The Wininger Law Firm - July 24, 2012
- Defective product Wrongful Death
While walking through the zoo, a museum, or a trip to the mall, many parents will place their little ones in a stroller. A child’s stroller is indispensable when parents have things to do and places to go with their child. The stroller keeps the child from roaming about if harnessed into the seat, has storage compartments for diaper bags and purchases, and frees the parent from having to carry the child about. Although a stroller can be a very useful item, it can also be a dangerous item in some circumstances.
Peg Perego USA Inc., a company that manufactures strollers for children, is recalling approximately 223,000 of its strollers for risks of entrapment and strangulation. According to the company, children, particularly those younger than a year old, can, when the child is not harnessed into the stroller, pass through the opening between the tray and the seat bottom and the child’s neck and head can become trapped by the tray.
In 2004, a six-month-old boy from Tarzana, California, died of strangulation in a stroller, and then in 2006, a seven-month-old girl from New York was nearly strangled, according to the company.
The strollers that are being recalled include Venezia and Pliko-P3, and were manufactured between January 2004 and September 2007. These strollers were made before 2008, when a voluntary industry standard was implemented. The standard addressed the height opening between the stroller’s tray and seat bottom, and required larger openings that prevent the risks of infant entrapment and strangulation hazards.
Consumers can go to the Peg Perego web site to view the model numbers of the recalled strollers, and then, if they own one of the recalled models, contact the company for a repair kit.
Another stroller manufacturer, Kolcraft Enterprises, is also recalling some strollers due to potential falling and choking hazards. Although no injuries have been reported, the company is recalling 5,600 of the Contours Options LT double strollers with model number ZT1012 sold between February and July. According to the company, the front wheel assembly can break, which could lead to an unharnessed child falling out of the stroller. Also, the nuts that hold the stroller’s basket support screws in place can detach, which could lead to a potential choking hazard. So far this year, Kolcraft has received six reports of the front wheels breaking and two reports of the basket’s supports screws and nuts detaching.
Consumers can find the model number and the date the stroller was made on a label on the stroller’s rear leg. Those strollers involved in the recall include those in black with red canopies and accents and those in gray with yellow canopies and accents. The strollers have one mesh basket below the two seats. These defective strollers were sold at Burlington Coat Factory stores, at juvenile product specialty stores and on the websites of Amazon, Target and other retailers. Kolcraft advises consumers who purchased these strollers to stop using the stroller and contact Kolcraft for free replacement wheels and replacement nuts for the basket assembly.
As consumers and parents, we expect the products we purchase to not only work properly, but to be safe, as well. When a product causes injury or even death to a child, you have the legal right to be compensated for that injury or death. An experienced personal injury lawyer has the knowledge and skill needed to help you obtain the justice and compensation you deserve.