The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled thousands of Simplicity and Graco cribs warning that babies could suffocate or strangle in them. A CPSC spokesman said the recalled cribs “have killed far too many babies and need to be kept out of homes and daycare centers”. The new Simplicity recall was linked to at least one death. Over 200,000 Graco dropside cribs made by LaJobi are also being recalled after receiving nearly one hundred complaints.
Hardware failures in both types of cribs led to the recall. The dropside of the Graco-branded wood cribs that moves up and down can break or detach, creating a dangerous gap between the crib mattress and dropped side. A baby can become trapped and suffocate or strangle. A retrofit kit will be available to consumers to prevent the dropside from moving, making all four sides of the crib stationary.
The Simplicity recall is for all of the full-sized cribs with tubular metal mattress-support frames which can bend or detach causing the mattress to collapse and creating a space that a baby can become trapped in and suffocate.
Simplicity has been the subject of almost a dozen recalls since 2005 and its cribs and bassinets have been linked to 13 deaths. The CPSC had previously recalled all Simplicity dropside cribs. With the latest recall, nearly all Simplicity cribs have now been recalled. Simplicity and its successor company, SFCA Inc., are no longer in business.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
