Florida Injury Lawyer Blawg
Following the tragic deaths of at least five infants across the United States, Fisher-Price is recalling 2 million swings over suffocation risks.
The concern lies with the company’s Snuga Swing products, which feature pillows depicting different animals, such as raccoons, cats, bears, and puppies, on which parents can lay their infants down before clipping them safely inside. Included in the recall are replacement sleep pads for these swings.
Similar products appeared to still be for sale Wednesday online at retailers such as Walmart and Poshmark, retailing anywhere from $50 for used products to over $100 for new ones. In reporting from CNN, some of the recalled swings were allegedly for sale for $160.
The five infant deaths allegedly linked to these swings were reported between 2012 and 2022. All were between 1 and 3 months old. Most of the infants in these tragic incidents were unrestrained or had extra bedding added to their swings.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued an advisory on Oct. 10, alerting parents to the issue.
“The swing should never be used for sleep and bedding materials should never be added to it,” CPSC officials said in the advisory. “If the product is used for sleep or bedding material is added, the headrest and body support insert on the seat pad can increase the risk of suffocation.”
As of the Oct. 10 recall date, it is estimated that, in addition to the 2 million problematic swings sold in the United States, 99,000 were sold in Canada and 500 in Mexico.
The company has announced that parents who keep the swing should immediately remove the headrest and body support insert on the seat pad for a $25 refund, however, Rich Trumka Jr., a commissioner with the CPSC, said in a statement that the recall is “flawed” and “doomed to fail.”
“I fear that this dangerous approach will keep babies at risk of death just to save Fisher-Price money—a horrible example of putting profit over people,” Trumka said. “My advice: get your $25 refund and then throw this product away; do not keep it in your homes because even after the so-called “repair” this product will still be unsafe for infant sleep.”
Congress banned inclined sleepers in the Safe Sleep for Babies Act due to the known hazards of inclined sleep. This act prohibits the manufacturing, sale or distribution of products with an inclined sleep surface of greater than 10 degrees.
Leesfield & Partners Creates Change
When tasked with recounting the story of changes and protections brought to juvenile products, one cannot tell the full story without mentioning Leesfield & Partners. This law firm has consistently stood up for grieving parents and injured children. In its long history dealing with juvenile product manufacturers, Leesfield & Partners has handled cases that brought about industry-wide change at every level of production from design to construction, and later marketing. These product liability claims resulted in not only justice for individual families but further protections for generations to come, potentially saving other children from the same fate that many Leesfield & Partners’ clients tragically suffered.
The firm’s 48-year reputation of representing clients involved in accidents with baby products led to the industry-wide change of high chair manufacturing following a case where a child suffocated in a high chair. Attorneys with the firm secured a confidential settlement for the family in this landmark case. The regulations added as a result of the Leesfield & Partners case include additional rules for straps and harnesses, tray size and mechanisms as well as clear and specific instructions and warnings. More recently, the firm secured a $1,100,000 settlement for the family of a child who suffocated due to a defect in a children’s product.
The firm has also handled cases involving defective seatbelts and child restraints, children’s toys, and tip-over furniture.
In one case, involving the devastating death of a Central Florida toddler after a furniture tip-over incident at the family’s home, Leesfield & Partners attorneys proved the furniture manufacturer did not adequately warn consumers about securing their item to the wall. This lack of warning led to a $17.5 million settlement for the death of the 2-year-old.
Additionally, the manufacturer in that case decided to bring about change in its dresser catalog to warn consumers about the need to anchor dressers to the wall and the risk of tip-over furniture.
Attorneys secured a confidential settlement for the family of an 8-month-old baby who died in the front seat of a car in a rear-facing positioned car seat when the airbag was deployed. The child restraint had been given to the baby’s parents and the box showed it installed in the front seat of a car. The child’s mother put the seat up front, as the instructions showed.
When all-terrain vehicles were marketed as toys in the 2000s, featuring children looking little older than toddlers with gleaming smiles on these potentially dangerous machines, Leesfield & Partners had to step in. Following a wave of injuries involving children all across the United States due to the use of ATV’s the firm’s Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, secured over $10 million in verdicts and settlements from all over the United States in cases involving ATV incidents. The bulk of the injured at the center of these cases were children who had been given these vehicles as gifts for holidays.
If your child or the child of someone you know was injured in the use of a juvenile product, don’t wait. Call a Leesfield & Partners attorney today at 800-836-6400 or at 305-854-4900 for a free consultation.
