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Parents Sue Crib Retailer After Baby’s Death

On Behalf of | Jan 7, 2011 | Product Liability

The parents of a 1-year-old boy who died in his crib in January 2008 are suing the retailer that sold them the crib. According to the complaint filed in federal court last month, the boy died from asphyxiation when he suffocated in a Simplicity Ellis Deluxe 4-in-1 Convertible Sleep System crib.

The complaint alleges that Hayneedle Inc., the retailer that sold the crib, was grossly negligent in failing to warn the boy’s parents of the crib’s “dangerous and defective characteristics” and failing to inform them of the safe method of assembling, using and maintaining the crib.

The boy’s death contributed to a nationwide recall of Simplicity cribs by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in April 2010. According to the recall notice, he suffocated when he was trapped between the crib mattress and the crib frame. In the recall notice, the CPSC noted 13 additional incidents of the cribs collapsing due to the metal frame that supported the mattress bending or detaching. “Simplicity cribs are one of the deadliest products that we’ve dealt with in recent years,” said CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson.

More than 2 million cribs have been recalled, but the exact amount of the cribs that have been sold is unknown because the manufacturer has gone out of business. “We believe that thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of these cribs could still be out there,” Wolfson said.

The CPSC advises parents to take heed of the dangers of the Simplicity cribs. “There are many cribs that Simplicity made and sold that do not have a remedy available, and we urgently ask parents to throw them away,” said Wolfson.

Sources:

Boston Herald, “‘Deadliest’ crib seller sued,” Donna Goodison, 1/7/2011

Consumer Product Safety Commission, Recall Notice For Simplicity Cribs (retrieved from http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10211.html)

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