Drop-Side Crib Deaths Result in Recall of 500,000 Cribs

The deaths of three infants have led to a drop-side crib recall for half a million cribs sold under the ChildESIGNS and Generation 2 Worldwide labels.

The recall was announced on Tuesday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which warns that the hardware on the cribs can break, causing the drop side to detach and potentially entrapping and suffocating infants. So far, three deaths have been attributed to the defective cribs, including an eight-month old in Newark, Ohio in July 2007, an eight-month old from Richmond, Indiana, in October 2003, and a six-month-old from Staunton, Virginia in September 2002. All three children became entrapped by the drop side and suffocated.

The CPSC has received 20 other incident reports involving the Generation 2 Worldwide and ChildESIGNS cribs, two of which resulted in the non-fatal entrapment of other infants when the drop-side detached.

The CPSC has warned that it has limited information on the cribs, because they were all produced by Generation 2 Worldwide, which appears to have gone out of business. They were sold under both the Generation 2 Worldwide and ChildESIGNS labels.

The drop-side crib recall includes all Generation 2 Worldwide and ChildESIGNS drop-side cribs, regardless of model number. “Generation 2 Worldwide” is on a label on the headboards, and some models will have “ChildESIGNS” on a label on the teething railing.

The CPSC does not have accurate production year information, but estimates that about 500,000 of the cribs were sold at retailers nationwide, such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Buy Buy Baby for between $60 and $160.

A number of major retailers and manufacturers have stopped selling drop side cribs due to repeated problems with drop side cribs. One company, Simplicity, has had more than 2 million drop side cribs recalled, and the CPSC reports that at least 11 drop-side crib deaths have been linked to Simplicity cribs. The company was driven out of business by the repeated product recalls.

One of the biggest concerns surrounding drop-side cribs is that they are not sufficiently durable. In addition, many parents reuse the cribs for multiple children or pass them down to other family members. When the cribs are disassembled and then reassembled, the risks associated with defective designs could increase greatly, resulting in potentially life-threatening hazards. In addition, many of the cribs are inexpensive and built without durable parts.

The CPSC recommends that anyone using the recalled cribs stop immediately and find an alternate sleeping arrangement for their infants. Consumers should contact the place of purchase for a refund, exchange or other remedies, which may vary.