Two Strangulation Deaths Prompt Video Baby Monitors Recall

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Summer Infant Inc. announced a voluntary recall to provide new on-product label and instructions for about 1.7 million video baby monitors with electrical cords. The cords can present a strangulation risk if if placed within three feet of the crib. Summer Infant is also offering additional wall-mounting security clips for the cords in the event that the original ones were thrown away or are missing. This is not a recall, but a consumer safety alert.

Seven deaths have been reported from monitor cord strangulation as a result of a baby monitor being placed in or near the crib; two involved Summer Infant Video Monitors.
In March 2010, a 10-month-old girl was strangled in her crib; the monitor camera had been placed on top of the crib rail. The second incident was in November 2010 when a six-month-old boy who strangled in the electrical cord of a baby monitor placed on the changing table that was attached to the crib. A third case was reported to the CPSC, but fortunately the infant did not suffer serious injuries.

In an effort to prevent any further fatalities, Summer Infant will include additional information and warnings on their baby monitor products. In response to the deaths, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has put together an informative Infants Can Strangle in Baby Monitor Cords Safety Alert brochure.

The recalled video monitors were distributed between January 2003 and February 2011. They were sold at major retailers, mass merchandisers, and juvenile products stores nationwide. The product was manufactured in China.

CPSC and Summer Infant urge parents to make sure that all electric cords are out of the reach of small children. Additionally, consumers should contact Summer Infant toll-free at (800) 426-8627 or visit their website at www.summerinfant.com/Home/Product-Recall.aspx to receive a Safe Installation Guide, Warning Labels, and additional Cord Wall-Mounting Security Clips free of charge.

Mark Bello has thirty-three years experience as a trial lawyer and twelve years as an underwriter and situational analyst in the lawsuit funding industry. He is the owner and founder of Lawsuit Financial Corporation which helps provide legal finance cash flow solutions and consulting when necessities of life litigation funding is needed by plaintiffs involved in pending, personal injury litigation. Bello is a Justice Pac member of the American Association for Justice, Sustaining and Justice Pac member of the Michigan Association for Justice, Business Associate of the Florida, Tennessee, and Colorado Associations for Justice, a member of the American Bar Association as well as their ABA Advisory Committee, the State Bar of Michigan and the Injury Board.