Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Lawsuits
In 2019, Fisher-Price issued a recall for nearly 5 million Rock ‘n Play Sleepers after reports of several baby deaths. In June 2021, the company also recalled over 100,000 4-in-1 Rock ‘n Glide Soother and over 50,000 2-in-1 Soothe ‘n Play Gliders after other cases of infant dates.
The company claimed the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper 2019 recall was a move to show that consumer safety was a cornerstone of its mission.
Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Lawsuits
In 2019, Fisher-Price issued a recall for nearly 5 million Rock ‘n Play Sleepers after reports of several baby deaths. In June 2021, the company also recalled over 100,000 4-in-1 Rock ‘n Glide Soother and over 50,000 2-in-1 Soothe ‘n Play Gliders after other cases of infant dates.
The company claimed the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper 2019 recall was a move to show that consumer safety was a cornerstone of its mission.
However, in 2020, monthly reports emerging from Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play lawsuits filed by hundreds of parents across the US revealed that only around 8% of the recalled infant accessories had made it back to the company.
Interestingly, some parents claim they never received a recall notice. Typically, response rates for consumer product recalls average around 10% as some buyers may have disposed of the product after a malfunction.
Also, some manufacturers make return procedures too complicated for customers, while others don’t make sufficient announcements. Regardless, the Consumer Reports’ policy counsel for product safety, Oriene Shin, called Mattel’s (the manufacturer of Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleepers) response rate unacceptable.
According to Oriene Shin, Fisher-Price only executed the bare minimum to get these products out of homes and marketplaces, even though the entity was aware of the products’ dangers for years.
In fact, the company had received details of more infant deaths connected to its Rock ‘n Play Sleepers months after its 2019 recall, including one published by the CSPC.
Read on for more Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleepers lawsuit information.
How Fisher-Price Responded to Recall Rates and Lawsuits
Mattel has failed to comment on the company’s low recall rates. Catherine Frymark, a spokesperson from the company, referenced a statement released by the infant sleeper manufacturer last June, which states that its Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleepers were safe when consumers use them according to instructions.
Recall Efforts Fade Out After First Few Months of Notice
The monthly recall reports from the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play lawsuits help us understand why some product recalls fail.
The CSPC states that it uses these monthly reports to determine if consumer product recalls are effective. According to the agency, recalls are effective if consumers receive the manufacturer’s notification of a product recall and take necessary action.
However, by December 2020, Fisher-Price could only account for 395,239 of the nearly 5 million recalled sleepers manufactured in America.
The company had notified 500,000 patrons via email about the recalls and processed most of the returns in the early months of the notice, starting from April 2019.
Moving on, the number of parents who responded to the recall notice dropped to 8,700 in November 2019. By December 2020, the figures had further reduced to 1,128.
The CR product safety policy counsel, Oriene Shin, has asked Fisher-Price to intensify efforts to get the defective infant sleepers out of American homes.
According to Shin, manufacturers shouldn’t handle recalls like short-term campaigns but as dedicated strategies to keep consumers safe and make them whole after putting their lives at risk through defective products.
Also, since the company spent millions promoting these products for American parents to buy, it should spend as much on its recall notices and other steps to get the infant sleepers off US marketplaces and homes.
- THIS IS AN ACTIVE LAWSUIT
Infant Deaths Increase Months After 2019 Recall
As the responses to Fisher-Price’s Rock ‘n Play Sleepers recall lessened, the infant suffocation cases continued to increase across America.
By the time the US Congress summoned Fisher-Price for testimony in 2021, fatalities had risen to 97.
As of April 2019, the death toll was around three dozen babies.
The Dangers of Infant Sleepers
Infant sleepers are known to be unsafe for newborn babies and children for years.
These infant accessories position children at angles higher than 10 degrees, pushing their heads forward. Manufacturers also sell these products using soft padding.
Both of these factors can cause suffocation in sleeping babies.
The CPSC has warned parents to stop purchasing inclined sleepers/inserts for their babies after several incidents of infant suffocation.
Previously, the agency recalled one million Infantino baby slings over suffocation concerns.
The Wendy Bellissimo and SlingRider slings eventually led to three deaths.
In 2022, US President Biden signed the Safe Sleep For Babies Act of 2021 that outlaws inclined sleepers, such as the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleepers, in the US.
Other Infant Sleeper Recalls
Besides the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play recalls, there have been a host of other inclined sleeper recalls in the US in the last decade.
In 2019, Kids II recalled about 700,000 infant sleepers after several instances of infant death.
Graco also issued a recall for 51,000 inclined baby sleepers in 2020. One study revealed that 10,000 children suffer bodily wounds or die yearly in infant sleep accessories.
These injuries typically occur in drop-side cribs with flexible rails.
These rails often end up partially separated, creating gaps between the rails and the bed, causing the baby to get stuck and suffocate.
As a result, several drop-side crib manufacturers have recalled their products.
In 2009, Stork Craft Manufacturing recalled over 2 million of its drop-side baby cribs after reports of four infant deaths.
Simplicity Inc. also recalled about 400,000 cribs after an eight-month-old died when the rails of its drop-side crib separated.
Delta Enterprise Corp recalled over 980,000 cribs following a similar incident in 2008. That same year, the CPSC recalled 900,000 “3-in-1” and “4-in-1” convertible close-sleeper/bedside sleeper bassinets after fatalities involving two infants.
According to the agency, the entity had manufactured the bassinet’s metal bars with spacings that didn’t meet the required safety standards.
As such, if a parent failed to secure the bassinet’s Velcro strap properly while converting it to a sleeper, an infant could fall through openings in the metal bars and suffer suffocation.
Simplicity and Graco Infant Crib Recalls
Simplicity and Graco are infant sleeper manufacturers that have been subjected to consumer product recalls due to defective products in the last two decades.
