On September 21, 2007, the United States Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled various Simplicity Inc. cribs due to product defects that have resulted in infant deaths by entrapment and suffocation. Approximately 1 million cribs are affected by this recall, making it the largest full-size crib recall in history.

Adverse event reports have resulted from failures in hardware and crib design on Simplicity cribs. Consumers are unintentionally installing the drop-side of the crib upside down, which can weaken the hardware and cause the drop-side to detach from the crib. This detachment can create a gap in which infants can become entrapped. Even correctly installed drop-sides with older style hardware can result in an entrapment injury.

Infants have become entrapped between the drop-side rail and the mattress of recalled cribs, and some infants have suffocated as a result.

Recalled cribs were sold in department stores, children’s stores and mass merchandisers nationwide from January 1998 through May 2007 for $100 to $300. Models affected by the recall include:

• Aspen 3 in 1,
• Aspen 4 in 1,
• Nursery-in-a-Box,
• Crib N Changer Combo,
• Chelsea
• Pooh 4 in 1

Also affected by the recall are the following Simplicity cribs bearing the Graco logo:

• Aspen 3 in 1,
• Ultra 3 in 1,
• Ultra 4 in 1,
• Ultra 5 in 1,
• Whitney
• Trio

The recalled cribs have one of the following model numbers, which can be found on an envelope attached to the mattress support: 4600, 4605, 4705, 5000, 8000, 8324, 8800, 8740, 8910, 8994, 8050, 8750, 8760, and 8996.

The CPSC is advising consumes to check all Simplicity cribs to make sure the drop-side is installed correctly. To do this, CSPC instructs consumers to check to see that the slightly rounded rail with decorative groove is installed at the top and the plain rail is on the bottom. Consumers should also make sure the drop-side is securely attached to the tracks in all four corners.

Consumes who have a crib with older style hardware or newer style hardware who have either installed the drop-side upside down, or have broken hardware, can contact Simplicity’s Recall Hotline at 1-888-593-9274 between 8:30am and 10pm ET Monday through Thursday, between 8am and 5pm ET on Friday, and between 9am and 5pm on Saturday for free repair.

Consumers can also visit the firm’s web site at www.simplicityforchildren.com for more information.

The announcement of the recall from the CPSC and Simplicity came a few days before an investigative story from the Chicago Tribune was published. According to the Tribune, records obtained from the agency through the Freedom of Information Act indicated that the CPSC had indication of problems with Simplicity cribs as early as July 2003. The investigation detailed the following tragic timeline:

• In July 2003, a woman from Meridian, Mississippi filed the first compliant to CPSC because the rail would suddenly fall down, but not separate from the crib.
• In February 2004, Julie Heath from Ft. Stewart, Georgia Army Base contacted Simplicity to complain that after an hour of putting her 5-month-old daughter into the crib, one end of the drop rail had come loose. Simplicity told Heath that it was “no big deal” and that “there were no problems with it.”
• In January 2005, Christina Zimmerman of Bloomington, Indiana contacted CPSC after the drop rail on the Aspen 3 in 1 separated from the headboard of the crib.
• In April 2005, Nicola Johns’ son, Liam, suffocated in his Aspen 3 in 1 crib in their apartment in Citrus Heights, California. According to police reports and lawsuit filed by the family, one end of the drop rail on Liam’s crib had come off track. Liam either rolled or slid feet-first into the opening causing his head to be caught between the rail and the mattress.
• In October 2005, Lisa Smith of Sherwood, Arkansas filed a compliant with CPSC that her 10-month-old daughter had fallen to the floor between the drop rail and the mattress after the rail had detached. Smith tried to contact Simplicity, but calls were never returned.
• In November 2006, Robert and Amanda Millwood’s 6-month-old son, Edward, was found hanging by his head between the drop rail and the mattress of a Simplicity Nursery-in-a-Box crib. The rail was installed upside down. The crack between the joint had separated far enough from the crib that Edward slipped through feet-first and suffocated.
• In February 2007, the Arceneaux family from Houston, Texas found their 8-month-old Royale suffocated between an improperly installed drop rail on a Crib N Changer Combo.

Both the Millwood and the Arceneaux families have filed lawsuits against Simplicity.

Nancy Cowles, executive director of consumer advocacy organization Kids in Danger, bemoaned the government’s delay in protecting the safety of U.S. children. “Two-and-a-half years is not acceptable,” she said. “There is no room for tolerance in the safety of a crib.”

Sources: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Release #07-307 September 21, 2007.; “Cribs Are Recalled Due to Suffocation Risk,” The Wall Street Journal Online. September 21, 2007.; David Michaels,” Did an Investigative Reporter Awaken the CPSC?”, The Pump Handle, September 24, 2007; Maurice Possley, “Missteps delayed recall of deadly cribs” Chicago Trubune, September 22, 2007.