A Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) investigation found at least 13 wrongful deaths have been a result of sling-style infant carriers in the last 20 years. Another case involving a wrongful death is still being investigated, and the CPSC determined that 12 of the 13 wrongful deaths were with babies younger than four months old.
Parents and caregivers are advised to be careful when they use infant slings for babies younger than four months because many of the babies who died in the slings were either a low birth weight twin, had a cold or were born prematurely.
The Infantino SlingRider is one of many different types of baby slings that the CPSC has warned against because of suffocation and strangulation hazards. (SOURCE: www.infantino.com)
Our personal injury lawyers believe companies who make products for children need to be especially careful when designing their products. Children’s injuries can be even more potentially dangerous because children (young infants, especially) still have developing bodies that cannot handle large amounts of trauma.
In the CPSC’s warning, suffocation hazards present in two different ways:
A sling’s fabric can press on a baby’s nose and mouth, which blocks the baby’s breathing and suffocating a baby within about two minutes.
Babies cradled in a curved position nestled below the parent’s chest or near the belly can be vulnerable due to their weak necks. A baby’s head can fall forward causing the baby’s face to be pushed into the parent’s body causing suffocation.
The baby slings are made of soft fabrics that wrap around the chest so that parents on-the-go can carry their kids. Slings have also been promoted by baby experts as a way to keep babies calm or for nursing mothers who want to breast feed.
Of all the slings, the “SlingRider” by Infantino has been criticized the most because of its curved position. The SlingRider was linked to the wrongful death of one-week old Derrik Fowler in Oregon and was recalled in 2007 because of problems with the plastic sliders on the sling’s strap.
Our San Diego personal injury attorneys urge companies to be more careful when it comes to making products that are for children and infants. If there is a potential suffocation or strangulation hazard, companies may want to reconsider their design to prevent them from happening.
Call us now at 1-800-655-6585 or click here for a FREE CONSULTATION with an experienced personal injury attorney in San Diego and find out how we can help you. We look forward to providing advice for your case.
About Michael PinesMichael Pines is a former insurance company attorney who specializes in car accident injury. While he was an insurance attorney, he learned from behind the scenes on how insurance companies work and how they decided to pay injured people. Now that he works against insurance companies, Michael's inside knowledge has resulted in significant benefits to his clients injured in car accidents.
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Tags: childrens injuries, CPSC, SlingRider, wrongful death
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