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A new report from the consumer advocacy group Kids In Danger reveals that fewer children’s products were recalled in 2011 than the previous year, but parents aren’t necessarily heeding the recall warnings. Specifically, the report shows that recalls of children’s products decreased 24 percent from 2010, but the number of injuries associated with recalled products increased seven percent.
Pooh Poppin' Piano a diatonic one octave toy piano (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Other noteworthy findings from the report include the following:
- Nursery products were the most-recalled category, accounting for 30% of children’s recalls, followed closely by toys at 26%.
- The most injurious product prior to recall during 2011 was girl’s Keds shoes with decorative stars that caused 27 reports of lacerations.
- There were three deaths in 2011 prior to recall in children’s products, with two strangulations involving a nursery monitor and one entrapment in a bunk bed.
- The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) imposed a total of $3.9 million in fines for companies who violated safety regulations, mostly for failing to report choking, poisoning and drawstrings in clothing and one for selling a banned substance.
- Seventy percent of recalling companies offered a full refund, replacement product or merchandise credit, 27 percent of recalling companies offered a repair kit or replacement parts and three percent offered only new labels or nothing at all.
- Eleven of the recalled products were reported to SaferProducts.gov prior to recall and 13 of the recalled products had reports after the recall was announced.
According to this article, Nancy Cowles, the advocacy group’s executive director, points to higher safety standards and new third party safety confirmations as part of the reason for the reduction in recalls. “New requirements to avoid lead in children’s products and for safer cribs went into effect about the same time,” Cowles said, which she suspects may be part of the reason that the number of recalls has decreased.
Unfortunately, consumers do not seem to be observing the recommendations of the CPSC. According to the report by Kids In Danger, the number of injuries associated with recalls of children’s products in 2011 increased seven percent from 2010. Moreover, only 15 percent of recalled children’s products are returned for repair, according to the CPSC.
Parents and other consumers are advised to register new products with the manufacturer so that they can get direct notification in the event that a product is recalled or there are other safety problems with the product. Parents and other consumers can also check their products for safety at www.SaferProducts.gov.
Steinberg Goodman & Kalish (www.sgklawyers.com) is dedicated to protecting victims and their families. We handle medical malpractice, product liability, personal injury, wrongful death, auto accidents, professional negligence, birth trauma, and railroad law matters. Contact us at (800) 784-0150 or (312) 782-1386.
Continue reading : Report Shows Fewer Children’s Products Recalled, but More Recalls Are Ignored
Tags : children's products,Consumer Product Safety Commission,CPSC,Kids In Danger,product liability,product recall,product safety,Toy,US Consumer Product Safety Commission,
(Credit: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)
Parents: Beware and Be Aware. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently issued a warning regarding the risk of injuries to children placed in Bumbo baby seats placed on a table, countertop, chair or other elevated surface. Parents and caregivers are reminded to only place children in the Bumbo seats while the seat is on the floor. The Bumbo baby seat is an incredible popular children’s product, with approximately 3.85 million Bumbo seats sold in the U.S. since 2003.
Babies frequently escape free from the Bumbo seat by arching their backs, leaning forward or sideways, or rocking back and forth. Infants between 3 and 10 months have been known to suffer serious head injuries, including skull fractures and concussions, after falling from a Bumbo seat that is on an elevated surface. In fact, the CPSC and Bumbo International, the manufacturer of the Bumbo baby seat, are aware of at least 45 incidents since October 2007 in which children fell out of a Bumbo seat while elevated.
In October 2007, Bumbo International voluntarily recalled the Bumbo seat in order to add a product warning on the front of the baby seat warning against the use of the seat on elevated surfaces. Since the recall, CPSC and Bumbo International have received reports of 17 infants, ages 3 to 10 months, who suffered skull fractures. CPSC and Bumbo International are also aware of an additional 50 reports of infants falling or maneuvering out of Bumbo seats when used on the floor and at unknown elevations, including two reports of skull fractures and one report of a concussion that occurred even when the Bumbo seat was placed on the floor.
CPSC and Bumbo International are also aware of at least 46 falls from Bumbo seats prior to the 2007 recall, which resulted in 14 skull fractures, two concussions and one incident of a broken limb.
If your child has been injured as a result of falling from the Bumbo baby seat, you may wish to contact the experienced Illinois product liability attorneys at Steinberg, Goodman & Kalish to learn about a possible personal injury or product liability claim.
Steinberg Goodman & Kalish (www.sgklawyers.com) is dedicated to protecting victims and their families. We handle medical malpractice, product liability, personal injury, wrongful death, auto accidents, professional negligence, birth trauma, and railroad law matters. Contact us at (800) 784-0150 or (312) 782-1386.
More than 438,000 B.O.B.® single and double strollers in the United States and Canada were recalled by the U.S. Consumer and Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with the strollers’ manufacturer, on October 11, 2011. The strollers were recalled because the stroller canopy’s embroidered logo backing patch can detach, creating a choking hazard to babies and young children.
To date, the strollers’ manufacturer – B.O.B. Trailers, Inc. – has received six reports of children mouthing the detached patch, with gagging and choking occurring in two of the incidents. In each case, the child was seated in an infant car seat attached to the stroller and the backing patch was removed from the child’s mouth without injury.
The recall includes B.O.B. single and double strollers that were manufactured between November 1998 and November 2010. Strollers manufactured after October 2006 have a white label affixed to the back of the stroller’s leg that includes the manufacturing date. Strollers with no manufacturing date listed are still included in the recall. The recalled strollers have the brand name BOB®, Ironman® or Stroller Strides® embroidered on the canopy of the strollers.
The recalled strollers were sold at REI, Babies R’ Us and other children’s product and sporting goods stores throughout the United States, and via Amazon.com, from November 1998 to October 2011. The recalled strollers had a retail price of between $280 and $600.
If you own one of the recalled strollers, you should immediately stop using the stroller until the embroidery backing patch can be removed from the interior of the canopy’s logo. Consumers can contact B.O.B. Trailers for information on how to remove the backing patch and for any additional information by calling (855) 242-2245 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday, or by visiting the firm’s website at www.bobnotices.com
If your child has been injured by one of the recalled strollers, you may wish to contact the experienced Illinois product liability attorneys at Steinberg, Goodman & Kalish to learn about a possible personal injury or product liability claim.
Steinberg Goodman & Kalish (www.sgklawyers.com) is dedicated to protecting victims and their families. We handle medical malpractice, product liability, personal injury, wrongful death, auto accidents, professional negligence, birth trauma, and railroad law matters. Contact us at (800) 784-0150 or (312) 782-1386.
