Product Safety Hazard
Rocking chairs sold at Wal-Mart recalled for fall hazard
March 22, 2006

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Wal-Mart Stores Inc., has announced a recall of Mainstays Love Seat Rockers and Porch Rockers. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Poor construction and over-curvature of the chair's runners can cause instability, imbalance, fracturing of the wood, and tip-over during use. This poses a fall hazard to consumers.

Wal-Mart has received 55 incident reports including 45 injuries. Those injuries include a cut in the leg requiring 16 stitches, a slight concussion, fractured ribs, wrist and cervical/lumbar sprains, upper back injuries, a pinched nerve, a shoulder joint tear, and one incident in which a pregnant woman began having contractions after the display chair in which she was sitting flipped over backwards. Many of the injuries occurred on display models in Wal-Mart stores.

About 643,000 of the affected rockers were sold at Wal-Mart stores and on Wal-Mart's website. The Love Seat Rockers were sold from May 2004 through September 2005. The Porch Rockers were sold from April 2004 through March 2006.

The recall involves three models of rocking chairs, the Mainstays Love Seat Rocker (Model IT-13380) and the Mainstays Porch Rocker (Model IT-13379 and IT-13270).

The Love Seat Rocker is wooden, white and seats two persons. The back support frame and the seat are made of slats. "Made in China" is printed on a sticker under the seat.

Love Seat Rocker:

The wooden Porch Rocker is sold in white and "natural" (light brown) colour and seats only one person. "Made in Indonesia" is printed on a sticker under the Porch Rocker's seat. They sit on curved runners. The model number is printed on the rocker's packaging.

Porch Rocker: