Infant Inclined Sleeper Problems Result in Additional Recalls and Another Death

Following yet another infant death linked to problems with inclined sleepers sold by a number of different companies, Dorel is the latest manufacturer to issue a recall for certain products sold under the Eddie Bauer and Disney labels, due to a risk that infants may roll over and become entrapped or suffocate.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced an Eddie Bauer and Disney bassinet recall on July 31, because they may pose a roll over entrapment hazard, or a chin-to-chest airway blockage. The recalls come after yet another child death involving a similar product.

Inclining infant sleepers and bassinets are designed to elevate the baby’s head and torso. Inclining the infant during sleep has been shown to help prevent acid-reflux or congestion. However, the design has proven to be potentially deadly after babies are old enough to rollover on their own, or if the incline of the bassinet forces the child’s chin down to his or her neck, creating an airway blockage.

Approximately 24,000 of the Eddie Bauer Slumber and Soothe Bassinets with model number BT055CSY and the Disney Baby Doze and Dream Bassinet with model number BT071DHS are impacted by the recall. The inclined sleepers are either purple or beige in color and rectangular shaped with a soft bottom, cushioned fabric, and measure approximately two feet high. Customer may locate the model numbers on a label underneath of the inclined sleeper.

The products were manufactured in China by Dorel China, and imported by Dorel Juvenile Group USA, of Foxboro, Massachusetts. They were distributed for sale at Target, Kmart, Ross, Marshalls, TJ Maxx and juvenile product stores nationwide from November 2014 through February 2017 for about $60.

Customers are being asked to stop using the inclined bassinets immediately and to contact Dorel at 877-657-9546 or email them at inclinesleeperrecall@djgusa.com for information on how to receive a refund in the form of a $60 voucher.

Inclined Sleeper Safety Risks

Inclined infant sleeper safety concerns were disclosed to the public in April 2019, when the CPSC issued a Fisher-Price Rock’n Play warning, instructing consumers to stop placing their infants in the sleepers by three months old, or before they begin to show signs that they can roll over independently. The warning was issued after the CPSC publicly recognized at least 32 infant deaths related to the products.

Since the warning, several manufacturers issued recalls of inclined sleeper products in April including Fisher-Price’s recall of 4.7 million Rock’n Play Sleepers and a recall of 694,000 Kids II inclined rocking sleepers. Fischer-Price subsequently released an additional inclined sleeper recall in June, impacting 71,000 inclined sleeping accessories sold with their Ultra-Lite Day & Night Play Yards.

Fischer-Price has been riddled with a number of inclined sleeper individual wrongful death lawsuits and also a class action lawsuit alleging the manufacturer knew or should have known about the risk of problems, yet delayed announcing a recall or warning, and knowingly allowed parents to continue purchasing life threatening sleeper devices.

One of the latest fatalities to be reported involved a 3-month old from Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania who suffocated while lying on his back in a hammock shaped Chicco USA Lullaby Dream Playard sleeper. According to Consumer Reports, the lawsuit filed against the manufacturer this month indicates the child suffocated due to his head being forced downward to his chin because of the sleeper’s incline, causing an airway blockage.