Dean Weitzman, Esq.
Philadelphia, PA (Law Firm Newswire) April 29, 2019 - Babies in an inclined cradle with a much-loved blanket, about to drift off to sleep, make for a powerful picture and a successful Mattel Fisher-Price marketing campaign. That campaign took a deadly turn when babies started to die when the product, the Rock’n Play sleeper was put on the market.
Although the item promised a peaceful slumber, it came with risks that safety groups and doctors were concerned about and commented on, saying that Mattel should have fixed the problems that caused 30 infant deaths. The deaths were noted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, who said the product should not be used once children reached 3 months or showed signs of being able to roll over, and are now the focus of several defective product/wrongful death lawsuits across the nation.
Mattel Fisher-Price did “just” recall the 4.7 million sleepers but denied that the deaths were the fault of the company, saying instead the sleeper deaths were the result of the product being used “contrary to safety warnings and instructions” to buckle the child in with the harness and not put any other items in the sleeper. Inclined cradles are known to be dangerous and can result in strangulation, suffocation, falls and entrapment. Most parents thought that the product was from a reliable company, one that could be trusted to make items that were safe for their children.
One such lawsuit, being handled by MyPhillyLawyer, points out that Fisher-Price’s marketing campaign, despite the corporate culpability denial, has and does include statements such as “baby can sleep at a comfy incline all night long,” a phrase that is at distinct odds with pediatric advice to make sure infants sleep on firm, flat, bare surfaces, without any restraints or bedding. Says Nancy Cowles, the executive director of Kids In Danger, “This is just not a safe way for babies to sleep.”
MyPhillyLawyer, representing one of the bereaved families, intends to prove that Fisher-Price has not always met all applicable U.S. regulations and safety standards and that despite having known for years about the problem of babies suffocating in their sleep in the Rock’n Play sleeper not enough was done to warn consumers of the potential hazards. Instead of warning consumers, Mattel Fisher-Price highlighted some of the most dangerous features of the sleeper as selling points and since 2009, when the product was created, did not appear to meet any of the safety guidelines.
Fisher-Price has had several recalls for safety concerns over the years and MyPhillyLawyer intends to fully visit those instances to outline a history of product negligence and other deaths.
For further information or an interview contact:
MyPhillyLawyer
Dean Weitzman
Two Penn Center Plaza
1500 John F Kennedy Blvd #1410
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102
Phone: 215.227.2727
Fax: 215.563.6617
Toll Free: 866.907.2231
E-mail: dweitzman@myphillylawyer.com
