Federal consumer regulators have long promised to phase-out the defective drop-side baby crib because of its faulty and dangerous design. Now the timetable has been announced, according to a report on ConsumerAffairs.com. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on Monday, June 20, announced that beginning June 28, crib manufacturers must stop making and selling the drop-side design. In a concession to companies that rent cribs as well as hotels and motels, they will have until December 28, 2012, to replace the defective cribs with non-drop-side versions. There are more than 935,000 drop-side cribs in circulation in hotels, motels, and as rentals.
In announcing the change, CPSC Chair Inez M. Tenenbaum said drop-side cribs have been associated with at least 32 infant suffocations and strangulations since 2000. Babies can become lodged between the drop side and the mattress or fall out of the crib when the slats separate from the frame. Additionally, deaths have occurred when defective hardware failed compromising the structure of the drop-side. Smaller stores had claimed the new rules presented an economic hardship but the commission voted 3-2 to stand with the date for phase-out.
Besides stopping the sale of the defective drop-side cribs, the new standards make mattress supports stronger and improve slat strength; force hardware to become more durable; and make safety testing more stringent. These tougher standards actually were mandated in 2008 through the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.
Any drop-side crib that is not sold by June 28 must be destroyed. Retailers may end up destroying between 10,000 to 20,000 cribs that go unsold. Others are being offered to the public with deep discounts by retailers. Consumers should be aware that many of these defective children’s products are also sold in second hand stores or in garage sales.
Unlike defects in manufacturing, design defects are present from the inception of the product. According to Florida law, a product liability claim must show negligence on the part of the designer or manufacturer. With drop-side cribs, the defective design was so apparent from the beginning that they never should have been manufactured in the first place and certainly should not continue to be sold.
The defective product attorneys in St. Augustine at Farah & Farah want you to know that the law requires products meet the ordinary expectations of the consumer. Certainly these drop-side cribs fail by that standard.
Sources: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2011/06/new-safety-standards-outlaw-drop-side-cribs.html and http://www.cpsc.gov/onsafety/2011/06/the-new-crib-standard-questions-and-answers/
