Recall Issued for 50 Million Blinds After Another Child Dies After Being Strangled

Yesterday one of the largest recalls in history took place for something that almost everyone owns.  A recall was issued for 50 million blinds.  Among the types of blinds recalled is Roman blinds and roller shade type of blinds.  The massive recall was issued due to the risk of strangulation for young children. 

The recall was announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission after the death of yet another child was announced.  This brings the total deaths associated with the dangerous blinds to 8 and the total injured children due to the blinds is now at 16.  Earlier this year a recall was issued for 5.5 million shades and blinds for the same risk of strangulation but at that point only 3 children were dead and 7 suffered injuries from being nearly strangled to death.  Now not even 4 months later the death toll and number of injured children has more than doubled.  This is a very dangerous risk to many young children and has taken the lives of children from a wide variety of ages.  If you have a child, regardless of their age, it is very important that you follow the guidelines for the proceedure to correct the dangers associated with these recalled blinds.

Recalled Roman blinds and roller shade blinds are being recalled because of three associated hazards:

• Roman shades with looped beads
• Strings on the back of Roman shades
• Lifting loop on roller shades

Parents should know that if they have shades with any of these type of strings they should immediately contact the Windows Covering Safety Council by phone at 800.506.4636 or on the web at www.windowcoverings.org for a free repair kit.  Alternatively, parents can also go to the store and purchase new roll up blinds with a breakaway device or blinds with no cord at all at their own expense.  While waiting for the repair kit to arrive parents should make sure that the blind cord is not in reach of a child. 

Here are a few tips the CPSC and the WCSC are offering to parents:

• Take a look at all of the blinds in your house to make sure that none of the blind or shade cords are accessable to children.  Blinds and shades with no cords or strings are the best choice of blinds if you have children living in the house or if you watch children on a regular basis.
  
• Do not place cribs, bed or any other type of furniture next to the blinds.  Doing so can give children access to cords that may otherwise be unreachable. 
  
• Make sure loose cords are not accessable to children.
• If the window shade has looped beaded chains or a nylon cord you can install a tension device to keep the cord taut

Remember even if you think that your child knows better than to end up getting entangled in a blind or shade cord this may not be the case.  Some of the children who got entangled in the cords were 4 years old so this strangulation hazard is not just for those with young toddlers but is also for those with older children too.  Children do not intentionally get tangled in window cords usually it happens in a situation that randomly happens.  So please keep a safe eye on your children and if you have recalled blinds in your house please either replace them or order the free repair device as soon as possible.

We never like to hear of children becoming injured or tragically killed and would rather prevent an injury or death of a child rather than have to take on a child injury lawsuit or a wrongful death case, especially due to product liability where the injury or death is solely the fault of the manufacturer.  In the event that your child has an accident involving dangerous blinds or shades you can contact us to discuss how we can help represent you and your injured child in their case.  For a free consultation with Frank J. Dito Staten Island and Brooklyn product liability lawyer contact us toll free at 800.976.4904 or at 718.979.4300.  If you prefer to contact us by email please fill out our online web consultation form and we will get back to you.