The plaintiff mother placed her infant daughter to sleep through the night in her new crib. The next morning, when the mother went to check on her baby, she saw her child entrapped between the crib’s side rail and its mattress/mattress support.

 

Specifically, the back of the baby’s head was against the crib’s side rail, her face was compressed into the crib’s mattress, and her body was entrapped between the side rail and the crib’s wooden mattress support. She was not breathing. She was later pronounced dead. The cause of death was certified as “Positional Asphyxia.”

The crib was purchased new, together with a crib mattress. The crib was designed and manufactured by the Defendants. Between the date of the crib’s initial assembly and the date of the incident, the crib had never been disassembled. The infant’s mother had placed the child in the crib on occasion for naps prior to the incident. However, the date of the incident was the first occasion that the child was placed in the crib to sleep through the night. The mattress was set at its highest level in the crib.

Prior to the commencement of this lawsuit, this incident was investigated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”). The CPSC performed an on-site examination of the subject crib, took detailed photographs and measurements, and recorded its findings in an official report in which it was critical of the crib’s side rails.

The case settled prior to trial.

About the Author: James Swartz
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Mr. Swartz, our Managing and Principal Attorney at Swartz & Swartz P.C., is a nationally recognized and respected trial attorney as well as consumer advocate. His practice focuses on cases involving negligence, torts, products liability, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and other claims involving catastrophic injuries.

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