Defective cribs have killed two more children, prompting the second nationwide crib recall in the past month. Delta Enterprise Corp. of New York, NY announced last night that it is recalling 1.6 million side drop cribs – one of the largest such recalls in US history – for entrapment and suffocation hazards.
Unfortunately, crib recalls are becoming a common event. Last week, Playkids USA of Brooklyn, New York recalled 2000 portable cribs following the death of a 5-month-old child. The baby suffocated to death in August after becoming entrapped between the mattress and the drop side rail of the convertible crib. In 2005, Delta Enterprise recalled about 10,000 portable cribs because the slats could separate from the headboard, posing a suffocation hazard.
In August, dozens of retailers recalled defective Simplicity bassinets that were implicated in the deaths of two children. In addition to the August bassinet recall, Simplicity recalled 1 million cribs in September 2007 after they killed three babies. That recall is largely blamed for the demise of Simplicity Inc.
The latest Delta Enterprises crib recall includes 600,000 drop side cribs with a spring peg failure. According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), if the spring pegs in the base of each leg of the crib are pushed back into the lower track, the pegs can become nonfunctional. This can cause the drop side to detach from the crib and create a gap that can entrap an infant or toddler. The CPSC said it knew of a death of an 8-month-old child who suffocated when the drop side of his crib detached. The CPSC also said it was aware of one child entrapment and one incident in which the drop side detached due to a disengaged spring peg.
The Delta drop side cribs with this defect were manufactured prior to 2006, and use “Crib Trigger Lock with Spring Peg” drop side hardware design. The recalled model numbers and country of origin include: 4340, 4343, 4520, 4600, 4620, 4624, 4625, 4629, 4660, 4665, 4720, 4750, 4751, 4850, 4855, 4857, 4880, 4920, 4925-2, 4925-2B, 4925-6, 4980, and 8605. The model number, country of origin and manufacture dates are located on top of the mattress support board. The recalled cribs have Delta’s name and address on the mattress support boards and Delta’s logo on the teether rail.
The cribs, which were made in China, were sold at major retailers nationwide from January 2000 through January 2007 for between $33 and $200. Cribs currently sold at retail are not involved.
The CPSC and Delta are urging parents and caregivers to immediately stop using these cribs and contact Delta to receive a free, easy-to-install repair kit.
The Delta recall also involves 985,000 drop side cribs with missing safety pegs. When the safety pegs in the base of each leg of the crib are missing from the lower track, the crib locks can disengage and detach if lowered below the peg hole, creating a hazardous gap. This gap can lead to the entrapment and suffocation of an infant or toddler
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The CPSC said it is aware of a death of an 8-month-old child who became entrapped and suffocated when the drop side of the crib detached in a reassembled crib where the safety pegs were not installed. The CPSC is also aware of two entrapments and nine disengagement incidents in cribs where the safety pegs were missing.
The recall involves all Delta cribs manufactured in Taiwan or Indonesia, with the “Crib Trigger Lock with Safety Peg” drop side hardware design. These model numbers and country of origin can be located on the mattress support board label: 4320, 4340, 4500, 4520, 4530, 4532, 4540, 4542, 4550, 4551, 4580, 4600, 4620, 4624 (production dates 01/06 thru 11/07), 4640, 4660, 4720, 4735, 4742, 4750 (production dates 01/95 thru 12/00), 4760, 4770, 4780, 4790, 4820, 4840, 4850, 4860, 4880, 4890, 4892, 4900, 4910, 4920, 4925-2, 4925-6, 4930, 4940, 4943, 4944, 4947, 4948, 4949, 4950, 4958, 4963, 4968, 4969, 4980.
The recalled cribs have date codes ranging from 1995 though December 2005 and one model (4624) was made in 2007. The model numbers are located on the top of the mattress support board.
These cribs were sold at major retailers, including Walmart, Kmart and Target.com from January 1995 through September 2007 for about $100. These cribs have also been found to be sold secondhand. According to the CPSC, Delta cribs currently sold at retail are not involved in this recall.
The CPSC and Delta have advised parents and caregivers to immediately stop using cribs that are missing a safety peg on any leg of the crib and contact Delta to receive a free, easy-to-install repair kit. Consumers with Delta cribs that have all safety pegs installed may continue to use the cribs; however, the CPSC recommends that these consumers contact Delta for the repair kit for future assembly purposes.
To receive either repair kit, consumers should call Delta toll-free at (800) 816-5304 anytime after 5 pm today or log on www.cribrecallcenter.com to order the free repair kit.
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