels, were given until December 28, 2012 to have compliant cribs in their facilities.

Today’s vote by the Commission does not change the requirements on manufacturers or retailers of cribs. The Commission voted 3-2 today against granting an extension for retailers to comply with the new crib safety requirements. In turn, the Commission will continue to require companies that manufacture or sell cribs in the United States to comply with the new federal safety standards effective June 28, 2011.

Federal mandatory crib standards had not been updated in nearly 30 years and the new rule will usher in a safer generation of cribs. These mandatory standards will: 1) stop the manufacture and sale of dangerous, traditional drop-side cribs; 2) make mattress supports stronger; 3) improve slat strength, 4) make crib hardware more durable; and 5) make safety testing more rigorous.

The new safety standards aim to keep children safer in their cribs and prevent deaths resulting from detaching crib drop-sides and faulty or defective hardware.

These crib standards were mandated by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). For more information on crib safety and safe sleep environments for baby, visit CPSC’s crib information center at: www.cpsc.gov/cribs

Statements from the Commissioners

Statement from Chairman Inez Tenenbaum

Statement from Commissioner Thomas Moore

Statement from Commissioner Robert Adler

CPSC Approves Strong New Crib Safety Standards To Ensure a Safe Sleep for Babies and Toddlers

CP_Recalls — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 03:16:04 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted unanimously to approve new mandatory standards for full-size and non-full-size baby cribs as mandated by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). The federal crib standards had not been updated in nearly 30 years and these new rules are expected to usher in a safer generation of cribs.

Once they become effective, the mandatory crib standards will: (1) stop the manufacture and sale of dangerous, traditional drop-side cribs; (2) make mattress supports stronger; (3) make crib hardware more durable; and (4) make safety testing more rigorous.

CPSC has recalled more than 11 million dangerous cribs since 2007. Detaching drop-side rails were associated with at least 32 infant suffocation and strangulation deaths since 2000. Additional deaths have occurred due to faulty or defective hardware. These new standards aim to prevent these tragedies and keep children safe in their cribs.

Effective June 2011, cribs manufactured, sold, or leased in the United States must comply with the new federal standards. Effective 24 months after the rule is published, child care facilities, such as family child care homes and infant Head Start centers, and places of public accommodation, such as hotels and motels, must have compliant cribs in their facilities.

The full-size and non-full-size crib standards adopted the current ASTM International voluntary standards with additional technical modifications.

For more information on crib safety and safe sleep environments for baby, visit CPSC’s crib information center at: www.cpsc.gov/info/cribs/index.html

CPSC Issues Warning on Drop-Side Cribs: 32 Fatalities in Drop-Side Cribs in Last 9 Years

CP_Recalls — Sat, 08 May 2010 04:21:25 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of its commitment to ensure safe sleep for young children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is once again warning parents and caregivers about deadly hazards with drop-side cribs. In the last five years, CPSC has announced 11 recalls involving more than 7 million drop-side cribs due to suffocation and strangulation hazards created by the drop side. CPSC staff is actively investigating several other crib manufacturers for potential drop-side hazards as part of a larger effort by the agency to rid the marketplace and homes of unsafe cribs. CPSC will continue to take aggressive action to address any risks and will keep the public informed.

CPSC staff has completed a comprehensive review of crib-related infant fatalities reported to the agency between January 2000 and the present. CPSC staff is aware of 32 infant and toddler suffocation and strangulation deaths and hundreds of incidents that were caused by or related to drop-side detachments in cribs made by various manufacturers.

A baby can strangle in the “V” shape when the top portion of the drop side detaches.

Homemade repairs to cribs like this one can be deadly.

In addition to the 32 deaths the CPSC staff associated with the drop-side detachments, CPSC has received an additional 14 reports of infant fatalities due to entrapment in cribs that could be related to a drop side. The information obtained was insufficient for staff to conclusively determine whether or not the drop side was involved. Of the 32 deaths that were analyzed, some occurred in cribs where the drop side detached without caregivers noticing the detachment, while some other deaths occurred after a consumer tried to repair the detached drop side, but the repair ultimately failed.

In other incidents, consumers unknowingly installed the drop side or drop-side hardware incorrectly. In several cases, this occurred due to incorrect or confusing directions. In these incidents, the drop side still appeared to function as intended, but the stress on the crib hardware resulted in the drop-side detachment.

CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum has committed to parents and caregivers that there will be a new and vastly improved mandatory federal standard for cribs this year. The standard will incorporate, at minimum, the new voluntary standard banning drop-side cribs from the United States market. Due to the new voluntary industry standard, many manufacturers have already stopped selling drop-side cribs or will do so beginning June 1, 2010.

Drop-Side Hazards

CPSC technical staff has determined drop-side cribs generally have a tendency to be less structurally sound than cribs with four fixed sides. Drop-side hardware is prone to break, deform or experience other problems during normal or foreseeable use. The older the crib, the more problems can be expected. When drop-side hardware breaks or deforms, the drop side can detach in one or more corners from the crib. If an infant or toddler rolls or moves into the space created by a partially detached drop side, the child can become entrapped or wedged between the crib mattress and the drop side and suffocate. Infants can also strangle in the “V” shape formed by a drop side that detaches in an upper corner.

