Baby cribs recalled after 4 deaths
Cribs made by Stork Craft of Richmond, B.C.
Last Updated: Monday, November 23, 2009 | 8:07 PM PT
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian and U.S. government safety regulators are recalling more than 2.1 million drop-side cribs made by B.C.-based Stork Craft Manufacturing. (Consumer Product Safety Commission)American and Canadian government safety regulators are recalling more than 2.1 million drop-side cribs made by B.C.-based Stork Craft Manufacturing.
The joint recall by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada involves 1.2 million cribs in the United States — the biggest crib recall in U.S. history — and 968,800 in Canada. The products were made between January 1993 and October 2009.
Nearly 150,000 of the cribs on recall carry the Fisher-Price logo and were manufactured between October 1997 and December 2004.
The CPSC, Health Canada and Stork Craft are aware of 110 incidents in which the drop sides of cribs have detached — 67 in the U.S. and 43 in Canada. They're also aware of four suffocations: a seven-month-old in Gouverneur, N.Y.; a seven-month-old in New Iberia, La.; a six-month-old in Summersville, W.Va.; and a nine-month-old in Bronx, N.Y.
Four babies are known to have suffocated after being trapped between the mattresses and detached sides of Stork Craft cribs. (Consumer Product Safety Commission)There are also 15 reports of babies being trapped but surviving, 12 in the U.S. and three in Canada.
The cribs involved in these incidents had plastic drop-side hardware that had broken or missing parts, including connectors, tracks or flexible tab stops. In some cases the drop sides had been installed upside down.
All of these problems can cause the drop side to detach in one or more corners. When the side comes loose, it creates space between the drop side and the mattress where babies can become entrapped.
Consumers should contact Stork Craft, based in Richmond, B.C., to receive a free repair kit that converts the drop side to a fixed side. The U.S. agency urges parents and caregivers to stop using the recalled cribs, and not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit.
For additional information, contact Stork Craft toll-free at (866) 361-3321 to order the free repair kit, or visit storkcraft.com.
