CPSC Announces Largest Defective Children's Crib Recall Ever

Yesterday, in response to over 100 incidents of problems with drop-side cribs - including two infants in New York who suffocated after becoming trapped in the side gate - the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs.

At the risk of redundancy, here's a question that these crib manufacturers and retailers, as well as the CPSC should be compelled to answer: why did it take so many incidents before the recall was issued? (Please note, this is far from the first time we've written on the subject - see our June 14 article, "CPSC's Recall of (Yet Another) Defective Crib Raises Questions About Recall System in General").

In a public statement, the CPSC urged parents to “immediately stop using the recalled cribs, wait for the free repair kit, and do not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit.” According to the official defective product recall notice, nearly 150,000 of the cribs were sold under the Fisher-Price brand name.

In addition, the CPSC stated that the defective design allowed infants to become stuck in the gap between the crib mattress and the drop side of the crib. In conjunction with this defective product recall, ASTM International, a group that recommends voluntary product safety standards worldwide, recommended that fixed sides on cribs be required.