Infant Carriers Recalled Over Fall Risks | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

recalled infant carrierWhile only an estimated 50 LittleLife Discoverer Child Carriers have been sold in the United States and Canada, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has joined with UK-based manufacturer Lifemarque in issuing an urgent recall of the product. As stated in a CPSC press release issued on October 20, 2011, ” The carriers were sold without bolts that attach the carrier’s main frame to the metal stand. Missing bolts cause the carrier to disconnect from the stand and fall backwards, posing a fall hazard to a child in the carrier.”

No such accidents have yet been reported in North America, but the mere possibility that a baby could fall backwards 5 to 6 feet and strike his or her head on the ground, floor, sidewalk or roadway is certainly frightening enough to merit the recall of LittleLife carriers. Head, neck, spine and brain injuries are already too common among infants and children under the age of 4 years. Any product that increases children’s risk for such traumas must be taken off the market or repaired and redesigned so it is safe for use.

Indeed, one of the reasons drop-side cribs were repeatedly recalled before being banned outright in 2010 by federal regulators was because the sliding panel of the infant beds could come loose and allow babies to fall out and suffer head and brain injuries.

As a North Carolina (NC) personal injury attorney and father of three, keeping children safe is a priority that drives my professional work and personal actions. I’m pleased to know that even though the numerical risk from the recalled LittleLife carriers is small, the product’s maker is acting responsibly to limit that risk even further.

EJL