The Consumer Product Safety Commission has banned drop-side cribs from being made sold or resold within the United States due to the large number of civil suits filed on behalf of parents whose children have suffered injury or death as a result of a drop-side crib. The CPSCs decision to ban drop-side cribs will remove such cribs from the market. Drop-side crib manufacturers have a deadline until June of 2011 to ensure that their cribs have fixed sides. Places that use drop-side cribs like hospitals day care centers or hotels have one year in which to replace those cribs. In 2010 32 toddlers or babies have died as a result of a drop-side crib accident. More than 9 million drop-side cribs have been recalled in the last five years. Drop-side crib accidents can involve strangulation entrapment or falls and can be caused by malfunctioning parts in the crib itself. The CPSC will also enforce new testing procedures in order to ensure that the new cribs are safe for their intended use.
We have reported on past drop-side crib recalls on this blog so Im not surprised to see this ban come into effect. While the purpose of a drop-side crib may have been helpful to a parent in getting their child out of a crib the negative effects far outweigh the savings in time or effort. It should be also be noted that when products cause injury harm or loss of life to a person the manufacturer of that product may be held civilly liable for the injury or death that has occurred. In fact these product liability lawsuits are one of the reasons that the drop-side crib ban has been put into effect since affected parents sought justice for their childs injury or death and made sure that attention was given to these hazardous cribs. As a result further harm does not have to occur to another child or family as a result of this drop-side crib ban.
– Texas Product Liability Lawyer Michael Grossman
