You expect an infant sleeper to have passed stringent safety tests, so you assume that the sleeper you purchased is safe for your child. But too often manufacturers put our children at risk by cutting corners to test their products, which can result in dangerous defects and serious infant injuries.
Products designed particularly for infants, such as sleepers, should be manufactured with the utmost care to make sure they are completely safe and free from defects. Far too many infants are injured due to dangerous infant sleeper injuries. According to Consumer Reports, sleepers linked to infant deaths do not meet medical experts’ safe sleep recommendations for infants.
Despite a parent’s best efforts to protect their precious child, sometimes a defective product will cause an injury. If your child has sustained serious or fatal injuries you believe are linked to an infant sleeper, a product liability lawyer can help you understand whether you have legal options to seek compensation. Nationally-recognized defective infant sleeper attorney Jeffrey Killino is dedicated to helping injured children who have suffered due to a manufacturing or design defect. Jeff Killino and his firm can determine how you can hold the responsible party liable – be it the manufacturer, distributer, seller or more.
Safe Sleep
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says that infants should always sleep on their back, on a separate, flat and firm sleep surface without any bumpers or bedding. Consumer Reports has called on government safety officials to scrutinize inclined infant sleepers, as they also do not fit with the AAP’s sleep recommendations for newborns and infants.
Inclined Sleeper Injuries
Inclined sleepers prop babies up at an angle, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has received over 700 reports since 2005 of injuries associated with the sleepers. Several recalls have been issued over the past decade linking inclined sleep products to concerns about strangulation, suffocation, falls and entrapment.
According to the AAP, any inclined sleeper can make it more difficult for an infant to breathe—either because of the position of the head or a baby’s face getting pushed against the fabric. Straps don’t help this problem and could strangle an infant.
AAP and consumer groups say the angle of the sleeper is the issue. A Michigan advisory warns parents that babies aren’t safe sleeping in the products at all. A Canadian law bans any sleep product that puts a baby at more than a 7-degree angle—a 30-degree angle is banned in U.S. sleepers.
The CPSC reported that a number of the deaths associated with the inclined sleepers occurred when infants weren’t restrained, or when the sleepers were placed on an unstable surface like a couch or a bed.
Infant Sleeper Wrongful Death
Infant sleeper defects have been known to cause children to suffer suffocation or strangulation injuries that lead to the infant’s death. If a child dies as a result of a defective-sleeper injury, the child’s parents may bring a wrongful death action against the party or parties responsible—from manufacturers to distributors to sellers, and more.
Attorney Jeffrey Killino is not only an experienced lawyer — he is also a child advocate. When a child injury or death occurs because of a faulty sleeper he has the know-how and resources to guide you through the legal process to get what you and your family are entitled to. If your child has suffered a traumatic injury because of a company’s negligence, contact Jeffrey Killino today at 877-875-2927.
Infant Sleeper Warnings and Recalls
Before seeking a recall, the CPSC must determine a “substantial product hazard.” To make this conclusion, the safety commission takes into consideration whether the risk of injury is obvious to consumers, the severity of that risk and how many people are exposed to the product.
Most recalls are voluntary and typically prompted either by companies contacting the CPSC with concerns about a product or agreeing to stop selling a product after being approached by regulators. Occasionally the commission can seek a mandatory recall by suing companies that refuse to agree to a voluntary recall, and threaten to make public its case by legal channels.
Kids In Danger, a child-safety advocacy group, says on average it takes 14 reports of serious design flaws and failures and two injuries to pull dangerous products from the shelf. Its 2019 report says the CPSC recalled fewer products overall, fewer children’s product recalls, and fewer units of children’s products than any year in the last decade. https://kidsindanger.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/KID-2019-Recall-Report.pdf
Infant Sleeper Investigations and Recalls
In April 2019, after reports of infant deaths, the CPSC recalled about 4.7 million Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play sleepers. Tragically, at least 32 infant fatalities have been linked to this product since the Rock ‘n Play sleeper was sold at major retailers from 2009. According to the CPSC, these deaths happened after the babies rolled from their back to their stomach or side while unrestrained, or under other circumstances.
In the wake of the April 2019 Fisher-Price recall, the CPSC is investigating all so-called inclined sleepers, which 26 companies sold in the United States as of August 2018. At least one report links another inclined sleeper, the Ingenuity Moonlight by the baby products manufacturer Kids II, to a child’s death. https://www.saferproducts.gov/ViewIncident/1763998
In 2013, Fisher-Price recalled 800,000 Newborn Rock ’n Play Sleepers after complaints about mold that could cause respiratory illnesses and infections. The CPSC said that, although mold is not present at the time of purchase, mold growth can occur after use of the product.
In 2010, the CPSC recalled more than one million “SlingRider” and “Wendy Bellissimo” baby slings made by Infantino over concern that babies could suffocate in the slings’ soft fabric. Three infant deaths were reported.
In 2008, following the death of two infants, the CPSC sought the recall of 900,000 bassinets made by Simplicity. The commission said that if a Velcro strap was not properly secured when the bassinets were converted to sleepers, a baby could slip through an opening in the bassinet’s metal bars and suffocate.
Deceptive Marketing Practices
On the box of the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play are the words “inclined sleeper designed for all-night sleep.” Fisher-Price also claimed on its website that the sleepers could be used for “naptime and nighttime.” The company went so far as to hire Gary Deegear, M.D. to assure the safety of the Rock ‘n Play. He said that inclined sleep would benefit babies with acid reflux.
But Consumer Reports discovered that Dr. Deegear is neither a pediatrician nor a sleep specialist and his assurance is counter to the AAP and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, both of which are against letting infants sleep unsupervised in a reclined position. Allowing children to sleep in this position can lead to those children suffocating, and the risk increases when they are restrained. Yet the product is advertised as safe for all-night sleep. Deceptive marketing such as this can lead to a product liability lawsuit.
If your child sustained injuries because of a defective children’s product, you can seek justice. Attorney Jeffrey Killino offers compassionate and experienced counsel to families nationwide. A product-liability action allows a plaintiff to recover damages from the manufacturer or anyone in the chain of the product’s distribution if the plaintiff can prove that the infant sleeper was defective and that the defect was a cause of the child’s injuries or death.
Attorney Jeffrey Killino is not only an experienced lawyer — he is also a child advocate. When an infant child injury or death occurs because of faulty sleeper, he has the know-how and resources to guide you through the legal process to get what you and your family are entitled to. If your child has suffered a traumatic injury because of a company’s negligence, contact infant sleeper injury attorney Jeffrey Killino today at 877-875-2927.
