Stay Up to Date on Product Recalls, Especially for Children

In response to receiving two reports of infants getting trapped between mattresses and end panels, Ikea is recalling 169,000 baby crib mattresses in North America.

Staying up to date about product recalls on your own is a challenge. Luckily, a number of organizations make it easy to follow product recalls. You can sign up for regular update emails from Safe Kids Worldwide, a group that’s dedicated to preventing injuries in kids. The Consumer Product Safety Commission provides email subscriptions for recalls and allows you to report unsafe products.

As my partners and I well know, defective products can pose serious risks to consumers. We’ve fought large corporations on behalf of our clients who have been seriously injured by these products. These fights are never easy. Large companies and their insurers have a vested interest in mounting a strong defense even when the defect is practically indisputable. Despite the challenges, we’re dedicated to holding the companies that manufacture defective products accountable.

We’ve seen the damage defective products can cause, so we keep a sharp eye out for product recalls. There are new recalls every month. If you’re not paying attention, it’s easy to miss them. There’s one class of products that deserves special attention if you’re a parent. Products aimed at infants and young children are regularly recalled. When those products malfunction, the effects can be devastating.

About 100 children’s products are recalled every year, but parents generally only hear about three of those. The recalls are not widely publicized by the media. Some advocates also criticize manufacturers for not getting the message out to their consumers. It’s no wonder that only ten percent of the recalled products are fixed or returned.

Really young kids face unique dangers from products. For example, a crib, where almost every baby sleeps for hours each day. But choosing one can be frustrating. Since 2007, nine million cribs have been recalled. Safety issues vary from crib to crib, but the problem is usually the same: too much space between the crib rail and the mattress. This gap is dangerous because babies and toddlers can get trapped there, where they may suffocate or strangle. Another common reason for recall was the risk of the crib side detaching, leaving space for babies to fall out of the crib.

Parents of young kids and new babies are worriers. With experience, most worries fade over time. (By your the time your second child is born, you’re not usually worried about grandma washing her hands to her elbows before she holds the baby.) But some risks are worth staying alert to. Product recalls are one of them.

Stay up to date and stay safe!