Crib Entrapment: True Stories and Interviews
Graco Crib Death: A Close Call
"I purchased a Graco crib for my one-month-old granddaughter in 2005," says Karin Corbett. "We assembled it and when I put her in the crib, the side came apart-- If we weren't right there, she would have slipped right through it." Fortunately, they may have prevented another Graco crib death." [MORE: GRACO CLOSE CALL]Graco Cribs are Death Traps
"The second time she was kneeling towards the front of the crib and her knee got caught in the railings. Luckily I was right there. She was screaming her head off and we couldn't get her outómy husband tried to stand her up a bit to push her leg through but her knee wouldn't come through the two pieces of wooden railing. I pushed on the sides and hit her knee through it to get her out. She got a bit bruised up and you could see indents on her leg from where she was stuck. [MORE: GRACO CRIP TRAPS]Graco and Simplicity Crib Entrapments
Nearly 1 million Graco, Simplicity cribs are being recalled after the reported deaths of two infants and one child. A 6-month-old and a 9-month-old died of suffocation in the recalled crib after becoming entrapped. A one-year-old child also died by the same means in a new model of the crib, which has not yet been recalled, but is being investigated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Seven other infants have been entrapped in the cribs, and there have been 55 reports of the cribs' drop sides detaching or the hardware failing to hold the side to the crib.All the cribs were manufactured by Simplicity Inc., which were made in China. The recalled cribs, priced between $100 and $300, were sold by US retailers including Target Corp., Big Lots Inc., Babies "R" Us, and Meijer Inc. under the Simplicity or Graco brands, from January 1998 through May 2007.
Recalled Simplicity Models
- Aspen 3 in 1
- Aspen 4 in 1
- Nursery-in-a-Box
- Crib N Changer Combo
- Chelsea
- Pooh 4 in 1
- Ultra 3 in 1
- Ultra 4 in 1
- Ultra 5 in 1
- Whitney
- Trio
- Check whether the drop rail is installed right side up and is securely attached to the tracks in all four corners.
- Check the crib for the recalled hardware, which has a flexible tab at the bottom of the lower tracks and open tops on the lower tracks.
- Do not use the crib before new hardware is installed. Until then, experts urge caregivers not to take children to bed with them; use a portable crib instead.
Crib Recall Press Releases
OCT-14-07: A recall is intended to protect the consumer, but Graco and Simplicity don't seem to have safety on their agenda. Over one million Simplicity and Graco cribs were recalled in September after three children died; now a fourth death has been reported, but in a crib that was not part of the biggest crib recall in history. [MORE: CRIB DEATHS]Crib Entrapment in the News
OCT-10-07: Authorities say a 4-month-old girl has died in a Simplicity Inc. 4-in-1 bassinet that was not part of last month's recall of 1 million Simplicity and Graco cribs. [CONSUMER AFFAIRS: CRIB ENTRAPMENT]SEP-29-07: It has been revealed that Simplicity Inc. is sending repair kits for their defective cribs without instructions. It has been acknowledged that the recall was issued before the company had a repair kit approved for consumers. [
SEP-28-07: The Illinois Attorney General has asked Simplicity Inc. to replace defective cribs or offer refunds instead of just repairing or replacing defective hardware. The concern is that "parents and caregivers will discard the crib, making it likely that it will end up in another home." [TRIBUNE: CRIB RECALL]
SEP-25-07: A class action lawsuit has been filed in Minneapolis against Graco, Simplicity and Target Corp. seeking damages for owners of of the cribs recalled last week. [TRIBUNE: GRACO CRIBS]
SEP-24-07: The parents of a 7-month old girl have sued Simplicity Inc. alleging their daughter suffocated to death in the defective crib. [MSNBC: CRIB ENTRAPMENT]
SEP-24-07: Despite three infant fatalities and numerous complaints, it took years for the CPSC to issue a recall of defective cribs. An investigation was launched in 2005 when a 9-month old boy asphyxiated after getting his head stuck between a broken rail and the mattress of a Simplicity crib. [TRIBUNE: CRIB ENTRAPMENT]
