Two years after the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Connie Bergey is suing now defunct crib maker Simplicity for wrongful death. Her Florida furniture products liability lawsuit contends that a defect in the Simplicity ‘Crib n Changer Combo, a drop side crib her daughter Serenity was using, is what caused her death.
Serenity’s head got caught in the crib’s frame. Two days after she died, a recall of over 1 million Simplicity cribs was issued that included the very same model that Serenity was using.
In her products liability lawsuit, Bergey is accusing Simplicty of knowingly selling cribs that were dangerously designed and endangering infants’ lives. She contends that the Simplicity crib recall should have been announced before her daughter died. Her Florida wrongful death complaint says that when the crib’s drop side came off, a gap was created, which caused the fatal entrapment accident. Bergey says she was devastated when she went to her daughter’s crib and, rather than finding her sleeping peacefully, discovered her daughter stuck in the side of the crib.
Simplicity is no longer in operation. The crib maker was forced out of business following dozens of child injuries and at least four kid deaths from entrapment accidents involving its defective cribs.
Even after Simplicity shut its doors, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission continued to issue more recalls. In August 2008, 900,000 bassinets were recalled. Another 600,000 drop side cribs were recalled in September 2008. Just this January, the CPSC recalled 200,000 portable play yards.
There is no loss for a parent greater than the loss of a child. It can be even more devastating to discover that your son or daughter suffocated or died in a crib that you thought would keep your child safe.
While issuing product recalls has been known to save lives, a crib recall cannot bring back the life of the children who died prior to the recall announcement.
Some other crib design defect that have been known to cause injury:
- The crib slats are spaced too far apart that an infant’s head or body can get stuck in between two slats.
- The crib’s corner posts are designed in a manner that entanglement accidents can occur.
- The mattress is made from hazardous material or its size does not fit the crib securely enough to prevent entrapment accidents from happening.
Ffamily files lawsuit after child dies in crib, WPTV, September 9, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Choosing a crib, American Academy of Pediatrics
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