Stork Craft's recall of 2.1 million cribs is largest in U.S. history
Drop-side cribs poses danger of infant entrapment, suffocation
-- Kids Today, 11/23/2009 12:17:00 PM
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc., of British Columbia, Canada, today announced the voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs, including about 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. The recall involves approximately 1.2 million units distributed in the United States and 968,000 units distributed in Canada.
CPSC urges parents and caregivers to immediately stop using the recalled cribs, wait for the free repair kit, and
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| Storkcraft's drop-side cribs pose a suffocation hazard because the drop side can become disengaged, causing an opening through which a child can slip. |
do not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit. They should find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby. Consumers should contact Stork Craft to receive the repair kit that converts the drop-side on these cribs to a fixed side.
The cribs’ drop-side plastic hardware can break, deform, or parts can disappear. In addition, the drop-side can be installed upside-down, which can result in broken or disengaged plastic parts. All of these problems can cause the drop-side to detach in one or more corners, creating space between the drop-side and the crib mattress. The bodies of infants and toddlers can become entrapped in the space which can lead to suffocation. Complete detachment of drop-sides can lead to falls from the crib.
CPSC, Health Canada, and Stork Craft are aware of 110 incidents of drop-side detachment; 67 incidents occurred in the United States and 43 in Canada.
The incidents include 12 entrapments in the U.S. and three in Canada. Four of the entrapments resulted in suffocation: a 7-month-old in Gouverneur, N.Y.; a 7-month-old in New Iberia, La.; a 6-month-old in Summersville, W.Va.; and a 9-month-old in Bronx, N.Y.
Included in these incidents are 20 falls from cribs, 12 which were in the U.S. and eight in Canada. Fall injuries ranged from concussion to bumps and bruises. The cribs involved in these incidents had plastic drop-side hardware that had broken, missing, or deformed claws, connectors, tracks, or flexible tab stops; loose or missing metal spring clips; stripped screws; and/or drop-sides installed upside-down.
This recall involves Stork Craft drop-side cribs and Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. This recall does not involve any cribs that do not have a drop-side. This recall does not involve any cribs with metal rod drop-side hardware. It involves only those cribs with plastic trigger and one-hand-system drop-side hardware.
This recall includes Stork Craft cribs with manufacturing and distribution dates between January 1993 and October 2009, and includes Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo that have manufacturing dates between October 1997 and December 2004.
The Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo were first sold in the U.S. in July 1998 and in Canada in September 1998. The cribs were sold in various styles and finishes. The manufacture date, model number, crib name, country of origin, and the firm’s name, address, and contact information are located on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board. The firm’s insignia “storkcraft baby” or “storkling” is inscribed on the drop-side teething rail of some cribs. In Stork Craft cribs that contain the Fisher-Price logo, this logo can be found on the crib’s teething rail, in the manufacturer’s instructions, on the assembly instruction sheet attached to the mattress support board, and on the end panels of the Twinkle-Twinkle and Crystal crib models.
Major retailers in the United States and Canada sold the recalled cribs including BJ’s Wholesale Club, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Meijer, Sears, USA Baby, and Wal-Mart stores and online at Amazon.com, Babiesrus.com, Costco.com, Target.com, and Walmart.com from January 1993 through October 2009 for between $100 and $400.
The cribs were manufactured in Canada, China and Indonesia.
For additional information, contact Stork Craft toll-free at 877-274-0277 to order the free repair kit, or log on to www.storkcraft.com.
To see additional photos, click here: CPSC Storkcraft
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