Each year thousands of consumer products are recalled due to safety concerns. If a product happens to be one that you depend on to keep your infant safe, such recalls are even more alarming. Of course you put your child’s health and safety first and would never knowingly use a product which was unsafe. More than 100 different child and infant products were recalled in 2014, perhaps the most alarming being the Nap Nanny which is linked to six infant deaths. On average, 88 infants die each year from injuries directly related to infant products. While this is a reduction by almost fifty percent over the past 25 years, enhanced safety precautions and product recalls are necessary to reduce this number even further.
Protecting Your Infant from Defective Products
Knowledge of current recalls may be the best defense against a potentially fatal accident involving your infant. The manufacturer of the defective infant product will generally make information available on the Internet. Unfortunately, this information is not always apparent to consumers, as it must be actively sought. Federal law requires a bare minimum of effort on the part of manufacturers to alert the public regarding infant product safety recalls. All too often the majority of those affected by the recall are not properly informed regarding a potentially dangerous product they have purchased for their infant. Additionally, while recalls ensure the products in question are removed from store shelves, millions of the items may have already been sold, are being used across the nation in day care centers, or are being sold at garage sales or consignment shops.
The Most Dangerous Infant Products
Many parents believe if they deal with higher-end, reputable companies, they can feel secure that their infants are safe. Unfortunately, this just isn’t so. Reports in late 2014 put the number of Graco baby strollers recalled due to repeated cases of infant fingertip amputation at nearly five million. Some of the most-often recalled infant items include the following:
• Drop-side cribs—At least 32 deaths have been attributed to drop side cribs since 2000, along with hundreds of other incidents. The moveable drop side of the crib can unexpectedly drop, suffocating or strangling the baby. Prior to 2011, millions of drop-side cribs were recalled, and in 2011, these cribs were banned altogether.
• Bumper pads—while designed to prevent babies from bumping their heads against a hard crib slat, bumper pads are a suffocation hazard and have been potentially linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
• Crib tents—the drape-style tends have causes some babies to become entangled in the fabric and strangled.
• Baby sling carriers—although these type of baby carries have grown in popularity, there have been at least fourteen deaths associated with sling-type front baby carriers as well as dozens of injuries.
Problems Associated with the Nap Nanny
Problems associated with the Nap Nanny recliner have been known since 2009, with a Consumer Product Safety Commission warning issued in 2010. Even so, another tragic infant death was reported in late 2014. Approximately 165,000 of the items were sold between 2009 and 2012. Parents who own the Nap Nanny Gen 1 or 2 or the Nap Nanny Chill should stop using the product immediately. Amazon, Toys R Us and other major retailers have instituted voluntary recalls of the Nap Nanny. The manufacturer of the Nap Nanny is no longer in business, therefore parents must return the product to the retailer.
Getting the Help You Need
If your child sustained an injury resulting from a defective infant product, you may be entitled to compensation. Negligence and recklessness on the part of large manufacturers, particularly those who manufacturer infant products should be addressed. The only recourse parents currently have is to file a product liability claim, holding the manufacturer liable. Once you have determined that filing a claim is the right course of action, it is important to speak to an experienced product liability attorney. Don’t return the product to the manufacturer as you will likely need it for your claim. Carefully document all facts surrounding your child’s injury and how the specific product caused it. Your product liability attorney will be able to guide you through the complexities associated with a defective infant product.
Contact Our Washington DC Child Injury Lawyers
At Patrick Malone & Associates, our child injury lawyers have extensive experience representing injured children and families in Washington, DC metro area, Virginia, and throughout the State of Maryland. If your child has sustained a serious injury because of a dangerous or defective product, the manufacturer may be to blame. Call us at 1-202-742-1500 or 1-888-625-6635 or fill out our confidential contact form for a FREE Consultation and review of your case.
The child injury attorneys at Patrick Malone & Associates have successfully represented injured individuals in Washington, DC, Arlington, Alexandria, Annapolis, Rockville, Baltimore, Richmond, Fairfax, Maryland, and throughout Virginia.