When the drop side detaches at the bottom, a baby can fall into the resulting gap and suffocate between the mattress and the side rail.

Advice to Consumers

Check your crib regularly and make sure it has not already been recalled.

While CPSC staff cannot say that every drop-side crib is hazardous, based on investigations of incidents we have received, the agency believes that overall most drop-side cribs are more prone to mechanical failure than similar designed fixed-side cribs. In addition, older cribs may not meet current voluntary standards. Factors that contribute to safety problems in older cribs include:

The longer a crib is used, the more wear and tear on hardware and joints, allowing screws to loosen and fall out and plastic parts to flex and break.
Repeated assembly and disassembly increases likelihood that crib parts can be damaged or lost.
Wood warps and shrinks over time and glue can become brittle. This can lead to joint and slat failures.

Important Message from CPSC: CPSC reminds parents not to use any crib with missing, broken, or loose parts. Make sure to tighten hardware from time to time to keep the crib sturdy. When using a drop-side crib, parents should check to make sure the drop side or any other moving part operates smoothly. Always check all sides and corners of the crib for disengagement. Disengagements can create a gap and entrap a child. In addition, do not try to repair any side of the crib. Babies have died in cribs where repairs were attempted by caregivers.

If your baby is less than six months old and is not yet able to push up to his/her hands and knees, you can put your baby to sleep in a bassinet. Make sure your bassinet has not been recalled. Also, you can use a play yard. Do not put additional bedding such as pillows, thick quilts, comforters or anything plush into your baby’s sleeping space. More babies die every year from suffocation in plush sleeping environments than from defective cribs.

Maclaren USA Recalls to Repair Strollers Following Fingertip Amputations

CP_Recalls — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:08:47 +0000

Name of Product: Maclaren Strollers

Units: About one million

Distributor: Maclaren USA, Inc., of South Norwalk, Conn.

Hazard: The stroller’s hinge mechanism poses a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is unfolding/opening the stroller.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received 15 reports of children placing their finger in the stroller’s hinge mechanism, resulting in 12 reports of fingertip amputations in the United States.

Description: This recall involves all Maclaren single and double umbrella strollers. The word “Maclaren” is printed on the stroller. The affected models included Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller.

Sold at: Babies“R”Us, Target and other juvenile product and mass merchandise retailers nationwide from 1999 through November 2009 for between $100 and $360.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using these recalled strollers and contact Maclaren USA to receive a free repair kit.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Maclaren USA toll-free at (877) 688-2326 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.maclaren.us/recall

Maclaren double umbrella stroller

Maclaren umbrella stroller

Maclaren umbrella stroller side view

CPSC Warns of In-Home Drowning Dangers with Bathtubs, Bath Seats, Buckets

CP_Recalls — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 07:38:41 +0000

The end of outdoor swimming and pool season doesn’t mean the end of drowning dangers for young children. After pools, more children drown in bathtubs than in any other product in and around the home.

For 2003-2005, CPSC staff received reports of an average of 90 children younger than 5 years of age who drowned in bathtubs (62%), baby seats or bathinettes (15%), buckets and pails (11%), landscaping or yard products (6%), and other products (4%). There was an annual average of an additional 39 reports of non-fatal submersion incidents for 2005-2007 that were reported for the same products. The majority of drownings and non-fatal submersion incidents involved children younger than 2 years old.

“What parents need to know is that anywhere there is water, there is a potential drowning hazard to children,” said Inez Tenenbaum, CPSC Chairman. “Parents shouldn’t let their guard down; young children need constant supervision around bathtubs, bath seats and buckets.”

Many of the reported incidents involved a lapse in supervision by caregivers, such as leaving the bathroom momentarily while the child was in the bathtub to answer the phone/door or to retrieve an item like a towel. In other incidents, an older sibling was left to watch a younger sibling.

CPSC recommends parents and caregivers follow these safety tips when children are around bathtubs, bath seats, buckets, spas, or decorative ponds or fountains:

Never leave young children alone, even for a moment, near any water. Young children can drown quickly in even small amounts of water.
Always keep a young child within arm’s reach in a bathtub. If you must leave, take the child with you.
Don’t leave a baby or toddler in a bathtub under the care of another young child.
Never leave a bucket containing even a small amount of liquid unattended. Toddlers can fall headfirst into buckets and drown. After using a bucket, always empty and store it where young children cannot reach it. Don’t leave buckets outside where they can collect rainwater.
Learn CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). It can be a lifesaver when seconds count.

The figures cited above and other data on non-pool and non-spa submersion incidents can be found in CPSC’s 2008 Submersions Related to Non Pool and Non Spa Products (PDF), which includes the latest available data: fatalities for 2003-2005 and non-fatal incidents for 2005-2007. Fatality and injury data differ due to a lag in reporting fatalities. Pool and spa related injuries and fatalities are presented in other submersion reports. For more information, see: www.cpsc.gov/library/data.html