New Safety Recall of More than 200,000 Infant Travel Beds

The Consumer Product Safety Commission just announced a recall of infant beds. Children’s safety equipment manufacturer KidCo Inc. is working with CPSC to recall approximately 220,000 infant travel beds in light of nine reported entrapment incidents and at least one infant death while using the portable sleep tent. It has been determined that a baby might get trapped by rolling into the space between the bed’s air mattress and the tent’s fabric sides, and suffocate.

The Pea Pod Travel Crib includes an air mattress that tucks into a closeable envelope built into the dome tent floor. The domed tent is designed to collapse for travel, but when the inflatable mattress is in the tent floor, as designed, there is a space between the floor and the soft wall where the infant’s head can get lodged. It is believed that a 5-month-old baby boy became trapped in such a manner while napping in late 2011. He had his twin sister were placed the Pea Pod Travel Crib. The sister survived. The baby boy died.

The Pea Pod Travel Crib has been on the market since 2005, and approximately 220,000 have been sold nationwide. This recall is the first for KidCo Inc. The company is offering modification kits to travel crib owners which are designed to strengthen the tent sides, and also includes a replacement mattress that is thinner to remove the risk of suffocation.

The company has stated that they believe the safety kit addresses any safety issues the travel crib may have. However, the safety consumer group Kids in Danger has said that they would rather the company issue refunds so that parents can purchase a different item, one tested for sleep safety. A product must be considered a crib, bassinet or play yard to be tested for sleep safety.

The Pea Pod Travel Crib and the PeaPod Plus Travel Beds were manufactured in China and distributed nationwide in stores and by Amazon.com starting in January 2005.

John Hale is a Waxahachie personal injury attorney and Ellis County personal injury lawyer helping injury victims near Dallas Texas. Learn more at http://www.hale911.com/

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