In 2004, Simplicity issued a recall of 104,000 Aspen 3-in-1 cribs with the Graco logo (it manufactured Graco baby sleepers under a contract that expired in 2005).
Again in 2007, the company issued a recall for 40,000 Nursery in a Box cribs.
In 2008, the CPSC recalled one million cribs that had the Simplicity or Graco brand name after three baby deaths, seven entrapments, and several other infant Injuries. The agency had stated that the drop-side of those cribs left a dangerous gap when detached.
Hundreds of infants suffered injuries from Graco products, such as swings, strollers, and high chairs. In 2005, the CPSC fined Graco $4 million (the highest fine by the agency at the time) because the company had failed to report injuries and deaths linked to 16 different infant accessories.
There were reports of six infant deaths connected to Graco Infant Swings. The CPCS mentioned that these swings had restraint and tray lock defects that had children falling or getting stuck in the leg openings.
Injuries suffered by affected infants include:
- Contusions
- Strangulations, and
- Fractures
US Parents Filing Fisher-Price Rock 'n Play Lawsuits
Incidents of infant deaths due to the defective nature of Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleepers have led to lawsuits across America by US parents.
Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play lawsuits accuse the firm of making defective consumer products that resulted in infant suffocation. Affected parents also claim that the company was aware of the product’s malfunctions but marketed them as safe.
One particular case of infant suffocation due to using a Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play sleeper involved Virginia-based Keenan and Evan Overton. Keenan and Evan purchased a Rock ‘n Play Sleeper for their 5-month-old baby, Ezra, and placed him in it for a nap. Keenan slept on the couch next to the sleeper.
By the time the baby’s father woke up, Ezra lay face-down and dead. The parents sued Fisher-Price in 2019 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
These lawsuits, like many others, claim Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleepers are defective, resulting in the death of infants by suffocation. They also state that the company was aware of these defects yet marketed the accessory as safe.
Inclined Sleeper Lawsuit Claims and Settlements
Some plaintiffs have received settlements from inclined baby sleeper lawsuits in the past. Two Texas-based parents filed a claim against Fisher-Price and Imperial Manufactory when their baby, Dayana Coronado Torres, suffered asphyxiation while sleeping on the accessory.
In 2017, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice after the defendants and plaintiffs agreed to a compromise and settlement.
There was no public report about the settlement terms.
In 2016, another parent filed a Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play lawsuit after their seven-week-old son, Asher, suffered injuries during a nap in the Rock ‘n Play sleeper.
The court filing shows that Courtney Goodrich worked as a school teacher and took her mom and newborn to school to prepare her class for the new term.
While working, they laid the infant in the sleeper to nap. However, they returned moments later to find his arms ashen gray while the skin surrounding his eyes and skin was blue. The baby’s head also lay cocked to one side, and he seemed lifeless.
The infant’s grandmother lifted him and screamed to wake him. When he didn’t wake up, she held his body close and shouted again; it was at this point that Asher twitched and started breathing.
A pediatrician linked the episode to an obstruction of the upper airway due to Asher’s head laying in a flexed position. The infant would also require monitoring in case of any developmental issues because of oxygen deficiencies.
Medical Experts Caution Against Positioning Therapy as a Viable Treatment Alternative for Reflux In Infants
During the Goodrich Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play lawsuit, Linda Chapman, the industrial designer for Fisher-Price, stated that she got the inspiration for the infant sleeper when her baby was dealing with reflux. Her pediatrician had mentioned that she could relieve the infant’s pain by elevating his head whenever he slept.
Over the years, parents have turned to these infant sleepers to ease the discomfort of their babies battling reflux. However, top pediatric gastroenterologists warn against this treatment technique.
Several studies also reveal that elevating the head of sleeping babies in a semi-upright posture worsens reflux. Recommendations from two of the foremost pediatric gastroenterologist societies in 2018 state that it’s “unclear” if position therapy, including elevating a baby’s head, can soothe discomfort in colicky babies.
As such, they warn against using position therapy as a treatment method for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) in babies.
- THIS IS AN ACTIVE LAWSUIT
The Future of Infant Product Recalls
The CPSC mandates companies that have issued consumer product recalls to submit progress reports monthly.
However, these documents rarely make it to the public domain. Typically, they’re released through a “Freedom of Information” Act request.
The evidence of Fisher-Price’s recall rate only became public due to multistate civil lawsuits against Mattel over the defective Rock ‘n Play Sleepers.
A vital part of the Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play lawsuits involves the lack of constitutional authority on the part of the CPSC to take action when consumer products show safety concerns.
According to a 2021 congressional report, the agency doesn’t have the authority to safeguard infants from defective products because specific laws restrict it from revealing company/product information when it has not sought the manufacturer’s permission.
According to Oriene Shin, the monthly reports about Fisher-Price’s low recall rates highlight the need for a law amendment by the US Congress for transparency and holding companies accountable.
The Sunshine in Product Safety Act, a legislation that seeks to address these concerns remains pending in the US House of Representatives and Senate.
Parents Should Dispose of Rock 'n Play Sleepers Immediately
While Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleepers no longer exist on several store shelves in the US, they may still be in the secondary market. The CPSC has requested that parents who still have these accessories in their homes to dispose of them immediately.
The agency prohibits reselling these infant sleepers, and it continuously tracks online and brick-and-mortar stores for these and other recalled products to remove them from circulation.
Consumers who find these products at any store can report to the agency through SaferProducts.gov.
If you or a loved one lost a baby due to a Fisher-Price Rock Sleeper defect, your best bet would be contacting a legal practitioner. With an attorney in your corner, you stand a huge chance of receiving a fair compensation that befits your pain and suffering.
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