When people think of defective products they often think of the commonly recalled automobile. Automobiles are recalled for many reasons due to products liability claims and consumer injury risks. However, almost all industries have had recalls of their products for some reason or another.
Many are not aware that products that are supposed to keep us or our loved ones safe have had recalls in the past. One such product is a drop-side crib, a once widely distributed and accepted style of crib in Pittsburgh and around the United States.
Drop-side cribs were recalled due to a design defect that posed serious risks to those that used the crib. Not only did these cribs just pose risks, they were also responsible for hundreds of injuries and dozens of deaths to infants in the time they were legally produced and available to consumers. The government then banned the style of crib from the marketplace because the drop-side design posed a risk to the infant in that it could slide away from the mattress trapping and injuring or suffocating a child.
It was ruled that there were safer alternatives available to this crib design and because of this, the drop-side design was determined to be a design defect and banned in the United States. Although the design defect was not intentional, it did result in terrible injuries to hundreds of children and families around the country. Under products liability law, these injured parties likely sought or will seek justice for the design defect and the injuries it caused. Consumer injuries such as this are avoidable and should be taken very seriously.
Most would think a baby’s crib is one of the safest places for their child. Many were in for the shock of their life when they found out it could actually be one of the most dangerous. Most users escaped the design defect danger unscathed, but some weren’t so lucky. For those unlucky few, the design defect changed their or their children’s lives forever.
Source: Findlaw, “Drop-side Cribs,” Accessed August 10, 2015