Every year thousands of infants sustain injuries or are wrongfully killed by dangerous and defective products. In addition, deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents in general cost the nation more than $900 billion annually. Unfortunately, many of these injuries are caused by the negligence or recklessness of manufacturers and distributors, meaning that many of these injuries and deaths could be avoided.
Infants are particularly vulnerable to dangerous and defective products, including but not limited to toys, clothing, and even drugs. According to a 2011 report produced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSIA), among children younger than 5 years of age, there were an estimated 74,100 emergency department-treated injuries, associated with, though not necessarily caused by, nursery products in 2011. In addition, for the 3-year period from 2007 through 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) received reports of 341 deaths, associated with, but not necessarily caused by, nursery products among children younger than age 5. Several recalls relating to products used by infants have been reported in the past few months, including but not limited to the following:
HALO SleepSacks Recalled
On August 21, 2013, the CPSC issued a recall of approximately 27,000 HALO SleepSacks Wearable Blankets sold exclusively at Babies R Us and babiesrus.com from December 2011 through July 2013. Citing a risk of a choking hazard to infants, the CPSC advised consumers to stop using the product immediately. The recall was issued after the CPSC received six separate reports of a pink satin flower on the blankets becoming detached from the blankets. In one case, the report complained that an infant was discovered gagging on the detached petal.