On June 14, 2013, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Baby Matters, LLC of Berwyn, Pennsylvania, announced the voluntary recall of the company’s popular Nap Nanny and Nap Nanny Chill infant recliners and covers. The popular infant seats were sold online and at retailers nationwide, including Babies-R-Us, Toys-R-Us, Buy Buy Baby, Amazon.com, and Diapers.com, from 2009 to 2012.
The recall of the popular infant seat was prompted due to a staggering number of infant deaths attributed to the use of the seat. The CPSC has reported receiving nearly 100 reports of incidents of infant injury while using the Nap Nanny and Nap Nanny Chill – with at least 5 incidents resulting in infant deaths. Consumers reported that infants were hanging or falling over the side of the infant seats – even some that were restrained in the product’s harness. This poses a significant threat and can lead to the strangulation or suffocation of an infant.
This recall brings to an end a legal battle between the CPSC and the manufacturer of the Nap Nanny, Baby Matters, LLC, that started in December 2012 when the CPSC filed an administrative complaint against Baby Matters seeking to force the mandatory recall of these products. The CPSC alleged that the products are defectively designed insofar as the anticipated use of the product poses a risk of harm to infants and have inadequate warnings and instructions. Baby Matters initially refused to recall the products despite the infant injuries and deaths that resulted from the use of such products. Baby Matters opted, instead, to fight the CPSC and waged a months-long legal battle that ultimately resulted in the June 2013 recall.
Consumers are being urged to immediately stop using all Nap Nanny and Nap Nanny Chill infant seats. Consumers looking to get a refund for their purchase should contact the retailer that the product was purchased from as the Philadelphia area manufacturer, Baby Matters, LLC, is now out of business. The CPSC is also urging consumers to dispose of all Nap Nanny infant seats to ensure that they are not used again in the future.
As a parent, child safety advocate and trial lawyer, I am continually troubled by the fact that manufacturers continue to sell dangerous products. Manufacturers, in their zeal to get products on the market, often cut corners and overlook safety when designing and manufacturing products. Manufacturers have an obligation and opportunity to thoroughly assess product safety before the launch of a product. It should not take to child to get injured or killed for a manufacturer to make a product safe.
Please contact Sean E. Quinn of the Quinn Law Group, LLC, with offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, if you or a loved one has been injured by a dangerous product.
