Simplicity Crib Recall Reissued Following Another Baby’s Death

Posted on December 18, 2009 in Consumer Goods, Parenting

A Kentucky baby is the latest victim of a previously recalled Simplicity drop-side crib, so product safety officials have re-announced the series of recalls involving the defectively dangerous infant beds.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is again warning consumers about the risks of injury and death from Simplicity cribs. Gaps between the drop-sides or between the wooden frame and the mattress on the infant beds can allow children to get their head or neck trapped, posing the risk of suffocation, broken bones, bruising, and other injuries.

The 7-month-old boy in Kentucky rolled in his crib into a gap in between the side of the crib and the mattress, suffocating him, officials said. That tragedy is typical of other injuries and deaths associated with Simplicity and other brands of drop-side cribs.

More than two million Simplicity drop-side cribs have been recalled in recent years. The plastic hardware provided with the beds can break or deform, causing the drop side to detach from the frame. Also, the instructions provided with the cribs may be unclear and allow the drop side to be installed upside down, creating a risk of injury from malfunctioning parts.

The CPSC announced recalls of Simplicity cribs in December 2005, June 2007, September 2007, September 2008, and July 2009. The recalls now include all Simplicity drop-side cribs. The model numbers of the recalled infant beds include (but are not limited to) the following: 4600, 4605, 4705, 5000, 8000, 8050, 8324, 8325, 8620, 8740, 8745, 8748, 8750, 8755, 8756, 8760, 8765, 8778, 8800, 8810, 8910, 8993, 8994, 8995, and 8996.

The recalled drop side cribs were sold in department stores, children’s stores, and mass merchandisers nationwide from January 2005 through June 2009 for between $150 and $300, the CPSC said. However, the beds may still be in use in millions of homes or available for purchase in thrift stores, second-hand stores, and other discount retailers and continue to pose a risk of death and serious injury.