Evenflo Top-of-Stair Gate Recall: Risk of Slats Breaking on Child Safety Gates

More than 180,000 Evenflo Top-of-Stair child safety gates have been recalled after the manufacturer received numerous reports of the wooden gates breaking, which could cause children to fall down flights of stairs. 

The Evenflo gate recall was announced on March 25 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada after 142 reports were filed of slats on the gates breaking or detaching, resulting in a fall hazard for children. Evenflo has received at least two reports involving children who fell down steps after gaining access through a broken Top-of-Stair gate.

Overall, the company said that four children suffered minor bumps and bruises to the head and seven children received other minor scratches, scrapes and bruises as a result of the defective child safety gates. However, there have been no serious injuries reported in connection to the recalled Evenflo safety gates.

The recall affects the Evenflo Top-of-Stair Plus Wood Gates. About 150,000 were sold in the U.S. and another 33,000 were sold in Canada. The model numbers of the recalled gates are 10502 and 10512 and can be found on the bottom rail.

The gates were made from October 2007 through July 2009 and sold at retailers nationwide, including Toys ‘R’ Us, Burlington Baby Depot and Kmart through March 2010 for about $40.

The CPSC recommends that consumers stop using the recalled gate and contact Evenflo to receive a new replacement gate at safety.evenflo.com.