San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Blog

A woman in West Boca Raton, Florida has settled a wrongful death lawsuit against crib manufacturer Simplicity, Inc., the makers of a drop-side crib in which the woman's daughter suffocated to death, and Walmart.

The amount of the settlement was not disclosed. The lawsuit was filed last September in Palm Beach County. The case had been set to go to jury trial, but Bergey's attorney filed a motion requesting the judge approve a settlement. The judge approved the agreement March 3, but the order did not detail the terms of the settlement.

Constance Bergey's 2-year-old daughter Serenity was found dead in her crib on September 19, 2007. Her head had become caught between a drop rail and the crib's mattresses. Two days following the 2-year-old's death, the United States Consumer Products Safety Commission announced a recall of nearly 1 million cribs.

According to reports in the Sun-Sentinel, the crib had not been assembled correctly, and was broken and held together with duct tape at the time of the child's death. In 2008, detectives had sought aggravated manslaughter charges against the toddler's mother, but prosecutors did not take the case.

According to a CPSC spokeswoman, Simplicty and the company that purchased Simplicity's assets have gone out of business. That does not change the fact that ALL Simplicity drop side cribs have been recalled, in addition to numerous other drop side cribs made by other manufacturers. To find out if your child's crib has been recalled, visit cpsc.gov. If your child has been injured or killed by a dangerous drop-side crib, contact the dangerous products lawyers at Estey Bomberger for more information and a free consultation.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) this week announced a recall of all Generation 2 Worldwide and "ChildESIGNS" drop side cribs. According to the government safety agency, the plastic hardware on the crib has the potential to break which can cause the side of the crib that drops to detach from one of the corners. If this happens it creates a space into which a baby or toddler can become wedged, entrapped or stuck, which poses a risk of strangulation or suffocation.

The CPSC has received three reports of infant deaths, including an eight-month-old Ohio boy in July 2007, an eight- month Indiana boy in October 2003, and a six-month-old Virgina boy in September 2002. In a February 9 press release, the CPSC also stated they have received reports of 20 other incidents, including five repots of children falling out of cribs and one child suffering a broken arm.

More than 500,000 of these cribs were sold to consumers. Some of the known model numbers are: 10-110X, 10-210X, 21-110X, 20-710X, 64-315X, 26-110X, 90-257X, 20-810X, 46-715X, 64-311X, 74-315X, 21-815X, 21-810X, 20815X, 308154 and 54915. (The "X" denotes where an additional and varying number may appear at the end of the model number.) The recall includes all Generation 2 Worldwide and "ChildESIGNS" drop side cribs, including those with other model numbers. Read the CPSC press release for more information.

Drop side cribs pose numerous safety hazards, and several million cribs were recalled by the CPSC in 2009. If your child suffered injuries from a dangerous or defective drop-side crib, contact the San Diego defective product attorneys at Estey & Bomberger for a free consultation of your legal rights. You may be entitled to compensation from the manufacturer of the crib.